September 2010 - Zebras' Tea Party
Zebras' Tea Party
There are many theories as to why the waters of Lake George suddenly disappear, leaving the lake bed a dry and cracking paddock.
The answer is quite simple: they are sucked dry by an overpowering suffocation of bureaucratic rules and regulations.
Bureaucrats must hate something over which they have no control. So when the spirit of the lake seemed to come to life recently, when the water started to reappear as though summonsed by the strange new beings that now graced a tiny corner of its shores, the bureaucrats pounced.
A couple of months ago I wrote an article about the zebra sculptures that have "invaded" Lake George. They have brought a new zest to the desiccated landscape, and Canberrans have taken them to heart - they love them! But when a huge photo of them, showing the expanding puddles of water that were appearing in the Lake, appeared on the front page of The Canberra Times recently it was too much for the NSW Land and Property Management Authority, (Lake George being in NSW, and not the ACT). "They must go!" roared the bureaucrats. "Public liability!"
That started an uproar: talk-back radio, letters and cartoons, even an editorial, in The Canberra Times, nearly all applauding the idea of the hint of fun and light-heartedness that had been brought to a "soulless" Canberra.
The paper even produced a double spread colour poster of the zebras. Both the ABC and The Canberra Times conducted polls to see whether the public thought they should be removed. There was an overwhelming "No!"
We have been making weekly trips down to Canberra over the last couple of months, and each time make a point of stopping at the zebras that now graze in the paddock just behind the VC Wheatley Rest Area. There are always groups of people simply looking or taking photos, laughing and smiling. The zebras are so unexpected, and so beautiful you cannot help but smile, which is exactly what their creators wanted: something to make travellers stop, rest, survive and feel good. I've heard carloads of tourists talking in other languages; if none amongst them can speak and read English they must wonder if they've somehow arrived on the wrong continent. The sculptors' hope, that people would take more time to "stop, revive and survive" if they had something interesting to look at, was more than satisfied. By the end of July the staff at the Wheatley Stop, Survive Revive Rest Area reported that over 3000 people had visited the site since the zebras had arrived, a figure they arrived at by counting all the empty cups!
Al and Julie, the sculptors, who had spoken to the lessee of the land, but not the Government Authority, were given five days in which to remove the zebras. The day before they were to go there was a sudden stay of execution. "You must file a DA application," Al was informed. He was quite happy to build a stronger fence to keep people from climbing into the paddock. He applied for the DA licence, then found out he would have to pay $5000 up front and $3000 per year after that for insurance. These zebras were not there to make money; they were in a public place so people could see them and enjoy them. Then along came a miracle: a Sydney investment company, which has zebras on its logo, agreed to sponsor the zebras and pay all costs so that they could remain on Lake George. It seems the zaniness of the zebras has defeated the blindness of the bureaucrats.
Much closer to home rules and regulations gone mad have stopped the erection of a large teapot advertising the Werai Teahouse and Nursery. The owners, Tas and Mandy Smethurst, had previously had a promotional sign on a trailer which was parked on the edge of their property. The Council told them the sign was too big and fined them $750. However any smaller sign is unable to be seen from the road approaching the teahouse from Moss Vale and so is of no use. That's when they thought of erecting a sculpture of a teapot. "No teapot!" said the Council. Then after some thought they added: "However we will allow you to re-erect your sign on the trailer!" No matter the Smethursts had already been forced to pay a fine for that very same sign. After much wrangling, the fine was finally refunded.
However the teapots have not been vanquished. Tas and Mandy are now holding a Garden Sculpture Competition, open to anyone and on the theme of teapots. The only requirement is that the sculpture must be at least 1 metre tall. "If we couldn't have the signs we might as well have the next best thing - real teapots!" Mandy said. And the more fanciful the better, she added. There will be teapots of wrought iron, some from recycled materials, in all styles and colours. Entries close on 11 September 2010, with the competition open for display the following day and lasting for a month. "There'll be a garden full of teapots. Next year we might make the theme a teacup to go with the pots."
The bureaucrats had better watch out. If the zebras should ever decide to join the teapots for a tea party there could be trouble. For we all know what happened after the Boston Tea Party!
Postscript: Sadly, since this article was written, vandals have attacked the zebras, decapitating one, slicing the tail off another and moving the body 60 metres away. Al and Julie have removed the bodies, which they will try to resurrect and then move them to a safer, more secure grazing ground. Does that mean the bureaucrats have won, aided and abetted by small minded barbarity? Or will creativity spring back, a garden full of teapots, a paddock full of zebras, allowing spontaneity and enjoyment to swamp bureaucratic niggardliness?