Oil drilling threats to Tasmania’s coastlines prompted former Greens leader Bob Brown and partner Paul Thomas to set out on a road trip across Australia, resulting in their latest book Green Nomads – Wild Places.
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Green Nomads – Wild Places is a photographic exploration of the wildness of Australian coastlines, starting in Tasmania on a yacht from Port Cygnet to Stanley, then travelling by car along the Victorian, South Australian and West Australian coastlines.
The journey began after Mr Brown visited the Great Australian Bight as part of a voyage on the Sea Shepherd’s ship Steve Irwin.
Federal government permits allow Norwegian company Statoil to drill the area, leaving Australia’s coastlines including those in Tasmania, at risk of possible oil spillages in the future.
“I was taken by the wildlife and the beauty of the coastline, lines of sea cliffs, the sand dunes, the area packed with seabirds and seals, whales and dolphins,” Mr Brown said.
“I got home and said to Paul ‘why don’t we drive there?’.”
Mr Brown said any potential oil drilling could result in oil spillages like that of the 2010 BP oil spill in the gulf of mexico that saw more than three million barrels of oil leaked into the ocean.
“An oil spill in this region could end up around the shores of the Great Australian Blight, but would also end up around Tasmania in Bass Straight, the Tarkine region, the West Coast, the East Coast.”
Mr Brown said if people were going to be moved to protect such marvellous places then they needed to see them, which is why the couple are sharing their journey in this latest book.
He said notable moments in their journey included Kangaroo Island, where he managed to photograph a lone swan dancing on the beach, and Murphy’s Haystacks in South Australia.
For Mr Thomas one of the stand-out aspects was the isolation they experienced in these remote, wild places.
“When we went to Three Hummock Island and went ashore and walked in that pristine place we had it pretty much to ourselves,” he said.
“When you get off the beaten track and go exploring you realise the magnitude of what Tasmania has to offer, and very few people see it.”
Mr Brown said the book is an invitation for everyone to head bush.
“It is incredibly important that people take their children so they become familiar with these environments,” he said.
“Nature is full of surprises … being able to capture and share it in this book with other people is a real joy.”
- Meet the authors at Petrach’s event, December 7 at 6.30pm. Book available December 1.