August 2020
Senior Constable Johnson stands in the courtyard of my house, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a great deal of equipment. The wind is strong and the first flecks of rain are coming, but he is unperturbed. He’s telling me about his discussions with the Shire about trespassing on the land across the road, Barrm Birrm, the place of many yam daises. Signs and gates are suggested.
I’d phoned the police earlier, concerned about the amount of activity over the weekend. The 4WDs and trail bikes had been busy, an incessant wail and grind floating down the valley. I had ignored it, what can you do? But out walking Monday morning, I was troubled to see the tracks chewed up. Trees felled. There was a cluster of swags camped out near the dam, party boys sleeping it off.
In the next big rain, the clay will erode the tracks just that little bit deeper, washing clay into the road, then down to Sandy Creek. More 4WDs and trail bikes are showing up. We’re closer to the big city. The young men (mostly) are striking out from the asphalt and concrete, hungry for adventure and for something that stretches them and brings a sense of potency. I don’t begrudge them that, and the roads and tracks of Barrm Birrm must be fun, if that’s your thing.
But there’s another part to being in the bush, and that’s care for the land. Do we build a fence and lock the gate, and keep this for walkers? Do we keep horses out, so we don’t get weeds? Do we welcome mountain bikes but not trail bikes? What do we as a community, with our different interests, want for this place?
Without decisive action from
residents and the Shire, the land will slowly and sadly degrade.
Ross Colliver, Riddells Creek Landcare
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