Australian Coastal Management

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background

Australia's coastline stretches for more than 30 000 km (refer to Figure 1), but unfortunately it is gradually disappearing due to erosion and coastal management issues. This is not only an issue to Australia but to its people as over 85% of Australians live and rely on the coast to keep there houses stable. Thus, this makes coastal management crucial in sustaining Australia’s coastline.

1.2 Aims

The Gold Coast is a prime example of where coastal erosion is present, it is also known for its high-rise buildings constructed around the coast. 4.5 billion dollars are earned by the Gold Coast City Council per year from tourism and 10 million of that is spent on effective coastal management since it is necessary to

All data was recorded in the Field Study Booklet (see Appendix). Other approaches of collecting data and information included photographs, field sketches and estimations.

2.2 Secondary Data

This report contains secondary data retrieved from the Internet, including maps, pictures and statistics as well as information/data from

Current coastal management strategies used to preserve Kirra Beach include fences, beach nourishment, vegetation and rocks. Fences (see figure 26) are placed to block wind from blowing sand off the dunes. Behind the fences, large rocks have been placed as a way to decrease the wave impact towards man-made structures (e.g. houses) and trees visible as the rocks have the ability to weaken waves making less destructive. Furthermore, heavy vegetation has been planted and grown on top of dunes, which is another way of counteracting sand. Beach nourishment, defined by adding sand to the beach, is also used as a strategy for coastal management at Kirra Beach. Unlike Kirra Beach, instead of nourishing the beach, the Gold Coast City Council has placed multiple groynes (figure 27) at Palm Beach. This is a form of hard engineering that is built from the beach out into the sea to prevent erosion initiated by the movement of sand or longshore drift. Moreover, as houses are built on the beach, the residents of Palm Beach have placed fences, large rocks, heavy vegetation and cement to protect their backyards and houses from eroding with the sand. Thus, management strategies have been put in place to manage the natural and human impacts on these two