Pittwater Life November 2023 Issue

The Way We Were
Every month we pore over three decades of Pittwater Life, providing a snapshot
of the area’s recent history – and confirming that quite often the more things change,
the more they stay the same! Compiled by Lisa Offord
25 Years Ago…
The Way We Were
The future of Currawong “the worker’s
paradise… is under review with claims
that it will become a millionaire’s resort”
with plans to create a modern conference
centre and holiday accommodation on the
site. Council’s Rangers were “again in the
spotlight following their blitz on A-frame
signs and shopping centre parking which
has many businesspeople wondering if
they are becoming revenue collectors for
the Council.” According to the story, “last
year the Rangers produced more than
$540,000 in revenue for the Council mostly
from car parking infringements.” (The fine
for displaying an A-frame on the footpath
outside a store was $330). Pittwater Life’s
computer columnist David Hague was
awarded the State Government contract to
“place the HSC results on the Internet”. Students were able to
access their results onscreen by using a PIN number… it was
the first time “individual HSC results will be available via an
Internet Web page.” Hague said the main challenge in setting
up the site for the NSW Board of Studies was “making sure
the results couldn’t be hacked or tampered with.” Meanwhile
his column ‘Chip Thrills’ focussed on “the joys and pitfalls”
of internet shopping. “The media continually tell us the
15 Years Ago…
Internet is full of sharks and charlatans
trying to rip us off by stealing credit card
numbers and organising ‘net-based scams’;
the fact remains however that the internet
is going to be a major part of our lives
when it comes to spending.” In news, the
“new technology for home entertainment,
the Digital Video Disc” was available in
Avalon at That New Video Shop, with the
proprietor noting rentals of DVDs had
started slowly as consumers switched
to the new players… “some stores are
already renting DVD players for around
$267 a month on a 12-month contract”.
The Avalon Beach Market Day was held;
Council spent more than $50,000 to
“redesign and rejuvenate” Newport’s
Robertson Road, turning it into a one-way
street with angle parking that released large areas for newly
paved courtyards for outside dining; Dog owners using
the unleased area at Careel Bay asked Council to “respond
to a submission made last August following a meeting with
councillors on the future of the area” – the dog owners were
“concerned that emphasis is being placed on environmental
sensitivity at the expense of public use; and the Crown to the
Sea bushlink was ready for walkers.
5 Years Ago…
Avalon Market Day and the
the intersection. Chip Thrills
Our villages came to life
Newport Festival were held.
columnist David Hague wrote with markets and festivals in
Pressure mounted against private about the development of a
Avalon, Mona Vale, Newport
development of Currawong, with small screen into which a daily and Narrabeen. Readers
calls to put the site on the Heritage newspaper could be downloaded. learned the State Government
list. Meanwhile the
“Are the days
funding earmarked for the
group Pittwater
of newspapers
compulsory acquisition of
Residents Against
numbered, to
the Pasadena site at Church
Inappropriate
be overtaken by Point was to be redirected
Development
electronic devices?” to the Mona Vale Surf Life
(PRAID) was
(Hague didn’t think Saving Club following the
seeking to expand
so). Meanwhile the scrapping of the planned
its “sphere of
Christmas holiday purchase. We reported dog owners advocacy group
influence by
rental market, Pittwater Unleashed had accused Northern Beaches
generating a wider
particularly in Council of “… unnecessarily delaying the introduction
membership base to
Palm Beach and of an off-leash dog trial at Palm Beach’s Station Beach,
give more emphasis
Whale Beach, was which it says should have been settled be staff”; local
to developments in
“feeling the pinch in business chambers slammed council’s fee increases
the southern area
bookings in some for outdoor seating space for cafes and restaurants
of Pittwater”. In
areas, with rentals “… saying they are jeopardising businesses and slowly
Newport, Cabbage
in the lower price stripping villages of their vibrancy and character”. And
Tree Palms had
ranges down on last year”. At the we noted there was a “ghost town vibe about Newport
“suddenly appeared among the top end, bookings had already and Avalon, with more shopfronts with ‘For Lease’ signs
controversial Norfolk Pines in the been taken in the $35,000- to than we can recall.” Writer Rosamund Burton spent
median strip” of the rejuvenated $40,000-a-week market, though time with our Marine Rescue volunteers to provide an
Newport shopping Centre, and agents reported that many were overview of all the fine work they do; and Life Stories
shopkeepers in Robertson Road taking shorter holidays reflecting featured engineer Bob Moran and his remarkable
were advised of major disruptions the international and domestic collection of scientific wonders in the ‘Discovery Shed’
due to the redevelopment of financial downturn.
in Mona Vale.
30 NOVEMBER 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991