Friends of Stradbroke Island

The following article by Sue Ellen Carew, FOSI President was published in the Stradbroke Island News - Summer 2012 Sand mining continues to destroy old growth forests and animal habitat on Stradbroke It may come as a surprise to many visitors holidaying on the island over summer to learn that North Stradbroke Island is still being mined. There are still three large active mines. The mining company, Sibelco, plans to close the Yarraman sand mine near Point Lookout in 2015. The giant Enterprise sand mine in the middle of the island – you can see it from the headland at Point Lookout – is currently allowed to keep working for another seven years until 2020, thanks to the former government’s renewal of expired mining leases. The silica mine at Vance near the Amity turnoff, in prime koala country, is currently allowed to keep working until 2025. The giant Enterprise and Yarraman mines work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The company continues to lobby to be allowed to continue mining fo...

We were woken early on Saturday 15 October by a storm which eased as we headed for Cleveland and the water-taxi to Dunwich to take part in the 2011 North Stradbroke Island Urban Koala survey, organised by RCC Wildlife. There were about 30 volunteers this year and we surveyed the streets of each township in small groups, beginning at Dunwich. Here we found 10 koalas; then to Amity Point where we found 19 plus 1 at Flinders Beach. After lunch on the shore at Amity we surveyed Point Lookout but sighted only 1 koala there, a grand total of 31 for this year – 3 higher than last year. Where were the koalas which we know have been seen at Point Lookout? There have been photos and records of them and locals told us they have seen them but they seemed to be hiding away on the survey day! However, it was a good day; even the weather smiled on us – sunny and warm after the morning storm and then a magnificent storm brewing at the end of the day as we boarded the water-taxi back to Cleve...

Protecting south-east Queensland’s dwindling koala population is becoming a hot topic. The issue has featured heavily in the media recently. FOSI has made a submission to the State Government calling for urgent action to protect the unique island koalas before it is too late. North Stradbroke Island (NSI) is the home of a vigorous and healthy population of koalas. There is a low incidence of common koala diseases and research that has been carried out to date shows that they have been genetically isolated for about 8,000 years. Stradbroke's koalas constitute the only naturally- occurring Island population in Australia. These koalas are unique and deserving of special consideration.Further research may reveal that these koalas hold the key to curing the mainland populations of various common diseases, as NSI’s koalas currently appear to be more robust. North Stradbroke Island has a small (300-1000 individuals) but significant population of koalas that require the highest possible pr...

Photo: Dick Marks Australian Koala Foundation A study of North Stradbroke Island‟s koala population is underway and you can help! If you see a koala you can note down some vital details and send them to the study team. Island resident Jan Aldenhoven is collecting information to send to the Redlands City Council and the State Government‟s endangered species unit. “We hope to build a picture of the number of koalas on the island, their range and habitat, as we don‟t know what the local population is doing, if it is increasing or in decline,” Jan said. When you see a koala note the following information and send it to jan@wildlifefilms.com.au or PO Box 255 Point Lookout. Date and time of siting Your name and contact details  Koala's location - Be as precise as possible, you can even include GPS coordinates  Tree type - If you don‟t know the species note the exact tree so someone can identify it later.  Sex - Males have a brown stain in the crease of their chest an...