Friends of North Bruny facilitates cooperation between North Bruny’s communities, government and other organisations. Find out more about north Bruny Island – what to do, where to go.
Around 35 to 40 old tyres are buried in the sand or seabed on a very special section of Isthmus Bay. They seem to be left over from some aquaculture operation.
We’re going to get rid of them.
Meet on Bruny Island Main Road, just south of Porpoise Head, which is just south of Fancy Bay. It’s about 1.5 km south of the airstrip. We’ll set up at a bend in the road – look for the Landcare sign. We’ll be on a nature strip on the eastern side of the road, where you can park.
We will have the help of Paul Davies (many thanks Paul), who owns the property to the south and will help us cart the tyres away.
Wear gumboots if you have them, and bring robust gloves. (Old radial tyres can have wire sticking out of them.) We will also need a few picks and shovels, and the odd bag for plastics and weeds.
After a hard but rewarding tyre removal expedition, you can mosey on down to the Easter Carnival at Alonnah. Or you can just go home, exhausted, and feel satisfied with your contribution.
Remember, people in the city pay serious money to move tyres around at fancy gyms.
It is with great sadness that we record the death of our friend and FONB committee member Gerard Castles who passed away unexpectedly last Monday 31 March. Gerard was doing what he loved, bushwalking in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park.
Gerard was our Vice-President from 2017 to 2024, and a great contributor to the work of FONB.
He and his family – his wife Shayne and children Conor and Sarah – were ’shackies’ in Killora, and neighbours of Richard Flanagan. Like Richard, Gerard was angered by the degradation of their lifestyle in Killora by the Tassal salmon leases opposite, and by the degradation of the Channel as a whole by the salmon industry. He founded the Killora Community Association to speak out against the industry, and was its chief spokesperson. That led to him becoming involved in the Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection (TAMP) and Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF), and recently in supporting Peter George, former President of TAMP and NOFF, in running as an independent candidate for the Federal seat of Franklin in the forthcoming Federal election. He helped organise many protests, including the Salmon Out protest at Coningham in 2023 and the recent Verona Sands rally last month, and frequently spoke at such events.
Another focus of his activism in recent years was the campaign against a helicopter tourism proposal for Lake Malbena in the Central Highlands.
Gerard was never content to just complain; he would act. And he would bring to this his professional skills as a communicator, facilitator and strategic thinker. In recent weeks he was contributing to discussions on the island about how to address over tourism on Bruny, which had been a concern of his and within FONB for some time.
Alex Matysek, committee member and former President of FONB, captured the moment in a short tribute this week – ‘Our community has lost a giant mind, a beautiful person and a warrior environmentalist. His death while trekking in his heart country is so poignant, but we will all remember him for his passion and conviction for our environmental causes and his enthusiastic commitment to lead our Bruny communities. He lived life to the full with his family, friends, causes and work.’
We send our condolences to Shayne, Conor and Sarah.
In late March SeaLink released a winter 2025 timetable (effective from 5th May).
We asked our members, and the wider Bruny community for feedback so that we could explore these changes and the impact on our community. Thank you to everyoe who contacted us – very consistent concerns. We have distilled these into a letter which has been sent to SeaLink and key decision makers.
The Bruny Island Ferry Reference Group (BIFG) also met earlier this week and we are hopeful that a workable outcome will be reached. Thanks to our community members who volunteer their time on the BIFRG.
Friends of North Bruny submitted this representation and supporting information to to Kingborough Council in replation to the Draft Planning Scheme
L to Ricght Bob Graham (BIEN), Teisha Archer and Tammy Price (BICA) Jan Richards and Simon Allston (FONB)
We also met with representatives from Bruny Island Community Association (BICA) and Bruny Island Environment Network (BIEN) (photo above) and developed a joint representation from the three organisations.
The 2024 Friends of North Bruny AGM will be held on Saturday 19 October at the Dennes Point Community Centre (the Hall!) commencing at 10 am. The AGM will be followed by a General Meeting where there wil be an opportunity to discuss a number of current and emerging topics including the Draft Kingborough Council Planning Scheme. The General Meeting will end at 11.15 am. The Agenda and Annual Report are available to download.
At 11.45 am the North Bruny Land and Coastcare Group will present on ‘Towards a Weedless North Bruny’ with speakers Scott Corben (Kingborough Council) and Jim Mulchay (Mulchay Planning and Property Services). Jim has prepared a Weed Mapping Document for Dennes Point and Barnes Bay as a starting point in discussions.
Pop Saturday 19th October in your diary for the Friends of North Bruny Annual General Meeting which will be held at Lennon Memorial Hall, Dennes Point.
The AGM will commence at 10.30 am and will be followed by a Presentation- further details coming soon.
A one hour walk and talk by local historian, Suzanne Smythe, followed by a trivia session to test what may have been learned.
Meet at Lennon Memorial Hall, Dennes Point at 2.00 p.m.
Suzanne will lead, indicating some of the points of interest and what used to be.
At 3.00 p.m. we will return to the Hall for some tricky trivia and a few juicy stories.
Tables of around 6 to 8 would work best.
Make up a North Bruny-themed name for the team on the table and consider appointing a spokesperson.
If you would like to pre-order a café pizza to be ready for our return to the Hall please place your order at the café before we head off on the walk. Teams are also encouraged to arrange some finger food and refreshments for their table to sustain them through the trivia ordeal.
There will be 2 rounds of questions and some more historical insights shared by Suzanne… and there will be prizes!
If you can’t make the walk and wish to take part in the trivia quiz, just arrange to join a table; the quiz should be starting around 3.15pm
you should expect a response to confirm your booking.
$10 per person; (cash preferred on the day but card payment will be possible). Proceeds to be donated to assist in the replacement of the front door of the Community Hall.
Suzanne Smythe’s books on local history will be available for sale.
This is a joint venture by Bruny Island History Room and Friends of North Bruny
There’s good reason to be worried about the possibility of bushfire this summer. Winter has been much drier than usual, and the summer also promises to be hot and dry.
Members of the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) are coming to North Bruny on Sunday, 12 November, to participate in a community meeting about bushfire preparedness. The meeting will also involve representatives from Tasmania Police and Kingborough Council Emergency Management.
The North Bruny meeting will be held at the Dennes Point Community Hall, between 9.30 and 11.30 am and will involve:
Fire behaviour specialists discussing how bushfires behave, and the on-ground operations we might expect
Police discussing evacuation capacity and planning
Information from Kingborough Council Emergency Management staff
and importantly:
information addressing the specific needs of residents, shackies and tourism business owners
a Q & A panel discussing and sharing local experience and observations
observations on the use of TFS’s Bushfire Readiness Challenge Program
You may also wish to see a copy of the TFS Community Bushfire Protection Plan for Bruny Island, which will be discussed at the meeting. This can be viewed here.
I encourage you to come to the meeting, as part of becoming properly prepared for the fire season, and as part of planning how you and your household and our wider community can best stay safe in the event of wildfire in our vicinity.
“From Whales to Ice; challenges in ocean governance”
11.30am – 1.00pm
FONB members and new members welcome to attend the AGM
All Committee Positions open for election
All are welcome to attend the public talk at 11.30am
Dr Nick Gales
Nick Gales is a global leader in marine and polar environmental science, policy, and management. Among his many career highlights, Nick has led Australia’s Antarctic Program and been Australia’s Chief Antarctic Scientist and Chief Science Advisor to Australia’s Department of Environment. He has also served as President of the international Society of Marine Mammalogy.
Nick is currently Australia’s Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission and Vice-Chair of the International Whaling Commission.
Come and hear a distinguished resident of North Bruny speak on environmental issues of global significance which are facing our oceans.
The inaugural meeting of the North Bruny Island Book Club (working title!) was held on Tuesday, 7th March 2023.
As part of Tasmania Reads It was decided that participants should bring along and discuss books with a distinctly Tasmanian flavour – author or setting, fiction or non-fiction. A surprising variety of books were offered for discourse.
Here’s a round up to add to your list of ‘next reads’:
Thylacine conspiracy (2003) by Bill Cromer In thisamazing book , you will feel as though you are racing along with the characters. A thrill a minute as the hero tries to find the Thylacine Tiger and comes up against an elaborate conspiracy, undiscovered murders, and a killer that will make you shudder. Bill Cromer gets you so involved you just can’t stop turning pages.
Not Quite Tasmanian (2021) by Demelza is a collection of poems that takes us on an accidental journey through life. It is an observation of people and places – of food and thoughts and inevitable events such as birth, death, and education. The poet never professes to get it right but discovers with reflection, sadness and a great deal of humour, how to cope, or not, with everyday tasks. June entertained us by reading ‘Ode to the Tasmanian puffer jacket’ – something we could all relate to!
Those snake island kids (2012) by Jon Tucker – a book reminiscent of Swallows and Amazons about kids and for kids, enjoyable also by adults. There is a strong sense of place (Snake Island really does exist near Apollo Bay) and of the realities of sailing and camping. There is international cooperation against bad guys, not all of whom turn out to be bad in the end, and a very exciting rescue.
The Settlement (2022) Jock Serong is a compelling read, powered by the authors descriptive, muscular prose, The Settlementtakes a slow, mournful pace. It has to, because the focus is truly harrowing: the genocide of Tasmania’s First Peoples and their forced displacement to a settlement at Pea Jacket Point on Flinders Island.
Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypse(2020) by Cassandra Pybus. Truganini lived through a psychological and cultural shift more extreme than we can imagine. But her life was much more than a regrettable tragedy. The author has examined the original eyewitness accounts to write Truganini’s extraordinary story in full. Those participants who had read this book all praised its literary credentials, but all agreed it was a difficult read.
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife (2011) by Karen Viggers. A woman at the end of her life, a man unable to restart his, and a history of guilty secrets and things left unsaid—this is a powerful, moving novel of love, loss, and family. Elderly and in poor health, Mary fulfills her wish to herself to live out her last days on Bruny Island off of Tasmania, with only her regrets and memories for company. Her late husband was the lighthouse keeper on Bruny, and she’d raised a family on the wild windswept island, until terrible circumstances forced them back to civilization.
Living with Jezabel: a life on Tasmanian and bass Strait lighthouses (2015) by Marlene Levings. This is a true story of life and love in some of the wildest and most isolated places on earth – the light stations of Bass Strait and Tasmania. Before their automation, Australia’s remote island and onshore lights were manned by lightkeepers and their families. Foul weather, misadventure and supply problems were offset by incredible natural beauty, camaraderie and a unique lifestyle that no longer exists in the modern world.
Limberlost(2022) by Robbie Arnott. The much-anticipated third novel by award-winning Australian author Robbie Arnott, Limberlost is a story of family and land, loss and hope, fate and the unknown, and love and kindness. In the heat of a long summer Ned hunts rabbits in a river valley, hoping the pelts will earn him enough money to buy a small boat. His two brothers are away at war, their whereabouts unknown. His father and older sister struggle to hold things together on the family orchard, Limberlost.
Toxic (2021) Richard Flanagan is a deep dive into everything that is wrong with Tasmania’s salmon industry. And it does seem to be everything. From pollution to politics, Flanagan’s portrayal of the industry is of one almostirredeemably broken.
In Search of Hobart (2009)Peter Timms. This idiosyncratic view of Australia’s smallest, most southerly, least-populated capital city explores Hobart’s troubled acceptance of its convict past and its brutal near-annihilation of its first people. Timms links Hobart’s shift in attitudes to a new-found confidence in itself. It is no longer ashamed of its convict past, and it has led the rest of the country in reconciliation initiatives with indigenous Tasmanians. What shines through this insightful little book is the love of nature and the beauty of the city. It comes as a surprise to be reminded that a mere 30 minutes from the CBD one can look out from Mt Wellington to where the nearest landfall.
James Kelly Circumnavigation of TasmaniaLog of his circumnavigation of Van Diemen’s Land 1814-1815
Gould’s book of fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish (2001) Richard Flanagan. It is a fictionalised account of the convict William Buelow Gould’s life both at Macquarie Harbour and elsewhere during his life in Van Diemen’s Land.he novel is unusual in that it makes use of paintings by the real Van Diemonian convict artist William Buelow Gould reproduced with permission from William Gould’s Sketchbook of Fishes, held by the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, in the State Library of Tasmania.[1] These images of fish are used both as chapter headings and inspiration for characters.
The Oyster Girl(2020) Wren Fraser Cameron. She was the Oyster Girl, clamped onto life, encased in a brittle sharp shell, a shadow in the mud, her story a secret. This is a version of lutruwita/Tasmania that you have never read, a novel of the sea and sailing that tells the story of an island through the eyes of an unforgettable woman, Pearl Macqueen, the Oyster Girl. Starting as it means to go on, seismically, The Oyster Girl traces Pearl from her time as an indentured worker diving for mutton fish and crays through love, friendship, fortune and some of the cruel dealings of fate. Cameos from many of the island’s most recognisable historical figures, fleshed out with failings and foibles, are spotted throughout the story.
