1970: Bondi - "It used to be the best place in the world" - (The Sun Article)

 

Source: Willey, K. 1970. Bondi - It used to be the best place in the world. The Sun, March 6: 4 & 8.

At the start of the 1970's, Bondi did not have the reputation that it holds today. Today, you will hear people say "It's the best place in the world" and Bondi Beach has a very good reputation overseas as one of the great beaches of the world. The Sun published an article on March 6, 1970 focusing on the decline of Bondi. Local resident Noel Balzer shared his recollections of growing up in the suburb and what it was now. 

The "old pine [Norfolk Pine] trees are dead", "garbage floating in the water", dumping of rubbish by Waverley Council into the ocean, litter in the streets, poor maintainence of public amenities and poorly maintained buildings were identified as some of the concerns raised by Balzer. He recalled some of the characters that made up the suburb and was concerned about the anti-social behaviour of New Zealanders that resided in the suburb. 

Bondi would contrinue to struggle through the 1970's and 1980's. The 1980's saw a focus on promoting the suburb to international tourists which increased as the decade progressed. High levels of beach pollution had made the beach increasingly unsafe to swim in, causing illness among swimmers and surfers as they swam in water contaminated with raw sewage and litter. Local residents could smell the stench from their homes. The 1990's saw the completion of the Deep Water Ocean Outfall which improved water quality for swimmers at Bondi. The suburb also became a tourist destination as international hotels opened in Campbell Parade.

The Norfolk Pines have returned, with the first trees planted in 1991, and today are becoming noticable as they slowly grow and mature.

Despite the revival of Bondi, it has come at some cost which I think would not impress Noel Balzer. House prices began rising in the 1980's, which meant that the working class residents which dominated the suburb could no longer afford to remain in the area. The median price of a home in Bondi is just $4 million, when compared with around $1.6 million for a typical Sydney suburb. Rising rents for shopfronts along Campbell Parade has seen many of the essential businesses that serve the suburb leave.