Destruction after mass memorial

Paul Cannon, Sedgefield:

The George Council has removed and cleared up all the memorial plaques at Victoria Bay.

A warning was issued and a time consideration was granted, then they were all taken down.

It was becoming a ridiculous, overcrowded memorial site. Call it what you like, it should never have been started. It was actually a ridiculous situation that got out of hand.

Now the natural rock has been scarred forever.

Perhaps it could still be restored back to its original state, but it will cost. This is a precedent set and other coastal communities should take note and not wait to be told to remove memorials from public spaces as they will have to remove them or they will get taken down. Perhaps council should start looking into memorial parks as cremations are being encouraged due to lack of available burial sites and the high costs thereof.

It's not right to share one's personal loss with the public, as people have very different opinions and perceptions of memories of our passed fellows. There should be special places allocated, such as gardens of remembrance for our families to make use of permanent places, as family members do like to pay their respect at different times.

Herolds Bay's Voëlklip has claimed another life.

This has become a big issue over the past few years. With many fatalities here, a big question mark hangs over this part of our Garden Route. Perhaps cars should be stopped from going there as it puts a huge expense and stress on our emergency services, be it paramedics, Sea Rescue and SAPS. All this is paid for from our municipal coffers and it adds an enormous amount of post-traumatic stress to the individuals involved as well as their families.