WTF: Hendo’s horror, Belmont blunder, terrible towing

Outspoken senator Sarah Henderson was uncharacteristically quiet last week in the wake of the Coalition’s devastating election defeat. That was until she suffered her own facepalm moment.

WTF: 12/05/25

They’re the little – and sometimes not so little – things that can really irk us … and they’re back! A new slot, on a new page with the same old problems that have us all saying, woah, that’s frustrating!

HENDO’S HORROR

Sarah Henderson wasn’t keen to talk last week. Picture: Lauren Naree.

Outspoken senator Sarah Henderson was uncharacteristically quiet last week in the wake of the Coalition’s devastating election defeat.

That was until she suffered her own facepalm moment.

Our political scribe was keen to pick her brain on why the Liberal campaign fell flat, who she was leaning towards in the race to replace ousted opposition leader Peter Dutton, and any other general observations from the seasoned politico.

Calls were made, messages were sent.

Crickets.

Or at least that was until Thursday morning when their phone started flashing with the senator’s name just seconds after another call had gone unanswered.

Believing she had called her media adviser and not our intrepid reporter, Henderson launched into an almost minute-long monologue that detailed our efforts to contact her and the reasons why.

Finally, the spin doctor was asked to convey her unwillingness to talk, for the time being at least.

Seconds of silence were broken when our correspondent informed the hard working senator that she had in fact called the subject of her spiel.

“Oh sorry, I rang the wrong person,” Henderson responded awkwardly.

BELMONT BLUNDER

Confusing signage on Settlement Rd.

A keen-eyed motorist has picked up a bit of a blunder in Belmont.

“A couple of weeks ago I noticed a new road sign at the traffic lights at the intersection of High St and Settlement Rd,” she said.

“The only problem with the sign is, it’s got the road names back to front.

“It’s very confusing to drivers and especially emergency services.”

Uh-oh.

The motorist said they had contacted City Hall who said officials were aware of the error and were investigating, however the sign remained up for some days afterwards.

We asked council, which erected the sign according to the Department of Transport, if or when it would be removed. Council, however, said it was the department’s responsibility.

WRONG WAY, GEELONG WAY

@katherine_d_asphlund

Credit : The girl that’s first on this audio.

♬ som original - cas

For years, Geelong’s leaders have been formulating schemes to get more people to visit the region.

A revamped waterfront, renovations at Kardinia Park, the West End precinct – all smart ideas.

But perhaps the answer all along has been traffic management.

WTF caught wind recently of a viral TikTok, explaining how Melburnian motorists were inadvertently being sent to Geelong due to confusing new signage on the M1.

After asking an intern how to download and operate the app, we saw it for ourselves, and boy are we impressed.

“Driving to another city because I couldn’t change lanes,” the caption reads.

Drivers leaving Melbourne hoping to get on the ring road towards the Tullamarine Freeway are struggling to chnage lanes, mustering them like sheep towards our beautiful town.

Let’s just hope Gen Z don’t learn to use their indicators any time soon.

TERRIBLE TOWING

Plenty to unpack here.

Fair bit to unpack here, where do we start?

A Rippleside-based reader sent through a chaotic scene from his home suburb last week.

A truck, with a caravan on board, towing a car down a service road along the Princes Highway, heading the wrong way down a one-way street.

Going through recent editions of the Addy, we couldn’t find any reported collisions involving a vehicle matching this description, we have to imagine they at least made it out of town.

“Perhaps time for an eyesight test?” our Ripplepudlian said.

Probably.

SEA WALL, GET WALL? NOT QUITE

The seawall at Torquay is still up despite works meant to have been completed in December 2024. Picture: Eddie Russell

Like any other summer, tens of thousands of people flocked to Torquay Surf Beach to enjoy the holidays.

However, there was one major difference this year – more than 80 tonnes of rock bags blocking off a 100m stretch of the beach.

In November 2024, the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) set out to fix the seawall after storm damage caused massive cracks to appear.

The operation was meant to take 10 days; signs on the fence say works would be completed by December 19.

However, even after the Easter Bunny has headed back to his burrow and international surfers departed Bells, the “temporary” rock bags are still on the beach.

While they are preventing further erosion and damage to the seawall, they are not fixing it either.

The giant rock bags have been there for almost six months. Picture: Eddie Russell

And there is no end date in sight.

GORCAPA acting director of infrastructure and planning Mark Davies said he welcomed a $2m state government package to fix seawalls, including the one in Torquay.

“(This) supports our efforts to manage immediate risks while working towards a long-term solution for Torquay’s Surf Beach,” he said.

“These short-term repairs are essential, but our focus remains on a sustainable, long-term solution.”

Originally published as WTF: Hendo’s horror, Belmont blunder, terrible towing