By JONATHON HOWARD
NOOSA’S Councillor Frank Wilkie said he was opposed to the idea of a memorial wall at Noosa’s river mouth because there were already a number of ways to honour departed loved ones.
He has also highlighted that fund-raising for the Noosa Coast Guard could be undertaken without forever changing the look and feel of public land with permanent, hard infrastructure that symbolised life’s end.
“We don’t know if these memorials will cover the cost of the coast guard boat, in which case it won’t have served the purpose for which it was permitted to be built, but we’ve changed the feel of that public space forever,” he said in an email to Noosa Today.
“We also don’t know what the demand may be. It may be enormous and require more basalt blocks to be installed. If future councils call a halt to it because of demand for more space we’ll be left with permanent reminders in stone of a nice but ill-thought out idea.”
Cr Wilkie said the proposal was short on detail.
“Why would I want to purchase a plaque in a lawn cemetery when I can have one at the picturesque rivermouth with majestic views of Double Island Point and Main Beach?
“For that reason, I’m reluctant to support it because I don’t believe we’ve fully considered how its presence and future demand may change the look and feel of the limited public space at the river mouth to something resembling a lawn cemetery.”
