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Outrage over plans to relocate Kibble Park sculpture

The family of the artist who created the sculpture and water fountain in Kibble Park, Gosford, is outraged by plans to relocate the metalwork to Sensory Park at Narara.

Michael Flakelar, the son of John Flakelar, who was commissioned by the then Gosford Council to design the feature in 1975, said the family was “very disappointed” by Central Coast Council’s recently announced plans to relocate the sculpture as part of a major upgrade of Kibble Park.

Council Adminstrator, Rik Hart, announced last week that the relocation and removal of the fountain would make Kibble Park more accessible for community events.

“The Kibble Park Place Plan identified opportunities for this key central Gosford open space, including making it more accessible, safe and vibrant,” Hart said.

He said there had been community discussion about the future of the fountain, which has not operated since 2016.

“An assessment of the cost to refurbish the fountain and surrounding degraded area revealed it would not provide good value to the community or use of ratepayers’ money,” he said.

“However, strong feedback from the community was that there needed to be a plan for the future of the sculpture.”

Hart said relocating the sculpture to the revitalised Sensory Park at Narara would respect its original intention and allow for a creative reintegration of the work in a public space.

The sculpture would form the centrepiece of a newly designed labyrinth pathway, aimed at encouraging children and families to explore and interact with the artwork and the installation would also include solar lighting to help highlight the sculpture.

But Flakelar said the move would not be true to the intention of the feature designed by his father, who passed away five years ago.

“The piece was commissioned to commemorate the International Year of the Family and Dad spent several years in talks with Council over what was wanted,” he said.

“The sculpture and fountain were designed as one total piece – one doesn’t work without the other.

“Moving the sculpture would not to be true to the way Dad designed it.”

Flakelar said the piece has been designed to represent the family unit.

“This is a very important part of what makes up a town like Gosford – or any other town in NSW,” he said.

“The fountain was a very important part of the whole – with the water intended to soothe.

“It was designed as a meeting place where people could get together and have picnics with their children.

“The combination of metal and water was intentional and symbolic.”

Flakelar said no approach had been made to the family regarding the plan and he felt it had been rushed through without any real consultation.

“It is foolish to destroy something that has merit and replace it with nothing,” he said.

“Dad moved to the Central Coast as a very small boy and spent his whole life working in Gosford.

“He attendee Gosford Primary and Gosford High schools and his company, Bannister and Hunter, did a lot of the planning work for the streets around the Gosford area.

Flakelar said it was highly disrespectful to treat his father’s legacy in this way.

“The sculpture and fountain were designed to be in the heart of Gosford – destroying it is outrageous,” he said.

Community activist Joy Cooper has started a petition to save the fountain and sculpture on change.org.

“The fountain was originally turned off when we were in a time of drought in 2016,” she said.

“When artists create works, they shouldn’t be split up and changed.

“This piece was designed so it reflected the area where the first well in Gosford was.

“The feature was of cultural importance- it even used to feature on postcards of the area.”

Cooper said she has sent a letter to Council Administrator Rik Hart asking to see a Statement of Environmental Effects for the proposed relocation.

She also said she had concerns about how the major works involved would be budgeted.

“It would be a huge job to relocate the sculpture,” she said.

“The fountain itself would have to be excavated, including the mechanical workings, and the space refilled.”

“In these times when there are potholes everywhere and rubbish not being collected, this seems like a strange use of ratepayers’ money.”

The sculpture and water fountain in Kibble Park

Terry Collins

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Spencer and Gunderman now eligible for flood relief funding

Following hard lobbying from the River Cares organisation and Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, the Back Home flood grants program has been expanded to include Spencer and Gunderman.

Announced earlier this month, the program made cash grants of up to $20,000 available only to flood-affected residents in the LGAs of the Hawkesbury, Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed, leaving devastated Lower Hawkesbury residents unable to apply.

River Cares President, Robyn Downham, has been agitating ever since for affected residents in the Central Coast LGA to be included in the eligibility criteria, with the news coming through on April 21 that the program was to be extended to embrace townships in the Lower Hawkesbury.

“I am so pleased to announce that we have been successful,” Downham said.

“There are at least 20 householders who can now have the financial means to repair structural damage to their properties such as replacing collapsed roofs and addressing other issues that were not acknowledged by the insurance companies.”

Downham said Crouch had fought hard for the communities to be included in eligibility criteria, meeting with Premier Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience, Steph Cooke.

“On behalf of the Spencer and Gunderman communities I would like to thank Adam Crouch for his indomitable perseverance and determination to achieve this wonderful result,” she said.

Crouch said he welcomed confirmation that residents of the Central Coast region effected by the recent floods including Spencer and Gunderman will now qualify for the Back Home flood grants.

“I thank the community for reaching out to me and entrusting me with their concerns, including Robyn Downham, President of River Cares,” Crouch said.

“I look forward to the community being able to receive the necessary support to assist in their recovery.”

Meanwhile Wisemans Ferry Rd remains closed to the general public, although it appears many motorists are ignoring the signage

Council crews are working full-time to get the road reopened and have identified 131 action items which need to be worked through.

It is anticipated the road will reopen in three-four weeks with localised narrowing, reduced speeds ad traffic measures in place.

Meanwhile, residents of Spencer and the Lower Hawkesbury have access.

But Downham said there was concern around the fact that non-residents were ignoring the signage and continuing to traverse the road.

“The general public continue to ignore the signs and continue driving through Spencer on to Wisemans Ferry,” she said.

“On Easter Sunday there was a serious motorbike accident at Gunderman Creek caused by a massive crater on Wisemans Ferry Rd.

“This person had to be airlifted to hospital.”

Downham said while the road remained in a precarious state, non-residents should obey the signage and leave access open for residents only.