Long Jetty burns
Contemplating the future: the extent of the damage of this section of the Long Jetty was still being assessed last week.
By Matt Dunn
A DROPPED cigarette butt has been blamed for starting a fire that caused hundreds of thousands dollars of damage to Port Welshpool’s Long Jetty last Wednesday.
The jetty was closed to the public before the fire, but fishermen had made a habit of ignoring barriers and warning signs to keep off the historical structure.
The fire, which occurred at night, was still smouldering a day later. It burnt about eight of the 140 jetty pylons and some 160 square metres of decking.
“It appears to be a non-suspicious fire that’s caused a substantial amount of damage,” Foster Police’s Senior Constable Andrew Barter said.
“We’re looking at the probability that it was a dropped cigarette, but we can’t confirm anything yet. We think it was an accidental cause.”
Snr Const. Barter said there was no evidence of accelerants being used to start the blaze.
Gippsland Ports’ CEO Nick Murray said it was “difficult to work out the damage bill” until further assessments had been made.
“It’s severely damaged, but we haven’t attempted to estimate the cost, but the cost will be in the range of several hundred thousand dollars,” he said.
“However, we won’t be replacing that part of the jetty until such time as a decision is made on the future of the jetty.”
For many years there has been a push to have the jetty repaired. An underwater viewing observatory is another addition that many believe should be incorporated into the structure.
Pleas by local groups, and Leader of the Nationals Peter Ryan, have fallen on deaf ears, with the State Government doing little to upgrade the tourist attraction.
“It would be imprudent to repair that section in isolation to repairs to the rest of the structure,” Mr Murray said.
“A decision on the long term future of the jetty must be made and that decision will rest with the Victorian State Government.”
Mr Murray praised the efforts of CFA member David Grylls, the Coast Guard, DSE and Gippsland Ports employees “who worked under difficult circumstances to suppress the fire”.
Mr Murray said Gippsland Ports had “strengthened the barriers to public access,” preventing people from accessing the damaged jetty.
“We’ve removed two sections of deck to minimise the risk to public safety for those who have previously chosen to ignore the barriers to public access,” he said.
The damaged section of jetty will be completely removed, but Mr Murray said it could easily be restored if the political will is there.
Local traders have been devastated by the fire, and wonder how the town will recover.
Port Welshpool General Store owner Peter Rose said the damage would have “a small negative effect” in the short term. But the region would suffer a far greater one in the long term if the State Government does not spend some money on fixing the jetty, he said.
“The sooner the government makes a decision – and the sooner they do that and say yes it can be fixed – and the sooner we get this underwater viewing platform in, the better,” he said.
“That will generate an income not just for the local community but also for the State Government too. I don’t know if there’s any political reasons why it won’t be getting done, or whether they want to pull it down and do something else.
“You never know what they’re going to do nowadays.”
But fire was “not a negative by any means,” according to one of the jetty’s staunchest supporters.
Kerry Pinzone, of the Welshpool and District Advisory Group, is pushing for an underwater observatory at the jetty. She believes the fire will force the State Government to make a decision on the tourist attraction’s future.
Mrs Pinzone said the underwater observatory could emulate one in Busselton, WA, which had become a major tourist drawcard.
As fate would have it, the part of the jetty damaged in the blaze is in the same section where the observatory would be placed.
“It forces it to a head. They now have to make a decision. What we’ve been doing with our underwater observatory project, is to get them to do a condition assessment. Now they have to do it,” she said.
“It’s forcing an issue that was sort of sitting there waiting for someone else to do. As far as we’re concerned, for the underwater observatory project, it’s not a death knell.
“Perhaps it will bring things to a head and we can move forward a bit more quickly.”
Member for Gippsland South and Leader of The Nationals Peter Ryan, was offering a similar opinion.
”The fire presents an opportunity for the Brumby Government to commit once and for all to restoring the Long Jetty,” he said.
“The government has dithered long enough over the future of the structure. It’s time it committed to funding its restoration.
“The Regional Infrastructure Development Fund, which is under committed and underspent by this government, is a ready source of assistance.”
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