Disabled children, in wheelchairs on the beach, with fishing rods in their hands, gooey prawn guts on their fingers and the biggest smiles their faces have ever seen.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
That's the vision of chair of the Eurobodalla Fishing and Boating Network Max Castle.
He wants to hold 'learn to fish' days and fishing workshops for disabled children through the Recreational Fishing Trust.
And he wants to hold them on the beach.
However, permanent accessible beach fishing for wheelchairs doesn't exist anywhere along the NSW south coast.
There are other locations where disabled people can go fishing - where accessibility concrete ramps alongside rivers allow tide-dependent fishing - but nothing on the beach.
"How do you get people in wheelchairs to the water?" Mr Castle said. "You certainly can't push them in a conventional wheelchair."
"Some of these children have never put their foot in salt water, they've never held a rod and they've never been able to fish.
"What really matters is giving these people an opportunity to enjoy life."
A lifelong fisherman, Mr Castle is determined everyone should be able to enjoy the hobby he loves so much.
Mr Castle previously ran a fishing event for disabled children at Centennial Park in Sydney with the Australian National Sportfishing Association.
"You couldn't value the expression of the kids face," he said. "The parents were crying. The kids were laughing and all they ever wanted to do was go fishing again."
Now Mr Castle wants to bring that experience to his home coastline at Tuross Heads.
In late 2021, Mr Castle became aware of the Recreational Fishing and Camping Facilities Grants Program by the NSW Government's Department of Primary Industries.
The program aims to "provide Australian tourists with more and improved amenities as they travel throughout NSW".
The grant program combining camping and fishing is new, and led Mr Castle to consider creating accessible camping with river-side fishing near Tuross Head.
"I thought 'Geeh that's a good idea - disabled kids could fish from the bank,'" he said.
It led him to ask "How can we get disabled kids to fish elsewhere?"
With a little online research, Mr Castle discovered rubber mats that can be laid out over the sand, distributing the weight of wheelchairs and enabling them to roll over sandy beaches.
These mats are 20 meters long, with holes for sand to fall through, and cost $4700 each.
Mr Castle wants two mats, to form a 'T' formation along the waterfront, allowing beach access for multiple users at a time.
Melbourne has two permanent sites at Altona and Williamstown beaches, and Avoca beach on NSW's central coast roll out mats for certain events throughout the year.
"It's not my idea, I think it just needs to happen," Mr Castle said.
The grants are awarded to Councils; Mr Castle had to ask Eurobodalla Shire Council to apply to the Department of Primary Industries for the grant.
Eurobodalla Council did apply for the grant, and added further improvements on the application: they applied for accessibility mats and improved accessible parking spaces.
The application will now be reviewed by the Recreational Fishing Saltwater Trust Expenditure Committee for approval.
If successful, Mr Castle wants Tuross Head to act as a trial for a wide-spread roll out of mats throughout the shire.
He hopes locals along the coast see the idea and are inspired to improve beach accessibility in their local area.
"We want the locals at each of these villages to stand up and say 'can we have accessible fishing at a and b and c,'" Mr Castle said.
He would love to see mats permanently established for residents to use at any time.
James Tugwell
James Tugwell is a reporter for Australian Community Media in Batemans Bay. james.tugwell@austcommunitymedia.com.au 0447 189 738
James Tugwell is a reporter for Australian Community Media in Batemans Bay. james.tugwell@austcommunitymedia.com.au 0447 189 738
