rottnest island - rifle range swamp revisited
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8/14/2019 Rottnest Island - Rifle Range Swamp Revisited
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19/05/09 9:02 AMFremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia
Page 1 of 2http://fremantlebiz.livejournal.com/2009/05/19/
Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia
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Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Time Event8:19a Rottnest Island - Rifle Range Swamp revisited
It’s six o’clock on the rocket clock and I thought I could hear rain on the roof, but it was in my imagination - this May hasbeen the driest for Perth and Fremantle since 1876. However, the weather boffins still reckon there will be someprecipitative relief some time today.
It’s been a dry year for Rottnest too. It’s really evident with some of the lakes and swamps. In late April this year werevisited Rifle Range Swamp. It had the misfortune to be located where in 1960 a bunch of twentieth century eco-vandalswith the logistical assistance of the Australian Army decided to create a golf course. In April 1965 the rolling gladesbecame overlooked by a jerry-built ‘Country Club’ They were proud times.
During my numerous visits to Rottnest I’ve rarely seen anyone playing golf and very little sign of activity at the Country
Club. The recent draft management plan for the island revealed the facility has become something of a ‘white elephant’and they are getting short on ideas:
“The RIA is developing the Country Club primarily for small and medium-sized meetings. Innovative winter packages could be
developed around events such as heritage tourism, bridge tournaments or walking tours. The RIA will also examine other opportunities
to fill rooms throughout the year through innovative marketing and rental strategies.” ( Draft Rottnest Island Management Plan 2009-
2014 - Page 45).
Bridge tournaments? Zzzzz! Maybe they could turn it into a bordello? That’d cause some real excitement.
In April the golfing greens were brown and crisp and even. - the grass sort of crunched underfoot as we made our way towhat is left of Rifle Range Swamp. It was not a pretty sight. The swamp was almost dry, apart from a toxic looking saltylick on the northern side.
Rifle Range Swamp - April 2009
Before the twentieth century eco-vandals began redesigning the natural landscape the swamp was in much better shape andapparently presented a more reliable, cleaner source of brackish of water to local fauna throughout the hot summers. Butthe drainage ditch from the swamp to Garden Lake has done its job. No longer are any occasional golfers in danger of getting their Niblicks dirty.
I took some photos of Rifle Range Swamp in October 2008 - last year. I wrote up some observations for Fremantlebiz on11 November 2008.
The remnant pond which informally bears the name of some ambiguous (presumably golfing) individual was full and the
exotic-introduced grass was greener as a result of the preceding winter rainfall, but even so there were very few golferssighted during our multiple visits over a two week period. The picture alongside is of the drainage ditch which leads fromthe original swamp area to nearby Garden Lake, which is at the back of the main settlement.
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8/14/2019 Rottnest Island - Rifle Range Swamp Revisited
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19/05/09 9:02 AMFremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia
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Rifle Range Swamp and drainage ditch - October 2008
© MMIX Paul R. Weaver.
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