About

Cathedral DriveCathedral Drive is a stretch of the New England Highway just south of the village of Hampton, southern Queensland. Making it’s way through an endangered forest of tall, old growth eucalypts, the drive is widely regarded as one of the most picturesque  in Queensland, featuring prominently in tourism campaigns and appreciated by locals and travellers alike.

In mid September 2009, the Queensland Department of Main Roads is expected to begin a highway upgrading project south of Hampton that will result in the destruction of 1400 trees lining the drive. The SAVE action group was formed in July, and has now escalated its campaign in response to a recent announcement from Minister Craig Wallace that the project will go ahead.

S.A.V.E.

The Action Group for

a Safe Avenue of Vegetation for Everyone

The aim of this action group is to lobby for a better road that will:-

• Save human lives

• Save the old-growth, endangered forest

• Save the “High Country’s” iconic drive / brand

• Save the wildlife that live in this forest and/or use it as a corridor

About the Proposed Main Roads Project

Project

Widening of the New England Highway between Hampton and Geham.

Time Frame

Work is expected to commence in mid September 2009.

Scope of Work

  • 10km stretch of highway from near the bottom of the ‘Geham hill’ to 1.8km north of Hampton.
  • Existing 2 lanes to be widened from 2.9 to 3.5 m each.
  • Sealed shoulders to be created – 1.5 m either side.
  • A ‘wire rope’ safety barrier on the outer edge of the bitumen.
  • A further 2.5m clearing zone will be added beyond the wire rope.
  • Turning lanes to be added.
  • Upgrading of some intersections.
  • A new south-bound passing lane.
  • Construction of a truck interception/vehicle inspection point.
  • Widened road + shoulders+ clearing beyond shoulder = double the width of the existing road and shoulders – which requires removing at least 1400 trees and associated vegetation.

Major Issues

Public Consultation

  • Most locals were not even aware of the public meeting held several years ago and the consultation process certainly did not take into account the views of the whole spectrum of stakeholders eg. tourism industry.
  • Department of Main Roads downplayed the extent of clearing needed.
  • Extent of proposed clearing was not obvious until the trees intended for removal were marked with yellow dots; these are difficult to see from the highway.
  • In mid-July, local residents tied pink ribbons to the marked trees to make clear to motorists just how many trees are slated for removal.

Environmental

  • The vegetation community / Regional Ecosystem (R.E.) is classified as R.E. 12.5.6c and is “Endangered” according to the Vegetation Management Act (Dec. 2005).  It’s Biodiversity Status is also “Endangered”.
  • The vegetation along this section of highway is dominated by the following canopy species:- Eucalyptus pilularis (Blackbutt), E. saligna (Sydney Blue Gum / Woollybutt), E. eugenioides (White Stringybark), E. biturbinata (Grey Gum), E. microcorys (Tallowwood) and Corymbia intermedia (Pink Bloodwood), with E. montivaga (Queensland Ash) also present in some sections.  Close to the Geham end, these species begin to be replaced by Eucalyptus tereticornis (Queensland Blue Gum / Forest Red Gum) around the boundary between vegetation types (R.E.’s).
  • Eucalyptus montivaga (Queensland Ash) is endemic to Queensland and closely related to the more southern E. andrewsii (New England Blackbutt).  At Hampton, it is growing almost at the southern limit of its patchy distribution.  The only examples of E. montivaga occurring further south than Hampton are in the highly fragmented vegetation of Middle Ridge in Toowoomba.
  • Many of the individual trees within this community are of high value/significance in their own right, with some trees marked for removal pre-dating white settlement.
  • This road reserve serves as a critical corridor for wildlife movement due to much of the adjoining land being cleared. Corridors such as this are important for the movement of Endangered birds such as the Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot.
  • Species considered to be rare and threatened under the Nature Conservation Act regularly inhabit the area eg. Koala (Vulnerable in SE Qld), Glossy Black Cockatoo (Vulnerable), Powerful Owl (Vulnerable) and Grey Goshawk (Rare).
  • The vegetation provides valuable habitat, including many trees with hollows, for a range of arboreal mammals including koalas and gliders, as well as flying-foxes, insectivorous bats, nectar-feeding birds such as honeyeaters and parrots, insects, etc.
  • The area is within the range of the Grey-headed Flying-fox, which is listed as Vulnerable under Federal Legislation (EPBC Act).  Other species of bat that are expected to inhabit the area are the Little Pied Bat (Rare) as well as Little Red Flying-fox and Black Flying-fox.  All are important pollinators and seed dispersers for native forests.
  • The inclusion of a 200m long vehicle inspection site will require additional clearing.  Main Roads has repeatedly stated that this site “will not be located where there are trees” / no trees will be removed.  This claim is incorrect.
  • Main Roads response to residents’ concern (via correspondence with Dorothy Pratt) about habitat tree removal and endangered species:- “As for habitat trees unfortunately habitat trees are dead trees and in close proximity to the road must be removed due to public safety…”.

Tourism

  • This section of road is one of the iconic drives of the New England Highway and is clearly identifiable with the brand ‘The High Country’ which has been built over the last 6 years.
  • The avenue effect of the tall eucalypt forest that lines the highway in this area has resulted in it being referred to in promotional material as “Cathedral Drive”.
  • Images of this drive continually feature in local and regional tourism promotion and it is one of the few remaining unique pockets of the New England Highway which make it a charming driving experience and preferred touring route (the New England Highway is marketed to travellers/tourists/visitors as ‘The Country Way Touring Route’).  Removal of all the trees presently marked will alter drastically this landscape.
  • This drive is one of the unique selling points of the brand ‘South East Queensland Country’ due to its ‘country’ essence and atmosphere.

Safety

  • This is a comparatively safe stretch of road. Since the year 2000 there have been just 25 reported accidents on the New England Highway between Hampton and Geham, 12 of which involved injuries; the last fatality was in 1998.
  • Average annual daily traffic is around 3000 vehicles, with around 7 percent of these being heavy vehicles.
  • There is no evidence of an imminent, dramatic increase in traffic: while Highfields has been identified as a population growth area in the recently released SE Qld Regional Plan, areas to the north, including the Hampton district, have not.
  • The “safety improvements” proposed are way out of proportion to the need – doubling the width of the roadway will not necessarily make it safer. SAVE has proposed safety improvements including lower speed limits, periodic selective pruning of dangerous branches (by a qualified arborist), audible lines and other low cost measures.