Kerrod Trott 
Local environmental activist Paul Rosser, who’s been working as a Volunteer in the Washpool area for nigh on 50 years now, is delighted to see the land titles finalised, so that work can proceed on remediation of the site.
Paul is wondering, however, about the handover of the western end of Button Road to the Government, thereby consolidating the titles of the entire area.
“For some time,” says Paul, “my colleagues and I in Trees for Life (TFL) have been advocating for a number of important items:
- Transfer of the western portion of the Button Road land to the Department of Environment & Water,
- Closure of the western end of Button Road after the last inhabited block and
- Excavation of the old roadway returning the Washpool to its original form, bringing together the north & south portions of the pool as it was before 1836.
“Furthermore,” Paul went on to say, “the TFL members have advocated that the entire title once consolidated should be handed over to the Kaurna First Nations People as an act of sincere reconciliation.
“We see DEW acting as a mentor to the Kaurna people as they implement the project recommendations enshrined in the Glenelg Nature Trust’s reports. The Government would continue to fund the process as it does now.
“We see the area set up under a Native Title Board who would receive the full Torrens Land Title. Members of the public would still have access to the area but under Kaurna Rules rather than DEW Rules.
“It is a reverse form of Terra Nullus in effect.
“To me this is unfinished business on my part, hence my desire to keep the ball rolling.”
About Author
