Waverley Council has received a submission that requests that a portion of Sydney's iconic Bondi beach be fenced off from the public and converted into what is to be called the Amalfi Beach Club. It is claimed that this is common practice at beaches in the hot spots of Europe and it would introduce a new age of sophistication to Sydney's wining and dining scene.
The promoter is a man from a legal background, who is an avid fisherman and polo player. Patrons would need to book their time at the beach and for a fee of eighty dollars that would entitle them to two hours exclusive use of the beach facilities. They could choose from a cuisine of the finest food and liquor and be certain their presence would be noted by the leading fashion writers.
Without doubt this seems a brazen attempt to create a place where the fashionable people of Sydney could expect to be " seen " and recorded in the social columns of magazines and newspapers. It would probably rank in excellence in being photographed in the enclosure at Randwick Race course.
This suggestion has received enthusiastic support from some of the movers and shakers of our society, but the general masses have given it the thumb's down. Bondi is probably the most famous beach in Australia and receives a visit from most overseas visitors. The very thought of a section fenced off and denied to the public is seen as Un-Australian.
The scene at Bondi beach on a summer day typifies what it is to be Australian. Citizens from all parts of this massive city come by car, tram and train to enjoy a day on the sand under the watchful eye of the surf life savers. The beach is generally packed with people but a friendly camerarderie makes it a pleasant place to be. The sight of a noisy group of people wining and dining in an exclusive enclosure where the public is not permitted to bring alcohol because of the danger of broken glass in the sand seems incomprehensible.
If this were to be approved it would be the tip of an iceberg. Those exclusive diners would not wan to arrive by tram. They would demand drop off points and there would be pressure for secure parking for their cars. Parking at Bondi is difficult for the people that actually live there and any move to further restrict parking would be bitterly resented.
One of the attractions of having the Amalfi Club on the beach is for patrons to enjoy the view of the sea and sand. It would be an open roof venue and that introduces a problem experienced when fine dining was a feature at Sydney's Opera House. The smell of food attracted vast numbers of seagulls and hungry gulls snatched food off the fork on its way to diner's mouths. A moments inattention, and your meal disappeared under a mass of screaming, fighting seagulls. It was not an uplifting experience.
The commercial scene at Bondi has many excellent restaurants which serve liquor and for which high rents are charged. A competitor on the beach itself would not be welcomed at a time when most are barely surviving from the virus lockdown.
Hopefully, Waverley Council will have the good sense to reject this very Un-Australian idea and keep Bondi Beach for the exclusive use of ordinary Australians !
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