Wangetti Communty Group

Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) and Zamia Palm (Cycas media subsp. banksii)

The Wangetti Community Group (a.k.a Wangetti Ratepayers And Residents Group - WRARG) represents the common interests of all landowners, residents and business owners within the township of Wangetti. The group has existed since 1990 and is a formal effort by Wangetti locals to ensure a safe, tidy and conservationally sound Wangetti area.

In the past, members of Wangetti Community Group have been involved with the Wangetti Recovery Project, a project that successfully raised many thousands of dollars to enable the rehabilitation of the Wangetti Beach Reserve. This project first began in 2002, and in 2003 the Steering Committee of 18 was appointed. Working closely with the Douglas Shire Council (DSC) and the Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA) a plan was formulated to :- 1/ Prevent illegal vehicle access into the Reserve; 2/ Remove introduced weeds and other pests; 3/ Assist the natural vegetation to recover; 4/ Upgrade the Northern and Southern Carpark areas and construct interpretive booths at both. Considerable input from other groups, such as the Yirrganydji and Djabugay traditional owners; Dept. of Main Roads; EPA Qld; Coast Care; Cairns Hang Gliders Club; and Coastal Volunteers Australia, ensured the plan was acceptable legally, culturally, and environmentally.

Over the next 10 years, funding was sought from various areas including the Federal Government Envirofund; Qld Gambling Community Benefit Fund; Qld Community Sustainability Action Grants and Federal Government funded Coastal Volunteers. All funding was directed to and administered by the DSC. The results were amazing, as new boulder barricades, gates, and ditches suddenly prevented all illegal vehicle access to the reserve. A new Southern Carpark area was designed and implemented, and picnic tables surrounded by interpretive booths were installed at both the Southern and Northern carparks.

Coastal Volunteers, joined by local community volunteers, moved into the Reserve to eliminate the worst areas of weed infestation, and soon the whole Reserve was showing great signs of recovery. Today, there are no signs of the former 4WD trails that criss-crossed the Reserve and the vegetation is thriving.

To ensure the Wangetti Beach area is clean and safe, volunteers from the local community and others from nearby, engage in a yearly Clean Up Australia effort. The result was initially, literally truckloads of rubbish, but these days it has become several wheelie bins worth of rubbish. Thanks to Bill Carrodus (former WTMA staff) for organising this event each year.

Wangetti Community Group is always mindful of the status of the area in which we reside. We are surrounded by World Heritage forest, so we always seek to liase with the various authorities to ensure the footprint of locals and visitors are not adversely impacting that environment. We aspire to work alongside WTMA, National Parks, and the Traditional Owners to maintain the integrity of this marvelous region.

Current Urgent Projects

Wangetti Community Group are constantly monitoring the state of the Wangetti Region, with particular concern for the Beach Reserve, Hartleys Creek area, and the Quaid's Road area. We are actively seeking assistance from the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI); the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR); and the Douglas Shire Council (DSC) to have the following high priority projects realised.

1/ Wangetti Trail Re-Alignment
The current Wangetti Trail North Alignment includes a section from the proposed Cultural/Information Hub, on the corner of Captain Cook Hwy and Quaids Rd, that runs immediately adjacent to the highway (on the west side) until it enters the Waterfall Trail, just before the Hartleys Creek bridge. The Wangetti community are adamant that this route should not ever be considered. It will lead to the destruction of a huge section of the most notable vegetation in the township; it will destroy all privacy that the residents in Wangetti have (since the trail will be elevated high above the Wangetti properties); it is not in keeping in any way with the concept of the Wangetti Trail being a "pathway through natural forests" (it will be within meters of the main highway!!); and the alternate route proposed is basically a "no-brainer".
The alternate route is to take the Trail west along Quaids Rd (which is now rapidly being overtaken by vegetative regrowth) to the so-called Waterfall Trail Link Track, a short trail that links Quaid's Rd with the Waterfall Trail. This link track is already well-known and embraced by Queensland Parks And Wildlife, and it links to a spot on the Waterfall Trail only a short distance (800m) from where the Wangetti Trail (which uses the first few kms of the Waterfall Trail) diverges from the Waterfall Trail and begins its journey northward.
The use of Quaids Rd is now no longer a jurisdictional nightmare, as it was when the Quaid family had arguable tenureship over it. In recent times the Queensland Parks and Wildlife (in association with Queensland Dept of Primary Industries - Forests) have complete control over the section of Quaids Rd between Black Mountain Rd and the Captain Cook Hwy.
The map/diagram below explains the two routes (click on the map to view a much larger version)

2/ Wangetti Township 60kph Speed Zone
Currently the majority of the Captain Cook Hwy, through Wangetti township, is zoned as 80kph. The residents of Wangetti unanimously agree that the speed limit should be 60kph for the entire stretch of the highway from where it currently begins as 60kph (just north of the Rex Lookout), to just south of the Hartleys Crocodile Adventures turn-off (Quaids Rd).
Why? Because there has been one fatality already at the Cook Hwy/Quaids Rd intersection, caused by a car driver turning from Quaids Rd and underestimating the approach speed of a mororcyclist heading north up the Cook Hwy. In the opinion of most of us, including Peter Freeman (owner of Hartleys Crocodile Adventures), this is a particularly dangerous intersection, where future serious accidents are almost certain to occur. Secondly, because there are no footpaths in Wangetti, so residents wishing to go to anywhere north or south within the township, must use the edge of the highway. Thirdly, because there are 10 turn-offs in the township, but only 3 are protected by a 60kph zoning. Some of those turn-offs attract a great deal of traffic, for example the Quaid's Rd turn-off (average 250 vehicles per day); the Evans St turn-off (almost all local residents and visitors exit and enter here); and the Retreat Condo's/Waterfall Trail Carpark turn-off.
Travelling south of Cairns, there are small townships, similar to Wangetti, that have been afforded the 60kph zone protection. Also, the busy Rex Lookout area has been afforded the 60kph zone protection Why not the Wangetti township and the very busy Hartleys Crocodile Adventures turn-off?
Please see the map/diagram below for details of where we would propose the zoning would be altered. Click on the image to see a much larger image.
Also see the photographs that follow to see where the signage changes would go, in the context of the surrounds. Once again, click on an umage to see a larger image.
Image numbers correspond to numbers on map details.


1/ Existing 60kph signage at north Wangetti	2/ Existing 60kph signage at bridge southern	3/ Existing 80kph at bridge, planned 60kph

4/ Existing 100kph, planned 80kph	5/ Existing 90kph advised, planned 80kph	6/ Existing 80kph, planned 60kph

Some Statistics

A/ Distance from 90kph (Advised) sign, south of Wangetti, to end of 60kph/begin 80kph sign just north of Rex Lookout = 3.40km
B/ Time taken to drive this distance at current speed limits = 3min 8.40sec
C/ Time taken to drive this distance if requested new speed limits are applied = 3min 25.26sec
D/ Total time increase = 16.86sec
E/ Distance from 60kph signs at bridge to end of 80kph/start of 100kph sign = 850m going south; 820m going north
F/ Distance from current 90kph (Advised) sign to end 100kph/start 80kph signage = 550m

3/ Bolstering Of Boulders, Fences And Gate At Northern And Southern Carpark For Continued Protection Of Wangetti Beach Reserve
Despite many years of obtaining funding and getting swales, boulders and a gate to prevent illegal vehicle access into the Wangetti Beach Reserve, there are still periodic breaches, which usually lead to significant vegetation and dune damage. Even some of the larger boulders (but fortunately not the largest) have been targeted by 4WD owners, who use one or two vehicles and chains, to pull the boulders out of position. Additionally, the padlock on the gate at the northern carpark is periodically dislodged, leading to the gate remaining in an open state for as long as it takes for a new padlock to be fitted.
The enormous success we have enjoyed by restricting vehicular access (massive revegetation on old tracks; dune vegetation restoral; significant weed reduction) now stands to be severely negated by these more recent breaches.
The Wangetti Community Group are more than prepared to seek further funding to have this situation rectified, but we need the DSC to be completely onboard. We propose, the removal of all smaller boulders (in the most prone areas) and their replacement with significantly larger boulders. Alternatively, the concreting together of smaller boulders to effectively produce larger boulders. Also, the padlock system on the gate needs to made vandal-proof, by restricting direct access to the padlock itself.
Please see photographs below which show the current state of the boulders, gate and new fencing. Click on an image to see a larger image.

Northern Carpark (Images begin on northern side, clockwise from left of carpark to right of carpark)


Northern Barricade Image 1	Northern Barricade Image 2	Northern Barricade Image 3

Northern Barricade Image 4	Northern Barricade Image 5	Northern Barricade Image 6

Northern Barricade Image 7	Northern Barricade Image 8	Northern Barricade Image 9 (Problem Area)

Northern Barricade Image 10 (Problem Area)	Northern Barricade Image 11 (Problem Area)	Northern Barricade Image 12

Northern Barricade Image 13	Northern Barricade Image 14 (Problem Area)	Northern Barricade Image 15

Northern Barricade Image 16	Northern Barricade Image 17 (Problem Area)

Southern Carpark (Images begin on northern side, clockwise from left of carpark to right of carpark)


Southern Barricade Image 1	Southern Barricade Image 2	Southern Barricade Image 3

Southern Barricade Image 4	Southern Barricade Image 5	Southern Barricade Image 6

Southern Barricade Image 7	Southern Barricade Image 8	Southern Barricade Image 9

Southern Barricade Image 10 (Problem Area)	Southern Barricade Image 11 (Problem Area)	Southern Barricade Image 12 (Problem Area)

Southern Barricade Image 13 (Problem Area)	Southern Barricade Image 14 (Problem Area)	Southern Barricade Image 15

Southern Barricade Image 16	Southern Barricade Image 17	Southern Barricade Image 18 (Problem Area)

Southern Barricade Image 19	Southern Barricade Image 20	Southern Barricade Image 21

Southern Barricade Image 22	Southern Barricade Image 23 (Problem Area)	Southern Barricade Image 24 (Problem Area)

Southern Barricade Image 25	Southern Barricade Image 26	Southern Barricade Image27

Southern Barricade Image 28	Southern Barricade Image 29	Southern Barricade Image 30 (Problem Area)

Southern Barricade Image 31 (Problem Area)	Southern Barricade Image 32 (Problem Area)	Southern Barricade Image 33 (Problem Area)

Southern Barricade Image 34	Southern Barricade Image 35	Southern Barricade Image 36

Southern Barricade Image 37	Southern Barricade Image 38	Southern Barricade Image 39

Southern Barricade Image 40	Southern Barricade Image 41	Southern Barricade Image 42 (Problem Area)