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Barker Inlet, Gulf St Vincent
Save Our Gulf Coalition
Banner and signs ready for Saturday's launch at 11 am of the Save Our Gulfs Embassy on Semaphore Road
This post has a long but by no means exhaustive list of the questions raised by the rush to desalination.
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Angie Starr (guitar) with Sue Winton (Banjo) from The Dudleys
Semaphore band The Dudleys will perform two new songs at the launch of the Save Our Gulfs Embassy at the Semaphore Information & Eco Centre in the Masonic Buildings on Semaphore Road at 11 am on Saturday July 31.
“The songs are written for, and speaking on behalf of the voiceless marine sea-life, who are at risk of increased high levels of salt & toxic chemicals that threaten to endanger sea life, their and our food chain around the Spencer and St Vincent Gulfs,” said the Dudleys’ Angie Starr.
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Tireless campaigner Ruth Trigg on the steps of Parliament in Adelaide, October 2009.
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The leafy seadragon
The marine ecosystems of Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf, including the waters to Kangaroo Island, are among the most diverse in the world because of their estuarine nature. The species density of both plant and animal life is around fifty times more varied than on the Great Barrier Reef. Desalination plants will harm these environments with their discharges of hyper-saline brine and chemical wastes.
The Port Stanvac desalination plant
Environmentalists Ruth Trigg and Professor Diane Bell will officiate at the Embassy opening and a large crowd is expected to witness the first opening of an activists’ Embassy in a building.
They will be joined by the Save Our Gulf Coalition and the Water Action Coalition and other community and environmental organisations.
The expected crowd will be entertained with two new songs about the desalination plant campaign, one to the music of Beatles favourite Ticket To Ride by local group The Dudleys, and River Song by Steve Foster.
(L-R) Professor Diane Bell, Corrie Vaderhoek and Ruth Trigg
According to Ruth Trigg, the discharge from the Port Stanvac Desalination Plant of hyper-saline brine and chemical wastes will do enormous damage to marine life.
“These deadly cocktails cannot disperse within the shallow, slow-moving Gulf waters,” she said.
“Independent researchers at Flinders University have shown that the change of a small range of parts per million in salinity can kill fish eggs.
“The fish nurseries in the mangroves at St Kilda are north of the desalination plant at Port Stanvac and these stocks face threat as they migrate south through the Gulf.
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Doing a De Groot — but the dogs don’t look too impressed
Incredible confusion surrounded the re-opening of the upgraded Semaphore jetty, so a group of community-minded residents took matters into their own hands and declared it officially open.
Despite newspaper and radio reports that Transport Minister Pat Conlon would be opening the jetty on Friday July 16, nobody had been able confirm it.
Local social history videographer Peter O’Grady knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to do a De Groot and he could record it.
At its official opening on 19 March 1932, before NSW Premier John ‘Jack’ T. Lang could cut the ribbon to open the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Captain Francis De Groot, of the right-wing political group the New Guard, dashed forward on his horse and slashed the ribbon with his sword.
De Groot believed that the only person to open the bridge should be a member of the royal family. There was a scuffle with police, de Groot was detained, the ribbon was tied back together and the Premier then officially cut it.
“I’ve checked with the Port Adelaide Visitor Information Centre and staff at the office of Mark Butler MP and they say that Minister Conlon’s staff said they knew nothing of an official opening of the jetty today,” said Peter.
“So let’s get some ribbon and scissors and just go down to the jetty and open it unofficially.”
[Read more …]
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Semaphore’s first-ever Winter Solstice Feast in the Masonic Hall was widely applauded by 100 paying guests, great entertainers, chefs and other volunteers as an event that’s here to stay — we’re making it an annual fixture.
Guests paid $50 a head with a substantial part of the proceeds going to the future operation of the all volunteer Semaphore Information/Eco Centre.
Judy and David with their delicious osso bucco
Chefs Judy from Phore Seasons and David from Semaphore Pantry, Sarah’s Sister’s Sustainable Cafe cook Stuart and Abby from The Corner Store delicatessen gave their services free to prepare a sumptuous menu.
Wines from Adelaide Cellar Door and Coopers beer quenched the thirst of all the guests who were not driving on the night, while others settled for water and soft drinks.
Entertainment included local band The Dudleys and one of Australia’s great singer/songwriters, Steve Foster, who performed a 12th century English folk song.
Druid serving wenches in black robes and cloaks later paraded recycled winter fashions from Sumadi on Semaphore Road.
In keeping with the Centre’s mission, it was an all-candlelit dinner to conserve energy
Speakers on the night’s topic, A Taste of the Future, included Education Minister Jay Weatherill, Dr Mike Bossley from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Centre, Dr Paul Downton on Christie Walk, Bob Catchlove on Plains to Plate and guests also got to talk with representatives of Transition Adelaide West and Conservation Council SA.
Lots of feedback from guests included requests for more entertainment, including pagan rites and a touch of debauchery, together with universal praise for the food and wine and all the hard-working volunteers.
All will be considered when planning starts for our 2011 Winter Solstice Feast.
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Aaron Machado
Conservation SA also presented its Unsung Hero Award to educator, environmentalist and campaigner Richard Smith.
The Jill Hudson Award recognises people who have made an outstanding contribution to environmental protection over the previous 12 months and faced significant challenges in doing so.
Aaron Machado, 31, was recognised for his exceptional work in the area of marine wildlife rescue; he is in the United States at the moment helping wildlife rescuers in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sue Reynolds and her students from 2009 were recognised for their work in raising community awareness about the impacts of stormwater pollution on Adelaide’s coastline with a short film on Adelaide’s metropolitan coastline called Leave Only Footprints, which was shown at a community forum. The film has also been nominated for a National Land Care Award.
Julie Pettett, CEO of Conservation SA, said “We were absolutely delighted with the strength of the nominees for this year’s Awards.
“As is the case every year, the breadth of work undertaken by both individuals and groups is inspiring and a testament to the strength of community effort to bring about good environmental outcomes. The winners of the Awards this year are truly worthy of Jill Hudson’s legacy.”
Richard Smith, of Torrensville, received Conservation SA’s Unsung Hero Award for his commitment and dedication to some of the most urgent environmental issues of our time.
He plays a key role in the environment movement in South Australia and is a worthy recipient of the award.
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Here’s a great film night for environmentalists staged by Transition Adelaide West who are doing sterling work in the fight to save our planet.
Come and see what the Transition fuss is all about. See how communities around the world are responding to peak oil and climate change with creativity, imagination and humour, and how they are setting about rebuilding their local economies and communities.
Local soup and organic bread will be available after the film for $4.
Sunday 20th June: doors open 5:00pm, screening starts 5:30pm.
Masonic Hall, 66 Semaphore Road, Semaphore.
Sponsored by Sarah’s Sister’s Sustainable Café.
Donations collected at the door will help to cover costs and raise funds for Transition Adelaide West Initiative.
Email Transition Adelaide West here for more information or to register your attendance.
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For a unique Port experience don’t miss our unique Winter Solstice Feast at the Masonic Hall on Semaphore Road with a sumptuous menu, biodynamic wines and guest speakers Josie Agius, Dr Mike Bossley, Dr Paul Downton, Education Minister Jay Weatherill, Joel Catchlove, Kalyna Micenko, Bob Daly, Stuart Gifford and me — John Williams.
Auntie Josie Agius with Judith Nicholson
Whale and dolphin expert Dr Mike Bossley (left) and Dr Paul Downton
Get a reminder of our past with Josie Agius and a taste of our future with our other guest speakers and you, ranging across many topics including:
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