‘A big finger up to the rest of us’: row erupts over seawall

A concrete mega-wall designed to protect private homes from erosion has sparked a neighbourhood war. So who really owns our beaches?

“It’s pretty bloody good.”

The greatest attraction of living on Sydney’s Northern Beaches is undoubtedly the ocean. And for Bob Orth, a resident of 12 years, it’s his “Australian dream”.

But it’s what’s below that barrier – a 130m-long mega-wall almost entirely funded by Orth and his neighbours – that has made his property a lightning rod for beach lovers. Depending on who you ask, this $3.2 million wall built by residents as ­protection from storms is a saviour or a sore.

Collaroy’s coastline has been pummelled longer than anyone can remember. But it was not until 2016, when a king tide hit, that Collaroy’s seafront was seared into the nation’s consciousness.

For the suburb’s ­front-row residents, it was a turning point. More than 1000 people had rallied in 2002 against plans for a seawall. With a mass government buyout of at-risk properties considered extremely unlikely it seemed the only solution.

Orth was among a small group of owners strategising how to best protect their homes. They obtained council approval to build a wall that would be sturdy enough to fight the waves. It would be almost twice as high as the ­Berlin Wall. Video: YouTube | UNSW

It was an expensive solution: each group of ­residents had to pay more than $300,000 (with 20 per cent of which was claimed back from state and local governments upon completion), forcing some to access their superannuation or organise second mortgages.

We can now look out and say we have got a wall that is protecting us as well as we can expect it to, and in our conscience we know we have not built something we should be ashamed of. But people are making us feel ashamed.

Bob Orth “ Video: YouTube | UNSW

A report released by CoreLogic warns that storm surges are jeopardising $25 billion of residential property nationally. Parts of the beach are already so narrow that it can be hard to walk along the shoreline.

One of the biggest issues concerning the private seawall development is: who owns the sand on which it’s anchored?

Words: Fiona Harari Producer: Bianca Farmakis Learn more

‘A big finger up to the rest of us’: row erupts over seawall

“It’s pretty bloody good.”

We can now look out and say we have got a wall that is protecting us as well as we can expect it to, and in our conscience we know we have not built something we should be ashamed of. But people are making us feel ashamed.

One of the biggest issues concerning the ­private seawall development is: who owns the sand on which it’s anchored?

One of the biggest issues concerning the private seawall development is: who owns the sand on which it’s anchored?