The fallout continues from the recent decision to clamp down on camping at Callide Dam near Biloela in Queensland.
Locals, grey nomads, and other travellers are still processing the fact that landowners, SunWater has erected 10 new ‘no camping’ signs at the site as it seeks to protect the environment from the negative impacts of travellers at the increasingly popular spot. A spokesperson for the company said the crackdown was in reaction to the booming number of people camping illegally on private land outside the designated camping area.
The local Central Telegraph newspaper has been down to the area to gauge the reaction from travellers, many of whom have come from far and wide and have become accustomed to stopping at the dam … and they are not happy campers.
The majority of the grey nomads who the paper spoke to said it was frustrating that they were suffering the consequences of a ban, when it was young people who had given the camping area a bad name.
“We don’t want to be causing any issues to the locals because some of them are good but some others ruin it,” one camper said. “Last weekend, for example, a group of people came out at about 5pm and they lit a fire … they left at 9pm and left the fire going. It was still going at 4am.”
Another camper said most of those stopping at the dam were responsible campers.
“We are fully self- contained, we empty our waste, we have our own toilets and showers,” he told the Central Telegraph. “Most of us have $50,000 to $60,000 in assets sitting here so we aren’t going to let a fire get out of control.”
And, as ever, the issue of just how much money free campers spend in local communities was a hot topic of conversation.
“If we were kicked out of here, we are going to go somewhere else and that is a lot of money that is going to go with us,” said another camper. “They say we are worth $100 per couple per day to a community so Biloela is going to lose a lot of money – the laundromats, the butchers, the restaurants, IGA, Foodworks, the chemist, petrol stations -we fill one car it is over $100.”
The debate, of course, is a familiar one. It’s one which is being held at numerous communities about numerous campsites across Australia. Other than the arguments about the economic benefits or otherwise that campers bring with them, it is the poor behaviour of some campers that really lies at the heart of the issue. And, when there is no obvious or effective way to moderate the actions of a minority in remote and largely unregulated areas, campsite closure becomes a favoured solution.
* Will the poor behaviour of a minority of campers continue to cause camping areas be closed to the many?
Sadly we see this so often. A minority getting a bad name for responsible free campers. Often it’s ” locals” who leave rubbish and mess. I am disappointed to see this story. We didn’t Camo there but wherever we do we try to support local businesses as do the majority of other free camoers
As a local recently stated on facebook, the “No Camping” restriction has been there for 25 years. The signs have always been there and they had recently been renewed, not just put up as claimed. You forget to mention that the land being camped on is leased to local farmers for stock and fences at some stage had been broken for access.
Why don’t you say what you really mean Gary, you don’t like people camping for nothing. Most of these types of situations are created by people who have no idea how much money is spent in towns.
Being a Grey Nomad and very proud of it, we also spend our $$$ in and around the towns that we stay at. We ensure that we only leave the tyre marks, which disappear shortly after we have exited the camp site.
Yes…..their are a number of inconsiderate folks in our society.
We the G.N also need a fair go.
John