Knitting Nanna Sharyn O鈥橠ell attached herself to the main gates of the Heron鈥檚 Creek sawmill, the biggest native forest mill in New South Wales, just before dawn on January 19.
O鈥橠ell鈥檚 family stood beside her as she settled in waiting to be cut from the gate and arrested.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not okay for companies like this to be profiting from the plunder of our forests,鈥 O鈥橠ell said. 鈥淢ore than half the wood that comes in, leaves as woodchips. Some gets turned into floorboards 鈥 Sustainably managed plantations have to be the way forward.鈥
The community of the Bulga Plateau, west of Port Macquarie, has been protesting the logging in Bulga State Forest since January 9.
鈥淚 live near Bulga Forest. I鈥檝e seen the destruction with my own eyes. I moved to the area because I loved the forest greens and I also loved the people who were prepared to stand up for what they believe in,鈥 O鈥橠ell said.
O鈥橠ell鈥檚 son, daughters-in-law and grandchildren are proud of her taking action.
鈥淚 heard Mayor Pinson on the radio yesterday saying she was running for election and supported harsher penalties for protesters,鈥 O鈥橠ell said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to remind her she wouldn鈥檛 be running for election or even be able to vote if it hadn鈥檛 been for those hardcore protesters 鈥 the suffragettes.
鈥淭here was plenty of the ruling elite wanted to shut down those protesters too. But, just as women won the vote, we will stop the logging of our native forests. It鈥檚 just a matter of time: governments know it; the loggers know it and we know it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a matter of minimising the damage between now and then,鈥 O鈥橠ell said.
The sawmill is owned by Pentarch, which also owns the Eden chip mill. While it promotes聽its , it is still one of the biggest native forest loggers.
鈥淲hen these little kids grow up and ask me what did I to try and pass on a healthy planet for future generations, with tall forests and clear flowing streams and koalas and gliders, I鈥檒l be able to look them in the eye and say I tried.鈥