“THE DUKE “
February 2014 Update from The Friends of Freshwater Inc.
February is all back to work
and school with hot and sultry
weather, flat surf, and the
occasional thunderstorm to
Freshwater Village. Much thought was
put into the design of this development
and it would have been the first urban
design to be approved in accordance
with the 2012 Freshwater Village
relieve the humid conditions.
Development Control Plan, which works
Spare A Thought
aspects of Freshwater.
for the surfers
who competed in the Hurley Australian
Open of Surfing during the month.
Waves were tiny and competition judges
and surfers alike were frustrated by
the inability of surfers to display the
full range of their skills. Only on the
final day of competition did a shaped
and rideable set of waves emerge.
NO GO FOR “FRESHWATER
SANDS” PROJECT.
Events during the last month indicate
that the “Freshwater Sands”
development proposed for the southern
side of Lawrence Street now appears to
have been mothballed. The DA Approval
for the project lasts for 5 years, but
already tenants have been signing 3
year leases ( with a 3 year option)
without demolition clauses.
This Project envisaged residential
to enhance the “ beachside village”
Friends of Freshwater were opposed
only to the mid-Lawrence St. driveway
entry to the 156 car underground
parking of this development, as this
would have caused traffic issues and led
to the demolition of the recently
installed outdoor terraces.
It appears that the Terraces will now
live to fight another day.
Recently the landlord, Chris Zakos has
also been advertising for a new
proprietor for the long-standing
Chinese Restaurant with the inducement
of a “permanent long lease”. This is a
further indication that the DA will not
go ahead.
These leasehold breakthroughs will give
much encouragement to businesses
whose future previously looked
uncertain.
apartments above street-level
commercial premises, and complied with
the existing planning provisions for
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Friends of Freshwater Inc. publishes “the Duke” Newsletter as a service to its membership and the wider Freshwater
community, and the views and opinions expressed in it are those of the Executive of FOF Inc. If you wish to become a
member or renew your membership, further contact can be made with us either via our website www.freshie.org.au; or
via our email address friendsoffreshwater@gmail.com; or via our face book site Friends of Freshwater Inc.; or via our
formal address at PO Box 663, Freshwater NSW 2096.
“THE DUKE “
February 2014 Update from The Friends of Freshwater Inc.
LIQUOR LICENCES APLENTY
In years gone by, a thirsty Duke had
only three options; the Diggers; the
Harbord Hilton; or BYO. Now in a
short space of time, Freshie Village is
awesome staff” --which should be a
sight to behold.
The Duke looks forward to the Bent
Fork, with its recently acquired liquor
licence serving sundowner drinks in the
alive to the sound of music and
undercroft of the Caville building.
tinkling of glasses.
Minor Makeover for Village
Hospitality venues are now awash with
garden beds.
liquor licences with 7 now issued.
Applications have recently been
approved licensing a wine/tapas bar in
Freshwater Village Plaza, on a site
owned by conveyancing lawyer, Georgina
Sawyer. This venue will open soon. Also
the new Bent Fork Restaurant and the
existing Thai restaurant have also had
liquor licences approved.
It is clear that the vibe in Freshie
Village is changing rapidly, and thus far
Following follow-up from FOF, all garden
beds in the Village have now been
weeded and native plants have been
used to bulk up the vegetation coverage.
The terraces have received hardy
agaves, and the teardrop plaza beds
have received dianella.
FOF’s request for native colour fell on
deaf ears, and only plants drawn from
Council’s approved list were installed.
for the better.
The contrast in the views of Manly and
“Forking Awesome” Staff
stark, with the Corso alive with colour,
Required.
Renovations for the proposed “ Bent
Warringah Councils in this regard is
while Warringah opts for lowmaintenance, hardy yet bland plantings.
Fork” restaurant, on the old Michel’s
VALE NETWORK VIDEO
Patisserie site in the Caville Building are
HIRE
proceeding apace with the installation
of a kitchen, bar, exhaust fans, and
grease traps. A March opening is likely
and the restaurant is already seeking
staff. Not just any staff, but “ forking
Blame it on Foxtel and downloading
television technology but the video hire
industry is rapidly disappearing and,
unlike cinema, never likely to return.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Friends of Freshwater Inc. publishes “the Duke” Newsletter as a service to its membership and the wider Freshwater
community, and the views and opinions expressed in it are those of the Executive of FOF Inc. If you wish to become a
member or renew your membership, further contact can be made with us either via our website www.freshie.org.au; or
via our email address friendsoffreshwater@gmail.com; or via our face book site Friends of Freshwater Inc.; or via our
formal address at PO Box 663, Freshwater NSW 2096.
“THE DUKE “
February 2014 Update from The Friends of Freshwater Inc.
Freshwater’s only Video Hire store
with perimeter fencing, awaiting the
closed today after a long tenure at 2
extraction of the tank and site
Moore Road.
remediation. This could take some time,
It is to be replaced with (wait for the
drum roll)…. A beauty salon. This will
undoubtedly dovetail neatly with the nail
as there is the possibility that leaking
fuel has contaminated the underground
soil.
spa that opened this week in the
Down at the Harbord Beach Service
Freshwater Village plaza, and
Station in Albert Street, the site is up
complement the three existing
for lease, with the current lessee not
hairdressing salons. While customers
renewing and seeking to move to Powell’s
are in the Village, they will be able to
Road in Brookvale.
choose from no less that five venues
selling coffee and cakes.
VALLEY GREASE MONKEYS
Moore Road Tyre Service site
has a prominent history.
DEPART FOR BROOKVALE
The probable redevelopment of 1a
If you are thinking of getting your car
previous occupant of the site, as it was
locally serviced in Freshwater, your
once a former weekender occupied by
options are now starkly reduced. Sam
the family of the prominent former
the Tyre Man at 1A Murray Rd. has
pugilist and politician Tom Uren. Tom
departed from the Valley to Mitchell
was born in Balmain and still lives there
Road, Brookvale in January 2014, and is
to this day, but his family moved to
likely to be replaced by residential
Harbord when he was 5 years old. He
apartments with underground parking.
grew up there during the Depression,
FOF checked with Warringah Council
and his father worked as a handy man
and no DA has as yet been lodged for
maintaining all the weekenders in the
this site.
area. Mr. Nixon who was the proprietor
Due to the presence of an ageing
underground fuel tank that has been
situated at that site since the 1950’s
when it was Kelly’s Tyre Service, the
Murray Road has alerted the Duke to a
of a glass company in Balmain owned his
house and others along Moore Road.
Tom Uren was schooled at “ Harbord
University” and throughout his schooling
never wore shoes, as people were simply
Moore Road site has been sealed off
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Friends of Freshwater Inc. publishes “the Duke” Newsletter as a service to its membership and the wider Freshwater
community, and the views and opinions expressed in it are those of the Executive of FOF Inc. If you wish to become a
member or renew your membership, further contact can be made with us either via our website www.freshie.org.au; or
via our email address friendsoffreshwater@gmail.com; or via our face book site Friends of Freshwater Inc.; or via our
formal address at PO Box 663, Freshwater NSW 2096.
“THE DUKE “
February 2014 Update from The Friends of Freshwater Inc.
too poor to afford them. In his
A Qantas Log Haul pilot and Friend of
autobiography “ Straight Left” he
Freshie, (who is anxiously waiting by the
states that he had a healthy upbringing
phone to see if he still has a job), has
with a close involvement in the surf
reported on his sighting of a statue of
club, swimming, and local sports. He
the Duke in a Huntington Beach,
became famous for his boxing prowess
California, sculpture garden. This
and for his wartime prisoner-of-war
accompanies those located in Waikiki
experience on the Burma Railway. He is
and on Freshwater Headland.
extremely well known for his long
political career as the Federal member
for Reid and for his Ministerial service
in the Whitlam Labor Government. Tom
has never forgotten his Freshie
upbringing.
In the 1950’s his small house and others
were demolished to make way for a tyre
service and service station.
The Duke was the first person to be
inducted into both the US Swimming
and Surfing Halls of Fame.
NEW LOCATION FOR “THE
PODS”
FOF member, Rob Anderton, reports
that the controversial Dining Pods,
which were removed from the Village
Now this site is returning to residential
and replaced by the canopy-covered
accommodation. How the wheels do turn.
Terraces, have reappeared elsewhere.
DECOMMISSIONING OF
They have been recycled to the ARTS
FUELS TANKS A BLESSING.
LEARNING SPACE at Abbott Road
Aged underground fuel tanks existing
Scout Hall but has been rejuvenated
both in Moore Road and Albert Street
with recycled materials into its current
are a potential safety issue for the
usage. It even has a food garden.
community and their proposed
decommissioning will be a blessing,
particularly for those living in nearby
residential accommodation.
DUKE KAHANAMOKU
North Curl Curl. This space was once a
The Village Terraces are now gainfully
used by restaurants, but came about as
a result of a submission prepared by
FOF Deputy President Phil Curry which
was based on a design implemented by
North Sydney Council at Milsons Point.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Friends of Freshwater Inc. publishes “the Duke” Newsletter as a service to its membership and the wider Freshwater
community, and the views and opinions expressed in it are those of the Executive of FOF Inc. If you wish to become a
member or renew your membership, further contact can be made with us either via our website www.freshie.org.au; or
via our email address friendsoffreshwater@gmail.com; or via our face book site Friends of Freshwater Inc.; or via our
formal address at PO Box 663, Freshwater NSW 2096.
“THE DUKE “
February 2014 Update from The Friends of Freshwater Inc.
The Freshwater Terraces have a
that flows into the northern end of
prominent concrete wall addressing the
Freshwater Beach. This will prevent an
street whereas safety bollards are the
accident that was waiting to happen,
only protection from street traffic at
with children exploring the innards of
Milsons’ Point.
the pipe. With raw sewerage being
“The GENERAL”, “THE
CAPTAIN” AND “THE POLAR
BAR”.
Blink and they will soon be gone.
Convenience stores were once closely
forced down the pipe during storm
events, this was a very dangerous
activity. Congrats Sydney Water.
“Iodine Joe”
Thanks to the research of Friends of
interwoven into the fabric of Freshwater.
Freshie’s Sean Rout, we now have a
Unfortunately the era of the convenience
Private Joseph Saunders, who served in
store is coming to an end in Freshwater.
Where once they were everywhere, they
are now a mere few. This month, The
Crown Road Mini Market closed its doors,
and “ The General “ of Albert Street,
aka Ross Jackson has sold after owning
great insight into the short life of
the First World War and was killed at
the Somme. “ Iodine Joe” as he was
known served at both Gallipoli and on
the western front as a stretcherbearer with the Ist Field Ambulance,
his premises since the 1980’. “The Polar
and his main tools were buckets of
Bar” on Harbord Road is up for lease, but
iodine and wads of cotton wool. Sean
the days of surviving on dairy and
was able to make contact with the
confectionery sales appear over.
nephew of Joe Saunders, Eddie, who is a
Fortunately “ the Captain” in Albert St.
has created a flourishing flower stall,
which attracts sales from far beyond
Freshwater, particularly at weekends.
long-time member of Freshwater Surf
Club, and is now living on the Gold Coast.
There is a memorial plaque to Private
Joseph Saunders adjacent to 10
STORMWATER PIPE MADE
Soldiers Avenue.
SAFE.
RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP
Steel coverings have been placed over
2014.
the Freshwater Creek storm water pipe
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Friends of Freshwater Inc. publishes “the Duke” Newsletter as a service to its membership and the wider Freshwater
community, and the views and opinions expressed in it are those of the Executive of FOF Inc. If you wish to become a
member or renew your membership, further contact can be made with us either via our website www.freshie.org.au; or
via our email address friendsoffreshwater@gmail.com; or via our face book site Friends of Freshwater Inc.; or via our
formal address at PO Box 663, Freshwater NSW 2096.
“THE DUKE “
February 2014 Update from The Friends of Freshwater Inc.
Invoices will soon be sent out to all
members for 2014, other than those
directly involved with the Community
Garden and those that have already
renewed or paid for multiple years.
If you share our desire to maintain a
strong community voice for Freshwater
then do not hesitate to join or rejoin.
Membership is fundamental to meet our
requirements as an incorporated notfor-profit community group, and for us
to receive public monies in the way of
Grants. It is especially fundamental for
our community garden members as it
provides public liability coverage for
their work on their garden allotments.
It also provides similar coverage for
members working on other FOF projects
around Freshwater.
FOF will soon provide you with banking
details via an email message to permit
payment. You will also be issued with a
membership card. Naturally we choose
to bank with Freshwater Community
Bank because of its longstanding
support for community groups such as
ours.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Friends of Freshwater Inc. publishes “the Duke” Newsletter as a service to its membership and the wider Freshwater
community, and the views and opinions expressed in it are those of the Executive of FOF Inc. If you wish to become a
member or renew your membership, further contact can be made with us either via our website www.freshie.org.au; or
via our email address friendsoffreshwater@gmail.com; or via our face book site Friends of Freshwater Inc.; or via our
formal address at PO Box 663, Freshwater NSW 2096.