Anti-Development Lobby Calls for 9-Year Crane to Be Heritage-Listed as Tower of Illawong - Symbol of Beautiful, Eternal Inaction

Blake Curran | Investigative Journalist | Sutherland Shire Gazette

22 April 2025

ILLAWONG — A nine-year-old crane that has done precisely nothing since the mid 2010’s is now being championed by anti-construction advocates as a sacred monument to “peace, stillness, and the dream of a Shire untouched by progress.”

Originally installed to build a private home and pool — which, according to aerial photos and neighbour testimony, remain entirely theoretical — the towering blue crane has instead become an unlikely icon. It looms quietly above Fowler Road and the Georges River, swaying gently in the breeze and lifting nothing but local morale.

“This crane is a symbol,” declared Simone Drewer from the Shire Preservation Action Group (SPAG). “A beacon of what can be achieved when absolutely no one follows through. It’s our version of the Opera House, just without the tourists, architecture, or any signs of actual completion.”

In fact, SPAG points out the Sydney Opera House took 14 years to build. “This crane has stood idle for nine and hasn’t cost anyone a cent since installation,” said Drewer. “And we think it could be even more impressive.”

SPAG is petitioning to have the structure heritage-listed as The Tower of Illawong — a monument to peaceful obstruction and the quiet dignity of doing nothing.

The soon-to-launch open-top Shire sightseeing bus reportedly has plans to add a stop at the crane, with proposed cafe and contemporary viewing deck to take in the beauty of the Georges River. 

Council confirms the crane breaches no current regulations, provided it continues to obstruct no one and build absolutely nothing — which this one has mastered.

Illawong Crane Tower of Illawong