After 48 years, Venus Bay could be returning to the swamp

A 1977 study said building houses on Venus Bay "never should have occurred" as it was built on salt marsh and was vulnerable to flooding. The study - from the Conservation Council of Victoria - suggested the state government buy back empty blocks and restore the land to salt marsh and mangroves. 

The advice went unheeded and development continued. Now, nearly five decades on, South Gippsland Council has endorsed a plan that might save the town from flooding.

What happened: On November 26, South Gippsland council unanimously voted to undertake a feasibility study that will look into restoring 324 hectares of the Venus Bay peninsula’s farmland to salt marsh and mangroves.

• The $80,000 feasibility study will be paid for by the state government through the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) as part of the Cape to Cape Resilience Project.

Councillor Sarah Gilligan told the Monitor modelling showed restoration of the peninsula’s salt marsh and mangroves could protect the town against flooding during severe weather and extend the lifespan of Venus Bay's sole access road.

The report will also investigate how restoring the salt marsh slowly over the next 30-35 years could:

• Increase biodiversity in Venus Bay.

• Act as a carbon sink to absorb pollution from the atmosphere.

🗣️ “Mangroves and salt marsh are a fantastic way of absorbing storm surges. It's a natural way of building a wall,” Gilligan said.

How to restore wetlands? Mangroves and salt marsh are communities of plants that grow on the foreshores of coastal lakes and estuaries. They thrive in salty conditions, which most other vegetation cannot tolerate.

The study will look at planting more of these salt-loving plants on the unused farmland to grow Venus Bay’s wetlands.

A problem since 1977

Gilligan quoted the 1977 study, which stated: “The subdivision of Venus Bay estates never should have occurred, however, the damage is done.”