Nine bikes, a skateboard, crab traps, seven anchors, a beach towel and a pair of dumb bells were just a handful of the items removed from the bottom of the Myall River at Tea Gardens earlier this week.
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The find was part of a project organised and managed by the Myall River Action Group to clean up a chunk of the Myall River.
Three divers – Forster-based marine ecologist Suzanne Fiebig, her son Kaspar and Isabelle Strahan from MidCoast Council – managed to fill four trailer loads of the rubbish collected from an area stretching from Hawks Nest, under the Singing Bridge to Tea Gardens.
Working on the incoming tide from 8am, the divers went through eight bottles of air, calling it a day at 2pm as the tide began to turn.
“The divers literally ran out of air,” organiser Gordon Grainger said.
Above the water, the team was assisted by Mike Ferris, Paul Bendy, Peter Henman and Kerry Mac, while the project was managed by Rick Wraight and Gordon Grainger.
Mr Grainger attributed the big haul to clear river conditions.
Heavy rain which resulted in a large volume of water coming from the catchment area causing increased turbidity marred the group’s initial clean up in June 2017.
“This time they could see what the were looking for,” Mr Grainger said.
And, because the water was clearer, more rubbish was found, he said.
“Given that amount of rubbish there is no doubt every town on a riverbank would have a rubbish problem.
Mr Grainger is urging all riverside towns to take up the challenge and organise similar clean-ups.
“We are blessed to be living alongside a pristine waterway.”
Also helping on the day was Stroud SES, while Clarrie’s Boatshed provided the water vessels.
Suzanne, who established the Great Lakes Under Water Research group in 2007, praised the clean-up crew, who she said was amazing.
But, what was more amazing was what was found on the river bed, she said.
Two of the bikes were almost new, as were the dumb bells, she said.
Suzanne believed many of the nine camping chairs which were recovered from their watery grave were the result of a gust of wind during while fishing.
Ever the ecologist, some of the beer bottles have remained under water as they now house many species of marine life.