On Notice…

The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre is opening in November – which is most exciting news for the region and a development The Cloudscape is most whole-heartedly behind. Though it seems churlish, and the Mountainside community has everything to gain from the Cultural Centre, there’s a little part of me lamenting what will be lost.

Once the Cultural Centre opens, work will begin on the current Coles/Kmart precinct. From what I understand, the existing, subterranean car park will be extended towards Katoomba St and this means that the ramp connecting the car park to Kmart will be demolished. It’s not the removal of the ramp that has me upset, but that the community noticeboard will go with it.

No matter where I’ve lived and the places I’ve travelled, I’ve always found the local community noticeboard a source of fascination. Not only does the noticeboard reveal all manner of information to an interested party, it also provides a unique, and often amusing insight into the lives of the people who make that particular place their home. Bunnies for Sale! Bush rock going cheap! Haircuts at home! French lessons! I love that these notices are often handwritten, they remind me that there are people whose lives aren’t governed by computers; that cutting and pasting used to mean that you used scissors and glue to achieve what you wanted on a page.

And so, there’s nothing more to this post than an expression of nostalgia. I’m sure that another community noticeboard will spring up, maybe in the Cultural Centre or the reworked Coles/Kmart development. I’m sure I’ll feel the same about the new noticeboard, in time…

 

 WORDS by KERIS MACARTHUR IMAGES by ANN NIDDRIE