Local council are planning to build a seawall along Coobowie Foreshore. The proposed seawall will destroy the beach, ecology of the bay and the bird life that habitat along the shoreline. Coobowie Bay is a shallow bay that does not get any surf or swell and is protected by shoals Troubridge Island and Kangaroo Island.

The Coobowie community are opposed to having a hard engineered seawall and would like your support. Here is our story -

Coobowie is a small coastal town on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. Coobowie has approximately 258 permanent residents and hosts many thousands of visitors each year. Coobowie has a unique coastal bay that is home to over 50 different bird species and is of ecological and biological importance with Coobowie bay flowing into the Salt Creek estuary. Both of these areas were declared 40 years ago as an Aquatic reserve.

DCYP ( District Council of Yorke Peninsula ) on the 12th July 2023 sent out letters to Foreshore home Owners only  to advise them that the DCYP had approved a planned proposal for a Seawall to be built along Coobowie foreshore. 

A community information session was held in August by the Council to present the Seawall proposal to the community. Due to the large scale nature of the proposed seawall (approx 700metres long and 12 Metres wide) there was a lot of concern within the Community as to how this would affect Coobowie Bay.

 With a structure this size all coastal vegetation already in existence would be removed along with endless thousands of tonnes of beach sand and be replaced by large rocks. This would destroy not only the beach but more importantly the ecology and bird life in the Bay and the connecting Salt Creek estuary.

Residents of Coobowie formed a group “ Friends of Coobowie Foreshore Inc” (FOCF Inc) to voice the opinion of many local residents and home owners to oppose the proposed seawall that Council have put forward.

The reasons FOCF Inc oppose the Seawall proposal approved by Council 12th July 2023 as it was based on insufficient, inadequate and incorrect information and without local data, and will be destructive to Coobowie Bay and Salt Creek estuary.

FOCF Inc groups mission statement is that “we require DCYP to provide an Environmental impact assessment and/or study by suitable qualified experts in the marine biology and associated fields and that we oppose any hard engineered structure that impacts the sensitive ecology and environment of Coobowie Bay. FOCF Inc. require council to seek the collection of scientific, localised data over a significant period to support their argument that a seawall is required and that measurements averaged globally are not a suitable basis for any potential design work effecting Coobowie Bay”.

The image shown gives you a perspective of what the proposed Seawall would look like. 

We would like you to sign our petition to help us in our cause to preserve Coobowie Bay and Salt Creek Estuary for their pristine uniqueness.