Rats! Are Coogee’s Resident Rodents Here to Stay?

Words

It’s a crisp autumn evening at Coogee Beach. There aren’t many people around, but the promenade and grassy reserve are far from deserted. Something scurries across the pathway near the garbage bins - a rat! From inside a bin, a scratching sound emanates from two more rodents feasting on leftover takeaway. Whiskers bristling and eyes glowing pink in the moonlight, they show no fear at the sight of the human looking down on them.

Rodent encounters like this have become common around Coogee, so much so that Coogee Precinct recently passed a resolution stating, “Council to be asked if there is an eradication program to address the current problem of the increasing rat population in Coogee.”

Randwick City Council’s answer, tabled at the next Precinct meeting, stated that the Council’s rodent control team (a firm of outside contractors) is “deploying new technologies to test their effectiveness. Council will monitor the effectiveness of these changes to our control program and make changes as required.”

In addition, a Council spokesperson told The Beast, the number of rat baiting stations in the Coogee area has been doubled and “we have increased the servicing and inspection of these stations from fortnightly to weekly.”

The prevalence of Coogee’s rats has been a burning issue on social media since January this year, when Philip Jajou, who’d recently purchased a Coogee mansion, posted a TikTok video of rats near an unidentified reserve.

“When you buy a $3 million home in Coogee but no one told you about the rat problem. Why didn’t anyone warn me?” the post said.

The video went viral and the story of Coogee’s rats travelled across the world. Meanwhile, the rodents have been widely discussed on local social media platforms such as the Maroubra Community group on Facebook.

“Omg it’s disgusting one HUGE one ran across the stairs at around 7pm the other night then about 40 of them running all over the grass,” said a post from Sarah Nicholls.

The Beast sent photos of the bin rats we encountered in Goldstein Reserve to a scientist who has spent much of the past three decades studying rats, Professor Peter Banks. He is Professor of Conservation Biology at Sydney University and the author of scholarly works such as Impacts of black rats (Rattus rattus) across an urban bushland interface at Sydney’s North Head (2007).

Professor Banks told The Beast that these are black rats, distinguishable from the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) by their smaller size. And, yes, they can carry a number of diseases, notably salmonella and leptospirosis.

Unfortunately, said Professor Banks, rat baits won’t control them when there’s an abundance of free tucker in and around garbage bins.

“If you don’t manage the amount of free food available it’ll make it harder for the baiting program to work well.”

He added that black rats can be particularly hard to manage because they have been co-existing with humans for thousands of years. They’re not dumb, and they can be as cunning as the proverbial rat - with or without a gold tooth.

The good news - if you can call it that - is the fact that it is currently what Professor Banks describes as “peak rat season” and numbers will start to taper off further into winter.

Precincts are meetings of residents who get together regularly to discuss local matters or issues of concern in their neighbourhood. Waverley is split into 13 Precincts and meetings are open to any person living within the Precinct boundaries. This

Ausgrid 'Community' Battery Plan Fails to Electrify Waverley Council

Waverley Council has rejected a proposal by Ausgrid to install a giant battery in Thomas Hogan Reserve, Bondi. The ‘community battery’ would have boosted solar generation capacity around the park in Francis Street. The problem is, there aren’t actually a lot of solar panels in the area.

“The buildings surrounding Thomas Hogan Reserve are mostly older multi-unit dwellings, which don’t have solar panels installed, so we don’t see a community benefit in having a community or shared battery in this location,” Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos told The Beast.

“We are looking at other potential locations such as a road reserve or within an existing Ausgrid asset and we are very much committed to working with Ausgrid to find a suitable location where there will be a public benefit.”

The Mayor stressed that Waverley Council was not opposed to community batteries and saw them as an integral component in the community achieving net zero emissions by 2035.

Ausgrid wanted to put the battery near the entrance to

Thomas Hogan Reserve, alongside a children’s playground. Standing three metres tall, four metres long and two metres wide, it would have displaced an existing tree.

As well as the undesirable aesthetics, the installation would have emitted a loud hum. A report tabled at a recent Council meeting said the noise would be 50-70 decibels at a distance of one metre.

“This noise is similar in volume to a conversation or, at the louder end, a vacuum cleaner,” the report stated.

Hundreds of these batteries are being installed across the country under federal funding. Ausgrid describes them as “a shared asset that offers the local community a stronger network and better solar hosting capacity.”

Waverley is not the only Sydney council opposed to having a battery in a park. Across the harbour, North Sydney Mayor Zoë Baker has told Ausgrid that the community does not want a proposed battery in a Cammeray park and that it should go on private land.

Winter Dreams Exhibition

Randwick Art Society is holding an art exhibition at Bendigo Bank, 222- 226 Clovelly Road (near the intersection of Mount and Fern Streets) from June 20 until August 7. Winter Dreams will be open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays and everyone is welcome to call in and view the work of these talented local artists. Randwick Art Society is a not-for-profit association founded in 2009 to promote art and local awareness of art. For more information, please visit www.randwickartsocietyinc.com

Cruise Ship Terminal Plan Dead in the Water

In a big win for people power and common sense, the NSW Government has announced it is rejecting the controversial mega cruise ship terminal proposed for Yarra Bay. The proposal has been a dark cloud hanging over the local community since it was first mooted in 2018 as a potential location to dock mega-sized cruise ships visiting Sydney. “I would particularly like to commend our local community, particularly the Save Yarra Bay group for their ongoing work to preserve and protect this special place,” Mayor Dylan Parker said.

40-Year-Old Popstar at Bondi Festival for One Night Only

Ex-nurse Alli Butler has left prescriptions for punchlines and morphine for melodies to become a 40-year-old popstar. Launching her career from her flat in Bondi (where everyone is a star already), Alli sings, strums guitar and raves on about her life as an ex-nurse, mother, occasional wife and imminent superstar. You can join this awesome stand-up comedian and singer on June 30 at the Bondi Bowlo as part of the Bondi Festival. To grab tickets, please visit www.bondifestival.com.au.

Saturday 1 July 11am – 3pm

Heffron Centre

Bunnerong Road

Heffron Park, Maroubra

• Meet the South Sydney Rabbitohs players

• Sporting demonstrations and clinics

• Live music and DJs all day

• Food trucks

• Kids activities

• And much more, scan the QR code for all the details