North-east Victorian AFL club returns to formerly lead contaminated home ground

The North Wangaratta Hawks played their first match back at their traditional home ground -the North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve - last Saturday, having been kept away from the venue for three years due to lead contamination issues.

In 2016, high lead levels were detected on the oval, surrounding land and in the groundwater, after years of lead pellets from the neighbouring Wangaratta Clay Target Club leaching into the ground.

The contamination forced the North Wangaratta Football and Netball Club off the field and resulted in a lengthy and costly land remediation process.

The Victorian Government spent $3 million on remediation work which saw the oval's soil removed, new irrigation, drainage and turf laid along with the installation of new fencing, goal posts and player shelters.

Club President Tim Hogan told the ABC last week that although the team was excited to be finally going home, the move away from its traditional home had taken a toll on members, with the club losing players, supporters and much of its ability to fundraise.

Hogan stated “it's a credit to all those that have been involved over the past three years to keep the club going and to see it continue on.

"It would have been a shame to have let it die off because it's been around since 1892.

"We weren't able to have our Thursday night dinners at the club for the last three years. Jumping around from ground to ground you'd lose supporters."

The remediation process was originally scheduled to be completed by June 2018, but Wangaratta Mayor Dean Rees said the Council pushed the date back to ensure the new ground was safe for players.

Mayor Rees advised “we wanted to make sure that our players could get on the ground and not do knees and have more accidents.

"(We) also (wanted to) make sure the contamination was clear and the groundwater underneath was clear."

Adding to the team's woes, the newly refurbished clubrooms were inundated by floodwaters that ripped through north-east Victoria in December, destroying everything down to the freshly painted walls.

Hogan added “it gutted us. I was lost for words when that happened.

"We just put brand new floors in the club room when that happened and painted all the walls and then that disaster happened and set us back.

"There were a lot of phone calls and emails from the local community and also from opposition clubs.”

In 2016, Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) undertook an investigation into the potential environmental and human health risks associated with outdoor shooting.

It identified lead contamination at the Wangaratta Clay Target Club, Sebastopol Gun Club, and the Winchelsea Gun Club, with a range of wetlands also tested for lead contamination from duck hunting.

These sites are expected to be the first of many that will require remediation.

Over the past year the EPA developed guidelines for managing contamination at shooting ranges, which were released to Victorian gun clubs and shooting associations in January.

The Reserve was handed back to the Hawks in time for round one of the 2019 Ovens and Kings Football season.

Mayor Rees concluded “it's not so much about fixing an oval that had lead contamination in it, it's more about fixing the community out there being back on the ground.

"I'm sure the team will prosper this year and I'd almost go as far to say that we've now got the best oval in the Ovens and Kings area."

Images: North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve during and after the remediation works (top, courtesy of the Rural City of Wangaratta) and a panoramic view of the newly remediated North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve (below, courtesy of the North Wangaratta Football and Netball Club).