This land was bequeathed to the people of Clare.
It could be a great asset for residents and visitors, but at present it
is on the way to becoming badly degraded.
I urge concerned people to walk over this land and see for themselves
how it is being looked after.
A motocross/enduro event was held on this reserve during the wet
weekend of the 28th and 29th of April 2007.
The land is mostly on hillsides and is very susceptible to erosion.
It will quickly become
stony
and barren if the sort of treatment it has
recently had is allowed to continue.
The photos on this page almost tell the story on their own.
Right...
Some of the land that has been used as a motocross track for years
The land is opposite the Clare Cemetery on Benny's Hill Road.
It borders on the historic
Wolta Wolta homestead lands.
It could be a beautiful and valuable park used for picnicking, barbeques,
walking, horse riding and cycling.
There are other possibilities too, establishment of an arboretum is one that
would not be very costly.
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Right...
A new 'enduro' track has been spread over a large part of the public reserve
Much of the damage is not so bad at present that it is irreversible.
Once the soil is washed off the hillside tracks,
see below, repare will be enormously
more costly, if not impossible.
Right...
The track on the right of this photo
apparently became too rough, so the motorbike riders
simply started a new track on previously grassed ground, exposing a new
area to future erosion.
There is a parking bay opposite the cemetery. A locked gate just above
the parking bay provides access. The land is public, visitors can climb
through the fence.
Right...
Part of the track (and/or firebreak) that has been allowed to become badly
rutted.
The council is responsible for looking after this land on behalf of the
people of Clare. Are they fulfilling their responsibility?
Surely they must stop further damage such as that shown in this page.
Right...
The land overlooks the valley of Clare township.
This view of Wolta Wolta and Clare can be seen from one boundary of the
reserve.
Another part of the reserve gives even more expansive views of the valley.
Right...
Where the old part of the
motor cycle track is on hillsides most of the soil has been
washed away exposing stony ground like this.
All the area that has recently be 'ploughed up' will eventually be degraded
to this point if the land is not protected.
Right...
Some of the newly ploughed-up land of the enduro track.
Any more rain on this ground, now loose and unprotected by grass, will cause
destructive erosion.
Right...
More of the newly damaged land of the enduro track
Right...
Extensively damaged land on the public reserve
Right...
I don't need to say anything, do I?
Right...
This was a grassy hillside
Right...
This land belongs to all the people of Clare, not just the motorcycle
club members. Should it be treated like this?
Page created by David Clarke
All photos on this page were by me
email daveclarkecb@yahoo.com
