Prom Coast Guardians
Looking after the Hoddle Range and the Prom Coast
We’re a community group of locals, landowners, businesses and visitors in South Gippsland, from Fish Creek and the Hoddle Range down to Wilsons Promontory. We speak up for the landscape, wildlife, water and way of life that make this place what it is.
Who we are
Prom Coast Guardians is a grassroots group. Some of us farm here, some run local businesses, some have lived on the range for decades and some come every summer. What we share is care for this country and a wish to see it handed on in good shape.
We’re volunteers and we aren’t aligned with any political party. Decisions about land use here are often made a long way from here. We make sure the local picture is on the table: the people, the places and the evidence.
What we’re protecting
The Prom Coast is more than a view on the way to the Prom. It’s a working landscape, a wildlife corridor and a community.
The Hoddle Range
The green ridge behind Fish Creek. Its Flora Reserve is a strict nature reserve, home to Bog Gum and Slender Tree-fern (both critically endangered in Victoria) and visited by Gang-gang Cockatoos. [1]
The gateway to the Prom
Meeniyan-Promontory Road carries visitors to Wilsons Promontory National Park, past Cape Liptrap Coastal Park and the farms and bush of the Prom Coast. First impressions start here.
A wildlife corridor
Prom Coast Ecolink describes the Hoddle Range as the halfway point between the Strzelecki Ranges and Cape Liptrap, a link from rainforest to coast. Strzelecki koalas, lyrebirds and Gang-gangs move through it. [5]
Farms and local business
Dairy and beef, vineyards and a cellar door, olive groves, honey, cafes, galleries and farm stays. Clean air and a good name are part of what they sell.
A place to live
Quiet rural roads, dark skies, the Great Southern Rail Trail and an arts town at its heart. People have built homes and families here because of what it is.
Our charter
How we work, whatever the issue.
- 1Protect what matters here. The landscape, native plants and animals, water, farmland and the amenity of the people who live on the Prom Coast.
- 2Evidence first. We check facts against their original sources, say plainly when a figure is our own measurement, and correct our mistakes in the open.
- 3Through the proper channels. We work with regulators, Council, Parliament and, where needed, the courts and tribunals. We ask them to apply the rules fully and fairly.
- 4Non-partisan. We don’t support any party or candidate. We’ll talk to anyone who’ll listen.
- 5Respect. We stick to issues, not personalities, including with people we disagree with. Neighbours stay neighbours.
- 6Your privacy. We never pass supporters’ names or contact details to developers, their consultants or anyone else.
- 7Open to everyone. You don’t need to live here to care about this place. Visitors, holiday-makers and businesses are all welcome.
#HandsOffTheHoddle
A second quarry is proposed on the Hoddle Range. Find out what’s planned, what’s at stake and how to have your say.
Get involved
Leave your details to hear from us. Tell us what you care about and what you could help with, whether that’s local knowledge, photos, writing, a skill or an hour here and there.
Sources
- Bowler, T. (2023), Flora and Fauna Assessment of Hoddle Range Nature Conservation Reserve, ID Ecological Management, for Prom Coast Ecolink (used with its agreement). Reserve is Parks Victoria IUCN category Ia.
- Ecocentric Environmental Consulting (2024), Engaeus Surveys: Hoddle Range Nature Conservation Reserve, report 23033, for Prom Coast Ecolink (used with its agreement).
- Battery Creek (Fish Creek) special water supply catchment, declared Government Gazette 10 November 1987.
- Corner Inlet, listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
- Prom Coast Ecolink, Halfway Hoddle project material.
We acknowledge the Bunurong and Gunaikurnai peoples, the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where we live and work. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and recognise their continuing connection to Country.
