OST OF THE bathers sprawled during sunny weekends along the seawall at the Fairy Bower ocean pool, in the coastal Sydney suburb of Manly, wouldn’t be aware of the life surviving below their dangling feet…or how it’s impacted by this concrete structure. The wall, built in the early 20th century, is a small example of the mostly cement edifices that have been built along, and out from, the world’s coastlines. Globally, an estimated 32,000sq.km of seawalls, pontoons, pilings and marinas now stretch into the ocean from various locations. In Australia, where 85 per cent of the population famously lives within 50km of the sea and properties with water views are among the highest-priced real estate in the world, the impact is thought to be huge.
