Waverley Council’s Maintenance and Construction Division will soon carry out construction works on Blair Street. These works are part of Council’s public works program, and will improve the safety and appearance of the footpaths in Bondi. The works may cause some temporary inconvenience to residents, but will be done as quickly as possible to minimise any disruption.

Location of works: The works will be carried out on both sides of Blair Street, between Mitchell Street and Glenayr Avenue, excluding business premises.

Description of works: The works require the demolition and removal of sections of footpath, and the pouring of new concrete in its place.

Timing: The work is scheduled to start on Monday 14 May and is expected to be completed by Friday 1 June 2012 (weather permitting).

Altered conditions: On-street and residential parking may be affected at times during construction.

Contact us: If you have any questions regarding these works, please contact Council’s Construction Supervisor, Steve Pracy, on 0417 027 177 or 8306 3611.

The original Chloe Memorial Mural along Bondi promenade

Waverley Council has started a program for the renewal of the Chloe Memorial Mural on the sea wall at Bondi Beach, in time for the tenth anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombing.

More than 200 people, including 88 Australians, were killed in the bomb attack at the Sari Club, Kuta Beach Bali, on 12 October 2002. One victim was Bondi local, 15 year old Chloe Byron, on holiday in Bali with her family.

The ‘girl with the frangipani in her hair’ grew up on the beach at Bondi and was widely known through her active participation in many local sporting clubs. She surfed longboards with her dad, David Byron, off the third ramp at Bondi on an 8’ board she ‘borrowed’ from him.

In 2003, with the support of Chloe’s family, local aerosol artists led by ‘Droogie’ painted a memorial mural for Chloe at the third ramp on the Bondi sea wall.

Over the years since it was painted, the Chloe Memorial Mural has become a beloved part of the Bondi landscape. Incorporating a portrait of Chloe along with elements of beach culture including a view of Bondi Beach, a longboard and frangipani flowers, the mural captures and reflects back elements of the active beach culture that was such an important part of Chloe’s life as she grew up in Bondi.

Droogie has undertaken repairs to the mural when needed over the years, but weathering and damp have affected the mural and the concrete behind it and after nine years, the mural is now beyond repair.

In consultation with Chloe’s family and the artist, Council has resolved to remove the existing mural, repair and refinish the wall and contract Droogie to repaint the mural in time for the tenth anniversary of the bombing on 12 October 2012.

Repairs to the wall are almost complete and work on repainting will begin in May. Droogie will paint a replica of the existing mural, including a portrait of Chloe and the dedication that reminds viewers of the tragedy of the bombing.

Renewal of the Chloe Memorial Mural on Bondi promenade

NSW Fire Brigade emergency drill for patient retrieval-Bondi skate bowl

Just in case you were wondering what all fire engines, the ladders and the bronto were doing in and around the skatepark?

The skate bowl at Bondi Beach was closed between 11.00am and 12.00pm today whilst Fire Brigade crews from Bondi, Woollahra and the City of Sydney conducted an emergency drill to establish the best practice for the safe and stable removal of injured persons from the bowl.

Now that daylight savings has finished the Lifeguard Services at Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte will be operating 7 days a week between 7.00am and 5.00pm until Sunday 27 May 2012.

From Monday 28 May 2012 until Sunday 23 September 2012 lifeguards will be operating at Bondi Beach 7 days a week between the hours of 8.00am and 5.00pm. There will be no lifeguards on duty at Tamarama and Bronte beaches during that time.

Commencing Monday  24 September 2012  the Lifeguard Service will be back in full swing at our 3 beaches. Bondi and Bronte beaches will be patrolled by our lifeguards from 6.00am to 6.00pm and Tamarama patrolled between the hours of 8.00am and 6.00pm.

When daylight savings starts on Sunday 7 October 2012 Bondi and Bronte beaches will be patrolled by our lifeguards from 6.00am to 7.00pm and Tamarama patrolled between the hours of 9.00am and 7.00pm. The latter hours will remain in place until the end of daylight savings on  Sunday 7 April 2013.

Nth Bondi Childrens Pool due for a clean

Due to the 2-3 metre swell pumping into Bondi Bay last Thursday, unfortunately North Bondi Pool could not be cleaned as scheduled.

Instead, the pool will be closed for cleaning tomorrow morning – Thursday 15 March – and will reopen at around 1.30pm. With a 1.2 metre high tide due in at 3.25pm, the children’s pool should fill up throughout the rest of the afternoon. The cleaning of the pool at North Bondi requires a safety perimeter due to the use of a high pressure water cleaner to remove any marine growth, and the operation of a machinery to remove any large buildup of sand.

On Saturday 17 March between 12.30pm and 3.30pm and Sunday 18 March between 12.00pm and 3.00pm, the Energizer Toy Rescue will be on the Bondi Pavilion forecourt at Bondi Beach.

Any pre-loved battery powered toys that are donated will be cleaned up by Energizer and provided with new batteries to be given to children in need.

Beach rake in operation on Bondi Beach

The beach rake collects litter along Bondi beach 5-6 days a week, between 5am and 12.30pm. Tamarama and Bronte beaches are usually raked on Wednesday mornings.

At Bondi, the primary focus first thing is raking the high tide mark and the lower part of the beach. After that, the beach rake then operates at the back of the beach where there are fewer occupants at that time of the day.

Bondi beach takes approximately 12 hours to completely rake, so the beach rake needs to be in operation for at least six hours a day to keep up with the amount of litter that is left on the sand.

The tray on the back of the beach rake has a capacity of one and a half cubic metres. On an average week the beach rake would collect four cubic metres of litter and stormwater debris. On a busy week, collection would double to eight cubic metres. After Australia Day 2012 the beach rake collected 12.5 cubic metres and that was just litter, not stormwater debris. And all from one day!

South Bondi Park - underground stormwater holding tank

This cavernous space lies below the park at South Bondi and is the new stormwater retention tank, with a holding capacity of 300,000 litres.

The stormwater is harvested from nearby Campbell Parade and is then filtered and disinfected. The harvested water is then used to irrigate Bondi Park and for toilet flushing in the amenity blocks at South Bondi and the Bondi Pavilion.

The new system is expected to save over 50 million litres of mains water per year.

Bowla-a-rama warm up in the Bondi Beach skate bowl on Wednesday 22 February 2012

Bowl-a-rama is happening this Saturday 25 February, at Bondi Beach skate park.

Set-up for the event will start at 6am the day before. A temporary structure will be built on the promenade, adjacent to the skate park, so kids not taking part in the event have somewhere to skate while it’s taking place.

Fifteen reserved car spaces near the Queen Elizabeth Drive entry gates will be set aside to allow for the construction of a  grand stand for spectators, who can watch the event free of charge.

The event site will be returned to normal  on Saturday night for full public access to the skate park on Sunday 26 February.

Damage to stormwater pit cover at South Bondi

After last night’s downpour the pressure of the the large volume of stormwater in South Bondi severely damaged the pit cover near the outlet in the southern corner. Council staff have set up barriers in and around the location and fastened some solid sheeting over the top of the damaged cover until a replacement is installed.

Council staff securing the area around the damaged stormwater cover at South Bondi