Ralphs Bay: As It Is

I live in a beautiful area on Tasmania’s South East coast called Clifton Beach. Just 10 minutes up the road is Ralphs Bay. Below is an image of the bay at sunset. As you can see it is most defiantly not a filthy, reeking empty space.

Ralphs bay is home to many migrating shore birds, the critically endangered spotted hand fish and its most loyal companion who stays year round, the pied oyster catcher. Unfortunately for these creatures their habitat may not exist for much longer. The birds that live in this habitat can’t just get up and fly to the next area, why? Because there are already birds every where else. These birds have families; they stay with their partner for the whole of their life and fly from Japan and china to get to Ralphs Bay each year. I feel they deserve to live on the bay much more than we do.

Walker Corporation’s canal estate proposal has dramatically shaken the surrounding communities. Walker plans on drenching the bay and building islands for housing there instead. Many people think it is a good idea because they do not realise what the bay offers. If Ralphs bay is ripped up it will affect all of the Derwent estuary and possibly make many close beaches un-swimmable during the period of building. Let’s remember how long that is going to take, about 19 years. Canal estates like this have been banned in NSW, which is why Walker is now proposing one in Tasmania, Because Tasmanian’s don’t realise how dodgy they are. They cannot guarantee that after a certain amount of years the estate will still be standing, it may in fact begin to collapse and my generation will be the ones who have to clean up Walker’s mess. Walker is also using this as a gate way, which will allow them to develop more of Tasmania’s beautiful landscapes. 

And how lovely it would be to live out on the island surrounded by water, boats and big houses. But make sure you don’t own a car because it will most likely rust in a couple of years due to the salt and heavy winds which circle the bay. Often on a slightly windy day when I get out of my car at the shop opposite the bay I struggle to walk as the wind is so heavy and insane in this area. So you can forget owning a washing line, sun baking in the sun, riding your bike, having a garden, and wearing a dress if you are one of the billionaires who plan on moving into the canal estate.

Tasmania is famous for its old growth forests, colonial buildings and its amazing coast lines if we take these away, we have nothing to offer the rest of the world then what would happen to our tourism industries?

My opinion is educated; I have been to Ralphs bay rallies, read all of the websites and pamphlets from Walker Corporation and the Save Ralphs Bay Committee and been to the bay to see everything for my self.

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