Mr Paul Anderson
General Manager
Eurobodalla Shire Council
PO Box 99
MORUYA  NSW   2537

Ref No EO7.1451 Wharf Rd Coastal Hazard Assessment and Management Plan

Dear Paul,

This association supports option 1 as outlined in the report to rezone and voluntarily resume this sensitive coastal land known as Wharf Road.

Our records show that the development of this land has been contested in various forums for more than fifteen years. It has consumed a great deal of this organisations time and that of various State agencies and the Eurobodalla Shire Council during that time and has been before the Land and Environment Court (EP Avs Eric Saunders & Leaghur Holdings Pty Ltd, 2004) on one occasion.

Therefore, it is time to move forward to clearly define the land use that is most appropriate for this area and we congratulate the Council for producing the timely plan that is the focus of this submission. For the purpose of this submission we define “land” as excluding the river/sea bed below high water mark. This approach is consistent with the findings of Justice Bannon in the above mentioned case. After consideration the Justice concluded that in spite of the existence of Certificates of Title “there was no land in the sub-division extending beyond High Water Mark”(Land & Environment Court, 1994, p 9).

The rationale for supporting the voluntary acquisition of the land at Wharf Road is based on the long term impacts of sea level rise on the shore line of the land, the prohibitive cost and environmental harm of hard engineering options (seawalls and groynes) and the desire of this organisation to return as much as possible of the Batemans Bay foreshore to public uses. We would support the rezoning of the land to E2 Environmental Conservation.

You may be aware that we are negotiating the return to the bay of more than100,000 cubic metres of sand from the Marina redevelopment. This we feel will assist in nourishing the beaches of the northern shoreline, including Wharf Road, as the cycle of sand movement circulates around the bay.

Coastwatchers notes that the consultants have produced a figure for inundation levels at Wharf Road of 3.65/4.0 metres. Although we agree with this figure for events that could be expected on a regular basis we feel that it is conservative when viewed in conjunction with the longer history of the coastal zone in Batemans Bay.

There are competing views on this geomorphologic history. Bryant et al (1992) proposed that tsunamis are responsible for sedimentation along the east coast of Australia. He investigated many areas of the NSW coastline, including nearby Cullendulla Creek sand dunes, and concludes that the area was formed by tsunamis within the last millennium. He narrows the date of the last episode to 500-700 years ago. It should be noted that it would be reasonable to assume that the Wharf Road precinct would have been subject to the same tsunami. The last tidal wave to impact on Batemans Bay was on the 24th  May 1960 as reported in the Moruya Examiner. The article described the after shock waves that ;
Tore away more of the land and the water washed along Wharf Street for 50 yards or more… and high tides had already washed away the end of Wharf Street and caused a telephone pole to fall (Moruya Examiner, 1960, p1).

Donner and Junger (1981) and Thom et al (1986) proposed that the Cullendulla sand ridges were formed by deep sea storm waves driven by storms that exceeded 7 metres in height. Although refraction occurs within the bay to reduce wave strength and height, there can be no denying that the area has been subjected to enormous oceanic influences. The NSW Coastal Design Manual (1990), which provides coastal councils with guidance, confirms the occurrence of these storm impacts.

There is scientific consensus that sand formations at Cullendulla and Wharf Road are dynamic and have been formed by coastal processes that are beyond the experience of white settlement of Australia. Therefore Coastwatchers feel that development of Wharf Road is inappropriate and for this reason we do not support the second option within the Plan for seawall protected reclamation.

In conclusion, we fully support the voluntary resumption of the Wharf Road precinct and the rezoning of this land to E2 Environmental Conservation in the forthcoming Draft Local Environment Plan.

Yours Sincerely

Mark Fleming (President)

References
Bryant, E.A. et al, 1992, Evidence of Tsunami Sedimentation of the South East Coast of Australia, The Journal of Geography, Vol 100, pp 753-765.

Donner, J. and Junger, H. 1981, Radiocarbon dating of marine shells from South Eastern Australia as a means of dating relative sea level change, Annales Academy Science, Ser A, III, Vol 131, pp 5-14.

Land and Environment Court, 1994, Environment Protection Authority vs Eric Saunders and Leaghur Holdings Judgement, Title to land described in notices, pp 5- 9.

Moruya Examiner, 1960, Tidal Wave Hits Bay, Frday May 27, P1.

NSW Government, 1990, Coastal Management Manual, Appendix B-7- B-10.

Thom, B. et al, 1986, Radiocarbon dating of Holocene beach ridge sequences in South East Australia, Dept Geography, Royal Military College, Duntroon, p 36.