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Marcoola Beach
Progress Association Inc.

Whale of a Problem
CLICK on the Thumbnail Images to view the Full Size Pictures

Monday morning, 27 Sep. 1999
A mature humpback whale was first seen 30 metres out in the  waves at Marcoola, about 100 metres away from residences and about 500 metres south of the Marcoola Surf club.

The Experts knew about this carcass the day before it was beached. - When it was still 4 nautical miles off the coast. But they DID NOTHING about it. - They didn't even TELL anybody about it.
And when it washed ashore and was still floating at 7.00am they still did NOTHING. - If it was to be towed back out to sea, THAT'S when they should have tried to act.
But they all stood around until midday when it was low tide before they decided to act.
NOBODY wanted to take responsibility for it's disposal. 

The experts first said it was a female whale and it had a little calf when first spotted. Sob !

Then it was a male.
Then a Non Lactating Female which couldn't have given birth for 12 months - So NO CALF.
So much for EXPERT OPINIONS eh?
A Calf just sounded good on TV.

WHALEF.JPG The Whale in the surf at 6-30AM - Now's the time to Tow it out to sea.
WHALEA.JPG But Nobody was prepared to admit responsibility and/or actually DO anything about it.
whale1.jpg By 10AM it's too late and the Experts gather to solve the Problem
Cart it away or Bury it?
WHALEE.JPG
Their excuse for not cutting it up and carting it away - "they thought it would have been too emotional to cut it up in front of the kiddies."
whale3a.jpg They called it "Worlds Best Practice"
We call it CRIMINAL.
These experts didn't even know there was coffee rock just below the surface
WHALED.JPG  but they persisted in burying it as deep as they could anyway
whale3b.jpg This Photo clearly shows just how far below the surface of the beach the carcass finished up.
They told the media that
"the whale is buried under metres of sand"
whaleb.jpg In actual fact it was a mere 3ft. below the surface of the beach with 2 metres of SANDCASTLE piled on top of it.
In hindsight (2 years later) there has been no ill effects apart from a faint odor, from this RASH action. 
(More LUCK than Good Management)
The point is "They DID NOT KNOW this for sure at the time"


Contact the Secretary:
Mrs. Debbie Johnson
6 Lorraine Avenue,
MARCOOLA BEACH,
Queensland,
Australia. 4564
Phone/FAX (617) 5448 8850

Alternatively
By email: - marcoola@mailcity.com

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