John Bristow, National Parks Association of Queensland
We have not been communicating very regularly lately. Now is the time to give you an update and refresh your memory on the background of this vision. We have almost completed the EIS for this George Haddock Track as it is being labelled in the report.
George Haddock OAM had a strong connection with Fraser Island. Although he made contributions to many community organisations, his greatest commitment was to the natural environment which he loved and extensively explored in his 78 years. George was an indefatigable worker for the extension and better management of Queensland National Parks. He served in Executive positions in the National Parks Association of Queensland for almost a quarter of a century as President, Honorary Secretary for eight years and Treasurer for four years, until his untimely death. He was a member of the Fraser Island World Heritage Community Advisory Committee for over a decade and it is hard to enumerate his many contributions to conservation and the community.
We were unable to raise funds to have the EIS done professionally. John Sinclair through his wide range of contacts has managed to get all phases of the EIS completed using volunteers. It is largely his drive which has got us to where we are today. Without the EIS approval nothing can happen. A lot of effort has been required to keep the project moving as there were delays with every section of the EIS. The QPWS estimates that about 2,000 people annually use the existing Fraser Island Great Walk, so we have adopted that value for the likely usage of the George Haddock Track (GHT).
The EIS will be a document of approximately 120 pages to cover all aspects of the 51 km route of the Track. It covers all sections required for an EIS, namely an Executive Summary; Project Outline; Surveying the Track’s Route; Projected Usage; Infrastructure, including Shelters, Toilets and Signage; Landscape, Geology, Soils and Hydrology; Flora; Fauna; Waste Management; Cultural Heritage and Indigenous and European Heritage.
FINIA 