Maroubra Archives - Page 12 of 14

St Mary St Joseph Primary in Maroubra to Undergo a $10 Million Makeover

The St Mary St Joseph Primary School in Maroubra has been given the green light to undergo a $10-million renovation after a year of assessment with the planning panel.

In July 2020, the school lodged a development application (DA/259/2020) with the Randwick City Council, detailing plans to demolish three buildings and the existing playground area, create a new two-storey building block, and refurbish two other buildings with “Aspect classrooms.”

The development also includes additions or improvements to the playground, landscaping, pedestrian path, and other amenities. Once completed, the school community shall benefit from new state-of-the-art learning areas, a bigger library, a new basketball court, and improved rooms for the staff and teaching unit.

BEFORE the re-development
Photo Credit: Development Application

AFTER the re-development
Photo Credit: Development Application

The upgrade is the biggest development project in 10 years as the school’s population grows. Principal John Farrell expects the construction work to finish by 2024.

Prior to the approval of the development, members of the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel visited and inspected the site in May 2021. Per the panel’s unanimous decision to approve the application:

“The Panel is satisfied the proposed development will provide improved facilities for the school and community while at the same time maintaining the number of students at 440 and 30 teachers. The Panel considers the application worthy of approval and it will not result in any unreasonable impacts.”

Founded in 1935 by the Brigidine Sisters, St Mary St Joseph Primary School in Maroubra proud to be a low-fee Catholic school that exemplifies the Brigidine tradition of “strength and gentleness.”

Revealed! First Look at the New Maroubra Home of the Rabbitohs

Ahead of its planned construction, the South Sydney Rabbitohs has unveiled their new home in Maroubra, where the team will be moving in before the 2023 NRL season rolls.

The new photos are the artist’s impression of the $58M state-of-the-art sports complex that will also include cafes, a merchandise shop, a special fan area for watching training, and a hall of fame section.

The new Rabbitohs facility will also be opened for community use for lectures, events, workshops, as well as access to the playing fields. The gymnastics facility and the indoor sports centres for volleyball, netball, badminton, and basketball will be operating seven days a week.

“The Heffron Centre will allow us to move our NRL, Women’s and NSW Cup teams and administrative, commercial and Souths Cares staff members to one site – with the rest of our representative pathways programs using Redfern Oval,” Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly said in an official press statement.

“Importantly it will also allow us to double the size and reach of our community programs which have already helped achieve over 400 Aboriginal employment placements, helped young people achieve their HSC, and helped over 7,600 students with health and well-being messages.”

Funding for the sports complex will come from the Federal and State Governments, as well as Randwick City Council. Construction is expected to begin in August 2021. Randwick Mayor Danny Said revealed that this is the Council’s biggest project, which has taken seven years to plan. Following the building’s opening, however, that the Rabbitohs will be saying goodbye to their old home in Redfern.

Maroubra One-Bedroom Apartment Sold for $1.2 Million

A one-bedroom apartment in Maroubra has set a new record after it sold for $1.2 million within just 10 days on the market.

The dwelling, located in an Art Deco block on Marina Parade, received a lot of enquiries from professionals looking to move near the beachside with a lot of cafes and shops for their remote work. Buyers were also attracted to the site because it’s in a peaceful location.

According to realestate.com.au, the apartment has a beautiful view opposite Mahon Pool and Lurline Bay. Before the sale, the property was also renovated and updated with contemporary features.

Whilst it is a small apartment, it has a spacious lounge and modern kitchen with a large master bedroom and its own lock-up garage.

It is not known who snatched up the place but First Hand Property’s Mitchell Farah said the new owner paid $1.2 million for the boutique apartment. The sale is another indication of a stronger Sydney property market.

In Maroubra, a two-bedroom house’s average price is $1.7 million whilst a one-bedroom unit will set back investors or occupiers for $644,500, depending on the location. Unit rentals, on the other hand, are between $450 to $750 a week.

Two Interactive Outdoor Classrooms Installed in Maroubra

Do you have curious children who love to learn about how things work? Then take them to the new interactive outdoor classrooms in Maroubra to understand how Randwick City’s biggest stormwater harvest and reuse system works!

The Council has recently installed two interactive sites near Maroubra beach’s playground and at the Mahon Pool that will teach the children how the tanks for collecting rainwater, built under Arthur Byrne Reserve in the last 10 months, is being used to hydrate public parks and gardens and supply water in some parts of the city.

The kids will enjoy knowing how much water is saved in the two one-million litre tanks on the ground, which will continually keep the grasses and trees around the suburb lush and green.

The interactive outdoor classrooms were officially unveiled at the end of March 2021 with some school children from the nearby St Mary St Joseph Catholic School.

Meanwhile, the South Maroubra SLSC also tested the new Arthur Byrne Reserve sprinkler system at the clubhouse grounds and it works efficiently.

The Arthur Byrne Reserve is Randwick City Council’s 14th stormwater harvesting system. Construction commenced in mid-2020 and took at least three stages to complete. The project al has an automatic irrigation system that will provide water for the toilets and amenities, including potable water, found in these public places:

Arthur Byrne Reserve
Broadarrow Reserve
Jack Vanny Reserve
Maroubra Beach
John Shore Reserve
Murranborah Reserve

Powerball Winner: Mum Bought $50 Million-Winning Ticket in Maroubra

The only $50 million Powerball winner drawn by The Lott on Thursday, 18 March 2021, was a mum from the eastern suburbs who bought her ticket at the Cigarettes Tobacco Cigars (CTC) in Maroubra.

The unnamed woman said that she almost didn’t buy the ticket as rains battered the region in the last few days. She made the decision to “duck out” at the last minute and braved the “crappy weather” that dampened the weekend of her win…just to try her luck.

The Lott officials did not immediately locate the winner as the ticket was not a registered player card. So, they had to play the waiting game until the winner comes forward but the agency did confirm that the ticket came from the CTC Maroubra outlet on Anzac Parade.

The mum heard of the winning ticket’s location in the news and could not believe that it was in her hands. Her husband could not also believe his wife’s luck and checked the winning numbers a few times.

Her winning numbers 18, 30, 16, 29, 6, 33 and 35 is the lone winner of Powerball draw 1926.

The mum said that she will only be able to sleep until she sees the $50 million in her bank account. She also said this money will drastically make their lives different and she plans to buy a house with her prize and treat her family to shopping sprees.

Meanwhile, Cigarettes Tobacco Cigars has been operating in Maroubra for seven years and this is their first division-one winning ticket. Owner John Yu said he also bought a Powerball ticket but he’s very glad that it’s a customer who won the big prize.

Region 9 Bus in Maroubra Slowest in Sydney

The Region 9 bus service has one of the slowest services operated by the Sydney Metropolitan Bus. The State Transit bus line servicing the eastern suburbs depots in Maroubra, Bondi Junction, Botany, Mascot, Randwick and Surry Hills reportedly failed to reach its target running time more than 95 percent of the time during two unfortunate months in 2020.

From January 2020 to January 2021, Region 9 was among the most consistently slowest bus service, along with Transdev, except in November of last year. However, a representative from Transport for NSW said that the State Transit bus line improved its running time performance to 96.8 percent in 2020 from a slower running time performance of 95.2 percent in 2019.

Privately-run bus services in Sydney, on the other hand, have a record of 99.9 percent running time and fastest bus lines are:

Transit (NSW) – Inner West and Liverpool
Punchbowl Bus Company – Hurstville and Bankstown
Forest Coach Lines – Terrey Hills

In 2019, the state government revealed plans for more bus service privatisation, citing an increase in patronage.

“This rate of growth outstrips that of all other forms of public transport and we need to address this increasing demand as a matter of urgency,” Minister for Transport Andrew Constance said.

“We know customers want more buses, more often, as well as a mix of bus services that cater to their needs. This includes high-frequency services on major routes, like the B-Line, and frequent direct options such as on-demand services for short, local trips.

“The NSW Government will engage with the private sector to transform the current, one-size-fits-all model of service delivery, to one with multiple service types including high-capacity routes and local and on-demand travel.”

Region 9’s privatisation was earmarked for tender in early 2020 but was pushed back to 2021 due to the pandemic.

Champagnat Catholic College in Maroubra to Shift to Co-Ed

Champagnat Catholic College in Maroubra will transition from a private boys school to a co-educational school beginning 2023 after studies have revealed a huge demand for a mixed-sex system in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

School director Tony Farley said that the decision has been vital since single-sex education has dominated schools in Sydney east, regardless if it’s a Catholic, public or independent system.

The Maroubra institution will be the third Marist Brothers-operated school to change the system in the last seven years after Marist North Shore (North Sydney) and Marist College Penshurst (Mortdale).

Marist North Shore welcomed the first batch of Year 7 female students during the first term for 2021, comprising 60 girls out of 160 students. Marist College Penshurst, on the other hand, saw its enrollment doubling since it became co-ed in 2014.

Years were spent in preparation for the shift. Both Marist schools redesigned their toilet blocks and changed the curriculum to accommodate girls. The school staff and older students had to undergo gender bias training as well.

In November 2020, Mr Farley announced Champagnat Catholic College’s masterplan as it prepares for the transition. The plan covers:

the delivery of contemporary learning spaces and facilities;
increased curriculum opportunities for students; and
shared new and renewed facilities and the opportunity to foster better connections between the parishes, partner schools and community.

“We will start with year 7 only in 2023. Each year after that we will enrol girls and boys into the year 7 cohort. The complete transition to coeducation will take six years. We will not be accepting enrolments for girls in the high years until we have transitioned to co-education,” school officials said.

As part of the transition, Champagnat Catholic College will also have its Open Day on 24 March 2021.

Champagnat Catholic College, founded in 161, accepts Year 7 to 12 students and has dominated sports competitions in the Sydney Metropolitan area. This Maroubra school averages 700 students per enrollment.

ANZ Maroubra Junction to Permanently Close in April 2021

Here’s a heads-up for clients of ANZ Maroubra Junction following reports that the major bank will close 19 branches permanently across NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

Randick Mayor Danny Said announced that the Maroubra branch has been affected by the closure and will service clients only until Wednesday 7 April 2021. Customers of this branch are encouraged to to get their accounts in order before the closure.

“ANZ will assist customers with alternative banking methods such as online, telephone and mobile banking options. Customer accounts that were at the Maroubra Junction branch will now be located at ANZ Eastgardens,” the mayor posted on Facebook.

ANZ’s closure will mean job losses for 100 workers, prompting Financial Sector Union National Secretary Julia Angrisan to call the decision “heartless.”

It is not known how many staff currently work at the ANZ Maroubra Junction.

The bank said that it’s shifting focus on online banking post-pandemic but Ms Angrisan said ANZ has been forcing customers to go online because it will save costs on rents and staff wages whilst boosting profits.

Reports stated that ANZ’s full-year profits in the pandemic year (2020) were at $3.76 billion.

Meanwhile, the following ANZ branches in NSW will shut down in the next few months:

Ashfield
Campbelltown
Crows Nest
Chifley Square
East Maitland
Engadine
Erina Fair
Kiama
Maroubra Junction
Potts Point
Springwood
St Leonards

Bluebottle Alert at Maroubra Beaches: What To Do If Stung?

An alert has been raised across Sydney’s beaches, including Maroubra, as droves of bluebottle jellyfish have been washing up in the coastline. Whilst the onslaught is expected to ease off right before autumn, experts have warned that thousands of these stingers could still return.

Randwick City Councillor Dylan Parker shared a photo of the situation at a Maroubra SLSC tent as dozens of swimmers reported their brush with bluebottle clumps in the water.

The lifesavers usually rub ice on the victims’ skin to reduce the stinging sensation. However, Dr Lisa-ann Gershwin of the Australian Marine Stinger Advisory recommends rinsing and neutralising the affected area with seawater first before reaching out for a bottle of cold water or ice. It’s the same recommendation from the Australia Resuscitation Council.

Apparently, applying freshwater first could worsen the sting but seawater will stop the stinger from pumping more venom. Apart from ice, hot water is also good for numbing the pain after neutralisation.

Because bluebottles are sea drifters, their movement is directed by north-easterly winds and not by the season. When onshore winds are strong, bluebottles will likely come ashore, as recently seen in Sydney’s beaches.

Major bluebottle situation at Maroubra today #marenvs20 pic.twitter.com/hu1r39FKoK
— Crystal Dimov (@dimov_c) February 6, 2020

Swimmers and beachgoers in Maroubra are advised to watch out for signs and warnings from the lifeguards or download the Jellyfish App for alerts and tips.

Mahon Pool: Quiet Family Spot Beyond the Surfing Mecca

As a surfing hotspot, Maroubra’s beaches are expectedly crowded, especially during the weekends, but towards the clifftops to the northern end is a quiet bathing spot known as Mahon Pool.

To the unfamiliar, finding Mahon Pool might not be easy coming from the beaches on Marine Parade but locals sure know that amidst the mossy pit and down by the rocky formation is a natural tidal pool, which has been developed and improved since the 1930s.

Mahon Pool is where frazzled Sydney dwellers go to take a dip and unwind, sans the mob. Usually relaxing and scenic, this outdoor pool thrills the adventurous as well. Whenever the tide is up and the wind is strong, good waves usually follow.

This has been the go-to watering hole for families with kids for decades because, aside from swimming, the rock formation is a haven for exploration and discovery. On the grassy spot, locals, who know each other by name, usually enjoy a picnic.

Photo Credit: Anna Szczecińska/Google Maps

Elite athletes and the Sydney Swans AFL team use the pool for training on some days. The water can be extra cold during the winter months when only the brave souls dare take a dip.

Prior to the pandemic, improvements to the toilet and changing facilities on the clifftops were undertaken, making a trip to Mahon Pool all the more worth it. The building, designed by Lahz Nimmo Architects, was made to blend with the environment and won the 2020 NSW Landscape Awards.

Mahon Pool was named for Alderman Mahon, a South Ward representative who lobbied to improve the tidal pool to what it is today. He died in 1935, before seeing Mahon Pool’s development. Maroubra Bay Progress Association petitioned Council to memorialise him by attaching his name to the bathing site.