Wallaby gates set for trial
A NEW one-way gate to be installed at the Trinity Beach Sporting Precinct AFL grounds has wallaby conservationists jumping for joy.
Cairns Regional Council will trial the installation of a gate which will allow wallabies who get into the grounds to get out easily.
Infrastructure services general manager Bruce Gardiner said, if the trial was successful, it would pave the way to installing more gates around the grounds and in other areas.
“This type of gate has worked elsewhere with kangaroos and we hope that will translate into success in this instance with the wallabies,” he said. “It’s been a collaborative effort and everyone involved will be watching over the coming weeks to see if the gate is being used.”
The Agile Project wallaby conservation group approached the council with the idea, based on designs used at the CSIRO Yalanbee Research Station at Bakers Hill in Western Australia.
Project co-ordinator Shai Ager said there had been 46 wallaby deaths recorded in the past 29 days, many of which occurred at the sporting precinct, or the highway connecting Trinity and Kewarra beaches. “What happens is people leave the gates to the AFL grounds open at night, wallabies get in and get trapped overnight,” she said.
”This stresses them out, causing them to smash against the fences. The one-way gate being trialled will have cameras monitoring them, so we know if they’re using it.
“They’ve been pushed out of original habitat in Moore’s Gully toward Trinity and Kewarra because they’ve lost so much due to development.”
The council provided funding and materials for the gate and arranged for Marlin Coast Men’s Shed to build it.
Men’s Shed co-ordinator Kevin Beveridge said members were prepared to make more if the trial was a success.
“I think it’s a good idea, the one we made will definitely work mechanically,” he said.
“All it depends on is if the wallabies use it, which is why it needs the trial.”
The trial gate will be installed next week.