Unfortunately a few sailors who took exception to the Council's access restrictions were meet with no less than six of the local plod who strolled out through the gale on Sunday arvo to accost them. Thankfully they were rather gracious about it, despite the conditions. Faith in humanity restored. But be warned, the police are on the Mortimer residents' speed dial list.

Has anyone made representations to the Council about their decision to block access?

Rocks can persuaded with a snatch strap I am led to believe.

Ant I hope this is not yet another small self intrest group getting their agenda without any consultation with user groups again.

I think it's un Australian to lock up our coastline, Mortimer is such a fantastic place to sail and we have all been smart enough as a group of windsurfing users to be very respectful of the area over many years our footprint is very low impact recreational use. Especally if we now walk our kit into the area.

The track appears to be a "public road" on the title, as opposed to merely a reserve, so I am not sure on what basis the Council is entitled to shut it off in the first place. For all we know the locals may have erected the barricade themselves. For what its worth, the sailors were rather cordial and the cops reasonable, politely asking to reinstate the access when they left (I didn't sail, but I am reliably informed). I gather cops were more frustrated with their time being wasted by the local residents than anything else. The point is, there is obviously someone watching who will cause problems for anyone who tries to drive through.

Hi all,
I have e-mailed Clarence City Council (CCC) about this. From what I can tell Parks and CCC manage the land. I'm pretty sure it's not private. When I asked CCC about why the track was closed, I got the response that it was about preventing people from driving around the bird area. I pointed out that this was extremely unlikely - there's big rocks that stop people doing that - and that making people walk and or rig up and walk to the beach would cause them to stumble through the bird nesting area. They acknowledged my concerns and said that Parks and CCC were going to have a meeting. I've asked to be let known about when this meeting will occur. Heard nothing yet (3 weeks so far).
I think CCC are not telling the whole truth about denial of access. Their arguments don't stack up. Call or e-mail the council to get some pressure on for access to be opened up again.

Clyde knows a local that lives there and they told him it was for the hoons at night going in there and digging the track up. I think the bird story is an excuse for some other reason. MT Bikers and horse riders are still allowed through so it can't be private.