New Branch on the Mornington Peninsula Victoria

The Australian Surfrider Foundation has recently established a branch on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. The new group is seeking to address the serious degradation of the surfing environment on the Peninsula. We have some of the best cool water waves in the country, but serious damage has been caused by a combination of unrestrained development, government policy and degradation caused by unregulated use of this precious resource.

Peninsula Surf
The Mornington Peninsula was formed around 8-10,000 years ago during the retreat of the last Ice Age. During that time the southern seas rose and the areas which used to be swamps and lakes were transformed into Port Phillip and Westernport Bay. Westernport now features a wide range of basalt and mudstone reefs which extend from Balnarring Point around the edge of the Bay and down to Flinders. Where the Bay opens out to the ocean at Flinders there are broad, basalt reefs facing Bass Strait which offer great waves in a range of swell conditions. Sand dunes have formed around the southern, ocean face of the Peninsula between Gunnamatta and Portsea.

The Peninsula features a wide range of surfing conditions. In summer with the smaller swell conditions the sand bars pump, while in autumn and winter the reef breaks can hold anything between 3 and occasionally up to 10 feet.

The cool waters of the south and these broadly ranging geological conditions have facilitated a rich, diverse and delicate ecosystem.

Gunnamatta Outfall
Gunnamatta Beach is about an hour and a half south of Melbourne. The beach has been created by the banking of sand deposits over limestone shelves. It has beautiful dry scrub, low-level vegetation, high sand-dunes and occasional limestone cliffs. The beach is bordered on the eastern end by the rugged topography of Cape Shanck and stretches westward through thirty kilometres of wild open ocean beaches toward Portsea and the Port Phillip Bay Heads.

The beach faces the southwesterly swells that rise out of the Southern Ocean into Bass Strait. These heavy swells form sand banks and deep gutters. The banks can hold swells of up to 6-8 feet but are generally firing between 3-6 feet. These banks are generally more reliable, stronger and more predictable than the Pacific coast banks in New South Wales and Queensland. They can produce thick lips and some very hard, powerful tubes.

About twenty years ago the Victorian Government decided to use Gunnammatta Beach as an effluent waste dump. Since that time, the environment of the beach has been devastated. The flush of faeces, heavy metals and industrial toxins continues to pose a serious threat to this delicate marine environment.

In addition, huge volumes of non-salted water are pumped into the ocean outfall every day in order to dilute these pollutants. In doing so, Melbourne Water is able to disguise the magnitude of the problem by claiming that levels of pollutants in the outfall meet current environmental standards.

This has virtually destroyed the marine vegetation, shellfish and fish life in a fan of death that spreads kilometres out to sea. Virtually the whole of the Eastern Melbourne sewerage system flows into Gunnammatta Beach.

Shellfish
The Mornington Peninsula has been formed around three major geological features. First, is the limestone core around which the major western dunes and sandy beaches have formed. The second feature is made up of the granite based up-lifts and reefs which stretch through Main Ridge and down to Cape Shanck. The third feature is the series of residual volcanic uplifts and lava flows which form the major reefs on the west of Cape Shanck, through to Flinders and some parts of Western Port Bay.

These basalt reefs have been populated by significant marine vegetation, fish groups, crustaceans (crayfish, crabs) and shellfish. One shellfish, in particular, the abalone, has become a very popular food delicacy and supports a major export industry.

These reefs hold huge winter swells. Some of the Flinders reefs will hold waves of varying quality up to 10 and 12 feet, though the best waves (Meanos and Cyrils) are really pumping at 4-6 foot. There are some great, short but punchy tubes on these waves.

Further up in Westernport Bay, reefs like Pines, Honeysuckle and Suicide Point will hold just about anything the ocean can deal up. They are all high quality waves that allow Mornington Peninsula surfers to experience a variety of swell and wave type conditions.

The life and ecosystem of these reefs have been threatened by serious overfishing. The State government has finally banned the harvesting of shellfish. The Surfrider Foundation together with all surfers must take action to prevent any further removal of shellfish from our reefs. It is our responsibility to keep our seas alive.

Sea Grasses
Industrial development at the head of Westernport Bay, residential development along the coastal fringe, and contamination of creeks and waterways with agricultural fertilisers have all led to serious ecological damage within Westernport Bay. With oil tankers now moving in and out of the Bay, the risk of spills constantly threatens this vulnerable ecosystem.

One major effect of development has been the destruction of the once lush sea grass beds which are fundamental to the survival of the whole network of marine life forms in Westernport. It's been estimated that something like 70-80 percent of the original sea grass beds have been destroyed over the past couple of decades.

Surfers who love the Bay and still rejoice in occasional visits by whales dolphins, seals and fairy penguins need to fight against the devastating effects of development. Raise your consciousness. Insist on tighter controls for industry and agriculture. Oppose all further industrial, tourist and agricultural development.