An environmental scourge
As early as 1900 water hyacinth was identified as a potential threat to the Richmond River system. With half a century of massive timber clearing and land conversion to farming, the imported weed gained a foothold in the changed ecology and began to grow in the swamps and creeks. By February, 1904, the hyacinth made its first appearance in Bungawalbyn and Sandy Creeks and although the authorities were notified, nothing was done and no government funds were made available to tackle the problem early and effectively.
By 1906 the hyacinth was well established, causing a major hazard to navigation and commerce. A comprehensive report was ignored by the Dept. of Works, and it was not until 1910 that any clearing was begun – at great expense. This clearing was haphazard at best and by 1912 the creeks were choked and the threat to the main river was imminent.

The problem became so great that the locals took matters into their own hands and convened the Richmond River Water Hyacinth Board in 1913 to manage the many neglected problems. Commerce along the river was grinding to a halt as some shipping companies were withdrawing their services.
A gang of six men was engaged with an 80-ton punt along Sandy Creek, and the hyacinth was forked into the punt, and discharged on the banks. A rope was placed across the mouth of the stream to keep the hyacinth from coming in and a man placed in charge of it, to take it up when a boat wanted to pass. This man’s wages were financed by the residents.

Bungawalbyn Creek was similarly cleared with a timber boom towed by droghers. The hyacinth was pushed out into the main channel where the tides took it down to Ballina and the salt water effectively prevented further blooming.
Starved of funds and proper coordinated assistance from the government, the residents struggled against the tide of the rapidly growing weed for the next decade. Wooden booms were no match for the strength of a mass of hyacinth which reached the full width of the river and stretched a mile downstream. The booms were frequently snapped allowing the mass to work its way upriver and back into the creeks on the incoming tide. By 1916 every tiny creek beyond Lismore was infested.
Other environmental methods for eradication were explored with weevils and moths proving most effective. The navigable rivers were cleared by 1919 but it remained in the swamps for many years. During a flood in 1925, a huge island of hyacinth was seen floating downriver having been washed out of a swamp along the South Arm.
The Water Hyacinth Menace
VISIT OF INSPECTION
Courtesy of TROVE Richmond River Herald and Northern Districts Advertiser, Friday 21 March 1913

The Lismore Chamber of Commerce, and particularly its hon. secretary, Mr. S. Clark, are to be warmly congratulated on the success of Wednesday’s excursion to view the enormous strides the water hyacinth is making on the Richmond and its principal tributaries. The s.s. Irvington, kindly placed at the disposal of the Chamber by the N.C.S.N. Coy., left Lismore shortly after 8 a.m., called at Coraki, and then proceeded several miles up Bungawalbin with between 50 and 60 gentlemen aboard. These included representatives of nearly every elective public body in the district, Mayors and Shire Presidents, Councillors and Aldermen, Town Clerks, and Shire Clerks, local Government Engineers, saw-millers, business and professional men all were there, making, as one gentleman put it, the most representative gathering of leading men ever gathered together on the Richmond.
The N.C.S.N. Coy., in addition to providing the steamer, catering on a lavish scale for its guests, and a more thoroughly enjoyable and instructive outing has probably never before been arranged in the district.
Though clumps, masses, and long lines of the hyacinth were to be seen in the main river, it was not till Bungawalbin was entered that the seriousness of the problem was fully borne in upon the members of the party. As the Irvington glided along the placid waters of what is virtually the South Arm of the Richmond, the scourge was seen to be thickly lining the banks, and growing in great luxuriance almost into midstream in places. But worse was still to come. Just above “Haughwood,” the Irvington thrust her nose into the first “block.” Here the hyacinth stretched in an unbroken line from bank to bank, and for the next mile or so the vessel crept slowly through the tangled mass. Eventually she emerged into clear water again just above Mr. Williams’ farm, and there met the droghers Pasha and Ballina, which had, a few minutes before, torn through the block — the former having taken two days to accomplish the task.
Mr. Bagot, of Bagot Bros., Ballina, was aboard the Irvington, and mentioned that similar blocks existed above Moonem, and, unless some means were devised to deal with them, he would be compelled to withdraw his drogher from the trade, and close down his mill inside a month. The Moonem mill is also faced with the same alternative. Mr. A.R. Knowles, owner of the Pasha, also contemplates the withdrawal of his drogher from the trade, and mentioned that, whereas he formerly landed logs at Lismore at a cost of 5s each for carriage, recent consignments had cost, for carriage, 15s. The timber-getters and selectors on Upper Bungawalbin are, however, hit the hardest. They depend for a living on the log trade, and if that industry is hung up there will be no alternative left but to abandon their holdings, dispose of their teams, and seek a living elsewhere.
Mr. A.C. Barry, Manager of Broadwater sugar mill, is also interested in the matter. His company have 40,000 sleepers on the upper reaches waiting transportation, and an effort is to be made at once with the task. Two powerful tugs will be requisitioned for the purpose, and with these and a few punts the work will probably be accomplished.

Several photographers who were aboard the Irvington took views of the “block,” and of the vessel surrounded by the green growth, while a plank was thrown overboard on top of the mass, and one of the steamer hands snapshotted standing thereon.
These views, when placed in the hands of the Minister, should prove a powerful argument for the immediate help of the Government. Above this first “block” a staff of volunteers and others are at work floating the weed down from the higher reaches, on the ebb tide, and then, with the aid of a rope, barring its course upwards, when the tide turns. The Irvington did not proceed as far as Moonem, though Mr. J. Ellis, senr., who rode down to meet the party in the midst of pouring rain, was very anxious that they should see the state of the stream higher up. Time, however, did not permit of this being done. Luncheon was partaken of aboard, and at 2 o’clock the vessel’s head was turned for home.
Before Coraki was reached, Mr. F.N. Robinson, vice-President of the Lismore Chamber of Commerce, apologised for the unavoidable non-attendance of the President (Mr. J.B. Kelly), and said that in his absence it devolved upon him (Mr. Robinson) to propose the toast of the N.C.S.N. Coy., coupled with the name of the local Manager, Capt. J. Storey — both of whom had done so much for the district in the past, and had that day shown further proof of the great interest they had in its welfare. The Chamber’s Secretary, when the hyacinth problem came under discussion, communicated with Mr. Bell, and asked would the Company grant a vessel for the trip, and act as hosts for the occasion. Was there, he asked, any other shipping company in Australia to whom such a request could be made, and from whom they could got a more prompt and favorable response? Mr. Bell at once replied stating that the Irvington would be made available, and the Company would be glad to provide the necessary refreshments. This important gathering was the result. A certain critic had called it a glorified picnic. He had been given his answer by both Lismore papers, and again given it that day.

The representative public men of the district had been brought to realise as they had never done before how alarming the spread of the hyacinth was, and would be able to impress upon their respective bodies the urgency of grappling with the problem at once. Moreover, when they went as a deputation to the Minister they could speak with authority, as people having seen and realised how critical the situation was. The N.C.S.N. Coy. was to be sincerely thanked for making this magnificent and representative gathering possible, and he asked them to drink the toast, coupled with the name of the Coy’s, spirited and capable local Manager, Capt. Storey.
Mr. G.T. Hindmarsh, M.L.A., supported the toast. He deeply appreciated the action of the N.C.S.N. Coy. in giving him and others the opportunity to see the trouble the hyacinth was creating, and to realise the imminent danger that threatened the waterways of the Richmond. The Company was not only considering its own interest in this matter, but the interests of the landholders. Three years ago he (Mr. Hindmarsh) began to realise the danger of the hyacinth invasion, but today he was struck more than ever by the disastrous time that was threatened. In his opinion the day was fast approaching when the blocks would not be confined to the tributaries. What to do first was a problem in itself. Even if they approached the Minister, and he was favorably disposed, it was hard to see what could be done in the present state of Parliament. The Minister had no appropriation from which to take the necessary money, and could get none till Parliament met, which would not be at the earliest, till some time after June. But an immediate start was necessary. They could not afford to wait six weeks, let alone six months.
For the sake of this district it was a great pity that the Liberal Government was defeated, for when they came out of office they had a sum of money on the estimates to deal with this matter. The expenditure of that money would have averted all this trouble. As soon as the Labor Ministry came in, however, what did they do? They struck out that vote, and the result was seen that day in hyacinth-choked streams. It seemed to him the people would have to combine, and put forward their best efforts to stamp out the trouble.
Ald. R.G. Benaud (Mayor of Coraki) supported the toast, and eulogistically referred to the N.C.S.N. Coy. for its assistance and generosity in all public movements in this district. He believed his Council would work in with others in any combined effort to eradicate the pest, which had virtually only manifested itself in a severe form, during the past six months.

Cr. Yabsley (President, Woodburn Shire) after paying a tribute to the N.C.S.N. Coy. and Capt. Storey, said it was up to the people themselves to fight the hyacinth. The Government had no time for them, and he for one would never bother approaching them again. All he could get was promises, which were broken as soon as they were given. With the aid of a couple of steamers and a boom the pest could be moved out to sea by working the tides. It was the only cheap and effective way to cope with the blocks such as they saw that day. His view was that the Shires should contribute £100 and the Municipalities £50 each, as a nucleus of a fund for this purpose.
Cr. Bartlett (President Tintenbar Shire) said his Shire would not vote any £100 and risk the chance of being told to put their hands in their pockets, and make a refund for illegal expenditure. He, however, fully realised the tremendous danger that threatened, for in his Shire they had a stream that it would cost £1000 to clear. They had been for six years trying to get Government assistance, but without success. Cr. J. Gooley (President Tomki Shire) advocated asking the people to put their hands in their pockets, and make a start with the work of eradication.

It was no use Councillors voting money, and then being surcharged. Cr. J.L. R. McPherson (President Gundurimha Shire) favored Cr. Yabsley’s idea. He believed his Shire would be good for £100, if a practicable scheme were submitted to them. Cr. W.T. Missingham (Terania Shire) paid a graceful tribute to the N.C.S.N. Coy. and its local manager for the manner in which they watched over local interests and assisted the people in fighting big public questions. In this matter, the Shires should not vote a copper without first obtaining a Ministerial promise that their action would be validated. He advocated forming a sort of hyacinth trust, constituted of one delegate from each Shire with power to push on with the work of eradication.
Ald. Madden (Casino) also supported the toast. Capt. Storey, in response said he was pleased to be amongst such a splendid gathering of the bone and sinew and brains of the Richmond River. He never remembered seeing in this district such a representative party. They had been brought face to face with a scourge that threatened in a short time to strike at the prosperity of the whole district, and they could realise that whatever action was taken must be taken at once, otherwise what was the experience of the local droghers and launches would be the experience of the ocean boats in the near future. He did not quite agree with Mr. Yabsley — it was the duty of the Government to come to the assistance of the people, and if it did not do so it would simply be writing itself down as a Government of silly fools. A monster deputation should wait on the Minister responsible, present the case fully, and tangible results must follow.

As to the N.C.S.N. Coy. anything that was ever proposed to it in reason, for the benefit of the people, was acceded to. The interests of the Company were inseparably bound up with the interests of the rivers, and in Mr. Bell the people of the North Coast never had a better or more loyal friend, or one who was prepared to help them more willingly and sincerely. He hoped Mr. Bell would live long to represent the management in Sydney, for he understood the needs of the people, and would never allow the rivers to be neglected if his help could avoid it. Nothing in reason that was proposed to him for the good of the district was ever refused.
As for himself, while he (Capt. Storey) always did the best he could for his Coy., he always kept his eye out for the interests of the Richmond, and would do so as long as he was able to keep in harness. Mr. C.J. McRae briefly proposed the health of Mr. Clark, Secretary to the Lismore Chamber of Commerce, and the moving spirit in this outing. Mr. Clark, in responding said that he felt rewarded for anything he had done by seeing such a representative gathering of men bent on doing their best to rid the waters of the Richmond of a great menace. As for the Chamber of Commerce it was merely a sectional body, with no desire to trespass on the functions of the elective bodies.
With this trip its work came to an end. It had set out to demonstrate the absolute necessity of immediate action being then, and it was now for the elective bodies to take the necessary steps. It was not even the province of his Chamber to suggest what those steps should be. But he could say this — that whatever action was taken would have the loyal support and cooperation of the Lismore Chamber of Commerce. A brief run was made up the South Arm, after which the Irvington discharged her Coraki passengers, and soon afterwards left for Lismore.
