WHACK! BRAWLS AND DRUGS: CITY’S WORST STREET
DRUNKEN brawls, drug abuse and midnight sirens are hallmarks of this terribly designed Cairns street – and the extent of its degradation has been revealed in a shocking video.
Footage has emerged of a massive street fight breaking out in Sandown Cl in Woree with dozens of people circling while a succession of men swing punches and kicks.
Violence is an all-too-familiar occurrence on the notorious street just behind the Woree Tavern and BWS bottle shop.
It is a dead-end drive that wraps around a large, empty block of land that until fairly recently was an overgrown mess.
There are 11 separate unit complexes along the short street as well as several houses.
People who live elsewhere regularly visit and congregate on the street. Police are on regular patrols, permanent CCTV cameras have been erected and yet anti-social behaviour persists.
Division 3 councillor Cathy Zeiger said it was heartbreaking to see children living under such conditions.
“It’s almost like a third world country,” she said.
“I go to Kenya and things look better than that.”
Cr Zeiger has been trying for years to get the owner of the vacant block to do something with its property.
The landholder is Endeavour
Group, which spun off from Woolworths this year and also owns the adjoining pub and liquor store.
Some headway has been made – the major corporation has started mowing the lawn with some regularity and last year allowed a large “Sandown Community” mural to be painted along the back fence.
However, there appears to be little hope of a playground ever being built.
Endeavour Group has no current plans to develop the land but has committed to keeping the block in good order.
“We have been and will continue working constructively with Cairns Regional Council on ensuring that the land is appropriately maintained,” a company spokesman said.
Cr Zeiger said the council could not build a playground since it did not own the land and, even if the owner agreed, the liability insurance would be too onerous.
“It looks so much better than it did before,” she said.
“We put footpaths in, we got Ergon to hurry up with lighting and we got the lawn mowed.
“But there are still drug (properties) where people drive in and out (of the street) like a Macca’s.
“When one moves out, another moves in and it just keeps going.”
Cr Zeiger tried to get CCTV cameras aimed at specific properties but was told it would not be legal.
Instead, cameras have been installed at the street entrance.
“So police know how many deals are going through every day,” she said.
A police spokesman said authorities were “aware of incidents of anti-social behaviour that occur from time to time across our city”.
“Police remain committed
to preventing, responding and restoring order, as and where this behaviour is identified,” he said.
They are no stranger to the short blind alley.
In April, officers charged two 41-year-old men with drug and wildlife-related offences after allegedly finding
drug But there are still people (properties) where (of the street) drive in and out like a Macca’s. CR CATHY ZEIGER
methylamphetamine, DMT, cannabis, drug utensils, ammunition and a snake in a home in the close.
A stolen car was found on the street with teen suspects allegedly fleeing on foot in August last year.
A 33-year-old woman was charged with trafficking and a suite of other drug-related offences after a raid on a Sandown Cl home in June 2020.
In March last year, a man was arrested at a Sandown Cl home over the alleged armed robbery of nearby Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort.
Police alleged he threatened staff with a syringe and stole a female worker’s phone and wallet before fleeing and stealing money from the till of a different Woree accommodation complex.
Cr Zeiger said the greatest tragedy lay with the children who bore witness to distressing behaviour far too frequently.
“It’s really sad. They’re not all like that,” she said.
“There are some lovely people who live there and they just love living there.
“They report to me when things need fixing, and it really is like a little community.
“Nobody likes the drug (properties).
“It has just been terribly designed – there’s no connection so they’re locked into that pocket.
“There are no parks or anything. That’s why we’re going to embellish Windarra St (next to Woree State School) and do up Jeff Pezzutti Park.”