Newspaper Clippings from the Sun-Herald

'Loo with a view make a bad impression"

The other day I was talking to my dad about my assignment and he mentioned that he had come across an article about Coogee Beach in the paper on Sunday morning. The article relates to the proposed development of new toilets in the area surrounding the immediate beach. There has been a public outcry about the proposal from a number or residents and people concerned with the historical and artistic value of the site. The future development, would inevitably change the construction of the northend of the beach whilst also allows for more human impact in the area, the new development is meant to be facilitating the general public and is a result of the increased human activity in the area.

Also I've decided to take my first samples from the beach this weekend, I'm not entirely sure as to where I will take them from but I do have a rough idea, I also hope to have some photos to upload before the weekend has passed. Also included is some additional information about Coogee Beach. Taken from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coogee,_New_South_Wales

Geography and landmarks
Coogee Beach is relatively protected through its formation as a bay. The surrounding coastline is mostly cliffs, decreasing in height down to the beach in the western part of the bay. The bay is sheltered from the roughest seas by Wedding Cake Island, a rocky reef about 800m off the southern headland. There is an annual swimming event around the island each November. [8]
The beach itself drops off rapidly at the edge of the water, which can result in a dangerous shore break particularly when the surf is large. The combination of this shore break and high visitor numbers mean that Coogee has more spinal injuries than any other Australian beach.
In larger surf, there are often rip currents at both the northern end and at the southern ends, and also quite frequently in the centre of the beach. These are simply the places where the incoming water escapes most naturally. It is claimed by some locals that the rip in the centre of the beach is partly caused by the remaining foundations of the old entertainment pier (see above - history).

At the northern end of the beach are stairs leading from Dolphin Point down to the old Giles baths. This is now an open rock pool carved out of the surrounding rocks. This area is now known as "Dolphin Point". The doorway and a four-metre high bronze sculpture serve as a memorial to twenty of the Australian victims of the 2002 Bali bombing who were residents of Coogee and its neighbouring suburbs, including six members of the Coogee Dolphins rugby league team. A short walk further to the north is Gordons Bay, which is a popular location for snorkeling. At the southern end is the Ross Jones Memorial Pool just below the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. Also at the southern end are two small reefs the inner and the outer. Further south is a coastal walk that goes past the women's baths and Wylies baths. Randwick DRUFC play at Coogee Oval.
Coogee is one of Australia's more densely populated areas, with apartment buildings in every style from the 1930s onwards. Some free-standing houses remain. The suburb is a popular destination for tourists, particularly backpackers.

Chosen Area: Coogee Beach

The area I've chosen for my Earth and Environmental Science Open-Ended Investigation is Coogee Beach. The area chosen has easy accesss to water and land, where I am able to take samples from, the locality of the area also allows for me to take samples and to do practical work, on a regular basis whilst also allowing for my personal interest.

Over the past two weeks, I've been collecting information about Coogee Beach, its history, photographs and future plans for the area.

In this post is background information as to the history of the Beach. Taken from the Coogee Beach Sydney Australia website which is supported by the Coogee Chamber of Commerce Inc.


A Brief History of Coogee - Sydney Australia
The name 'Coogee' (pronounced as "could gee") seems to have been derived from an Aboriginal word which means "bad smell". This would be of course due to the decaying seaweed which is washed up onto the beach - even in these modern times.
The original track which brought people to the Coogee Beach area back in 1832 would have followed the basic route nowadays taken by Anzac Parade and Alison Road.
In July 1838, the village of Coogee was gazetted with many of the streets in the district named after sea creatures. Today "Dolphin St., Neptune St., and Bream St.," still remain whilst it is understood that Coogee Bay Road and Arcadia Streets were later renamed from their original "Whale St" and "Fish St".
As surf bathing became more popular, so did the area gain fame and in 1907 the Coogee Surf Lifesaving Club was formed.
In 1928 an amusement pier - similar to those found at many English beaches - was constructed. It commenced at the promenade and reached over 180 metres into the sea, however heavy seas took their toll and the structure was demolished in 1934. Click here for a view of the beach with the pier still standing. See below for a link to more period photos.
Coogee was also famous for its large domed building at the northern end of the beach known as the "Coogee Beach Aquarium". This building with its pleasure gardens, sea water baths and restaurants attracted great crowds until it too was demolished for safety reasons. However in its place a new building with a similar appearance to the original now stands - offering arcades of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.
In the late 1980's, the Randwick City Council embarked on a bold redevelopment of the Coogee seashore area. The resulting work along with the building of the 'Holiday Inn' nowadays the Crowne Plaza Coogee, and the refurbishment of the 'Coogee Bay Hotel', together with the newly built "Coogee Bay Boutique Hotel" extension , has given rebirth to the area as a major international holiday destination.
This tourist activity has also resulted in the appearance of a large number of 'Backpacker' style establishments, as well as a wide variety of cafes and restaurants - many with open air (pavement) seating.
The future will see further improvements to the foreshore area, with the completion of coastal walkways and the proposed changes to the seaside parklands and local shopping area streetscape are eagerly awaited by all.

Within the next few days I hope to obtain the Management Plan for Coogee Beach and also the Coogee Beach Surf Club '100 Year Centenary Book' which entails information about the history of the beach and the surf club as well as the growing popularity of the beach over the decades.

Furthermore, within the following weeks I plan to collect samples from the area and photographs, and determine why the environment in this area presents the findings that I gather.