The evidence of human intrusions into the visual landscape of Stockton Bight has included the shipwrecked Sygna’s stern which, although a tourist attraction since 1974, is gradually eroding close to shore.
Nearby, semi-permanent and held together as a consequence of native plant life… the dynamic dunes shift with the seasons. Granule by granule, these 32 kilometres of magnificent mounds are wind sculpted and encompass the largest continuous mobile coastal sand mass in the Southern Hemisphere.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, a small community of squatter shacks, nicknamed Tin City, was jury-rigged in the dunes. While today, as part of the ever increasing attempts to lure more holidayers duneside, resort accommodations are under construction behind perimeter fencing.
Will future developments progressively intrude on the terra-not-so-firma or will Nature steadily reclaim her beleaguered territory? Perhaps only time will tell.
— Didi S. Gilson, Anna Bay, New South Wales, Australia
