Barry Du Bois "wildly upset" over council nightmare
Shortly after moving into his Bondi Beach home five-and-a-half-years-ago, the first thing TV presenter and builder Barry Du Bois had on his mind was to attach a children’s swing to a fig tree outside.
Little did he know the impact the swing would have on the community, bringing kids and parents together.
The building expert for Channel Ten show The Living Room, also took the time to build a bench for mothers to sit on while their children line up for a turn on the swing.
Barry has since kept a photo diary of his twin children, Arabella and Bennet, on the swing at different stages of their life.
However, Barry recently received a red card in his letter from a Waverley Council ranger that said “complaints have been received in relation to damage to tree and swing that is not approved".
Barry, who is battling an aggressive blood cancer, was told to take the swing down immediately or the council would do it the next day.
“My children and hundreds of other children have been happy on that swing for years,” said Barry.
“When I came home from work the next day it was gone. Already, everyone at the kids’ school is asking, 'Where’s the swing?'”
The children of Barry’s neighbours, who used the swing every day, are particularly “devastated”. The little girl keeps telling her mum to “get Barry to fix it!”
“It’s a neighbourhood attraction,” said neighbour Carrie Fahey.
“Everyone’s been texting each other, ‘The swing just got chopped down!’ Even my friend across the road can’t believe it – and he doesn’t even have kids.”
Barry is “wildly upset” with the council’s decision.
“What is the issue here?” he said. “Is it a public liability issue? Because if the slippery pavers outside the post office on Hall Street aren’t an issue; if all the trip hazards here aren’t an issue; why is this swing?
“I’m just a member of the community who’s built a swing to draw children and community together and to make something beautiful.
“We’re surrounded by many things that are wrong but the only thing that gets the red card is the swing. Are you kidding?”
The Waverley Councils media liaison Jilea Morrad told the Wentworth Courier that the swing was removed because it was “not approved, not to Australian standards, could damage the tree, not in an appropriate location and is a risk to the public."
Morrad added, “The swing is a public liability issue, all play equipment in public spaces must be to Australian standards.”
Morrad said if the council becomes aware of other swings in nature strips “they will be removed as well”.
However, there is still a glimmer of hope as last year Waverley councillors voted to save a swing that had been pulled down in Bronte after 1300 signatures were collected.