Friday 8 May 2009

This is not a church - so what is it? (Skywatch Friday)



Breakfast Point is a brand new, still-in-progress housing development between Mortlake and Cabarita, on the Parramatta River. The site used to be a gas works. Environmentalists and some residents say that the formerly heavily industrialised site still contains toxins, and that clean up plans are inadequate. See here.

It's an interesting development, on a huge site. Lots of people would love it, but when we drove around my son just kept saying "It's so clean! It's TOO clean..." In the end he said "OK, enough - let's leave - it's just too., tooooo....American looking."

It does have that manicured-edge look of a Pleasantville or Stepford or Wisteria Lane of the Desperate Housewives. The houses and apartments are cookie-cutter perfect, every blade of grass manicured. But we know what sorts of dark secrets those places hide!

And I think the fake-New England church, which is a community hall is just too "cutesy" for words, and makes me laugh. The Country Club lends that air of exclusivity, and I think is meant to evoke the "romance" of Connecticut in the 1950's, when only "the right sort of people" were allowed to join, and housing covenants ensured none of the "wrong sort" appeared - Blacks, Jews and the like.

Of course, none of that would apply here, and the few people I saw getting in and out of cars (I was the only person walking anywhere) were very diverse. But it all just looks far too twee for me to be happy there.

I think one of the most interesting aspects is that many of the residents have turned NIMBY and oppose the proposition of a marina for luxury boats in the bay upon which this development is located. There are "No Marina" signs adorning various balconies. But in keeping with the overall "look" they are uniform, neatly blue and white - no hand-painted individualistic placards and protest at Brekky Point!

I'm going to poke around Brekky Point a bit more in the next few days if you want to come with me.


Other places, other skies.

13 comments:

  1. Oh, Hear! Hear! Sal. With you all the way on this one. Your son is very astute ...

    What? Off agin ... I haven't got the stones outa me Dunlop Volleys from the last gallivant ...

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  2. Happy skywatch!! And what a beautiful sky it is.

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  3. Lovely shots of the church Sally, thanks for sharing.

    Have a great weekend
    Guy
    Regina In Pictures

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  4. ....whoops I guess its not a church. lol. Great pics

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  5. You had me fooled. I would have gone for church. Totally agree about these kind of places. Ticky Tacky little boxes trying to make us all the same. Interesting skywatch

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  6. Great shots Sally. When I visited, I had a similar reaction. I was thinking that it looked great but almost too perfect somehow. Maybe fake, even.
    Sydney - City and Suburbs

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  7. It does look pretty perfect! Nice shots.

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  8. Oh dear, that's too twee for words, what's wrong with building a nice looking hall.

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  9. It is pretty. It shall be interesting see other pictures you will be posting.

    Have a fantastic Friday!

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  10. I thought it was a church too. And I totally understand how you and your son feel about cookie-cutter houses. I'm not crazy about them either. Whatever happened to individuality? I think too many people are just too scared to stand out anymore. Sad.

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  11. Beautiful photos. Great skies.

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  12. You had me fooled, too! Great shots of a church-ish place and beautiful sky!

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  13. Be interesting to see what the houses look like. Don't know why they've gone for the American look, as they are some very nice Aussie homes they could have copied. The Victorian ones near the University are great with the wrought iron work around the verandas.

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