Archibald’s Wharf decision a mistake

It is now summer and still no signs of any replacement for the now sadly gone wooden playground which stood at Archibald’s Wharf in North Sydney.

I can attest not only as priest in the community but as parent myself that the playground itself and the whole green area was indeed a wonderful resource for many young parents who otherwise find it difficult without a car – and without a playground on their yards – to take their children to a very accessible place as Archibald’s Wharf was for them.

Talks – more rumors than anything else, really – about a possible replacement on Indian beach or Munro Park fail to recognize that those places do impose the extra burden to the already overwhelmed single mother or grandma who would have to push her stroller along with other children through five kilometers of not so friendly pedestrian walk.

The Archibald’s Wharf playground was readily accessible, without the need of walking an extra five kilometers and/or having to cross heavy traffic avenues or climbing an uphill sidewalk (clearly the case in the Indian Beach rumor). We have not made it easier for parents without a car to take their little ones to enjoy the same that the now extinct Archibald’s Wharf was offering to this community.

I suspect that had the municipal council been made up of women with school-age children, no car and modest income, the outcome would have been completely different. They would have not failed to see the tremendous value and benefits that the playground on Archibald’s Wharf provided to this community.

People should be our primary goal. It is said that the selling of this property will eventually generate x number of jobs (probably most of them as long as the construction of the new facilities lasts). We believe that it is more important the material things we can provide to our children and youth rather than the family time, open spaces, and charge-free learning interaction with other children (things for which families with higher income pay).

The Archibald’s Wharf was already giving this community a real income; it was not a materially tangible one yet a very real income: a place where seniors, children, and young parents were enjoying time together in a healthy way. We lost it and so it is even more difficult for today’s children (our future youth) to grow in a healthier way. I am not questioning the decision to sell (well intentioned surely) but the long term results. We shot ourselves in the foot. We made a mistake.

Fr. Julio C. Martin Priest in charge of St. John the Baptist Anglican Parish North Sydney.