The newly refurbished dredge, currently moored at Croki, is the result of over three years of hard work by the group, whose determination to restore healthy water flow to the Manning River has resulted in this amazing community-led achievement.

The project has been hailed as the first of its kind in Australia, with the community taking the lead in securing the necessary funding, liaising with government departments, and finally purchasing and restoring the dredge themselves.

FIMG president Bill Nelson and vice president Greg Crisp were full of praise for the local business community, local individual expertise and Greater Taree City Council who have supported the project and seen it through to fruition.

“This has been a joint venture made possible through a memorandum of understanding established between FIMG and the city council. Council has now signed off on the Review of Environmental Factors and conditional permits from Crown Lands and Fisheries have been issued,” Greg said.

Council’s environmental project officer David Hopper said working with the Farquhar Inlet Management Group has been incredibly inspiring.

“I have never been involved in such a unique project before, where the community has obtained their own dredge, particularly in such a short time frame. These people are incredibly passionate about improving the health of our river and have the knowledge to make it happen. It is a win-win situation for council and the community,” David said.

The first place the dredge will be put to work will be the blocked channel behind Charlie’s Island, followed by the boat ramp access channel at Mud Bishops.

The spoil from these sites will used to build two habitat islands for threatened species within Farquhar Inlet and an island for recreational purposes behind Charlie’s Island.

National Parks and Wildlife Service manager Kevin Carter said the creation of the dredged islands will be of particular benefit to the Little Terns, whose greatest threat is foxes on their current nesting site at Farquhar spit.

“We believe the benefits of dredging in the area will be enormous,” Kevin said. “It will provide better habitat, navigation, entrance water flows, and better recreational facilities. With an increase in the flow of fresh clean water, the overall health of the estuary will improve and there will be plenty of food and habitat for threatened species such as our Little Terns.”

Another project that is gaining momentum is to breathe new life into Harrington’s once-popular swimming lagoon, which is now rarely used due to the general siltation and degradation of the Harrington estuary. The plan for its restoration involves extensive dredging of the lagoon itself, and re-use of the claimed sand to create a new beach and attractive grassed picnic area adjacent to the Crowdy-Harrington Marine Rescue headquarters at the base of Pilot Hill. FIMG are confident that funding will be available soon.

“All of these improvements will have massive flow-on benefits for the entire region. The Manning River is the lifeblood of the community so we need to ensure the system is healthy and clean,” Bill said.

Dredging is expected to commence in the next couple of weeks. Council, Waterways and FIMG ask that all boat users take care where the dredging is being carried out as there will be pipelines, cables, workboats and the operating dredge at Farquhar for the next five to six weeks.