Fines will hurt four but not as much as a 10-tonne boulder
FOUR people have escaped being hit by 10-tonne boulders but they have each been hit with $353 fines for entering Burleigh National Park as workers send huge rocks rolling down the headland.
The penalties are the
first since the Oceanview walkway was closed on December 28 because of unexpected rockfalls. Engineers are in the process of removing high-risk boulders.
The fines follow pictures of a group of teenagers standing on a cluster of boulders just outside the worksite, 80m above the walking track, taken by a Bulletin photographer.
Work began to remove 107 high-risk boulders to make the walking track safe last week.
Senior ranger at Burleigh Henry Waterman said safety on the track is his priority.
“Four people will receive fines after they ignored clear signage, three lines of barriers and directions from rangers at the weekend,” he said.
Mr Waterman said he was frustrated with people trespassing on the worksite, causing work on the project to stop.
“Security guards are on duty for the duration of the works and ranger patrols have been stepped up so the work can proceed safely,” he said.
Mr Waterman said huge basalt boulders have been falling on to the track behind barriers and will do so for the rest of the month. “We expect the track to be repaired and opened around the end of July, depending on weather, work interruptions and a further report from the geotechnical engineers.”
He said surfers can continue to access the surf break off the headland from a short section of track at the northern entry to the park.