Beach erosion

David Gilet, Byron Bay

One of the first letters I wrote to The Echo when I arrived in Byron 32 years ago concerned the rockworks at Main Beach.

At the moment ,what happens is that storm surges hit this confrontational structure and form a whirlpool off the beach. This causes sand to be swept out to sea rather than moving north to replenish the beach from The Wreck up to the Belongil as it should.

In this letter I suggested that a series of terraces be built out from the current structure. Such terraces should be built with a rim at their edges. What would happen, I think, is that the waves would surge up the slope and deposit sand behind the rims and a sand bank would eventually form.

The area behind the rock walls is obviously too valuable as a recreational area to sacrifice, but it might be possible to have our cake and eat it too.