Micro-Landscapes of the Anthropocene

Stockton Beach

I grew up in the Hunter Valley, where weekends were filled with regular visits to Newcastle, and the nearby, Stockton Beach. As a child, I remember hearing about the worsening state of Stockton Beach's eroding shoreline. In high school geography, we went on a school excursion to witness the environmental and human systems that were colliding and, ultimately causing this site to collapse. My friend still has a holiday home across the road from Stockton Beach. He said last time he was there, he could see more of the sand than ever before. There has been considerable recent investment in revitalising the health of this beach and ecosystem by local government. It prompted thought about the concept of abstract and literal crumbling that is currently occurring within spaces that we once sought comfort within, or hold dear memories within. Simultaneously, through this course, I have been prompted to consider whether literature, and indeed language, is crumbling in purpose and adequacy, to describe, document or challenge these disappearing shorelines and eroding beaches.

My research involved:
Clark, T. (2011). Language beyond the human? In The Cambridge Introduction to Literature and the Environment (Cambridge Introductions to Literature, pp. 46-54)
Roger McLean and Jia-Shu Shen, From Foreshore to Foredune: Foredune Development over the Last 30 Years at Moruya Beach, New South Wales, Australia, Journal of Coastal Research Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan., 2006), pp. 28-36

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