MidCoast Council Meet Local Legend Star Pet Updates Don Wright Bailey Forster Fortnightly Your local independent community newspaper distributed fortnightly to FREE Hallidays Point, Black Head, Tallwoods Village, Tuncurry, Forster Pacific Palms, Charlotte Bay, Smiths Lake, Coomba Park, Bungwahl and Seal Rocks. Wednesday 23rd June 2021 Owned and Loved by Locals Circulation 6000 N0.23 Knobbly the Pelican saved by team effort For the last decade, Knobbly the pelican, has made himself a resident of the Red Spot fish shop on Little Street in Forster. This might have something to do with his love of mullet! Last month, Tim Love (then Manager of Red Spot) noticed that poor Knobbly had a fishing line stuck in his throat. What happened next is an amazing chain of events that eventually resulted in a recovered Knobbly being released into the channel a few weeks later in front of all his rescuers. On that day, the 11th of May 2021, Tim saw at once that help was needed if Knobbly was to survive. He called the Sweet Pea Vet Clinic who gave him good advice on how to capture a pelican. Tim used a mullet to distract Knobbly while his colleague covered the pelican up with a sheet. Tim then scooped Knobbly up and took Below: Tim Love with Knobbly the Pelican. Above: Photo of Knobbly being released back to the channel at Forster by Kym Kilpatrick. During Knobbly’s him to the Vet Clinic down the road before and took him home to stay overnight in their stay of several contacting Kym Kilpatrick and Stan Bolden, outdoor shower at Hallidays Point. Above: Tim Love’s photo of both local FAWNA (For Australian Wildlife weeks in Early the next morning Stan drove Knobbly to Sydney, Knobbly with fishing line stuck in Needing Aid) volunteers. the Wildlife Hospital in Mosman for his surgery. one of his throat (across his black wings). At the vet it was discovered that Knobbly had During the drive Stan was aware of Knobbly Knobbly’s somehow ingested a fish with two fishhooks popping his head out several times to see what old friends happened to be down in Sydney and needed more skilled veterinary attention. was going on. Stan noticed how relaxed this and she dropped into the hospital to visit. Pi Sweet Pea Vet contacted the Taronga Wildlife wild bird was and realized that he had been Sjostrom Hankan (who used to own Red Spot for many years with her business partner Ray Hospital in Sydney who said they could perform around people before. Hankan) knew Knobbly well and was able surgery the next day. Stan then picked Knobbly “Knobbly is a pelican with personality plus”, to explain to the zoo staff his background in up from the Sweet Pea Vet in a doona cover said Kym after his stay. Continued on page 2. FORSTER FORTNIGHTLY 23rd June 2021 Community News Page 2 Forster Fortnightly Knobbly the Pelican saved by team effort Next deadline is 5pm Wednesday 30th June, to be published on Wednesday 7th of July. We welcome your stories, photos and letters. All submissions: www.forsterfortnightly.com.au Please send photos and files separately. When sending photos from a phone please send in ‘actual’ or ‘largest’ size possible. Photos 1MB (1000KB) or more preferred. Our commitment is to provide a newspaper that is factual, informative, and full of local stories and community news to share. We are here to promote and support our amazing local volunteers, community groups, sporting groups, schools, events and businesses. Editor: Mary Yule Phone: 0413 410 492 Keir on 0439 060 700. Email: [email protected] Puzzles & Cartoons: Supplied by Auspac Media, an Australian company with Business Hours: 9:30 - 5pm (Mon - Fri) Australian cartoons. Graphic & Web support: Golden Age Media, a locally-owned business. Contact Greg Forster Fortnightly: Proud to be a family Golden on 1300 766 713. locally-owned newspaper business. Printed: Spotpress in Marrickville NSW, on Thank you: To Vanda Gooley and Roberta sustainably sourced paper. Contact Murray Pearce for their expertise behind the scenes. We acknowledge the Worimi People, the traditional custodians of the land, waterways and sky of the Worimi Nation where this newspaper is published. With great respect we acknowledge their Elders, past, present and future. Above: Tim Love with mullet and Knobbly the pelican. Below: Knobbly, seconds after being released. Photos by Kym Kilpatrick. Our newspaper stands are Continued from page 1. for our wildlife - including amputation of a Forster. foot, damaged wings, eyes, ingested hooks groaning with the weight of and infections. Studies have identified fishing “He’d come every day to Red Spot like equipment, including discarded crab traps 6000 free copies! clockwork and wandered around like he owned and nets, as the deadliest threat faced by the place. He’d stare at you as if to say, ‘Where coastal birds of prey, pelicans, seagulls, turtles, is my lunch?’. He knows what a mullet is. If platypus and other aquatic animals. you gave him one, he would behave and stay We can help you reach at the end of the jetty”, Pi explained. She went What we can do to protect local wildlife your customers with our on to say that, “He was not impressed with from fishing tackle entanglement: his whiting diet at the hospital. He wanted his • Avoid bird feeding and nesting areas and keep FREE newspaper and mullet from Forster.” your distance so as not to disturb them. FREE online version. At the hospital they were able to estimate • Never leave your fishing line, hooks, bait and that he was around 25 years of age by his feet, packaging behind or unattended when fishing. which is remarkably old for a pelican. Enquiries: 0413 410 492 • Avoid using stainless steel hooks and barbed [email protected] When Knobbly was well enough, Pi and Ray hooks which can take years to break down in brought him straight from the Taronga Wildlife the environment (instead use barbless, non- Hospital - back to the channel in Forster stainless & circle hooks). where he was to be released. Late on Sunday afternoon, (6th of June) Tim (with his friends • Avoid lead sinkers and use alternatives. All advertising prices & deals are and family) were wiating for him, as well as • Bioline is a better alternative to traditional on our website: colleagues from Red Spot, Kym and Stan from nylon, braid or fluorocarbon lines. If Bioline is Above: Customer Care www.forsterfortnightly.com.au FAWNA, plus one reporter, ready to welcome lost at sea it will biodegrade within five years, Knobbly home. Within seconds Knobbly was compared to 600 years for nylon and many, desk at Stockland. out of his box and away, flying free across the many more years for braid and fluorocarbon. channel waters. His well-wishers hung around and were soon rewarded with the sight of • Avoid using break-away fishing floats that Knobbly returning several times to Tim who are non-biodegradable, or other floats that held up a juicy mullet. A few quick photos were end up as marine debris, such as balloons and taken to record the moment before Knobbly polystyrene blocks. Where we deliver called it a day and returned to his natural • Cut discarded fishing line into small pieces home. and take it with you to avoid entanglement. Rainbow Flat Access Fuels Service Station Coles Service Station Tim Love has worked on the water for many If you do accidently hook a sea bird or years and sees marine creatures like Knobbly other animal: MidCoast Library the Pelican every day. Tim has always been Hallidays Point Coles • Stay calm and don’t cut the line. Foodworks Hallidays Point happy to donate mullet to FAWNA when they Woolworths are caring for local marine animals. • Gently reel the bird/animal in. Even pelicans Diamond Beach Takeaway Stockland Customer Care Desk can be slowly hauled ashore and contrary to Tallwoods Country Club Knobbly is a good news story but very sadly this Forster Keys Mini Mart is not the usual case. Entanglement in fishing popular myth, they are generally placid birds. Tuncurry tackle accounted for 181 calls to Fawna over • Place a towel or shirt over the bird’s head and Tuncurry Resource Centre (tip) Pacific Palms the past year and can have tragic consequences eyes then carefully try to remove the hook or Woolworths Blueys Supamart line. TSG Stop n Go • Do not release the bird if the hook has Access Fuels Service Station Charlotte Bay been swallowed or is Tully’s Tuncurry News Foodworks Charlotte Bay embedded too deeply to remove easily. Call Forster Smiths Lake FAWNA ph:65814141 Beach Bums Café Main Beach Smiths Lake Friendly Grocer or take to a vet Tulls News on Wharf St hospital. Coomba Park Mary Yule Forster Information Centre Pollards General store Fawna information Little Mart on Little St Coomba Aquatic Centre Pearl Energy Service Station provided by Kym Kilpatrik. Farmers Patch on Lake St Bungwahl Great Lakes YMCA Bungwahl Fuel & Liquor Editor’s note: See Forster Bowling Club page 9 to read more Seal Rocks about these amazing Plunge Café on Boundary St pelicans. Tradies Takeaway on Kularoo Seal Rocks General Store FORSTER FORTNIGHTLY 23rd June 2021 Community News Page 3 Boost for Cape Hawke Surf Life Saving Club Brommy’s Community Update Local Surf Life Saving Clubs will be better President of Surf Life Saving NSW George equipped to protect people at the beach Shales OAM said, “Surf Life Saving Clubs are following the awarding of grants in the NSW often the hub of their communities and our Government’s 2020/21 Surf Club Facility volunteer lifesavers should have access to Program.