These photographs were taken (early 1980's) soon after a 10km long trench was dug from the property adjoining the Stockyard Gully Nature Reserve into the reserve. The entrance to Stockyard Tunnel was drilled and blasted to remove large boulders from the entrance to improve the water flow into the cave.
The trench was dug to reduce surface water on the adjoining property.
The perpetrators of this act were never prosecuted.
Click on the picture for a 59Kb JPG
photograph of Becky Steven contemplating the potential impact of the vast quantity
of soil material that had been disturbed and was now flowing into the Stockyard
Gully Cave system.
Click on the picture for a 49Kb JPG photo of several cavers wandering
over the trench wondering if anything could be done to help the cave.
Click on the picture for a 56Kb JPG photo of the entrance to Stockyard Tunnel soon after the entrance to the cave had been drilled and blasted. A large boulder used to
cover the now wide open entrance shown in the photograph. Today the rocks in the foreground are completely
gone. Only a sandy floor remains as a result of considerable siltification to the cave system.
Click on the picture for a 67Kb JPG photo looking from the top of the gully bank down into the "trench". The digging of the trench resulted in the complete removal of all of the trees and tree trunks in the bottom of the gully. Several very old river gums were completely removed during this work.