About 400 people attended a public open-day at the iconic Tarwyn Park property in the beautiful Bylong Valley in the Upper Hunter on July 31. It was the day that Peter Andrews, the 76- year-old founder and expert in Natural Sequence Farming (NSF), relinquished ownership of the property.
Korean state-owned mining company KEPCO assumed ownership of the property at midnight on August 1. But Andrews has vowed to stay on to fight for the land's protection.
A dozen supporters have squatted with him in a symbolic act of opposition to the proposed Bylong Coal Project, which will be built on the property.
Ian Sutton was arrested on August 4, after KEPO warned the previous day it would call the police if the squatters did not leave. Three squatters had refused to move.
Andrews pioneered NSF at Tarwyn Park in the 1970s, applying principles of natural hydrology and vegetation cover to transform its degraded landscape into a verdant and productive farm. His unorthodox methods were initially shunned by the farming establishment, but were later acclaimed as his story featured twice on ABC TVs Australian Story.
Regional coordinator for the Lock the Gate Alliance Steve Phillips said: “Hundreds and hundreds of people turned out to show their support for Tarwyn Park today. This is a special place, and it's upsetting for people to think that it's threatened by coal mining.”
The open day was a wake, a celebration and a rally where Andrews cried while talking about the years of being shunned by the farming establishment and the toll it had taken on his family.
Stuart Andrews, who bought Tarwyn Park from his father in the late 1990s, sold it to Kepco in 2014 after fighting for three years against mine exploration on the property.
Author Sharyn Munro, who has chronicled the impact of mining on individuals and small communities in Australia, said she had wanted to call her book Coal Wars, because of the toll negotiating with mining companies had taken on families like the Andrews.
Supporters of NSF are lobbying state environment minister Mark Speakman to place an Interim Heritage Order over Tarwyn Park. While some of the property is earmarked for mining, supporters want to ensure that the remainder is preserved and that its land management practices are maintained.
Secretary of the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance Craig Shaw said: “We are extremely concerned at the fate of Tarwyn Park once KEPCO takes control of it.
“KEPCO have said they will maintain NSF principles at Tarwyn, but we have no reason to believe them. There is nobody at KEPCO who knows the first thing about NSF.
“Tarwyn Park must be protected, and we are calling on Minister Speakman to help make this happen.”
Supporters are calling on Speakman to permit Andrews to live on the site and complete this vital experiment; recognise the site as a priceless public asset; list Tarwyn Park as a World Heritage site; and that the site be upheld as the international teaching facility that it always has been with full public access into the future.
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