Northern Beaches Council has abruptly removed signs warning people of dangerous rocks in the sand and water at Collaroy Beach, where a controversial seawall was damaged a year ago.
The signs warned “Danger area closed” along a 750-metre stretch of beachfront, where the beach and surf zone had been left littered with large rocks and debris in January 2022 after a king tide and storm hit the site.
Surfrider Foundation Australia northern beaches president Brendan Donohoe stands next to a warning sign at Collaroy Beach.Credit: Brook Mitchell
The signs had caused alarm and confusion for residents, but they were all removed within hours of The Sydney Morning Herald sending a media inquiry to the council on Tuesday.
“Recent erosion has made the beach area between Stuart and Goodwin Streets unsafe,” the signs said. “Beware of unstable rocks on the beach and exposed rocks in the water.”
As a Herald photographer was at the beach taking photos at 1.47pm, a white ute pulled up, and a woman jumped out with scissors, cut the sign down, called out that she’d been told to do it, and ran back to her car. Within an hour all the signs along Collaroy Beach had disappeared.
A woman removes public safety signage from Collaroy Beach.Credit: Brook Mitchell
A council spokesperson later said the signs were removed to avoid confusing people about whether the beach was open.
The seawall was built a year ago to protect private homes along the beachfront from coastal erosion. Storms have repeatedly pummelled the strip, including in 2016 when a swimming pool was pulled into the ocean.
The seawall was opposed by other residents because of its impact on the environment and amenity to beach users, with many objecting to what they see as the privatisation of the beach.
The controversial seawall at Collaroy in January 2022.Credit: Brook Mitchell
Surfrider Foundation Australian northern beaches president Brendan Donohoe said residents had warned for more than a year that the rocks were still a hazard.
The materials were washed out from a temporary structure put in place during construction of the wall.
“Those rocks are still out there – some of them had bits of reinforcing metal running through them,” he said. “It’s a sandy beach that now has rocks the size of car boots rolling around in the surf zone for years to come.”
Donohoe said Collaroy residents had taken GoPro footage last year showing how far offshore the rocks had gone.
One of the signs erected along Collaroy Beach and removed after a media inquiry to council on Tuesday.Credit: Brook Mitchell
In a letter dated February 2022, Northern Beaches Council told Donohoe the debris would be removed after construction when it was safe to do so, and the beach sand would be “sieved” to remove rocks.
In response to an inquiry from the Herald, a council spokesperson denied there were still rocks from the seawall construction causing problems at Collaroy Beach.
The spokesperson said private contractors in July removed more rocks that had emerged, and the signs dated from that time.
A Collaroy resident who walks on the beach regularly, Donohoe first noticed the signs a few days ago.
The signs appeared in excellent condition considering the heavy rains and storms that have battered Sydney and the northern beaches over the past six months.
King tides and the after-effects of ex-tropical cyclone Seth caused erosion at Collaroy Beach in January 2022.Credit: Brook Mitchell
The council spokesperson said they “use corflute signage which is very durable”.
“In July 2022, private contractors returned at council’s request to remove rock from the foreshore which had become exposed following an erosion event,” the spokesperson said. “The signage in question at Collaroy was erected in mid-2022 during construction work to ensure community safety. They were left in place as an extra precaution around public access. These old signs may have caused some confusion about whether the beach is open and have been removed.”
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