Six years after government agencies were talking about ‘future retreat’ from an eroding Clarkes Beach, another $1.6 million is being spent trying to hold the line.
The NSW Government has begun a new round of coastal protection works at the iconic Byron beach following high tides and ocean swell which have again chewed into the dunes, damaged access and forced Reflections Byron Bay Holiday Park to relocate some assets.
Crown Lands has provided Reflections with $1.275 million for coastal protection and maintenance, with around 600 sandbags being installed across a 72-metre stretch in front of the holiday park.
A further $395,000 has been allocated for sand nourishment works expected next year.
Crown Lands executive director Greg Sullivan said the investment would address ‘immediate safety risks and access issues’ while protecting Crown land assets and culturally sensitive areas.
But the latest works revive a much older question about how long governments can keep defending infrastructure on one of Byron’s most mobile stretches of coastline.
In 2020, severe erosion stripped tonnes of sand from Clarkes and brought the dune line within metres of Beach Byron Bay restaurant. The state responded with emergency sandbags, but Council documents reported by The Echo at the time said those works were temporary and that the restaurant operator had been directed to prepare for ‘future retreat’.
Reflections had also installed its own sandbag wall near the holiday park, prompting debate about whether hard protection works could worsen erosion further along the beach.
Crown Lands says coastal conditions have since taken their toll on both the 2020 sandbag wall and areas without protection.
Reflections CEO Nick Baker said the funding was ‘very welcome news’, with staff monitoring the erosion and working to keep guests and beachgoers safe.
The immediate aim is clear enough: stop more of Clarkes Beach disappearing beneath the holiday park.
The longer-term question remains considerably less settled: how many more times will governments pay to defend this piece of coastline before retreat again becomes part of the conversation?
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