BARWON
HEADS: an urban design case
study
Case
study briefing notes for
What's good urban design? an
ecoversity
workshop at the George Hotel, Fitzroy
Street, St Kilda, Thursday March 14, 1996,
co-hosted
by Imagine
The Future Inc, the City
of Port Phillip, Australian
Conservation Foundation and Urban
Design Forum
as the Victorian response to the Prime
Minister's Urban Design Task Force Report,
1994. Sponsored by the Federal Department
of Housing and Regional Development.
More
about Barwon
Heads. (External links will open as
separate pages and should be closed individually.)
PAST
Pre-European
environment
- extensive tea tree forests, wetlands,
mud
flats and broad deep running water
along what is now called Barwon river
- prominent limestone bluff at the mouth
of the river
- ancient coastal dune systems over lava
flows from extinct Mount Moriac
History
- territory of the Wathaurong clans of
the Kulin
nation
- Portuguese explorers allegedly mapped
Bass Strait coast in C16th
- twelve ships were wrecked off Barwon
Heads between 1853 and 1890
- William
Buckley lived with Wauthaurong between
1803 and 1835
- in 1836 he was employed as guide and
translator to J
T Gellibrand's party to explore Connewarre
and Barwon Heads region
- pastoralists
of Anglo-Celtic descent claimed land to
raise sheep
and cattle from 1830s
- between 1836 and 1853, Wathaurong population
fell from estimated 700 to 35 because
of smallpox, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted
diseases, massacres and loss of food sources
due to European
settlement
- bark harvested from 1850s for use in
tanning leather
- village surveyed in 1870s
- fishing industry well established on
the other side of the river at Ocean Grove
by 1880
PRESENT
Community
profile
- small coastal town in beautiful natural
setting 26 km from the city of Geelong
- closely knit culturally homogenous community
- most people of Anglo-Celtic descent
- many residents have lived in Barwon
Heads for all or most of their lives
- many people from other parts of Victoria
have retired to Barwon Heads and have
special needs
- up to one third of population receives
Social Security benefits
- campers and other tourists significantly
increase population in summer holidays
and Easter
- fishing, surfing, boating and golf are
popular recreations
- sections of local community keenly interested
in maintaining nostalgic small-town identity
of Barwon Heads Social comforts
- amenities and services including shopping,
public transport and activities for young
people are very limited
- workers and high school students commute
to nearby Ocean Grove or Geelong
- no central gathering place within the
township although Golf Club is social
centre for older and more affluent people
- Barwon Heads Village Park is a primary
public recreation reserve but even here
facilities remain very limited
- local innovations include painted bollards
marking safe bicycle path to and from
school and other public art, reconstituted
seasonal wetland, picnic facilities, walking
tracks through remnant tea tree groves,
facilities for sporting clubs including
local Pony Club, and a boldly designed
children's play area
- Easter Festival is a social, sporting
and tourist focus
Built environment
- about 1,400 single
dwellings, mostly low-key residential
and holiday houses which are vacant much
of the year
- some restored buildings in main street
date from c. 1910
- caravans supplement permanent and holiday
accommodation
- main street rejuvenation and street
scaping a local issue
- many quaint narrow roads and unsealed
tracks through remnant vegetation
- important Aboriginal sites need protection
board walks, stairs and pathways built
to protect sensitive dunes and rock faces
- historic buildings and wharf associated
with fishing industry maintained as tourist
attraction
Industry
- no major local employer except for seasonal
tourist industry
Transport
- heavy dependence on cars
- good bicycle and walking tracks
- poor public transport
Food
- farmers and horticulturalists
produce wool, lamb, beef, milk, poultry,
cereals,
legumes, fruit, vegetables, hay, silage
and other crops in the hinterland
- fowls and vegetables produced in some
backyards
- most food grown elsewhere and distributed
through local and regional shops
Energy
- a 60 kilowatt wind
generator feeds 90,000 kwh per year
into the Victorian grid
- most power still generated from fossil
fuels
- few solar hot water systems and little
conscious passive solar design
Water
- run-off and sewage regularly pollutes
beaches high water table causes
drainage problems
- township subject to inundation
- levee bank needs repair
- recreational use of river and
coastline causes erosion and other
damage
- underground water may be contaminated
by septic tanks
- few rainwater tanks and no recycling
of grey water or treated sewage
Biodiversity
- important wetlands
including Lake Connewarre and Murtnaghurt
lagoon, estuarine flats and coastal dunes
support many rare and endangered species
- significant remnant
indigenous vegetation in town and
along river
- coast
and land care groups revegetating catchment
areas and restoring dunes with indigenous
species
'Waste'
management
- raw sewage and trade waste effluent
from Geelong and region disposed of by
ocean outfall at nearby Black Rock since
1917
- new $42 million secondary sewage treatment
plant at Black Rock funded by Special
Environment Protection Levy paid by Barwon
Water customers will produce clear effluent
suitable for re-use
- although at this stage it will still
be discharged into Bass Strait sludge
from new treatment plant to be sold as
fertiliser
- curb side sorting and collection of
rubbish no large scale composting of local
organic waste
Per capita impact on biosphere - much
too high
FUTURES CHALLENGES
-
protecting the beauty and ecological
integrity of Barwon Heads and its
hinterland, including the Barwon
River and Lake Connewarre
- promoting and encouraging cultural
and economic opportunities for local
residents while maintaining local
identity
- managing demand for subdivisions
and development on perimeters of
town
- minimising tourist impacts including
traffic, camping, boating (is eco-tourism
a realistic option for Barwon Heads?)
- encouraging better public transport
links within town and to Geelong
and other centres
- recycling water and sludge from
Black Rock sewage treatment works
Prepared by Merrill
Findlay for ITF. Copyright ITF 1996.
Revised March 2004.
