NETFN Club Inc. Annual General Meeting 10 August 2024
President’s Report – Ross Coad
Good morning members
Over the past 12 months, we have had a mostly coastal range of monthly activities across northeast Tasmania, as well as a central north activity. In addition to these regular monthly activities, we also supported a project to rid Trent Water of invasive rice grass.
As usual, I thought it would be interesting to briefly review what the club did during the year. At the 2023 AGM, guest speaker Ian Thomas presented ‘A Vegetation History of the North East’. All going well, we have remembered a bit about palaeoecology and what may be gleaned about the past by examining evidence such as charcoal and pollen in ancient soil layers.
In September, we went to the Waterhouse Conservation Area with Mike Douglas, walking from Blizzards Landing to Ranson’s Bay, enjoying Allocasuarina forest and heathlands along the way.
In October, Ian Matthews took us through the Humbug Point Nature Recreation Area. A very pleasant walk through open peppermint forest with many flowering understorey plants observed along the way, as well as the unusual resurrection fern.
We revisited the Wind Farm at Cape Portland in November with Claudia Bohme and Dig Probert. A great example of a protected environment within an operational power generation site. As we moved through the grasslands and low vegetation, we enjoyed the scenery, flowering plants and relaxed reptiles soaking up the sun.
In January, we went to Mt Michael on the Blue Tier with Craig Searle. Relics remain from the intense mining activity that once decimated parts of the Blue Tier. Recovery is slow, but there is much to see, including remnant old growth areas, some of which we walked through on the day.
Anne Witherden took us to Narawntapu National Park in February. One focus was birdwatching, with the group observing mostly water birds from a bird hide at Springlawn. A walk to Archer’s Knob revealed various plants of interest, including the Slender Velvet Bush, found in only a few locations on the north coast.
In March, Lou Brooker and Mike Douglas took us to Mt Horror, Forester and Pearly Brook.
In April, I led a walk across East Sandy Point in the Double Sandy Point Conservation Area. An interesting area, where 4WD tracks and ancient relics abounded in an uneasy co-existence.
In May, Penny and Lloyd Reeves took the club to the Briseis Water Race, for a flumes and fungi fantasy. This is an impressive bit of engineering, another piece of mining history which doubles as a focal point for field naturalists.
East-coasters, Alex Buchanan and Pam Bretz took us to Sloop Lagoon and Big Lagoon in June, where we also met up with Todd Dudley who told us all about a gravel quarry revegetation project.
Finally, in July we had one of our two annual indoor meetings. Karen Richards of NRE discussed her work in the Central Highlands, including research on the Miena jewel beetle and other invertebrates. We also watched the film The Weeping Tree, about the special and endangered cider gums of central Tasmania.
These monthly activities are the means by which enact our mission statement, to encourage the study, appreciation and preservation of our natural and cultural environment, the animals, plants, geology and landforms, including those of the coastal and marine areas in the North East region of Tasmania. We have been fortunate in the range of activities on offer, in terms of both variety and geographical range.
Throughout the duration of my membership of this club – over 20 years – I have seen familiar faces each month at our activities. Some are regulars, some come less often now, some are no longer with us. Many are the same faces I was seeing 10, 15 or 20 years ago, a few are newish. As in many other clubs, our median age is increasing, along with our wisdom, knowledge and acute awareness of the passage of time.
During the general meeting later, I would like us to discuss an idea to support activity planning, and more generally, what the demon of demography means for the future of our club.
Thanks to everyone for your active participation and support to the club during the year. I look forward to seeing you all again throughout the coming year.
Ross Coad
NETFN Club Inc. President 2023-24