Whale of an idea

WITHOUT doubt, the best view of the Cape Byron lighthouse I have ever had in the nearly 40 years I have lived in the area, was from Ewingsdale Road, at a spot just about where the much-maligned silvery sculpture now sits in the middle of a roundabout.

We were driving back into town after a delightful dinner at the Figtree restaurant with friends late one Saturday summer’s night some years ago now and straight ahead in front of us was an eye-popping vision of a full, red moon framed behind the lighthouse.

It was nothing short of spectacular. I know nothing of moon cycles, but it probably happens several times a year.

So, why, I ask, would anyone want to block that view? And why a silvery imitation when the original is right there?

I will leave the artistic merits of the sculpture to those who know about such things, but I will say, I don’t like it and obviously there are many in the Byron Shire community who share that view.

Rather than getting stuck into the artist who produced the work he was asked to produce, the people who chose it in the first place should carry the can on this.

What were they thinking? Does that sculpture really capture the spirit of Byron Bay?

It has been an expensive exercise, but at least Byron Council has listened to the local community and the sculpture is going to be taken down. It’s the right thing to do.

So, should it be replaced and if so, with what?

Yes, it should be replaced and I would have thought that given the town’s long connection with whales, a stylised whale sculpture would do the job.

Not a ‘BIG WHALE’ like the ‘THE BIG PRAWN’, but something low-slung and tasteful that won’t blot out the view of the lighthouse.

Or maybe even a pod of dolphins.

Whatever, but back in the late 1990s, I along with a group of like-minded residents, organised the first Byron Bay Whale and Dolphin Festival which featured a very big and successful parade through the town and which raised thousands of dollars for many worthy causes.

At the heart of the parade was a big whale we called Wilma which was built under the direction and energy of Paul  ‘Macca’ McCarthy.

With a steel frame (all material was donated), it was bloody heavy and on festival day it had to be carried through the streets by many hands.

When it was all over, we had to decide what to do with ‘Wilma’. It struck us that we could possibly cover it with fibreglass and permanently locate it on land in Ewingsdale Road near the Maddog factory.

Never happened of course and I think ‘Wilma’ may have ended up at the Myocum tip.

But the germ of an idea was there and maybe that idea can be given another run.

PHOTO: Paul ‘Macca’ McCarthy coaxing ‘Wilma the Whale’, being carried by many willing helpers,  into the top end of Jonson Street during the Byron Bay Whale and Dolphin Festival parade.