Rock stackers ‘deface’ natural park beauty, advocate says

Questions are being asked about the appropriateness of a workshop at Noosa Gallery for schoolchildren.

Welcome to the Whales Festival at Scarborough Beach Park - Dennis (Den the Sandman) Massoud from Noosa Heads Picture AAP/David Clark

NOOSA Council has moved to dispel fears a workshop in Tewantin today will encourage a new generation of rock stackers to deface the town's iconic national park.

Environmental advocate Dennis Massoud, who first drew attention to the public safety danger of backpackers stacking rocks on top of each other in the coves and bays, has expressed horror at a Noosa Gallery workshop this afternoon for children aged 9-12 years.

Mr Massoud, an internationally acclaimed sand sculptor and a member of one of Noosa's early settler families, said he had busted his gut dismantling dangerous piles of stacked rocks that had been created during a backpacker craze.

He said national parks were established to appreciate what was there, not to deface the visual amenity.

Rock stacking at Noosa National Park became a plague craze among back packers.

Noosa Council's acting community services director Ash Saward said the Noosa Gallery was hosting a variety workshops as part of its school holiday program.

"The art of rock balancing, as practised by many ancient civilisations, is the subject of one of the workshops," she said.

"Children will learn the history of the art form and how contemporary artists such as Andy Goldsworthy, are practising it today, mostly in artists' studios and private spaces.

"Goldsworthy in particular uses rock art to draw attention to the fragility of the natural environment and to encourage people to stop and think about humanity's impact on the landscape."

STACKED: Callum English snapped this rock sculpture at the beach recently. If you would like to submit your own image, send your photos to [e-mail].

Mr Saward said the message aligned with the theme of the upcoming Floating Land: Point to Point Festival.

He said the school holiday workshop, being held at the gallery, would also teach children the importance of not interfering with the landscapes of environmentally significant and protected areas such as national parks.

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