Petition calls for re-opening of entire Wandi Track

Alpine Shire Council has received a petition, with 11 signatures, asking it to reverse a decision to close public access to an approximate 300 metre section of the historical Wandiligong (Wandi) Track near the Wandiligong Alpine Park Reserve. The petition was tabled at last week's council meeting and in accordance with council's governance rules, council officers will prepare and present a report on the matter at a future ordinary council meeting. The petition states the "closure makes it impossible to complete the walk from Bright and to enter it from the Wandiligong township area". The petition, instigated by local resident Brian Littlechild, asserts the track has been in existence since circa 1876 and is "shown on old and recent maps, and in Victoria state and local government maps". Petitioners believe a legal precedent in the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal (Stonnington Council vs Anderson) that found historic tracks are public highways and open to the public at all times, applies to the Wandiligong Walk. The popular Wandi Walk follows Morses Creek from where it joins with the Ovens River in Bright's Centenary Park, through to Wandiligong, with the walking path predominantly located on crown land alongside the creek. At two locations, Morses Creek has migrated into separate parcels of private land, and the freehold owners withdrew public access to both sections in late 2023. Following the closure, council engaged two different consultants with public land expertise to assess the situation, history and relevant law. In June last year, council received feedback from the specialists on options available and the viability of each option for re-establishment of the walk on the western side of Morses Creek. The specialists' advice found Morses Creek had shifted west over time, and its current path now runs through private property, and based on the Land Act 1958, there is no longer any public land between the private properties and Morses Creek. For the record, that Act says that if a river or creek changes its path, the public land that was set aside when the land was first divided doesn’t move with the water, and the boundary between public and private land stays where it was originally marked.

Petition calls for re-opening of entire Wandi Track

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