Winter Issue – August 2012 SANDRINGHAM FORESHORE ASSOCIATION (SFA) Founded January 2007 ABN 42947116512 A CHARITABLE NOT FOR PROFIT VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION SFA PO Box 52 Sandringham 3191 E-mail: sandyforeshore@optusnet.com.au Website www.sandyforeshore.net.au UPCOMING EVENTS:

Threatened Species Day Bayside City Council is proud to present an evening with Susanne Dennings of the Malleefowl Preservation Group. Susanne will talk about the formation and success of the Malleefowl Preservation Group and the fascinating and rare Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata).

Friday 7 September 2012, 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm Where:

Beaumaris Community Centre Hall, 96 Reserve Road, Beaumaris

Cost: Free (Light snacks and drinks will be provided)

Who should attend: All Bayside volunteers and community members interested  in  Australia’s  natural  environment

RSVP: Monday 3 September

Email: brighter@bayside.vic.gov.au or Contact: Joe Lockhart on 03 9599 4682

Bayside City Council have organised an evening with a guest speaker to celebrate National Threatened Species Day on 7 September. The speaker, Susanne Dennings, was a founding member of a grassroots conservation group - the Malleefowl Preservation Group. This group began in a small community in Western Australia in the early 1990's and today have grown into a very successful volunteer-run group, with over 2000 members doing great work to conserve Australia's natural environment. Susanne will be speaking on the formation and growth of the group as well as the Malleefowl itself, a nationally endangered species. Members of the Sandringham Foreshore Association are invited to attend, as well as any other community members who would be interested. Community groups are welcome to bring along some materials/display information from their own group, to set up on the evening. It is hoped to be a great way for volunteers and community groups to get together and share experiences. Bayside City Council SFA value our relationship with Bayside City Council who meet with us on a regular basis to raise any concerns about our local beaches and to discuss areas that require attention. If you have any concerns, feel free to write to us: sandyforeshore@optusnet.com.au Bayside’s  Coastal  Management  Plan  – Open Coast: 25 and 26 August 2012 Bayside City Council is preparing a Coastal Management Plan for the foreshore that will address management, use and development issues. The foreshore is the most highly valued open space within the City and this is your opportunity to assist us in developing a plan that will set priorities for action over the next ten years. To launch this exciting project, we would like to invite you and your members to attend our Open Coast weekend. This event is being held over two days on

Saturday 25 August and Sunday 26 August and is the first of several opportunities for you to be involved in the preparation of the Coastal Management Plan. The Open Coast weekend will consist of Listening Posts at five locations along the Bayside foreshore. The five sites are as follows: Day 1: Saturday 25 August

1.00 pm Ricketts Point (car park B18), Beaumaris 3.00 pm Half Moon Bay (car park B14), Black Rock

Day 2: Sunday 26 August 11.00 am Jetty Road (car park B8), Sandringham Harbour, Sandringham

1.00 pm Green Point (car park B4), Brighton 3.00 pm Middle Brighton Baths (car park B2), Brighton

At each site, you will have an opportunity to meet with consultants from Urban Initiatives  and  Council  staff  and  ‘walk  and  talk’  for  approximately  one  hour.  We want to hear from you about what is important to you on the coast and how you would like to see the issues managed in the future. You can attend all sessions, or pick a location that is particularly important to you (at a time that suits). Each walk will be no more than 1000 metres. A survey will also be available during the walk, as well as on-line  at  Council’s  website www.bayside.vic.gov.au in early August. Following on from the Open Coast weekend, there will be further opportunities to be involved in a range of community consultation and engagement activities. We look forward to your involvement in this important project.

Fossils at Sandringham beach - Ophiomorpha nodosa

Identified by Professor John Buckeridge

John Buckeridge is Professor of Natural Resources Engineering at RMIT University, Melbourne. He is Past President of the International Union of Biological Sciences, President Emeritus of the International Society of Zoological Sciences, Honorary professor of Engineering Ethics at Wismar University of Business, Technology and Design (Germany) and an Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Publications exceed 300 – in professional ethics, environmental impact assessment, geotechnology, and the palaeobiology, evolution and distribution of marine invertebrates. The SFA were privileged to have Professor Buckeridge visit our local foreshore and cliffs to view the numerous fossils. We discovered a fossilised tree and many fossils of the ichnofossil, a series of burrows. The following is an extract from Professor Buckeridge’s journal article on the Ophiomorpha nodosa: "An ichnofossil is a classification of convenience. It represents the activities of animals, rather than the skeletal or soft-tissue remains of an animal. Nonetheless, if the material included in an ichnogenus has consistency in form

and it is likely that it was made by a single species, it can be useful in palaeoecology. The term Ophiomorpha was originally coined by Nilsson (1836) to describe fossilized burrows. However as Nilsson failed to provide a formal description, his name lapsed and became a nomen nudum. In 1891 Swedish palaeontologist Bernhard Lundgren addressed this omission. Lundgren (1891) described two forms of trace fossils from southern Sweden which he placed in the ichnogenus Ophiomorpha. The material he had collected was not in situ and he assigned both varieties to a single ichnospecies: Ophiomorpha nodosa Lundgren, 1891. The first form consists of cylindrical to slightly conical objects with a nodose outer surface. On the whole, these are relatively straight and are about 25 mm in diameter with lengths of up to a metre. The second form consists of external molds, sometimes preserved with smooth core. Between the core and the mold is a space up to 2 mm. The mold is characterized by 2–5 mm pits and is typically wider than high. Maximum and minimum diameters of the molds vary from 16×7mm to 28×17mm, while maximum preserved length is 25 cm. This second form of O. nodosa is straight to slightly curved and may also branch. Apparently, they were derived from a ferruginous sedimentary rock (Andersson, 1981)."

Ichnospecies: Ophiomorpha nodosa - note burrows imprinted within iron rich local  Sandringham  “Beaumaris  sandstone” – formerly known as “Black Rock sandstone”

Note burrows in stone

Petrified tree trunk embedded in stone

Aborigines at Half Moon Bay – their life and Heritage – Thank you to all who attended On June 2nd 2012, the Sandringham Foreshore Association celebrated National Reconciliation Week at Half Moon Bay, as part of their acknowledgement of the Boonwurrung people who are the Traditional Custodians of our local land. SFA were proud to host this community event which was officially opened by Bayside City Council Deputy Mayor, Clifford Hayes, and held at the Half Moon Bay Lifesaving Club. The event went exceptionally well with over 100 people attending. Unfortunately a further 50 or more people waited outside the initial venue which was crowded, before joining the beach-walk activities. The large number of attendees is a tribute to growing interest in local Boonwurrung Aboriginal culture.

SFA are grateful to our speakers respected Boonwurrung Elder Carolyn Briggs and Dr Valerie Tarrant for making the event a success: both gave outstanding presentations which were much appreciated and valued by all.

Here are some photos of the event:

Dr Valerie Tarrant

Boonwurrung Elder Carolyn Briggs with Vicki Karalis

Bayside City Council Deputy Mayor, Clifford Hayes

Dr Valerie Tarrant leading the walk along the Half Moon Bay foreshore

We hope you have enjoyed reading the SFA Winter newsletter. All the very best to you and your families over the coming winter & spring. Yours with kindness Dr Vicki Karalis, SFA President & committee members: Helen Gibson, Adrienne Smith, Alison Horton, Paul Hede, John Amiet, Craig Francis, and Ruby Campbell-Beschorner