Ritzy suburb divided over plans to make very risqué addition to Bondi Beach

A ritzy beachside suburb has been left divided over plans to install a mermaid themed public artwork after complaints about the representation of womens bodies.

Waverley Council revealed plans in 2023 to pay homage to two well-known mermaid sculptures and erect an artwork at Bondis South Park, in Sydneys eastern suburbs.

The fibreglass mermaid sculptures once stood on the rocks on the northern end of the beach after they were installed without permission in the 1960s. 

The pair were modelled on local women Jan Carmody, who was crowned Miss Australia Surf in 1959, and Lynette Whillier, who was a champion swimmer. 

One statue lasted 14 years after it was stolen, replaced and then washed away with council refusing to replace it for a second time.

The other statue lasted 16 years after bits and pieces were stolen over time and council eventually decided to remove what was left of it.

Waverley Council had planned to honour the history, with studio Pink Cactus design re-imagining the statues in a single 2.5m tall stainless steel and Corten steel piece.

A report written for Waverley Council suggested it risked reputational harm if it green-lit the initiative following community backlash. 

Councillors in Bondi are considering axing a public art project after locals aired concerns over how it represented the female form

The council originally intended to pay homage to the fibreglass mermaid saga of the 60s and 70s in the ritzy eastern suburb

The mermaids torso was to be constructed by layered steel segments which can be seen through from certain angles.

The design was, however, labelled not actually good enough and the least bad option in community consultation, according to the report.

Community consultation feedback clearly demonstrates that no artwork design is supported by the public, the report read.

Commentary regarding the waste of public funds is already a feature of the public consultation and is likely to become an ongoing message should an artwork continue.

Continuing to spend funds on this project would create a risk of reputational harm.

The internal council committee report also made a vague mention of feedback relating to the sculptures representation of the female form.

If the project is scrapped, funding would be reallocated to other public art initiatives including a memorial artwork to recognise the stabbing tragedy at Westfield Bondi Junction.

If Council chooses to progress this artwork in the absence of community consensus for it to proceed, it would risk over-extending Council’s allocated spending on public art projects, and would jeopardise the delivery of more recent public art projects prioritised by Council including the Campbell Parade mosaic restoration works, the Westfield tragedy memorial artwork and joint Waverley-Woollahra artwork, the report read. 

The racy, original sculptures outraged pearl-clutchers at the time and were the subject of a number of pranks

Pink Cactus studios design was to be placed on a rock on the Bondi foreshores south end

The councils Arts, Culture and Creativity Advisory Committee convened in response to the report last month, before unanimously recommending against awarding the commission to any of the previously exhibited concepts. 

A community meeting this week will decide whether the project will be formally scrapped.

Waverley councillor Michelle Stephenson said she could understand residents frustration. 

The concept designs werent great and they werent representative of the original mermaids, she told the Daily Telegraph. 

They also werent in the original location so I dont think people really saw the link. 

Former mayor Paula Masselos said the artwork should be a re-imagination of the suburbs history for future generations. 

She later admitted subsequent feedback on the sculptures had been almost universally opposed to the project. 

She said the council had an obligation to listen to the public.