Community meeting reveals Bundian Way trail plans

The official Bundian Way route extends 365km between Turemulerrer (Twofold Bay) and Targangal (Mount Kosciuszko) and is an ancient pathway used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years.

The wheels of the project were set in motion by the Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) two years ago when they applied for funding to begin re-building the first section of the walk.

Since receiving funding from the NSW Government through the regional tourism grants 12 months ago, the LALC has been busy planning and designing the route, employing local track builder and director of Creative Lines, Yully Forest.

On Friday,August 26, the general public was invited to a community meeting where the Eden LALC presented its plans for the first node of the track.

The Eden Visitor Information centre was filled to the brim with people who were eager to hear what the new plans for the track were.

Tim Stubbs the environmental engineer involved in the Bundian Way project, told the crowd the designing process had taken them longer than they hoped, but they had "finally" reached a point where they could share the plans with the community.

"It felt like the right time to bring it to the community because although we may not be able to give them 100 per cent certainty on everything, we could give them a lot more clarity on the project," he said.

Mr Stubbs announced that the first node of the Bundian Way track was going to be 34km long. Starting at Jigamy Farm near Pambula and finishing at Fisheries Beach near Ben Boyd National Park.

In a rough summary walkers will come across some of the following beaches: the Pinnacles, Terrace Beach, Aslings Beach, Snug Cove, Cocora beach, Quarantine Bay, Brandy Creek Beach, finishing at Fisheries beach.

Mr Stubbs said one of the biggest considerations the Eden LALC had made in the planning process was in adopting an environmentally friendly approach in designing a track that left a minimal footprint on its surroundings.

"The whole route was walked and assessed by archaeologists and ecologists, to make sure that there wasn't any impact on culturally significant places and we have adjusted the route on their advice," he said.

"We want to make it as sensitive and respectful as we can, but in recognizing that we do need to meet certain standards in the building process too."

Mr Stubbs said their goal had been to build a path that would "bring people into the landscape not build a huge infrastructure".

"We've done a lot of work to make it an immersive experience, where people can be immersed in the beauty and majesty of the area," he said.

Despite their careful environmental approach, some concerns were raised by members of the community during the meeting on Friday, that said they were concerned the chosen route would "disturb country" in some areas where other alternative paths (which they pointed out on the map) could be used instead.

Some residents living in the section of the walk that will go through private lands, also raised some concerns about walkers invading their privacy.

All issues raised during the meeting were noted by the Eden LALC and people were offered the opportunity to exchange emails at the end of the meeting with Mr Stubbs to record their concerns.

"I think it was fantastic that so many people came on Friday, it shows that people are interested and we really wanted to engage with the community," Mr Stubbs said.

"It was an important step for us to hear and understand people's thoughts and concerns and now we can address them before we finalize the route."

Mr Stubbs said he and the Eden LALC hoped the general community would see that the project hadn't been designed as "just a piece of public infrastructure but something to benefit the entire community".

"We really want it to be a walk that attracts people to Eden but also gives the locals something they can enjoy on an everyday basis," he said.

Mr Stubbs said the project would also open up opportunities for the local community from tourism, to cultural education possibilities and other employment opportunities during the building process and when the walk is completed.

"We're hoping that the construction of the track will really open up opportunities for the Aboriginal community, but also the wider community to benefit from more visitation and people spending two to three days in the area," he said.

The project's initial estimated completion date had been set for June 2023 and has now been pushed back to December 2023.