Shiny Suburb Rises From Industrial Ashes
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday July 29, 2006
Once Rhodes stank, but now thousands are keen to live there, writes John Huxley in the first of a series on changes in our neighbourhoods.
ALBERTO MAGSAKAY admits that 16 years ago when his wife first suggested he buy a small bungalow in the run-down, industrial suburb of Rhodes he was extremely reluctant."Not nice area," he recalls. "Very dirty. Very smelly. Very dark and scary at night. And, also, I do not like to borrow the money."Eventually, Mr Magsakay, who emigrated from the Philippines in 1983, decided to take the plunge, paying $145,000 for the bungalow, one of five identical homes in Marquet Street.Because it was in an area zoned for mixed industrial and residential use, he was able to create a business in his backyard repairing cars called Bert's Automotive Services.Today, he admits that thanks to his late wife he is "sitting on a real goldmine", not because his business is going gangbusters - though it is - but because land prices have soared. Mr Magsakay was recently offered $1.3 million for his property.Such prices reflect the rush for space on the peninsula where a new suburb - unkindly dubbed "Hong Kong on Sydney Harbour" by some critics - is emerging from what was a toxic wasteland at a rate that has surprised even the most optimistic developers."It's going well, very well," says Don Carvalho, the marketing manager of Walker Realty, the developers of Rhodes Waterside, one of a series of high-density apartment complexes that will increase the community population from 750 to more than 7000.Reminders of Rhodes's filthy industrial past litter the area. Companies made everything from Malvern Star bikes to the paint used for the first coat on the Harbour Bridge, from animal feed to the defoliant Agent Orange.Less than a kilometre from the sparkling white apartments, the smart waterfront cafes and the showpiece new shopping centre containing IKEA, the biggest furniture store in the southern hemisphere, the grim task of land "remediation" continues.Smoke from the toxins incinerator and spray from long fence-lines of pipes aimed at controlling dust and bad smells mingle with the morning mist hanging over Homebush Bay.Fence signs explain: "The spray you may see or feel is a combination of mains water and non-toxic odour-masking agents and is not harmful to your health." Critics such as Greenpeace question the efficacy of remediation. And long-time observers, such as the local historian Greg Blaxell, joke about the dangers of going for a swim, dropping a fishing line in the bay or digging in the garden. There is dark humour, even among newcomers, of future residents being born with two heads.But it seems there is no shortage of buyers. James and Emma Clayton, who live in rented property in Summer Hill and work in the city, are poised to buy. "It's the convenience mainly," says Ms Clayton. ."Great shopping. Places to go walking and biking. Water views. And, of course, only 25 minutes to the city." All for as little as $400,000 for a one-bedroom unit.According to Mr Carvalho, the Claytons would be fairly typical of Rhodes Waterside's new residents, about 30 per cent of whom are first-time buyers, 30 per cent from the inner west, and 75 per cent in the 25-45 age group.Most tend to be "old" Australian, though encouragingly the new suburb - which, for many, offers a confronting vision of Sydney's future - is also attracting many buyers of Asian background.Inevitably, the suburb has been dubbed the "Colossus of Rhodes", and sold as a "waterfront utopia", offering a sophisticated, European lifestyle reflected in project names such as Meriton's "Sienna by the Bay".Such claims may be premature. Apart from remediation, infrastructure issues are unresolved, says Angelo Tsirekas, the Mayor of City of Canada Bay Council, which relinquished control of the Rhodes development to the State Government."A large increase in population like this will have a major impact on local services - not just the overloaded roads network but parks, libraries, swimming pools and social welfare."And then there are ongoing maintenance issues, such as the repair of seawalls," Cr Tsirekas says. "Canada Bay has the longest foreshore - some 35 kilometres - of any Sydney council." As historians will recall, the original Colossus of Rhodes - a giant statue of the god Helios - was a wonder of the world, but it was reduced to rubble after only half a century by an earthquake. But Mr Magsakay, although prepared to sell at a better price, is staying. He has bought another property - in Rhodes. "I am a pioneer of living here," he says proudly. "Very good place to live."
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald