By Abbey Cannan
The Cooloola Coast saw an increased police and ranger presence around beach camp sites over the past week, with numbers expected to hit maximum capacity again this weekend.
Police conducted land and water patrols from Inskip Point to Rainbow Beach, right down to Teewah Beach ensuring all school leavers remained safe whilst enjoying their end of year celebrations which began on November 20.
Despite the large numbers, Inspector Pat Swindells from the Gympie Patrol Group said school leavers on the beach were very well behaved during the first weekend of Schoolies.
“The high level of engagement between the police and everyone camping on the beach worked in our favour,“ he said.
“We were providing a lot of education early on and guidance in relation to consumption of liquor and warning about unsafe driving practices. Plus we were letting them know that we had both marked and unmarked cars about so that helped us a lot in managing the beach.“
Inspector Swindells said camping grounds were at maximum capacity over the first weekend.
“They had over 1500 up the beach both days and it quietened down quite a bit on Monday but next weekend it is back at maximum capacity again.“
He said they issued a number of infringement notices for drink driving and unsafe driving practices, but those being fined were not school leavers.
“There’s been 30 infringement notices issued with only two in relation to Schoolies. On Sunday, 19 tickets were issued by the water police for marine infringements and 14 for traffic, but none of them were related to Schoolies.“
Unlike Noosa’s Main Beach, the largest gathering on the beach reached numbers of up to 100 young people at Teewah Beach.
Inspector Swindells said the crowd was well behaved and dispersed after two hours.
“I just want to thank the community for supporting us in trying to manage these young people and we will continue to provide education and guidance to them in relation to camping in our pristine areas,“ he said.
Queensland Police in conjunction with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service rangers conducted compliance checks and reminded visitors of the need to display required permits.
Mike Devrey, Manager of Compliance said rangers were also educating school leavers about responsible behaviour in National Parks.
“Most visitors to our national parks and recreation areas do the right thing, but rangers can issue fines for not having the necessary permits and for environmental and socially inappropriate behaviour,“ he said.
“It is an offence in recreation areas to remove branches from trees or collect fallen branches for firewood in Queensland national parks, and people can be issued with a Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN).
“As it is bushfire season, it is absolutely essential to make sure campfires are kept under control and are never abandoned.
“People should always use water and not sand to extinguish a campfire, as the coals can smoulder beneath the sand.“
