There was a time when stopping coal and coal seam gas in the Scenic Rim dominated my life. For close to two years I put everything aside and just worked to make sure it didn’t happen.
I couldn’t believe that miners could legally drill within 200 metres of our houses and tourism retreats. And, if they found enough gas or coal (which lots of test bores apparently did), they could turn our homelands into dusty coal mines, gas fields and hills criss-crossed with access roads with trucks and mining vehicles dominating it all.
I just went to war. More than 80 per cent of our region was covered with exploration permits. Other communities taken over by mining said we needed to fight… and fast. We needed to make sure miners and the government knew we would do anything and everything to make it impossible for them to set up here. So we did.
I was inspired by the energy and passion of Innes and Tracey Larkin from Mt Barney Lodge and we quickly became the key organising team for Keep The Scenic Rim Scenic. We were fiercely determined to spread the word and make sure everyone understood the urgency. It was relentless.
Looking back, I feel sick to the stomach to realise how much we gave up to do this. My photo timeline reflects little periods of life interspersed with gas, gas, gas (and a bit of coal). Crowded public meetings, yellow triangles everywhere, the breathtaking banners on our magnificent Scenic Rim peaks and, of course, the blockade.
My dogged determination wasn’t healthy but it was how I lived it. In retrospect, it took a big toll on my personal life, mental health, marriage, family, health and business. I have huge gratitude for my husband at the time, Steve Ross, who somehow held together our lives while I was deep in the trenches of our war.
I put a lot of energy into getting media coverage. Surely the State Government and others would see they’d made a mistake.
Regional communities across Australia were also running resistance campaigns. In Gloucester, they’d got results by physically standing in front of a worksite to stop mining activity and force dialogue. That seemed extreme, but our letter writing and requests for consultation weren’t getting big results. We needed to force Arrow Energy to see the Scenic Rim community did not accept their plans. This was the tipping point. We were blockade virgins and terrified but we felt we had nothing to lose.
Charged with adrenaline, we went head-to-head blocking access to Arrow’s Kerry Valley drill rig. I stood that first day and every day after, glued to my phone co-ordinating media and also part of the key team holding our blockade together. When Daniel Robins climbed the rig, Arrow Energy was suddenly willing to talk. At first they said our requests seemed fair and reasonable, but they quickly recanted. It was harrowing but we were steadfast and strong.
More and more people were willing to get involved and to be arrested. I believe Arrow Energy realised they were losing the PR battle and the delays from our blockade were bleeding them financially. On radio, soon-to-be Queensland Premier Campbell Newman told Arrow they were not welcome in the Scenic Rim and they ‘should pack their bags and go home’.
Some time later, drilling records submitted to the Mining department proved the company pulled out of the region before their drill rig reached the full depth of the coal seam.
Arrow taunted the Scenic Rim community for a few years, renewing permits and announcing viable reserves of gas. It’s a spectre that haunted us and I notice an element of fight and flight still lives in my body. Arrow might be gone, but the State Government still hasn’t committed to a permanent ban on coal and gas mining in the region.
In 2016, I moved away from the Scenic Rim. I’m now owner-building a house on Coochiemudlo Island, but I’m never far away if the bastards try to come back.
Heidi's book Mongrel Dogs of the Scenic Rim packed with photos, paintings and personal accounts, is a celebration of human connection and a fierce desire to protect what we love.
The printed coffee table book is available from The Centre in Beaudesert, or you can buy it direct from Heidi online for $24.99 including postage.
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