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Back Roads Season 12 Episode 1
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Short filmTranscript
00:05All right, let's go and see what's down there, hey?
00:11Well, I can tell you it's a big hole.
00:14This time on back roads, I'm heading west.
00:19Far west.
00:25To the most western point of Western Australia.
00:36Shark Bay is one of the world's true wilderness wonderlands.
00:41Where desert meets sea.
00:45Tucked away in the lesser known Gascoyne region.
00:50Hides this World Heritage listed treasure.
00:55It's a beloved place for the Molgana, Nanda and Yengarda people.
01:01You want to share it with everyone, the whole world.
01:05To call Shark Bay home is an extraordinary privilege.
01:12The people here are at a defining moment.
01:15One which will shape how history remembers their response to a growing challenge.
01:22So how does a small community of 1,000 people protect this fragile jewel
01:28and still draw strength to secure their own bright future?
01:47Visiting Shark Bay isn't something you do on a whim.
01:50The locals say it's the longest driveway in Australia.
01:54130 kilometres from the main road.
01:57But I'm told it's well worth the detour.
02:02At the centre of Shark Bay is the town of Denham.
02:06It's where the pace slows.
02:10No traffic lights here.
02:12Just the odd emu to give way to.
02:17There's more to explore in town.
02:19But first I'm keen to get a sense of all that's on offer.
02:24To really appreciate the bay, I need to get out there.
02:36Welcome to Guth of the Guru.
02:38That's our word for Shark Bay, two bays.
02:41Letitia Weir grew up on these waters.
02:43Like generations of Mulguna people before her.
02:49The job of Marine Park Ranger means she can look after her people's waterways.
02:56Being here and being able to work on country and learn about country
03:00through science and traditional ways is amazing.
03:05You've got beautiful red cliffs that meet beautiful pristine blue waters.
03:10And we are saltwater people.
03:12We believe that the saltwater here has healing powers.
03:16We say, if you look after country, country will look after you.
03:22Look, there's one.
03:23Oh, I see it.
03:24Oh, there's another one.
03:27Oh, my God, they're moving so fast.
03:29They are.
03:34It's teeming with wildlife.
03:37Yes, it is, yeah.
03:38What do you see when you go out?
03:41Oh, we can see multiple things.
03:45Jew gongs, whales, manta rays, eagle rays.
03:57All different types of fish.
04:01Dolphins, of course.
04:04Starfish as well.
04:05How good's your job?
04:06So good.
04:13Alongside Letitia is Queensland-born Jay Hayes.
04:17Together, they patrol and protect an area bigger than some European nations.
04:23Sometimes it doesn't feel like it should be called work.
04:27More than two million hectares of breathtaking beauty and precious sea life.
04:34So what did you do before this?
04:37I've had lots of different jobs.
04:38I was a commercial diver, a saturation diver.
04:41I worked in the pearling industry.
04:42I was a fisherman.
04:43And I studied music and was an opera singer back after high school.
04:47What?
04:48Yeah.
04:49Can you give us a few bars?
04:50Yeah, sure.
04:51I must go down to the seas again, to the lowly sea and the sky.
04:59A little rough.
05:00It's been a while, but I still love singing.
05:03I still love the ocean.
05:04I think you've called the Jew gongs in.
05:07They heard the song.
05:10And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.
05:16Who would have imagined an opera singer in the middle of the ocean?
05:20In the grey dawn break.
05:23But Jay's dulcet tones aren't the only gem in the bay.
05:29All right, yeah.
05:31Are you happy you got it?
05:32These waters boast the largest and most diverse seagrass meadows in the world.
05:41It is home to an array of animals and lots of seafood that our Mulguna people eat.
05:48We call it Whittier Jalinew.
05:52It's the lungs of the ocean.
05:54It's the creator of the ecosystem.
05:56But this drop camera reveals a sad truth.
06:01Latisha and Jay are closely monitoring the state of the seagrass and it's not looking good.
06:082011 was a big moment in this bay.
06:11There was a big heat wave and it wiped out a huge portion of the seagrass.
06:18Twice the size of Singapore, you can see it's quite a mosaic, kind of patchy area and a desert,
06:25sandy seabottom.
06:27So there was 9 million tonnes of carbon released at that time, which is massively significant.
06:39It was devastating.
06:41It was just like you'd go for a swim down the jetty and it would be like a lukewarm bath.
06:45It was just so hot and then so devastating to see so much seagrass wash up on the shore as
06:50well.
06:50We lost a lot of animal life, so you know, our food stocks went down as well.
06:57No wonder it broke so many hearts around here.
07:00Yeah, if we don't do anything now in 50 years' time, what's it going to look like?
07:05Climate change is affecting everything.
07:08We have to figure out how we're going to reduce it in the future and how we can help repair
07:14it.
07:17In the face of such enormous challenge, the Shark Bay community could have been overwhelmed.
07:26Instead, they rallied, rolled up their sleeves and got down to work.
07:33At low tide, volunteers gathered to pick these seagrass seedlings that wash up on surrounding
07:40beaches.
07:40What we're doing now is we're replanting to assist the recovery of the seagrasses.
07:49If you're looking for seagrass solutions, I'm told to look no further than retired Professor
07:55Gary Kendrick.
07:58Is it true you're the godfather of seagrass?
08:01Well, yes, but it's not one of the names I like.
08:04What should I call you?
08:06Well, I prefer seagrass wizard.
08:08It's much more exciting in my view.
08:10It brings that sort of, you know, magic to the game.
08:14Why do you care so much about the seagrass?
08:17Well, you know, what do you do when you jump in the water?
08:19You see the fish?
08:20Oh, you might see a shark or a turtle.
08:22They're the actors in the stage underwater.
08:25But you don't actually look at the stage setting.
08:28And the stage setting are all the primary producers like corals and seagrasses that create
08:33those environments for those lovely active actors to be doing things in.
08:38I'm going to use a big word.
08:40This is amphibolus.
08:42It's OK.
08:43I'm up for big words, Gary.
08:45Amphibolus produces a viviparous seedling, which means it has its own root system, its
08:54own leaf system, and it hooks onto things and you're basically creating a small, small
09:00habitat with a bag.
09:01It's really cool.
09:04So this is the plan.
09:06Replanting the seagrass one by one.
09:10It's a method Gary and his University of Western Australia team came up with by tapping into
09:16traditional knowledge of the bay.
09:19The rangers do come out regularly and they came to us and said, we're concerned about
09:24seagrass.
09:25Why is it important?
09:27It's the basis to the whole culture, the Molgana culture.
09:32So if the godfather of seagrass had a dream, what would it be?
09:38That the 1,000 square kilometres of loss that we saw in 2011 is actually replaced and that
09:45people are out there enjoying it.
09:47In other words, we're doing a bit of gardening, seagrass gardening.
09:52Now off you go and go plant some seagrass.
09:55See ya.
10:10Luckily for me, there's a whole community of ocean gardeners ready to show me how.
10:28A local tour operator turned this old purling vessel into a seagrass saviour.
10:39Awesome!
10:40Let's go team!
10:41Woo!
10:41Got it!
10:42Woo!
10:45I'm getting my sea legs.
10:47Yeah, you smell it.
10:50At the helm is Liam Ridgely.
10:54His family from Emerald in Queensland once sailed into Shark Bay on a lap of Australia, liked
11:00it so much, they dropped anchor for good.
11:05OK, ready, fire!
11:07When the die-off happened, the water was black for about four or five years.
11:11It was very difficult to find marine life and you could just see their ecosystem just suffering.
11:15So it was really devastating to my family.
11:18It was like seeing your backyard burn down sort of thing.
11:22Liam swung into action.
11:23Ready!
11:24Taking a break from tour guiding to join the conservation effort.
11:29Government grants and community funds help with the running costs.
11:34But the heavy lifting?
11:35That's all volunteers.
11:39Over three weeks, they'll plant 36,000 seedlings.
11:45Go!
11:45Go!
11:45Go!
11:47If even just 5% of those seedlings survived, you've created a massive seagrass mellow.
11:55And like a farmer, do you feel the panic of when you're sowing seeds?
12:00Yeah, yeah.
12:01Probably one of the most stressful things I've ever done, yeah.
12:07You must be very proud of me, son.
12:10Without Liam, this wouldn't be happening because I wouldn't have the energy for it.
12:16I've been out here for 33 years working out here.
12:19And this was the best place for dugongs to feed on the planet.
12:23Like, I've been here and 100 dugongs were on the boat.
12:25Well, now there's only three or four or five.
12:27And it's because the grass is not here.
12:30This is one of a number of locally driven restoration projects.
12:35There's just so much goodwill here.
12:37And so much hope of encouraging marine life to return.
12:43All right, let's go and see what's down there, hey?
12:47Oh, I can tell you it's a big hole.
12:59It's still early days, still in the trial stage.
13:03Shh, shh, shh.
13:04But that hasn't stopped volunteers like Annette Ward, a school teacher from Perth, jumping
13:10in and giving it a go.
13:19Once we lay the bags down, it's almost like a landscape.
13:25We have starfish crawling on the sandbags.
13:28We have fish, turtles chomping on some of the seagrass.
13:33So they certainly bring in the life.
13:38We're helping to save the seagrass.
13:40And it's the responsibility of everyone to do that.
13:45Not just the politicians and the scientists and the rich people, but all of us.
13:49Even us scuba divers.
13:54I'm glad to be a part of it.
14:02It's impressive so many are willing to put their livelihoods on hold to help this environment.
14:11There's real power in the belief that every person can make a difference.
14:20Shark Bay's community has weathered many seasons.
14:25From Australia's first recorded European landing to a pearling boom that drew Malay and Chinese
14:33migrants.
14:35Grazing and fishing kept the long timers going.
14:39And when the 1970s rolled around, a sailor named Tim came ashore and started making his
14:47own mark on the town.
14:49Denham's first restaurant has just been completed by Tim Hargraves with a cheap but effective
14:55building material.
14:56They're obviously not very heavy.
14:59No.
15:00Amazing how heavy they can get.
15:05Now 87.
15:07Come on in.
15:08Tim's one of the oldest and most colourful residents of Shark Bay.
15:14Everyone said that if I wanted to understand Shark Bay,
15:17I had to come and talk to you.
15:19Oh, well, good.
15:21How did you end up here?
15:23Well, that's interesting.
15:26I did about four years in the army and I spent seven years wandering the face of this earth.
15:35Came over to Australia, Fremantle, wound up at Shark Bay.
15:43And that's where our money ran out.
15:46Along for the ride was new wife, Maggie.
15:50I fell in love with her.
15:52I hadn't known her 24 hours and I proposed to her.
15:58You're a quick mover.
15:59Well, I was always spontaneous and that sort of thing.
16:05As well as spontaneous, Tim's also creative, building his family a house out of mud.
16:15And of course, the restaurant out of seashells.
16:21From the lay builders' point of view, they're very easy because you can shape and cut with a minimum of
16:26difficulty.
16:31Buildings made from shells.
16:33Incredible.
16:36The restaurant's still standing and it's gorgeous.
16:39Absolutely, yeah.
16:40Because I'm not really a builder, but I've got a bit of a sense of design.
16:49I guess that's something about Shark Bay.
16:51People seem to make do with what's available.
16:54Oh, absolutely.
16:55And if you were in doubt, when you went to the local tip, you generally found something that would fit
17:03or make do or you could do something with.
17:07It was called the local supermarket.
17:12Tim told me earlier that it was a very quick proposal to you.
17:18Is that what happened?
17:20Well, actually, I was very attracted to him when I met him, but it was at least 10 days before
17:27he rang up to ask me out.
17:30So you weren't that quick, Tim.
17:32It took 10 days.
17:34Well, 10 days is pretty close.
17:37And so how long have you been married?
17:4054 years.
17:42No, 55 years.
17:44Half a century.
17:46Oh, more, darling.
17:48Just over here.
17:51I'll let them argue over the fine points.
17:55I've got some small details of my own to check out.
17:59Shell Beach.
18:0145 k's out of town.
18:03Where trillions of tiny cockle shells stretch for more than a hundred kilometres.
18:10It's amazing to think this is what locals once used to build homes.
18:20To immerse myself in this place is to enter a world largely unspoiled.
18:28Where the Indian Ocean still reveals pristine waters and a richness that feels almost sacred.
18:41It feels to me like people here are pulled by a quiet calling to look after the natural world and
18:51look out for each other.
19:04It's what first attracted relative newcomer, Ranger Jay, to Shark Bay.
19:11Okay, Adam.
19:13What do I do?
19:14He and his family moved here in 2022.
19:18When you put your legs out, it's like easier to actually stand.
19:23And then feet apart.
19:25Drawn by the sense of belonging and support they wanted for raising their kids.
19:31Oh, man.
19:32I can see this going really badly.
19:39Okay.
19:40I've got this.
19:44How's this for a childhood?
19:47Can you believe this is your backyard?
19:50No.
19:51How special is it?
19:53It's kind of like having a pool in your backyard, but bigger.
19:58Coming again to you, Irene.
20:04Coming here has been fantastic for us as a family, spending quality time together out in nature.
20:11It's been brilliant.
20:16Monday to Friday, Jay's job is to protect this place.
20:23But on weekends, he turns to it to recharge.
20:30It's how he gets the energy to keep showing up.
20:35We used to live in Perth and I just felt like we weren't living enough.
20:39I was fairly consumed by work and stuck in traffic a lot.
20:45And here, Jay clocks off at 4.30 and he meets us over the road at the beach for a
20:51swim and a jetty jump after school.
20:53And it's a completely different lifestyle for us.
20:57It's a way of life many of us can only dream of.
21:02Marine life bursts into view around every corner.
21:06Look at all the fish.
21:10I reckon I could get used to this.
21:15I can see why you love this spot.
21:18I want to see some yoga on there.
21:21You'll be waiting a while.
21:23No handstands for me.
21:30Those directions were good directions.
21:32Moving to Shark Bays also had a positive impact for Jay's wife, Sophie.
21:37Come on in.
21:38I want to show you my home.
21:39Giving the former marine scientist a new creative outlet.
21:45And an art studio by the looks of it.
21:47You can make any nook of a house an art studio.
21:52So does the marine science background come into the art?
21:55Absolutely.
21:55I love to have a fusion, this mix of sort of scientific anatomically correctness fused with creativity.
22:06So, you know, marine species but with a bit of creative flair and also, you know, melding with science.
22:15And also I've got other pieces.
22:18So, obviously there's the monkey mire dolphins.
22:21And there's a part of it that I want to make sure it's a bottlenose, you know.
22:25And so we have our predatory species here, the tiger shark.
22:29And then this one is a special one for me.
22:32These are rays and sharks that are known to occur within the Shark Bay marine park.
22:38So we've got 52 different species here.
22:40That is like a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that would do my head in.
22:45It did my head in.
22:46It did my head in.
22:48Sophie and Jay have certainly embraced Shark Bay.
22:53Turns out you don't need to be born here to become well ingrained in this community.
23:01Good morning.
23:03So we have our weekly dip and sip today.
23:05Find someone you've either not met before or someone who you've seen around but you'd like to introduce yourself.
23:14They've really made the effort to belong.
23:17And they're reaping the rewards.
23:41I've mingled with the newcomers, but word is Shark Bay guards something very old.
23:53So I'm heading out to Hamlin Pool, about an hour out of town.
24:04And find Jay and Letitia back at work.
24:08Yeah, it's 31st.
24:12Yeah, similar to the last location.
24:13Yeah, yeah.
24:14What are we looking at here?
24:16So these here are stromatolites.
24:22In simpler terms, they're living rocks.
24:27This here is two and a half thousand years old.
24:31This is one of two active formations of stromatolites in the world.
24:36Millions of years ago, this was what created and started life on Earth.
24:41So it was consuming carbon dioxide and sulphur and off-gassing oxygen and created the atmosphere that we kind of
24:50are breathing today.
24:52Wow.
24:54And Letitia was lucky enough to grow up here.
24:58Once you know what you're looking at, it's mind-blowing.
25:04So when I was younger, I just thought that I was plain old boring old rocks until I grew up
25:11and my auntie would tell me how they are actually our ancient ancestors.
25:16So our people who have passed on, they are now stromatolites, they're living rocks.
25:24I think that's why our salt water has healing powers.
25:30But just like the seagrass, the stromatolites too are bearing the quiet scars of a world growing warmer.
25:39We just like to test the saline and make sure that there's no discolouration in them.
25:45Oh my god, there's a shovel nose!
25:47Oh no!
25:49They're really endangered, so it's pretty special.
25:51And it's just coming to say hi!
25:52How awesome, so close!
25:54Critically endangered in many other parts of the world, but here they have huge numbers.
25:59Yeah, really amazing.
26:00And just while we're standing here chatting, up to our knees, he comes up to say hi!
26:05Little visitor, yeah.
26:07This place is so special.
26:16If this is where it all began, it can't be where it ends.
26:21This place matters too much.
26:24It heartens me that it is in good hands.
26:27This community knows they're stronger when they work together.
26:39We want to share it with everyone, the whole world, so we want to save it for generations.
26:49I think everyone wants the same outcome for this place.
26:54To protect this pristine environment, to look after our small town community.
27:02We want to see it thrive now and into the future.
27:07There's always just something happening every day.
27:11Someone's going to be going on the boat, someone's going to be diving, you can tag along.
27:17And it's just a great place for everyone to enjoy.
27:36Well, this is one way to see Shark Bay.
27:38Next time on Backroads, I dig deep into what life is like living in paradise.
27:45People come from around the world to explore this untouched beauty.
27:49It happened. It really happened.
27:52I can see why this place has an effect on people.
27:55But how do you leave room for those who've always called it home?
27:59We don't have that freedom anywhere else.
28:02We don't have that freedom anywhere else.
28:05We don't have that freedom anywhere else.
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