I understand that some people just want to have fun, but why do they think its their right to trash Byron’s environment when they do?
On Saturday night a doof was once again held at the Tallow Creek estuary in the Arakwal National Park. They have become regular events, apparently supported by some of the town’s tourism businesses.
Hundreds of people (some say over a thousand) lit fires and twirled fire sticks in the middle of a total fire ban, dancing the night away to blaring music at one of Byron shire’s most environmentally significant sites.
The estuary is a roosting area for migratory wading birds that need to rest there to build up their fat reserves on their perilous annual migration to Asia and Russia, as well as a number of threatened species. There’s no rest for them.
Rainbow Bee-eaters and Striated Pardalotes have dug nesting tunnels into the face of the dunes around the estuary. A precarious place to raise their young at the best of times. The parks service tried to protect some by erecting a fence and putting up signs.
Undeterred people trampled the dunes. I wonder how many babies were entombed.
Animals of all sorts would have been scarred out of their wits and fled the scene.
Then there is the rubbish trampled into the sand. While the organisers piled up some of the surface rubbish (for taxpayers to pay Parks Service to remove), I found the sand was full of cigarette butts and other rubbish, awaiting the next storm to be carted into the sea to feed fish and turtles.
There is still broken glass buried in the beach and along the tracks, a danger for the unwary.
Though of equal concern is the excrement from all those people, as no toilets were provided. Locals found people pissing in the estuary and shitting on its banks. So beware if you take your kids or grandkids there.
I would like to thank the police, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Byron Shire Council for shutting it down on Sunday morning, but they need help from anyone who knows anything to stop this ongoing vandalism.
Please help stop these people from trashing our few remaining natural areas, there are better places for tourists to party.
Dailan Pugh, Byron Bay
Not just tourists involved here Dailan, but some of the younger locals as well. Regardless, it is pathetic behaviour, and once more, a fragile environment gets trashed, quite literally. Well done to those involved – hope your lives have been enriched by such senseless vandalism.
Great letter Dailan. I too was disgusted by the amount of rubbish at Tallow creek yesterday. I saw the Arakwal team down there this morning cleaning up the remainder of the rubbish. What a tragedy- the partygoers had no respect at all for this beautiful & fragile natural site and the wildlife that reside there. It is this attitude of ‘someone else will clean up the destruction I cause on the environment’ that runs through my generation and is responsible for the current global environmental crisis. Youthful hedonism gone too far!
You’ll be glad to know that the organisers of the party had their brand new generator and sound system confiscated by police. Hopefully charges will be laid for this gross act of environmental vandalism!
Disrespect to our indigenous guardians and also to the residents of Byron Bay. A fragile ecosystem damaged by thoughtless party goers .
So much for being at one with nature !
Couldn’t agree more with all the above comments.
Hinterland 24 hour plus doofs have disrupted residents, confused wildlife and created dust baths for dwellings close to the roads over the years. Try and intervened and one risks physical harm.
Try taking a walk in the dunes between byron and belongil. , its not pretty folks , the dune dwellers leave there trash for others to clean up .the wannabes hippies earth loving peoples may look the part , but are so far from it, whilst on a rant go further up past belongil creek dozens of them up there , each morning discarding last night beer bottles in the ocean. But bogans thoughtless bums i think …..yet if i walk my dog past a sign along that strech all hell breaks loose. I could go on but thats it for today ….responsibility folks, its not that hard its not all about you indulgent f****rs ……note editor you can remove that last bit if so wishes