John Greer, Councillor Neil Reilly and Emeritus Mayor Sandra McCarthy are appalled that one of Kiama’s historic sites has been allowed to deteriorate.

On the corner of Old Saddleback Mountain Road and Long Brush Road, a layby contains a plaque to honour the construction of the area’s nearly 400 heritage-listed dry stone walls and another to commemorate Kiama’s celebration of the Centenary of Federation in September 2001. The walls along these roads were repaired or reconstructed by volunteers as part of these celebrations.

A picnic table with benches and a cover has been removed from the area and there are no plans to replace it.

“I used to stop here for lunch each day in between milking in Jamberoo,” says John.

“Then one day I came and the table had been removed.

“I contacted Kiama Council but they didn’t seem aware of the historical significance of the place or the existence of the plaques.”

John brought it up at a Central Precinct meeting and Cllr Reilly suggested to him that a heritage grant might restore the area as it is definitely of cultural and historic significance to the area.

“It really saddened me to see how this area has been let go,” says Sandra.

“Residents pay rates to council to maintain public infrastructure such as this.

“It is the core business of council to protect these public spaces and their maintenance should be in the operational budget.

“Not only should this be a space for the public to enjoy a vista which epitomises Kiama, but people like Thomas Newing, who built more than 95 per cent of these dry stone walls, should be given the honour and respect that they deserve.”

Both signs could do with renovation

Cllr Reilly says that the plaques should be repaired and the picnic table replaced.

“I’m shocked that this core infrastructure was allowed to disappear without any community consultation or knowledge, and no Council awareness.”

Councillor Matt Brown, who is head of Destination Kiama’s Tourism Advisory Board, says that he would definitely support the replacement of the picnic table with a roof as “Tourism promotes this area as a must see for visitors interested in our beautiful countryside with an interest in our cedar, farming and dry stone wall history.”

Thomas Newing, who arrived from Kent in 1857, and his son Thomas Newing Jr are credited with building most of Kiama’s walls over 60 years, labouring eight hours a day, six days a week.

Thomas Newing Snr once said, “Stones are like people. Some are good to work with, they fit in anywhere, but others are cranky, you’ve got to humour ‘em. Leave them to one side a bit, and you’ll get a place for them all right.”