IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE?
NO, IT'S A SHARK!
The
Largest of seven shark kites rises above the Bondi Pavilion
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26/7/08
THE
"STRIP" STRUTS
ITS STUFF
The
newly-planted line of palm trees along the centre
strip of Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, have pulled
together what used to be a streetscape wasteland.
Unlike
the attempts to improve the look of Hall Street -
which hardly looks any different to how it was before
the Council's efforts at beautification began many
months ago - Campbell Parade is now a handsome boulevard,
befitting Australia's premier beach.
The
$3.1-million upgrade of the Campbell Parade area is
a joint project of Waverley Council and the Federal
Government
The
project includes widening footpaths, upgrading storm-water
drainage, adding 350 metres of median fencing, and
constructing new kerb and guttering.
Once
this is done perhaps the Council might think about
providing more accessible bus stops along "The
Strip" Some years ago the bus-stop outside the
southern end of Birrigal Reserve was removed and many
people now find it inconvenient to have to walk all
the way up to Notts Avenue and then cross it to reach
the next bus-stop in Campbell Parade.
__________________________________________________
IS
IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE?
NO - IT'S A SHARK!
SUNDAY September 14, 2008, was the
30th anniversary of Bondi's kite-flying Festival of
the Winds.
The event was heralded by colourful flags along the
Campbell Parade "Strip" and some practice
runs the day before.
But
when Sunday dawned it looked like being a total wash-out,
with early morning storm clouds hanging over the beach,
followed by several hours of drenching rain before
the sun peeped out and the kite flyers emerged to
set up their pitches, inflate balloons and test the
wind, which became a favourable north-easterly - ideal
for flying kites above the beach.
Star of the show was an enormous inflated shark kite
which lumbered ove the sand towards the waves and
then launched into the sky, looming over the Bondi
Pavilion before venturing higher into the sky. Photographer
John Lacey captured its journey for CyberBondi.
The CyberBondi team watched from their balcony at
the south end of the beach as six other, smaller shark
kites jostled for sky space, bobbing and dancing in
the wind, accompanied by more traditional triangular
kites and clusters of balloons.
The
shark gets ready to take off
Then
thunder growled and storm clouds gathered once more
and the kites were reeled in while a few doughty surfers
continued to ride the waves.
The
last wave
_______________________________________
Local
News 13/8/07
CAMPBELL
PARADE UPGRADE CAUSES CONFLICT
Artist's impression of
the proposed facelift
Bondi
Beach's Campbell Parade is to have a $3.1 million
facelift - but not everyone is happy, reports
JESSICA KEOGH
"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.
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
__________________________________________________
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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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.
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.)
__________________________________
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.)
_____________________________________
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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