‘Questelles Beach Keepers’ restores old Well

Rupert ‘Mully’ Mulzac

The group that has taken the Questelles beach under their wing, put another feather in their cap last weekend after transforming what became the beach’s biggest garbage can, into an attraction.
Rupert ‘Mully’ Mulzac, the head of what is now titled the ‘Questelles Beach Keepers,’ which will be officially registered as a non-profit organization very soon, spoke at the opening of the beach’s well last Saturday.

Not much for formalities, Mulzac and his group of diligent workers were getting ready for a celebratory cook-up at the ‘Xpresseon 25/8’ Beach Bar to mark the end of months of effort.
The group is dedicated to making the beach more aesthetically pleasing. They clean it every month, have put up signs around the beach, set up receptacles and have also made efforts to stop the sand mining.

When SEARCHLIGHT first visited in February of this year, Mulzac had informed of his plans to restore the old well on the beach, that has been there for longer than he has been alive.

Curtis ‘Sentance’ Robinson

The well, once filled with water, had become full of garbage from the hundreds of beachgoers that go to Questelles beach every weekend, treating it as a trashcan.

Now, months after, the group has managed to clean out all the trash, and build a structure around the well with a wooden barrier around it, and a door to the side, designed to prevent persons from falling inside. There is also a roof, the material for which was donated by WE FM 99.9. Additionally, there is a barrier to prevent debris from falling into the well from the cliff behind.

Mulzac indicated that other members of the community and enthusiastic beachgoers also contributed.

The structure was not without its hassles, Mulzac explaining, “The original thing was, once we dug out all the trash, we’d chlorinate it, and we did that twice. Then in between the lag of getting the structure done, people throw stuff back down there, so we had to clean it again, and then you know, of course try to decontaminate it again…and we just pump it out twice now, seeing that we have our structure all done.”

inside the well was cleared of garbage

The only finishing touch that is left to be made is the attachment of a sign which will provide information about the well. Mulzac says, “I’ve been tryna find something on it …there really isn’t a bunch of stuff…just generalities. So we’re gonna keep tryna see if we can …as of now I don’t have any documentation, so if anybody has any.”

The group plans to put fish in the well, “because right now, we’re having larvae, and because it’s fresh water, they’re gonna breed there. So we’re gonna get some fish so that they eat the larvae, and so that way we’ll take care of that. That’s the plan,” ‘Mully’ explained.

As to whether or not the water in the well can be used for drinking, Mulzac said that he hasn’t known it to be used for this for at least the last 60-65 years. However, he illuminated on the capacity of the well, saying, “I put a pump in there, and it’s pumping 73 gallons a minute, and it cannot dry that well, can’t dry it.”

Graphic artist, Curtis ‘Sentance’ Robinson, who also grew up in Questelles, but now lives in Clare Valley, is the artist for the group. He hand-painted the signs erected around the beach by the Keepers, which read “Removal of Sand Prohibited!,” and “Throw nothing down the well,” among other things.

‘Sentance’ spoke on his design for the well, informing that the design, “It’s half owl, half frog, because the owl, at Sunset…the owl wake up, and it feed on the rats that come out, it feed on the insects, it eat all ah dem and the frogs live around water. It’s a sign from the petroglyphs.”

The artist stated about the beach, “We go protect it. I don’t need no reward. We go do it.”

Trees and garbage cans at the Questelles beach were painted in national colors.

Mulzac revealed his feelings on completing the well, “I think it’s an accomplishment to say if you try to do something, you start it, you can get it done. It’ll take a little time, you get a little detour here and there, you keep the vision, and I…I’m really fortunate that I got a couple of cool guys that really help me out.”

The well will add to the list of achievements for the group, which has combated the sand mining so that it is now almost ‘non-existent,’ and which maintains the beach by cleaning it every month.
The only thing left on the agenda is for the Keepers to set up a bathroom on the beach, but Mulzac said that this is taking some time, because of the procedure that must be followed. They are working with the Parks, Rivers and Beaches Authority to find a plan for the bathroom.

Mulzac concluded, “We’ve had support from the community, and yeah the people would say, yeah the beach is looking good. Haven’t had a lot of people come down and participate in cleaning… but we’re tryna show that, hey! If you wanna do something, you can do it…every little bit helps.”