DEAR News Of The Area,

THERE have been wallabies living in the bushland on Macauleys Headland for as long as I have been living here, that is at least 46 years.

These marsupials regularly ventured as far south as the trees backing the former dunes behind the foreshores at Park Beach.

The trees still extend south to the life saving club, where they peter out.

Most of the dunal area, which was in the 1970s up to about 10 metres wide and up to 4 metres high, has since disappeared, taking nearly all of the grass and all of the bitou bush with it (good).

In the meantime the single lane track leading to the parking area at the northern end of Ocean Parade has been widened to two lanes with double lines down the centre.

A concrete footpath has been added from Pacific Towers to Myres Road.

Myres Road has been added.

And a recycled plastic footpath has been added from Myres Road north to the now much enlarged parking area.

Meanwhile the wallabies keep coming back to Ocean Parade, especially at night.

Cyclists can tell from the occasional corpses on the side of the killing zone, due to encounters with motor vehicles.

Regrettably the wallabies do not understand that they must use the concrete or plastic footpaths.

They sometimes need to cross Ocean Parade to get to grass, which is their food supply.

Most recently I saw a wallaby at 4 a.m. near the Vincent Street council electric bbq, obviously foraging grass.

A few minutes later there was a second wallaby actually on Ocean Parade, potentially damaging cars, near the Myres Road intersection.

Suggested solutions: (a) Bring back the kangaroo sign that someone has removed from the nature strip outside 87 Ocean Parade.

(b) Council to mow the grass more frequently so that the wallabies have nothing to eat, this could force the wallabies to move elsewhere in search of food, e.g. Bellingen.

Yours sceptically,
Donald TELFER,
Coffs Harbour.