Pride in Point Peron

Friends of Point Peron convenor James Mumme has been awarded an Order of Australia medal for his service to conservation and the environment.

Mr Mumme has lived in Rockingham since 1992 and has dedicated 28 years to preserving the City’s natural environment by voluntarily planting, watering and weeding Cape Peron Reserve, monitoring seagrass, studying local environmental issues, writing submissions, and holding decision-makers to account.

In 2000 he joined the Seagrass Monitoring Group to learn about the marine environment and in 2005 joined Hands Off Point Peron, formerly known as Preserve Point Peron.

Mr Mumme then founded Friends of Point Peron in 2006 in response to concerns from the community that Cape Peron was full of rubbish and weeds.

He hoped the group would encourage the community to adopt patches of Cape Peron Reserve and look after it in their own time to help preserve the area.

Alongside other volunteers, Mr Mumme has dedicated 14 years to the restoration of Point Peron, pulling weeds, removing rubbish and planting thousands of seedlings as well as a long-term campaign to save the area from being bulldozed to make way for the proposed Mangles Bay Marina.

Although the proposal was axed by Planning Minister Rita Saffioti in 2018, Mr Mumme said several challenges still remain.

“I accept the award on behalf of my co-convenor and the hundreds of other volunteers who have over the years given thousands of hours to help re-vegetate Cape Peron and other precious patches of remnant bush,” he said.

“Particularly I would like to share it with those like Dawn Jecks, Bob Goodale, Peter Green, Esther Grogan, Charlie Lammers, Joy Stewart and Ron Pease, who struggle to preserve the Cape from bulldozers.

“While it is good to celebrate this honour (for services to conservation and the environment) it is important to recognise that environmental protection in Australia is weak and subject to the powerful coal, iron and gas lobby. I’m sad to see we are leaving our atmosphere, bush and waters to our grandchildren in such a trashed state.”

Mr Mumme is also a member of the Cockburn Sound Management Council and an advisory member of the Richmond Lakes Stakeholder Committee.