Jan Cheetham keeps an eye on passers-by from his property on Murray’s Flat Road near Goulburn. Photo: John Thistleton.
With the help of a hire company, Jan Cheetham has tracked two young men he alleges illegally dumped an old mattress and bed and other material on his property near Goulburn.
He discovered they made two trips in their hired ute to his place eight kilometres out of town, passing the Goulburn tip turnoff on both occasions.
Since alerting the authorities, Jan has waited for three months for action to be taken. Goulburn Mulwaree Council says two individuals have been contacted and investigations and compliance action are ongoing.
Offenders who don’t clean up their illegally dumped waste face fines of $15,000 to $30,000.
While working in his front garden on Saturday 28 March, Jan saw a white ute with a red stripe over its roof and blue tarpaulin over its tray driving along Murrays Flat Road.
The road continues past his place, crosses the main southern railway line and Wollondilly River and becomes the Silver Stream Fire Trail. On sections it is a public road. Through his property it is a private road, following a long held agreement between a previous landowner and the NSW Bush Fire Council.
“Theoretically people shouldn’t drive through there because it is private. But cyclists, walkers, trail bike riders and four-wheel drives come through,” he said.
On Sunday 29 March, Jan was returning home before lunchtime on the fire trail from the north side of the river.
“I nearly had a head-on collision with this same white ute on the rail crossing because they were going quite quickly and were well on my side of the road,” he said.
“I swerved to the left and got a quick glimpse of the number plate and remembered four of the six digits (on the number plate) and noticed it was a hire ute with a red stripe over the roof,” he said.
The following Tuesday he was at a Veterans Open Arms meeting when his neighbour phoned to tell him about two loads of rubbish dumped on his property.
The first pile included an old bed and mattress and other odds and ends. The second pile included broken laundry baskets, baby’s car seat and other rubbish.
He suspected the young men in the white ute over the weekend were the likely culprits. Calling in at the hire company, he spotted the white ute and the number plates matching what he had seen.
Staff confirmed the vehicle’s journey and destination on the days in question, and how long the vehicle was parked on his property. They could not provide names because of privacy laws.
On advice from police he referred the illegal dumping to the council’s compliance officer.
“They have contacted these people, they have asked them to clean up the rubbish, take it to the tip and pay for it and prove that they have disposed of it properly and that will be the end of the matter,” he said.
“Well, so far they have not cleared up the rubbish, so council is continuing to pursue this. Separately, I have gone back to the police and said I want to prosecute these people for trespassing,” he said.
Jan and his wife Nancy moved to their timbered open woodland property in 1977. They have about a kilometre of river frontage and graze Angus cattle.
They live in an 1868 bluestone cottage, formerly the Towrang school.
At the rear is an 1858 Wesleyan Methodist church and they believe about 39 people are buried in unmarked graves in the same area.
Over the years Jan and a neighbour have stopped along the Murray Flats Road to pick up rubbish. He has never had such a large amount dumped on his place before the weekend in March.
The pair of illegal dumpers have avoided tip fees, including $47 to dispose of the old mattress.
