General News
13 February, 2026
Save our shore
RESIDENTS of Coconut Street in Holloways Beach could face a costly remediation bill if they want to protect the rear of their properties from “massive erosion”.
Concerned resident Alastair Rankin said the impact from the erosion was occurring along the southern end of the beach heading towards Barr Creek, where “dozens of trees and shrubs are continually falling in the sea”.
He has written several times to council asking for a solution and received a response on January 16 which he said “astounded him”.
In it, council had referred to a 1952 report on the “dynamic movement” of Barr Creek, and that should there be any protection work for Coconut Street properties, the residents would likely have to foot the bill as they had done in the past.
A council spokeswoman confirmed a special levy might have to be applied.
A council spokeswoman said “any hard erosion protection for Coconut Street would need to be located along rear property boundaries to avoid interfering with the natural creek mouth processes”.
“As with the existing northern rock wall, which was funded by affected property owners through a special rates levy, any future property-specific protection works would likely require a similar funding arrangement,” she said.
The spokeswoman said council was currently applying for sand nourishment and dune revegetation funding under the 2025 event program and planned to engage coastal engineering specialists BMT to review current conditions and advise on future management options.
Mr Rankin, a resident of Holloways Beach for 27 years, said the eroded sand dune area was previously restored by Holloways Beach Coast Care with the assistance of previous councils, but this council appeared to be “turning back the clock to 1952 and letting the Barr Creek impacts happen”.
“Barr Creek [will be] running parallel to the beach and exiting at Cassia Street end,” he said.
With the recent king tides, the whole vegetated area from Tamarind to Cassia streets was under threat, Mr Rankin said.
In the meantime, along the northern end of Holloways Beach, temporary fencing along Casuarina St esplanade and the popular patrolled swimming area, had closed off the beach to the public following severe erosion.
Council was aware of the problem and was continuing “to investigate options to help protect the foreshore”, following several years of studies and works.
Holloways Beach in Cairns has faced chronic erosion since the 1970s, driven by a lack of sand supply from the Barron River and intensified by cyclones. As well as costly sand replenishment, two groynes were constructed in 2021, and in 2024, three rock breakwaters were created, close to the beach, to mimic naturally occurring rock formations and encourage sand retention.
