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Atop the rolling hills of Fish Creek, the panoramic South Gippsland coast stretches out below in stunning glory. The Strzelecki Ranges, Wilsons Promontory, Corner and Shallow inlets are among the world-class landscapes that greet both travellers and locals alike.
For more than 30 years, this treasured landscape has drawn in residents and small-scale farmers who have built homes and livelihoods within Fish Creek’s lush green hills.
But soon, the view may also include a gaping hole in the ground, with plans to build a new quarry among the idyllic farmland triggering alarm in the community amid concerns about dust, noise and environmental damage.
But the operator, which runs an existing mudstone quarry on the same parcel of farmland, insists it is aiming to address legitimate concerns through good design and appropriate operating controls.
Fish Creek Quarries says it is planning to begin constructing a new quarry near its existing pit, which is reaching the end of its life. The current quarry produces primarily mudstone and shale rock, which is typically used for farm tracks, laneways and access roads.
Richard Gange is among the residents who fear the proposed quarry will be harmful to the environment and their health.
Having bought his property, which neighbours the quarry, about 30 years ago, Gange has raised his three daughters there together with his wife.
“It’s catastrophic for us,” he said of the proposed quarry works, which will be metres from his house.
Gange said he has watched the existing quarry grow from a small operation several decades ago into a large worksite with frequent truck movements. While tree planting and the deep level of the existing quarry helped mitigate some dust and noise over the years, he said the new plans ignited fears locally about exposure to crystalline silica dust, which can result in the lung disease silicosis.
Land surrounding the quarry had also been subdivided, he said, which had brought a higher population density to the area and made resource extraction no longer appropriate in the Fish Creek hills.
“This is not a small quarry,” he said. “The town has changed. We’re a tourist destination now.”
Oil producer and Golden Creek Olives co-owner Rima O’Sullivan said the new quarry would loom over her farm, which is home to about 1000 olive trees, and she fears dust from the proposed resource extraction could contaminate her oil production process.
“It’s windy here,” she said. “There’s no doubt the dust is going to blow off that hill.”
O’Sullivan said the quarry currently produced little noise because it was surrounded by trees and workers were quarrying deep beneath the surface, but the new proposed site would decapitate a large hill and kick up dust plumes.
“We’re not anti-quarry,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s just too close to housing and businesses.”
The proposed extraction site is 17.3 hectares within a broader work authority area of almost 50 hectares.
Fish Creek Quarries spokeswoman Emma Hicken said the company intended to finish operations in the current pit and then move into the new extraction site.
“This will allow us to continue supplying an important local source of mudstone and shale, while also allowing us to progressively rehabilitate the existing pit,” she said.
Hicken said the early stages of proposed pit would be positioned so it was largely hidden within the surrounding landscape. However, the new quarry will be significantly bigger than the existing pit if it proceeds.
Friends of the Earth’s Strzelecki Koala Collective has also lashed plans for the new quarry, arguing the farmland earmarked for the extraction site provided a “highway” for native wildlife to the nearby Hoddle Range Flora Conservation Reserve.
Hicken said concerns about koalas should not be dismissed, but said the proposed pit had been designed without removal of native vegetation. She said further planting could create additional habitat. However, an existing windbreak consisting of trees planted by the quarry property owner would need to be removed as part of the proposal.
Hicken also acknowledged the presence of crystalline silica in the quarry materials, but said the company was working with environmental and regulatory authorities to minimise dust impacts.
“Our focus is on preventing dust where we can, controlling it at the source and making sure the right monitoring and management measures are in place.”
South Gippsland Shire chief executive Allison Jones said the council had not received any planning permit applications for the site. Before the quarry operator can lodge an application with the council, it must first obtain the required licences from the state government.
Resources Victoria said it had not yet received an application for a new quarry at Fish Creek. However, a spokesman for the agency said it had approved 10 new quarry licences, known as work authorities, during the 2025-26 financial year.
Kim Kemper is among the locals struggling with the stress of uncertainty about exactly when or if the new quarry will proceed. The proposed work authority is about 20 metres from her property’s boundary, and about 50 metres from her house.
Kemper said it was impossible to plan for the future with the prospect of a massive quarry next door.
“We’re in limbo,” she said. “I hate it.”
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Benjamin Preiss is The Age’s regional editor. He was previously state rounds reporter and has also covered education for The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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