WTF: The worst pothole in Geelong, tower of Winch, Yarra St art
We think we’ve found the worst pothole in Geelong, what do you reckon?
Is this the worst pothole in Geelong?
When Highton man Hayden Digby was dropping his mate off in Armstrong Creek earlier this month, a nasty hole in the road resulted in an even more nasty outcome for his car.
“It was about 10pm on Boundary Rd, with very little street lighting,” Mr Digby said.
“We were going the speed limit, then we heard a crazy thud.”
Mr Digby managed to get home safe and sound, but soon discovered his poor tyres had not.
“I needed two new tyres,” he said.
“One had a massive bulge in it, then the other just went flat.
“If it was one tyre I could’ve just swapped it, but because it was two I needed to get my car towed.
“It’s annoying of course, you expect a bit better.
“There’s been bad weather, but no one wants to go through something like that.”
Mr Digby’s story has us at WTF HQ feeling inspired.
We’d like you to help us find the worst pothole in the Geelong area.
So please, send us your submission via journo@geelongadvertiser.com.au or the form below!
THE TOWER OF WINCH
Like Yahweh in the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, the state’s planning watchdog has stepped in to prevent a nebulous spire from taking shape in our fair fiefdom.
Recently a couple applied to build a dwelling greater than 6m in height in Winchelsea, as part of a proposed horse stud but their bid was refused by the Surf Coast Shire.
The proposed home was a part-double storey, three-bedroom edifice with a maximum height of 8.25m, featuring “multiple pitched gable roofs with cathedral-style ceilings”.
Aside from it being a residential development in a farming zone, the Shire said the towering structure would be “visually dominant when viewed from the Barwon River water corridor” and the earthworks would “unreasonably alter the topography of the land”.
The applicants took the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), arguing it was an “integral component of a bona fide agricultural use” and necessary for the proposed horse breeding, according to the recent judgement of VCAT member Christopher Harty.
But Mr Harty found the scale of the proposed horse stud was akin “to a form of hobby farming” and “risks the potential for the dwelling to become more akin to a rural lifestyle outcome, particularly if the applicants move on and the horse stud operation discontinues”.
“I find the proposal for a dwelling does not support and enhance agricultural production on the site,” Mr Harty said.
YARRA ST ART
Walking around Geelong’s CBD, it’s easy to focus on the less impressive aspects of the at-times struggling precinct – like machetes and bus stop altercations.
However, installations such a the Yarra St windows on the east-facing frontage of Market Square show off the city’s artistic side, and improve the experience of a stroll around our heart.
So it was nice to see an everyday punter getting involved in the creative offerings a block down the road with a guerilla installation of their own.
Their brush? A bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup. The result? Avant-garde.
The strip has a history of interesting improvised art in hues of brown. Earlier this year a collective called the New Radicals put up a eye-catching sculpture in front of deputy PM Richard Marles’ office.
The piece featured a large nose with a dark smear, with the group making claims the MP was “Australia’s biggest brown-noser”.
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Originally published as WTF: The worst pothole in Geelong, tower of Winch, Yarra St art
