Nine Mile Beach has emerged as one of the state’s most popular 4WD destinations in recent years, but with it has come a reputation for being one of the Hunter’s biggest dump sites.
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Local residents are furious that the idyllic stretch of coastline between Redhead and Belmont is routinely left strewn with tonnes of litter and debris following holiday weekends.
Car parts, discarded camping equipment, shoes, broken surfboards, ice bags, mattresses, takeaway food containers and broken bottles make up the majority of the waste.
Partially-burnt wooden pallets containing nails were a particular problem for those cleaning up the mess.
“It has got a lot worse since the beach was promoted as a destination to 4WD owners in Sydney. You are lucky not to get run over on weekends and school holidays now, there are 4WDs everywhere,” Jarryd Duffey from Marks Point said.
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Mr Duffey is among a group of locals who do their best to keep the beach clean.
They had removed an estimated 13 box trailer loads of rubbish from between Blacksmiths and Jewells in recent days. And the job is still not finished.
“It’s not just to make it clean, it also needs to be safe. We surf there all the time and we are always walking over smashed bottles that have been left behind,” Mr Duffey said.
Visitors to the Pride in Our Backyard – Redhead to Blacksmiths Facebook page also vented their fury at those who had wilfully polluted the premier strip of Hunter coastline.
“Wish all the tourists would go away, all of you have stuffed it. Ten years ago we could surf and fish the place alone,” one user commented.
It has got a lot worse since the beach was promoted as a destination to 4WD owners in Sydney. You are lucky not to get run over on weekends and school holidays now, there are 4WDs everywhere."
- Jarryd Duffey, Marks Point
“How can the place handle hundreds of 4X4 and campers most weekends...we had a locked gate back then and couple of cat tracks the locals would use for access.”
Management of the beach, which classified as Crown Land, is overseen by the Belmont Wetlands State Park Board.
Four wheel drive visitors are required to display a permit pass on their vehicle and abide by NSW road rules.
Five compliance officers are employed to patrol the beach.
Board secretary Grahame Feletti acknowledged the beach’s popularity had increased significantly in recent years among both legal and illegal users.
“We had well over 550 4WDs pass through the gates on new year’s eve. We suspect quite a few others accessed the beach via bush tracks,” Mr Feletti said.
In addition, compliance officers also counted 137 camp sites across the beach.
“This is now the only beach in the region where camping is allowed. It is no doubt attracting people who previously went to Stockton Beach,” Mr Feletti said.
Despite the mess that some left behind, Mr Feletti said he was pleased most took the time to deposit their rubbish at a waste bin.
Compliance officers have the power to issue fines ranging from $75 to $225 for offences including littering, riding motorbikes on the dunes, dangerous driving, not having a permit, disobeying signage and regulations and driving across vegetation.
Mr Feletti was unable to provide details of how many infringement notices were issued in recent days, but said compliance officers were focused on educating visitors rather than fining them.
“Fines are issued for obvious infringements but we prefer to educate people about appropriate behaviour where possible,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Mr Feletti said there were no plans to ban or restrict 4WD access to the beach.
“It’s a shared resource for our region and we have to look after it,” he said.
“We need to stop the small number of drivers who are driving over fauna and fences.”
Police also had a major presence on the beach on New Year’s Eve.
“We had no issues at all; everyone was extremely well behaved,” chief inspector Dave Matthews said.
He said police estimated there were 500 vehicles on the beach between Third Creek and Blacksmiths.
“We did notice that the demographic was changing. Last year there were more families and this year there were more younger campers,” he said.
While camping is prohibited on Stockton Beach, National Parks and Wildlife Service rangers said they were generally pleased with the behaviour of visitors to the area in recent days.
“The majority of park visitors to Stockton Beach adhere to safety and warning signs and enjoyed their visit to the area with their families,” a spokeswoman said
“There were some park visitors who drove in out-of-bound areas and these drivers were issued infringement notices.”
The number of infringement notices issued was unavailable as they were still being processed.
The spokeswoman said there had not been a significant increase in rubbish.
“The Worimi Conservation Lands Board and the National Parks and Wildlife Service is grateful for community efforts that help keep our beaches clear of rubbish,” she said.
“Keeping vehicles off the dune gives it the best possible chance to rebuild and rehabilitate and protects important cultural sites.”
The state’s peak 4WD association recently defended its members’ behaviour on Hunter beaches
“Four wheel drive users tend to be pretty big targets for people who don’t like us but the truth is 99 percent of 4WDs on the beach would be families,” NSW and ACT 4WD Association president Craig Thomas said.
“If there are 100 vehicles on the beach, 99 per cent of them would be doing the right thing.”