Western Sydney’s first beach opens up at Penrith Lakes
It has been spruiked as having all the joys of its eastern suburbs counterparts but without the parking dramas. And as water lovers descended for their first beach day in Sydney’s west, many wanted to know ‘why couldn’t this have happened sooner?’
Penrith
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The soft sands at the brand new Penrith Beach or –‘Pondi’ as it has already been dubbed - filled out quickly for its grand opening, after decades of waiting for the western Sydney community.
On Tuesday, the shore line of Penrith lakes was officially unveiled to the public following the state government’s announcement of the temporary site in November.
Touted as a “hidden gem” in Sydney’s west, the brand new “beach” at Penrith lakes offers up the same stretch of sand in length as Bondi Beach but with a far better parking situation.
And an unseasonably cooler day did not deter the excitement of beachgoers who only wanted to know “why couldn’t this have happened sooner?”
Deputy Premier and Londonderry MP Prue Car said the day marked “decades and decades of waiting” for western Sydney residents.
“The sand has just been lying here locked up for some amount of time, locals know inside this area there has been such an opportunity for those living in the hottest part of Sydney to come and enjoy a free beach, something that other parts of Sydney take for granted,” she said.
Glenmore Park grandfather Alex Agra, who was joined by his wife, granddaughter and sister-in-law visiting from the Philippines said he was eager to see how the beach would expand in the future.
“This is the pride of the west now hopefully they will develop it more and with more budget it will become bigger and better.” he said
Mother of three Kayla Sheargold and her children Mason, Lily and Anikai were some of the first to arrive on Tuesday morning, eager to check out the new swim spot in their own backyard.
Ms Sheargold said the proximity of the beach meant her family was planning on coming “nearly every day in the school holidays.”
“It’s only five minutes away from home so it’s just so much easier to pack up the three kids and take them out, we’ve got to keep them occupied so just having this nice and close,” she said.
Max, 11, and 7-year-old Millie from Rooty Hill were accompanied to the beach by their cousin Nadia visiting from Ireland, who as a regular visitor to Bondi Beach in the east was chuffed there was something closer to home.
“It’s gorgeous and its closer to the area, I am on holiday so I’ve been to Bondi at least ten times but here is much safer and kid family, to take the kids here is much less of a journey and more straightforward.” Nadia said.
Nadia’s niece Millie also offered up her tick of approval, noting the absence of waves as making the beach “much more kid friendly than the ones in the east”.
Richard Fox, from Penrith Business Chamber, said the next step was looking at opportunities to grow the attraction in the future.
“Its been a long road to get here, there’s been a lot of questioning on “what took so long” but it doesn’t matter we’re here now,” Mr Fox said.
“The discussion now is what next, you can’t see this being a one-off you can only see this getting better and the more people who will enjoy it the better it will be.”
“Hopefully this is just the start of good things to come.”
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