Wagstaffe once a paradise

After 50 years of residing at Wagstaffe, I am now moving on to greener pastures.

It would be remiss of me to go without rendering my thoughts of the years gone and the future ahead for this particular peninsula of once appreciated pleasures and joy.

To summarise the reason there are so many people vacating this area, I submit these facts.

After driving around most areas of the world including so-called Third World countries, I can only say that our roads are a disgrace.

The lack of footpaths, banned by a minority group of so-called progressive people, is often an invitation to injury to all pedestrians and school children who have to rely on roadways for travelling on foot or bikes and for baby carriages.

The bush track on the foreshores, a quagmire after heavy rains and an ankle-breaker in good weather, is a joke.

Parking of vehicles at Hardy's Bay necessitates negotiating an obstacle course for drivers with frequent near misses and road rage arguments the norm.

The lately-reconstructed community hall at Wagstaffe is great for everyone but locals who have to put up with late night car exoduses and crowd noises to satisfy outside interests.

We are represented on council by one person who is vitally interested in this area and another who worries about everything happening elsewhere exclusive to our particular complaints.

Mosquitoes and sand flies are the predominant species occupying our confines and after years of asking for eradication of them the council still does nothing with the proliferation of mangrove trees flies their accompanying mud and rubbish engulfing our local areas, maybe a name change to Mangrove Bay would be in accordance to this beach-filled area.

So to me it is farewell to this once-called paradise, and hello to a quite and peaceful future.

Bill Teasdell Wagstaffe