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"THEY'VE
put the nail in our retail coffin"
said Max Siano, vice-president of the
Bondi Chamber of Commerce.
Max, who owns Max's Shoes on Bondi Beach's
famous "Strip", was commenting
on the planned upgrade of the eastern
side of Campbell Parade, jointly funded
by Waverley Council and the Federal Government.
The upgrade work is due to start soon
(see below).
But retailers along the Strip are less
than enthusiastic about the upgrade.
Max described it as "a painful, half-hearted
affair."
Speaking as spokesman for business in
the area, Max said: "We haven't been
consulted. If only the council had asked
us, we could have helped them plan it
properly. We are just as eager to upgrade
as they are."
Other business-owners along the Strip
shared Max's concerns. A particular worry
to them is the way Westfield at Bondi
Junction is attracting customers away
from them.
"Westfield has 3000 or so free parking
places," said one retailer. "All
we have is parking metres. Westfield is
sucking customers away from us."
The council recently suspended some parking
meters over the weekend during the winter
months, recognising the concerns of businesses
along the strip.
"But the meters go back on again
during the week," the retailer pointed
out. "It's all very well to attract
visitors over the weekend - but we operate
a seven-day-a-week business. Who's going
to come back once they get booked by the
piranhas? Once bitten, twice shy."
"Nothing is being done to promote
the beach, and no consultation between
the Council and businesses like mine,"
said Patrick Moritz, owner of the Lamrock
Café, a Strip landmark for over
20 years.
Several retailers said that the number
of people visiting Bondi was dwindling.
Some
shopkeepers
fear that unemployment and business failure
are imminent. "Business is terrible
at the moment," one commented.
Some
businesses are concerned about the disruption
the upgrade works will cause. Already
there are complaints from retailers in
Hall Street about they way the new footpath
works are hurting their businesses.
"The council has got carried away
with its beautification," said another
Campbell Parade shopkeeper, "but
we have other issues. We have invested
time and money in the area. But we are
being left out in the cold. I get the
Impression that the council is anti-business."
However, other business-owners acknowledged
that recent efforts to draw the public
to Bondi during the winter months had
shown promise. "But there's no Bondi
Boom," commented another.
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12/6/07
DISAPPEARING
BEACH DISAPPEARS AGAIN!
Now
you see it – now you don’t.
The recent storm has washed away McKenzie’s
Beach again.
(We
hope you took our advice and visited
it while it was there. See the BEFORE
photo below and our earlier story about
its reappearance.)
A
great pity, for it was a lovely little
beach.
Now
we will have to wait – who knows
how long? – before it reappears.
The
tide giveth, the storm taketh away,
blessed be the name of the southerly.
AFTER
BEFORE
McKenzie's Beach
29/5/07
OUR
“DISAPPEARING” BEACH RETURNS
You
may have read in the Wentworth Courier
recently about the “reappearance”
of McKenzie’s Beach (or, if you walk
or jog round the coastal walkway, you
will have no doubt seen the “new”
beach which has suddenly materialised
between Bondi and Tamarama).
To
have a new beach on Sydney’s eastern
coastline is no small thing.
And
it a very nice little beach, too (as our
photo shows).
Indeed,
if it would only stay where it is, it
would quickly become one of Sydney’s
most popular beaches – a “boutique”
beach if you like.
But
it won’t.
For
McKenzie’s Beach is a cyclical phenomenon.
It waxes and wanes (and disappears) as
the seasons come and go.
Experts
say that it is mainly a winter beach.
However,
it does not reappear every year or each
winter.
This
year it is particularly large, with a
broad sweep of sand that is perhaps 80
or more metres across, and 20 or so metres
deep.
It
is named after the bay it appears in –
McKenzie Bay (just round from the southern
“head” of Bondi – McKenzie’s
Point).
McKenzie,
apparently, owned a farm on the point,
and this gave the name to both the head
and the bay (our resident Bondi historian,
John Ruffels, believes that children used
to chase McKenzie’s cows over the
cliff).
But
do visit this lovely little beach, and
if possible have a paddle there.
It
may be gone tomorrow or the next day or
week or month.
And
it may not return for many years.
Enjoy
it while it’s here.
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Campbell
Parade empty footpath
Max Siano said: "Upgrade all you
like. Sure, it will look great on a postcard
- but if the council doesn't try to fix
things here, many of the shops will soon
be empty."
WORK
STARTS ON UPGRADE
Preliminary work has already begun on
the $3.1 million upgrade of the eastern
side of Campbell Parade.
The upgrade is a joint project of Waverley
Council and the Federal Government, and
was launched a few weeks ago by the Mayor
of Waverley, Councillor George Newhouse,
and the local MP and Federal Environment
Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
The project includes widening footpaths,
upgrading storm-water drainage, adding
350 metres of median fencing, and constructing
new kerb and guttering.
A particular feature will be the planting
of new Norfolk Island pines and the protection
and preservation of ones already planted.
Other plants will be bedded in between
Lamrock Avenue and Beach Road.
The work is being managed by a Melbourne
company experienced in beach-upgrades,
City Wide Service Solutions.
"The upgrade will enhance Bondi as
an international tourist destination,"
said Paul Gilmore, of City Wide. "Local
heritage will be emphasised and the aim
is to attract people to Bondi all year
long.
"It will also help traffic management
in the area. The works will be of a very
high standard."
The upgrade was due to begin on July 1
but will soon be fully underway.
Watch this space.
Photos:
Jessica Keogh
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ACCURACY
OF OUR LISTINGS
Cyberbondi
is very proud of the accuracy of
our listings. We strive to keep
the information in our – very
extensive – database up-to-date.
It
is our strong belief that what will
keep us the most-reliable and most-used
database covering our Bondi-Waverley-Bronte
Internet Community Network area
is the relevance of our listings
– the accuracy and reality
of the “picture” we provide
of our district.
We
derive our information from many
sources. However, the major one
is what we call “block sweeps”.
As
the database is maintained by people
who live in the area, we have the
opportunity to check on an almost
daily basis – by driving and
walking around the area - the who,
what and where of the local community.
But
many local businesses and other
entities do not have “shop-fronts”,
or obvious “presences”.
So it is more difficult to monitor
their existence and activity.
We regularly update all the office
blocks in our area by physically
checking the “foyer” directories
of each of them.
Yet
many businesses operate out of anonymous
private premises, or similar hard-to-monitor
places.
The
best records of these, clearly,
are maintained by Telstra via their
telephone listings.
Although
this is “public information”,
we acknowledge that if our information
comes from this important source,
we say so openly in our description
of the relevant listing (eg, “YP
or WP 6/07”).
Only
entities that have a local presence
are listed in Cyberbondi –
though we encourage advertisements
from “outside” businesses
that also serve our area.
Yet our main advertising base is
businesses & other entities
who are physically located within
the boundaries of Bondi-Waverley,
and who want to market their goods
& services to the local community.
Of
course, we welcome any correcting
or amending of our listings, and
so encourage people in the area
to tell us if there are new entries,
or entries that should be deleted,
or – most importantly –
entries that need further updating
and upgrading.
Indeed,
we have created what is called a
Cyberbondi “Content Management
System (CMS)” that people can
use to control and manage their
own listing.
This
can be accessed on our PLAZA “home”
page.
And
we are only too pleased to help
people use this facility, which
gives them the ability to change,
add to, or otherwise update/upgrade
their entries in Cyberbondi.
However,
we realise that many are unfamiliar
with the technology involved, and
we are happy to receive new information
from anyone at any time, by phone
9319 6851, letter (box 100 Millers
Point 2000), fax (9319 6850), or
email (go to info@cyberbondi.com.au).
Do
please help us to keep “Virtually
Everything” in Cyberbondi as
up-to-the-minute as possible.
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28/5/07
CHANGES
IN OUR “FASHION” CATEGORY
As
foreshadowed in our last CyberBondi
news item (14/5), we have changed
the FASHION BOUTIQUE LOBBY in
the CyberBondi FASHION COURT
to “STREETWEAR”.
We
decided that FASHION BOUTIQUE
was too wide a category, and
lumped a range of fashion outlets
into the one, rather meaningless,
category.
So
now STREETWEAR, which is a term
many shops and their customers
are using currently, will describe
fashions for the younger age-group.
In fact, many (if not most)
of what we formerly described
as FASHION BOUTIQUE or just
BOUTIQUE are now in the STREETWEAR
LOBBY.
We
have also changed the category
“WOMEN’S CLOTHING”
to “WOMEN’S WEAR”
(as in Women’s Wear Daily
– the NY-based “Bible”
of the fashion industry). This
is meant to be a more up-market
term indicating quality fashion
short of couture and our DESIGNER
FASHION category.
The
next area we will be looking
at is our ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
COURT. We have already changed
this to WELLBEING & ALTERNATIVE
HEALTH. But we are still unhappy
with some of the sub-categories
or LOBBIES.
We
will keep you informed.
(We
are also looking at ways to
bring you more “newsy”
news items, and tomorrow we
will have a rather interesting
one.)
_____________________________________
14/5/07
: CHANGES IN OUR “CAFÉ/CASUAL
EATING” CATEGORY
We
at CYBERBONDI are continually
refining our PLAZA categories
– which we call COURTS
(our site is designed as a
permanent Expo of “Virtually
Everything” in Bondi-Waverley)
– to better reflect the
reality/actuality of the local
business environment and community
lifestyle.
In
revising and updating our
PLAZAs - “LIVING”,
“SHOPPING”, etc
- we have decided that our
former sub-category “CAFÉ”
is too broad and general.
(We call these sub-categories
LOBBIES.)
“What
exactly is a “café”?
Is it a place that merely
serves coffee? Or dispenses
coffee plus other things?
We
think the term is almost meaningless
in a contemporary context,
and indiscriminate in the
context of an Internet Community
Network (which is what CYBERBONDI
is).
So
from today we are changing
our “CAFÉ”
sub-category/LOBBY into “CASUAL
EATING/CAFÉ” (for
the term “café”
still means something to most
people).
And
we will progressively convert
those coffee-dispensing businesses
that we formerly described
as “CAFEs” into
the sort of café that
they actually are.
Many
of these former “CAFEs”
will now be called “STREET
CAFÉ” to indicate
they are local, street-situated
cafes, often open-fronted
or with outside tables.
If,
however, they have some special
characteristic or feature,
we will indicate this –
with such new and existing
LOBBIES as “CAFÉ-DELI”,
“BAKERY CAFÉ”,
“ETHNIC CAFÉ”,
“VEGETARIAN CAFÉ”,
“BREAKFAST CAFÉ”,
“COFFEE LOUNGE”,
“MALL CAFÉ”,
and so on (see on the PLAZA
page our new COURT, “CASUAL
EATING/CAFÉ”).
We
have also brought in two new
LOBBIES, “NATURAL JUICE
OUTLET” from our “ORGANIC”
COURT and “INTERNET CAFÉ”
from our “INTERNET”
COURT.
Perhaps
most importantly, we have
refined two major categories,
to make them more useful and
functional.
We
have added a new LOBBY category
“TAKE-AWAY EAT-IN”
to the “CASUAL EATING/CAFÉ”
COURT, removing a similar
LOBBY from the “TAKE-AWAY/TO-GO”
COURT. This enables us to
better indicate which take-away
establishments have eat-in
facilities, too. (We will
progressively revise all take-aways
in coming weeks.)
And
we have eliminated the previous
sub-category/LOBBY “RESTAURANT/CAFÉ”
from the “RESTAURANT”
COURT, replacing it with “CAFÉ-RESTAURANT”
in the “CASUAL EATING/CAFÉ”
COURT. Thus any restaurant
that has casual “café”
facilities, or any café
that also serves meals, will
be listed in this “CASUAL
EATING/CAFÉ” COURT
as “CAFÉ-RESTAURANT”.
In
the coming months we will
revise and update other sections
of our CYBERBONDI Internet
Community Network. (The next
“cab on the rank”
is the “BOUTIQUE”
category/LOBBY in our “FASHION”
COURT – we believe that
it is also too wide and general,
and needs more meaningful
sub-categories.)
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17/4/07
WELCOME TO CYBERBONDI NEWS
Today,
April 17, we launch a new,
and important, section in
CYBERBONDI.
It’s
called CYBERBONDI NEWS.
The
CYBERBONDI site has been around
– active – since
1997, when we started what
turned out to be our first
Internet Community Network
– CYBERBONDI.
Our
philosophy – our rationale
and driving impetus –
was that the Internet was
going to supplant, or at least
augment, existing Media outlets
(newspapers, magazines, radio,
TV, etc, etc).
We
launched CYBERBODNI as our
first “model” of
what we saw – far too
early, as it turned out –
the future of information
and community communication…the
shape of things to come.
Yet
we have waited a long time
for those “things”
“to come”. But we
now think we are, to use a
Bondi analogy, on the edge
of the surf, watching the
waves, on the horizon, beginning
to well up.
So
we are currently in the process
of substantially upgrading
CYBERBONDI (preparatory to
expanding to the rest of Sydney
– Cyber Paddington-Woollahra
will be next, hopefully later
this year)
One
of our first steps towards
the future – the digital,
online future – is to
launch this CYBERBONDI NEWS
section to our website.
Our
aim is to present each day
something of interest to those
accessing our site.
We
hope that ordinary news –
what is happening daily in
Bondi-Woollahra – will
be part of this new and regular
service.
But
we will also report matters
concerning our CYBERBONDI
site – fresh categories,
changes in format and content,
new initiatives and trends,
and so on.
Click
on this each week and see
what is making news in CYBERBONDI.
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