Share your views on Point Impossible

THE Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation is inviting the community to share their thoughts on the future of Point Impossible.

As part of the Point Impossible Masterplan Project, the two organisations are asking locals and all who love the spot to help create a masterplan that respects the area’s unique cultural heritage, environment, and surf vibes.

Kurrak Panyul, as Wadawurrung People call it, holds immense significance as a rich bio-cultural landscape where multi-clan gatherings came for ceremony and celebration over many thousands of years.

A Point Impossible Open Day will be held on November 11 from 9am-noon, at which teams from the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and GORCAPA will collaborate to host an information hub to share insights about “Possos”, including Wadawurrung Cultural values, local history, environmental significance, and ongoing challenges in the area.

There will be three guided walk and talk sessions with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners during the Open Day, but the sessions have been in such high demand that all available spots have been booked out.

People are still being encouraged to come to the Open Day, explore the information hub, and actively participate in the discussions surrounding Point Impossible.

“This presents an enormous opportunity to advance the shared objectives within the Wadawurrung Healthy Country Plan – Paleert Tjaara Dja, encompassing parts of Wadawurrung Country like Point Impossible,” GORCAPA acting director of infrastructure and planning Shane Blacket said.

“Working hand in hand with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to develop a draft Masterplan for Point Impossible is a pivotal step in embodying self determination and in safeguarding the area’s cultural heritage for generations to come.

“We want to work closely with all who love and use ‘Possos’ to understand their wishes for its future.

“We’re committed to building a stronger future together, collaborating and making evidencebased decisions in partnership with Traditional Owners.”

Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation general manager Greg Robinson said Kurrak Panyul was an area of abundance of natural resources for Wadawurrung People in the right season.

“It was a land of plenty with the saltwater Dja [Country] rich in shellfish, many eels in the Thompson Creek Estuary, and the hearths and living areas of our people found in the marsh of the Karaaf wetlands.

“Kurrak Panyul is loved by many people and is under threat from increased usage, incorrect access and coastal erosion in the face of climate change and rising sea levels.

We’re excited to be working with the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority to plan for a future for Kurrak Panyul where our Cultural heritage is protected, understood, and celebrated alongside the other ways people like to use the area.”

A survey opens on November 11.

To fill it out, head to haveyoursay.greatoceanroadauthority.vic.gov.au/pointimpossible