Sandgate (Shorncliffe) Pier - a young man’s perspective

Sebastian Flynn is a young man in his first year of high school here in Sandgate. He was Sandgate State School’s 2011 Captain. Sebastian’s ‘Shorncliffe Pier’ SOSE assignment/presentation was ‘A’ graded this May, 2012. The pier issue is a topic he chose and researched himself. Read on, and witness how passion for our community is expressed by a younger member of society. His parents have much to be proud of, as does Sebastian.

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“The Shorncliffe Pier is unsafe and needs to be demolished”. This is what some politicians were thinking about the Shorncliffe pier. Recently the Shorncliffe Pier has been closed off from the public due to it being unsafe. They found some nuts and bolts missing, as well as the wood rotting away and being eaten by Marine Borers. This has affected the community in many different ways. The public was outraged at this and has already taken to action several solutions at what they can do to preserve it for us and future generations.

What’s the issue?-
The main thing that is causing the Shorncliffe Pier to be unsafe is what’s called ‘marine borers’. They are small insects that eat away at the wood to make a place to lay their eggs. This is causing the pier to be unstable and unsafe due to the fact that the pier is almost entirely made out of wood. There were also some nuts and bolts that were found missing or broken.

How does this affect our community?-
The Shorncliffe pier has always been a popular and iconic tourist attraction of our community and an ideal location for fishermen. When the pier was closed there were obviously many people outraged at this. The closing of the pier means many fishermen will have to find a new location to fish further away and less tourism in the area, which means less business for local businesses. Victoria Newton interviewed some of the local businesses close to the pier and they said, “Since the pier was closed, business has halved.” The closing of the pier have affected many people’s lives and changed them for the worse. That’s why people have been protesting to make sure the pier doesn’t get demolished.

How can we preserve the pier for the future?-       
It’s not just about saving the pier now; it’s also about protecting it for the future so generations to come won’t have to deal with the same problem. Lawrie Breitkreutz of the Facebook group ‘Protect the Shorncliffe Pier’ has applied on behalf of the community, to have the pier State heritage listed. This would ensure that the future generations of tourists, locals and fishermen will enjoy the pier for decades, and hopefully centuries, to come. What our grandparents enjoyed our grandchildren can also enjoy.

Sebastian Flynn