Headline: Rumours of Official Shopping Trolley Memorial at Local Dump Site: “Lest We Wheel”

Imogen Fairchild | Arts & Culture Editor | Sutherland Shire Gazette

26 May 2025

In a bold move to "lean into the inevitable," the local Council is rumoured to be considering formalising a notorious Shire trolley dumping zone into an official public monument.

Tentatively titled The Garden of Forgotten Wheels, the yet to be disclosed site in Miranda is already home to upwards of 42 abandoned trolleys from Woolies, Coles, Aldi, and one mysterious Target relic last seen in 2009.

“We’ve tried signage, polite reminders, even passive-aggressive Facebook posts,” said Council spokesperson Melissa Quill. “At this point, it’s either enforce fines or lean fully into interpretive art.”

Early design proposals feature a semicircle of rusting trolleys arranged like Stonehenge, with an eternal flame fashioned from a flickering Aldi discount lamp. Visitors would be invited to “reflect on convenience, neglect, and those last-minute BBQ runs that led us here.”

Locals are divided.

“I walk past it every day. It’s like a trolley refugee camp,” said Greg from Gymea. “But if they whack a plaque on it and call it culture, I’ll take my mum.”

Council plans to include QR codes on select trolleys, allowing residents to submit memories of past shopping trips or vote on whether this one "looks like it still rolls okay."

A public unveiling is tentatively set for spring, pending negotiations with local possums who’ve claimed the area as a sovereign nation.

More to come, or maybe not - it depends on funding.