Dreams Dashed: Shire Council Crane Policy Crushes Hopes for Tower of Illawong Crane.

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

10 May 2025

ILLAWONG - The dream is over. In devastating news for lovers of long-term construction equipment, Sutherland Shire Council has proposed a draft policy that would effectively dismantle the community’s nine-year romance with the “Tower of Illawong” - a towering crane that has stood proudly (and immovably) above 191 Fowler Road since the mid 2010's.

Locals had long speculated that the crane was either part of a very slow home build, an avant-garde monument to planning delays, or a deeply symbolic piece of public art. Some even lobbied for it to be heritage-listed, arguing it had become “the Eiffel Tower of the Georges River.”

But in a cruel blow to architectural dreamers and suburban surrealists alike, the new Crane Management Policy recommends a strict five-year limit on any crane remaining on-site - effectively condemning Illawong’s beloved beacon to eventual dismantling.

“It’s bureaucratic vandalism,” said one distraught resident, who has been using the crane’s silhouette to align his telescope for nearly a decade. “They call it visual clutter. I call it character.”

In a bizarre twist, sources suggest a farewell celebration is already being planned for the crane’s eventual removal — with organisers comparing it to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Talks are allegedly underway to secure David Hasselhoff himself, who famously performed in leather atop the rubble of East Berlin. “It’s not confirmed,” said one event planner, “but we’re optimistic. If anyone understands dramatic endings involving large cold structures, it’s The Hoff.”

Council papers cite “visual impact, neighbourhood amenity and site safety” as reasons for the new policy. But critics argue it’s simply another example of red tape stifling the kind of long-term steel-based dreaming that once made this country great.

As the fate of the crane hangs in the balance, a grassroots campaign has emerged to save it — including a petition, a Facebook group, and limited-edition bumper stickers reading ‘Crane On My Watch’.

“We were never just building a house,” said one local wistfully. “We were building a legacy. And now they want to Hoff it down.”