A Timaru man who said on behalf of a group ”disgruntled taxpayers”who urged the council not to demolish the 60-year-old Caroline Bay waterfall was “appalled” to learn of its removal.
The waterfall, which sits on the edge of the bay’s paddling pool and provides generations of fun in the town’s prominent playground, was removed Thursday after the Timaru District Council confirmed its plans to remove it on July 13 due to the degradation of its structure and pipework.
On Wednesday, Timaru husband Peter Bennett, who? worked on the waterfall in the 1990s, when he worked for Timaru Electrical, appealed to the municipality to release reports showing it was unsafe before it was taken down.
After hearing of the waterfall’s demolition on Thursday, Bennett said it was a “pretty sad day in history.”
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“It’s disgusting,” Bennett said.
“The bubble wrap brigade won, but I don’t know anyone in this town who wanted it to be torn down.”
JOHN BISSET/Things
The Caroline Bay waterfall will be demolished on Thursday afternoon.
When it announced that the part would be demolished, the council said that as part of a series of upgrades leading up to the paddling pool’s 60th anniversary, it had carried out an inspection of the pool’s waterfall.
“An internal inspection of the waterfall showed that the structure and plumbing had deteriorated to the point that it had to be removed,” said Bill Steans, the city’s park and recreation manager.
JOHN BISSET/Things
Earlier this month, the municipality announced that it would demolish the waterfall.
Bennett, however, had disputed this, saying he felt the decision should have gone to the community.
The site is being transformed into a parent sitting area, transforming the hill into a lower and gently curving synthetic turf field.
The council has been contacted for comment.