Local authorities left innocent Bondi locals dangerously exposed to thousands of invasive species this summer and residents are furious.
Australia’s most famous beach was flooded with introduced pests arriving via the daily Western Sydney Beach Bus in January, and there was nothing we could do about it.
Westies competed with existing species for resources and space in Bondi and other beaches throughout the region, and placed even more stress on already overcrowded land, wreaking more havoc than a dog in a rock pool.
Authorities have long ignored myriad suggestions to halt the destruction of local habitat. Less than 0.2% of the federal budget is spent on protecting Australia’s unique and vulnerable nature, and it appears even less is being spent on the East. Our elected leaders failed to build the Westie Wall along Anzac Parade and did not roll out the Bondi Passport. The Turnbulls’ solution to recreate the West in the image of the East achieved nothing more than ‘Pondi’, and the end result is the Westie Bus.
Westies, like many of Australia’s introduced species, were supposed to improve our land, our economy and our lives.
Café owners were promised increased summer revenue, but decision makers ignored the fact that Westies don’t consume turmeric lattes, sourdough or quinoa, but congregate at the culinary base in search of whopping big burgers and soft serve on Sundays.
Furthermore, unlike some native birds, Eastern Suburbs entrepreneurs have not yet learned how to flip Westies and find other ways to gouge them.
Those responsible for initially bringing the Westies to our patch of paradise in small doses also did so under the premise of sport and amusement. Who doesn’t love watching teenagers in footy shorts getting pounded by wave after wave?
However, the progeny of the baby bonus will soon outnumber those who have long inhabited this shoreline due to their propensity to procreate – and that will not be fun.
Bondi was not the only beach to suffer. Westies sucked vital oxygen out of the previously serene waters of Parsley Bay in Vaucluse, and the grotesque creatures spread like fire ants from the northern extremities of the region all the way to Maroubra and beyond.
Good people of the Eastern Suburbs. Be careful, be vigilant, be active. Contact your local representative and remind them of the threat to our way of life, because the moment someone writes a poem about the men from Mount Druitt and makes a movie starring Sigrid Thornton, those who don’t belong will enter local folklore and it will be impossible to rid ourselves of these destructive pests.
Readers who care about protecting our special slice of paradise can learn more at http://www.invasives.org.au.
First published in The Beast magazine, February 2025.
Image: http://www.timeout.com
kieranblakewriter 