Channel deepening
Channel Deepening
One
The salt water from Port Phillip Bay
washes the salt from my skin,
caresses my tired muscles,
at the end of a hot work-day.
I float, in a watery crib,
rocked gently by the rhythmic wave surge,
so gently rocked, the boundaries between my blood
and the Bay’s waters dissolve, there’s no separation:
her tides, my monthly bleeding,
each ruled by the Moon’s waxing and waning,
places of creation, places of profound nurturing.
The Bay’s womb-shape,
protects her life from the seas of Bass Strait.
And in her cool, shallow waters she supports 5000 different life forms,
fish, crustaceans, mammals, seagrass and algae.
Seabirds – some fly millions of miles to feast and to breed and to live and die here.
A pod of female dolphins, guardians of her southern Heads,
greet a myriad of fish entering to spawn in the sanctuary of her seagrass beds,
where Weedy Seadragons drift.
And penguins chase anchovy in the north, at the Yarra River’s mouth.
I ache for her.
Plans for violation: trials, calculations, projections
The hydro-hammer at her entrance,
the dredging of her channels,
toxic sediment resuspended,
murky plumes clouding her waters;
risking the death of her life:
unconsented termination to provide entry for those big container ships.
My tears are salty too, and they flow freely in her salty waters.
And still she rocks me gently,
encircles me with her strength,
croones me an underwater lullaby.
“I am Power”, she sings, “primal energy, the originator of life.
My nurturing is infinite: feel it!
You are power too: know it in your body.
Have hope. Stand strong. We are one.”
Two
68 square km of seagrass abundant with Life.
Heterozostera tasmanica, Amphibolis antarcticus. Zostera meulleri:
you are the crux on which so much depends.
King George Whiting, Australian Salmon, Calamari, Rockflathead,
Six-spined leather jacket, Grass whiting. Pipefish:
our science has not yet grasped your intricacies.
Rare Snapping Shrimp and Burrowing Ghost Shrimp:
from where will you return when the sediment finally settles?
I dream of our culture honouring all life forms.
21 million cubic metres of rock and sand removed in the South
and dumped back in the Bay off Mt Martha.
10.5 million cubic metres removed from the North,
and dumped off Brighton.
Maintenance dredging ‘till 2030.
I dream of our culture respecting the limits of nature.
Turbid plumes stretching for 25 000 ha in south and 13 000 ha in the north:
Pipefish, seahorses, seadragons, your EPBC* Act listing can’t help you now.
Marine Sanctuaries, Ramsar Conventions, where’s your protection?
Competitive advantage, economic impact, global markets, efficiency,
bigger and better, faster, cheaper, more money, more money, more money.
I dream of our planet working together,
Co-operating with the long-term welfare of the whole
in our minds and our hearts.
I share my dreams of hope with millions of people.
Are we foolish to dream?
Then, when shall we start?
The Bay is sacred; let’s respect all of her Life,
let’s embrace all her gifts;
let’s give thanks for all she provides.
Sophie Small
This pic is taken from Arthur’s seat and overlooks the area of the bay where the channelling shall begin this morning.
***[Protestors hassle the Dredger. Updated Press Page midday.
Pics, video footage and articles. ]***
Taken by Jewelz from balcony in McCrae around 8.30 am this morning.