164 
THE SAND-DRIFT PROBLEM IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 
Introductory. 
I. The Coastal Problem. 
1. Newcastle. 
2. Bondi. 
3. The sand-drift problem a forestry rather than an engineering question. 
4. The stages in the reclamation of a sand-dune 
(a) Cutting off supply of sand from the ocean. 
(6) Incidental discussion of the treatment of sand-dunes as carried on at 
"Port Fairy and Wilhamstown (Victoria). 
(c) Fixing the sand by vegetation. 
(d) Maintenance of vegetation 
(1) Protection against fire. 
(2) Fencing often necessary. 
5. Plants recommended for coastal sand-dunes. 
Introductory. 
The sand-drift question is of national importance to New South Wales, and may 
be conveniently divided into the Coastal and Western problems. Each may be treated 
separately, and most people will agree that the latter is the more difficult. At the same 
time, the coastal problem is increasing in importance, and should be dealt with seriously, 
otherwise it will become a serious drain on the public treasury and on the purses of our 
citizens. Stringent regulations should be issued by the Government, forbidding the 
burning-off or cutting-down of the natural sand binders (trees and shrubs) along our 
coast, except under suitable regulations. 
Most, if not all maritime countries have to face the problem of shifting coastal 
sands. In " new " countries, the indigenous vegetation has arrived at a state of equili- 
brium, more or less stable, in regard to the sand ; but in the progress of settlement, in 
order to reach the land from the sea, or to get free access to the seashore from the land, 
the maritime border of scrub, trees, and binding herbs and grasses is destroyed. In 
many cases this fringe of vegetation is cut out for fuel, since timber is often scarce in 
the vicinity of the sea. In a word, the natural sand-binder or sand palisade is disturbed ; 
the particles of sand, reinforced from an inexhaustible source, move over the land ; the 
gap once opened is increased in size by the relentless sea breezes, and finally an area 
becomes wind-swept, and sand-swept, and desolate. It is a matter of history how the 
