Imagine standing in Kiama decades ago, looking out at a town barely touching the edges of the landscape.

A quiet community nestled between the rolling hills and the ocean, with open paddocks and pockets of houses lining wide, empty roads.

Now, fast forward to today. What was once a collection of scattered homes and small-town life is now a thriving, sought-after coastal destination.

Schools, businesses, homes, and community spaces weave through what was once largely farmland.

But what if those before us had said, "Not in my backyard"?

What if they had resisted change, rejected progress, and shut the door to new families and opportunities?

Where would we be living now? Where would our children find their future?

Would Kiama have become a place of stagnation rather than evolution?

The term NIMBY, or "Not In My Backyard," is often thrown around in conversations about development, yet rarely do we stop to ask whose backyard we are really talking about.

Once, this town was someone else’s backyard. Once, every street, home, and park was just a vision for the future.

And now, that future is here.

It is where we work, where we raise families, where we celebrate community, where we belong.

Growth is inevitable.

The challenge is not in stopping it but in shaping it.

We have the power to guide development that respects our environment, our history, and our way of life without shutting the gates to those who, just like us, dream of making Kiama their home.

So, when we look at the past and see what has changed, let us ask ourselves: if the people in this undated photograph had said no, where would we be now?

And more importantly, where do we want Kiama’s future to lead?

This is a work in progress, just like our town itself.