Residents of Bellingen Shire have been protesting for almost two years against the aggressive forestry harvesting practices employed by Forestry Corporation New South Wales in the Tarkeeth Sate Forest.  The following is an on-line record and archive of interviews, videos and media coverage.

1. Adele Hemphill talks to Bunda of 2bbb about the fires that have shrouded Bellingen in toxic smoke. 10th  November 2017

2. Adele Hemphill talks to Bunda about her forest neighbour from hell. 17th March 2017

3. Bellingen barrister John Carty talked to 2bbb’s Leo Bradney-George about the trials of the Tarkeeth Three, and particularly,  the acquittal of the Tarkeeth Two at Coffs Harbour courthouse on March 2nd 2017. 10th March 2017

4. Prior to the trial of the Tarkeeth Three on 17th January 2017, forest protector Sean Maigh talked to Leo Bradney-George about the Tarkeeth Forest and its defenders.

5. Paul Hemphill talks to Leo Bradney-George about an upcoming recital in the Tarkeeth Forest by acclaimed bandurist Victor Mishalow. 28th November 2016

The interviews are followed by a compendium, an archive, indeed,  of videos and media coverage of the Tarkeeth Forest protests.

See also on this blog:

• If you go down to the woods today
• Tolkien’s Tarkeeth – Images of Isengard 
• Tolkien’s Tarkeeth – In the darkest depths of Mordor
• Small Stories – A Tale of Twin Pines 

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Further viewing:  a selection of videos about the Tarkeeth protests

Here is what the recent burning of the windrows of Tarkeeth State Forest looked like to The Lord God Almighty. The Coffs Coast Advocate likened it to “a scene from a doomsday sci-fi movie”. The scariest thing is that this video was taken as dusk was descending. The Forestry Corporation fire crew work office hours – they had knocked off at four o’clock and left all this to burn overnight.

And this is what happened the day Adele walked  home from her friend’s house on the north side of the Tarkeeth Forest: “I am allowed to walk home on a public road… That is the closed forest, this is the public road under the Roads Act. If you think I have done something illegal, please call the police”.

In September, last year, the windrow fire set by Forestry Corporation closed Fells Road and had the potential to threaten local homes. “It’s  dying down. It was a lot worse a minute ago”!

Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham’s live coverage of Simmo’s lock-on at Tarkeeth on 25th July 2016:

Protest leader Susan Weil’s live coverage of the Not In My Forest action group’s onsite protest at Tarkeeth State Forest on 28th July 2016, where Sean and AJ locked on to a timber harvester machine:

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A short video of the destructive clearfell and burn forestry operations that inspired the Tarkeeth Three to direct action:

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Further reading:

• Tales of Tarkeeth – other stories in this blog about Tarkeeth’s past and present.

A selection of local newspaper coverage of the Tarkeeth Forest story:

• Coffs Coast Advocate -Like a scene from a doomsday sci-fi vovie
• Coffs Coast Advocate – Tarkeeth Forest debate fires up
• Coffs Coast Advocate – Suggestions by protesters axed
• Bellingen Courier Sun – Tarkeeth burning causes grave concern
• Bellingen Courier Sun – When a tree falls in the forest…
• Bellingen Courier Sun – Susan Weil clarifies misconceptions about the Tarkeeth protests
• NBN News – Fears as flames rage close to residents
• NBN News – Locals fighting to save Tarkeeth Forest
• NBN News – Activists and Forestry Corporation at loggerheads

selection of local media coverage of The Tarkeeth Three:

• Coffs Coast Advocate – The Tarkeeth Three convicted over battle with archaic logging operations
• Coffs Coast Advocate – The Tarkeeth Two have convictions quashed
• Coffs Coast Advocate – Protester arrested in Tarkeeth blockade
• NBN News – Environmental activists appeal convictions
• NBN News – Activists and Forestry Corporation at loggerheads