Good for Manly - Candy Bingham
  • Events
  • Ferries
    • Ferry Facts
  • News
    • Videos
  • About
    • Candy Bingham
    • Good For Manly Team
    • Good For Manly Association
    • AGM - Good For Manly 2021
  • Manly Town Hall
    • Town Hall Team
    • Town Hall News
  • Community
  • Contact
    • Contact/Subscribe
    • Become a Member
    • Share Your Ideas

Is fencing at Jump Rock adding to the Danger of Jumping?

12/3/2015

13 Comments

 
Picture
There's water everywhere in Manly. People can't resist being in it or on it - or jumping into it from a rock. 

One rock in particular is a problem. It's known as Jump Rock, not far from Collins Beach. It's a magnet for kids of all ages on the weekends, and while most people jump and land successfully, there have been two deaths and at least two serious injuries over the past 15 years.



In 2007 Manly Council tried to discourage jumpers by building a metal fence to block access to the rock overhang. 

But it hasn't worked in quite the way it was meant. The fence is easy to climb around, and probably makes the rock more dangerous as it drastically limits space on the rock edge. Even worse, the top of the  fence top - a slippery metal rail - is used as a high-risk diving board by people who find the natural 5m drop too tame. 

A different set of problems apply to a lower (3m drop) rock overhang, a few metres below and to the side of Jump Rock.  This one really is completely fenced off, meaning that people no longer have the choice of a high or a low jump. If they're going to do it, it has to be the 5m full monty.

There are also reports of people being injured jumping from an alternate rock overhang about 25m closer to the beach, where they would land in shallower water than the original jump rock site. The Manly Daily reported a teenager injured jumping from this overhang in January last year.

When we raised the Jump Rock issue on the Good For Manly Facebook page the response was massive. The post was seen by 2,400 people in the first 24 hours.  Comments were that the jump was really pretty safe although the fence made things more risky. Some people thought the Council did need to take some safety measures, but no one supported the fence in its current state. 

In 2009 the Council considered, but did not pursue,  alternatives to the current fencing arrangement, including making the fence harder to get around or harder to use as a high-dive board. It also considered demolishing the rock platform entirely but decided that was inappropriate.  

As well, the Council surveyed residents in nearby Stuart St. Only twelve surveys were returned, and the reported results are inconclusive. Three people said the situation was worse. Three said it was better, and two said the fence made no difference.  However, there seemed to be support for some form of fencing, with some residents saying there was now much less night jumping, so quieter nights and less vandalism, litter and bad behaviour overall. Some residents were worried about people getting hurt when jumping from the top of the fence. 

Good For Manly councillor Candy Bingham raised the issue at the March council meeting and the matter is to be reviewed. She queried whether the current fencing in fact made the site more dangerous as kids where using the fence the jump and dive from.

Up to 2009 Manly Council had spent $26,000 on the fence.

Have you jumped from the Rock?  Do you think the fences should be removed?


Is the fencing at Jump Rock just making the area more dangerous? Watch this Channel 7 news report and you be the judge.
13 Comments

    Author

    Candy Bingham, Deputy Mayor & Manly Ward Councillor on Northern Beaches Council. Background in marketing, public relations and community engagement. Author of five business books. Former Lady Mayoress of Sydney. Aka Candy Tymson. 

    ​I'll be posting all the latest news and issues relevant to Manly on this blog.  To subscribe click the RSS Feed button below

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    30kph Zone
    Amalgamation
    Art
    Balgowlah
    Bandicoots
    Bikes
    B Line
    B-Line
    Boarding Houses
    Boating
    Boat Trailer Street Parking
    Boy Charlton Pool
    Budget
    Candy Bingham
    Carparks
    Car Share
    Chid Care
    Cigarette Butts
    Clontarf
    Coal Seam Gas
    Community Services
    Container Deposit Scheme; Bottles
    Council
    Council Budget
    Crime
    Crows
    Cycling
    Development Applications
    Dogs
    East Esplanade
    Environment
    Fairlight
    Fairy Bower
    Footbridge
    Good For Manly
    Good For Many
    Graffiti
    Heritage
    History
    Hospital
    Infrastructure
    Jump Rock
    Kenneth Road Parking
    Lend Lease
    Library
    Lifeline
    Litter
    Little Collins Beach
    Little Manly
    Little Manly Point
    Little Manly Precinct
    LM Graham Reserve
    Manly
    Manly2015
    Manly 2015 Plan
    Manly Beach
    Manly Boy Charlton Swim Centre
    Manly Cinema
    Manly Community Centre
    Manly Council
    Manly Cove
    Manly Dam
    Manly Ferry
    Manly Golf Club
    Manly Harbour Pool
    Manly Hospital
    Manly Oval Car Park
    Manly Sea Life Sanctuary
    Manly Swim Centre
    Manly Vale
    Manly Village School
    Manly Wharf
    Manly Wine Food Festival
    Manly Women's Shelter
    Marine Education
    Market Place
    Miap
    Mike Baird
    Mslsc
    Norfolk Island Pines
    Northern Beaches
    Northern Beaches Council
    Northern Beaches Hospital
    North Head
    North Head Sewage Plant
    North Steyne Stormwater Pipe
    Nsw 2021 Plan
    Nth Beaches Council
    Oceanworld
    Office Of Information Commissioner
    Ombudsman's Report
    Parking
    Pedestrian Crossing
    Penguins
    Police Station
    Pollution
    Precinct
    Protest
    Public Transport
    Ravens
    Referendum
    Restaurants
    Royal Far West Site
    Rta
    Rubbish
    Safe Speed Zone
    Schools
    Seaforth Tafe
    Seagrass
    Sharks
    Shoroc
    Signs
    Speed Humps
    Spit
    Spring Cove
    Spring Cove Development
    Surf Carnival; NSW State Championships
    Surfing
    Sustainability
    Sydney Harbour
    Sydney Water
    Telstra
    The Corso
    Theft
    Toilets
    Traffic
    Trees
    Urinal
    Views
    Waste Collection
    Water Tank
    Whistler St Site
    Wi Fi

    ........................................

    View Videos
    Vote in our Poll

    ..........................................

What we stand for

To make a positive change to the way the Northern Beaches Council is run:
1. A strong independent council
2. Open, transparent and accountable administration
3. Genuine public consultation on all major issues
4. A better vision for the Manly Ward
5. Addressing residents' needs
Picture
Picture
Picture
Subscribe to our newsletter

If you want to know what's going on in your community - ideas, issues, discoveries, news and events, then you'll appreciate receiving this monthly newsletter.
SUBSCRIBE HERE

Contact our team

Submit

Site design by Manly Mac Art.

​We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Northern Beaches and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
Authorised by Jonathan Trope, 1/90 Lauderdale Ave, Fairlight 2094
  • Events
  • Ferries
    • Ferry Facts
  • News
    • Videos
  • About
    • Candy Bingham
    • Good For Manly Team
    • Good For Manly Association
    • AGM - Good For Manly 2021
  • Manly Town Hall
    • Town Hall Team
    • Town Hall News
  • Community
  • Contact
    • Contact/Subscribe
    • Become a Member
    • Share Your Ideas