When Michelle Thomas nursed two baby wallabies back to health, she was told the Briars nature reserve was the only safe place left to release them on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Now she’s worried she made the wrong choice following a council decision to allow a Harry Potter event at the Mount Martha park, about an hour’s drive south of Melbourne.
“I don’t understand how they are claiming it’s not going to impact the wildlife,” she said.
The Briars, known by traditional owners as Tichin-Gorourke, is home to native flora and fauna including koalas, kangaroos, emus and echidnas, and includes a wildlife sanctuary.
In April and May, it will play host to the Australian premiere of an interactive walk-through event recreating parts of the iconic Harry Potter series for fans
Thousands of tickets have already been sold, with visitors promised the opportunity to meet magical creatures and cast spells to light up the dark woods.
But Ms Thomas said it could have dire consequences for the area’s real creatures, which could fall victim to the fatal effects of capture myopathy — a build-up of lactic acid from overexertion.
“They’re going to be in an constant state of absolute sheer panic,” she said.
“The wildlife has nowhere to go to, it’s going to be more like the Hunger Games than Harry Potter.”
Thousands demand location change
More than 2,500 people have signed a petition calling for the show to be relocated.
Kevin Gibson has volunteered at the Briars for more than a decade, and said he was shocked when he heard the council had signed off such a large-scale event in the park’s most vulnerable area.
“I think it’s dreadful, I think it can do no good for the wildlife reserve,” he said.
“The shire have other areas already allocated up on the hill there already allocated for events, I just begged them to change the location,” he said.
“We understand that Harry Potter is special to a lot of people, but a sanctuary is not the place for it,” local wildlife advocate Louise Page said.
Mornington MP Chris Crewther said he had written to the CEO of the shire and Briars ward councillors calling on them to change the location of the event.
But a council spokesperson said Warner Brothers was interested in the sanctuary due to “its ability to provide a forest-like experience”, adding that “the majority of the rest of the Briars is very open and does not provide this experience”.
The ABC reached out to Warner Brothers and Fever, which is helping run the Australian event, for comment.
Fever has said previously that the vast majority of the woodlands would remain untouched.
Council hopes Harry Potter show will boost local economy
The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council said it expected the whole event to draw more than 200,000 people to the area.
“Events such as this provide an important boost for our local businesses through spending at local shops, restaurants and cafes,” a spokesperson for the council said.
“This event will showcase our region, inspiring visitors to stay for a few days in what is generally a quiet time for our tourism sector.”
Councillors have said they were required to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA) before they were able to vote on whether or not to approve the event.
Two councillors, including David Gill, abstained, meaning they were unable to vote.
Mr Gill said it had not felt right to him.
“It’s the first time in my 17 years on council I’ve been asked to sign an NDA,” he said.
Debra Mar, who did sign the NDA and was included on the vote, said it was approved unanimously.
But she said she was not entirely without worries.
“I am concerned about the long-term impact. But we have been told [by council officers] it will be OK,” Ms Mar said.
“We were told all the i’s had been dotted and the t’s crossed, that it wouldn’t impact on the environment.”
It’s not the first time the Harry Potter experience has drawn backlash.
Earlier this year, Belgian media reported authorities had said they would not host the event again due to concerns about the effects it had on local wildlife.
The Mornington council said it was confident that would not happen here.
“The experience will occupy only part of the 90-hectare sanctuary, leaving plenty of undisturbed natural habitat space for animals,” a council spokesperson said.
“The placement of props, lights and sounds has been carefully considered.
“The majority of the experience is on existing paths which reduces the impact on vegetation.”
The spokesperson said the council had engaged an ecological consultant and was “working with traditional owners via our heritage consultants”.
They also assured visitation would not exceed the Briars car-parking capacity to avoid triggering traffic issues.
They would not reveal how much they were paid to host the event.