Mount Ousley Meltdown - Local Family Wedding Sparks 17-Way Feud Over Safest Route to Berry

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

18 July 2025

SYLVANIA - A planned family wedding in Berry this weekend has triggered what experts are calling “a full-scale logistical and generational crisis,” as one local family descends into chaos over the correct route to take down the coast.

The moment Uncle John spotted the phrase “Mount Ousley” in the GPS, all hell broke loose.

“Absolutely not,” he muttered, reaching instinctively for his printed NRMA fold-out. “I’ve seen fog up there so thick you couldn’t see your bonnet. Someone once hydroplaned in 1997. We're not doing that again.”

Within minutes, the family WhatsApp group lit up like a hazard light. Boomers, uncles, and rogue second cousins began firing off voice memos detailing anecdotal horror stories like they’d personally navigated the Bolivian death road in a Corolla.

“You can’t trust Mount Ousley in any weather,” said Aunty Cheryl, who hasn’t driven south of Heathcote since the mid-2000s. “What if a B-double jackknifes? What if your brakes overheat? What if the fog sets in and you miss the Kiama exit?”

Some suggested the scenic (but nausea-inducing) Kiama bends instead, while others campaigned for a dramatic inland detour through Robertson. A fringe faction floated the idea of taking the train to Bomaderry, then Ubering from there. They've been silenced.

Dr Kylie Highbrow, a leading academic in Transport Psychology at Wollongong University, says this kind of debate is common in intergenerational family groups.

“Boomers have a heightened sensitivity to Mount Ousley,” she explains. “It’s a hill, yes, but it holds mythological status among coastal drivers aged 55+. It’s less about risk, more about deeply embedded trauma from fog and caravans.”

Meanwhile, Uncle John has mapped three “approved” routes onto his living room wall with red string and thumbtacks, and is holding nightly briefings with dot points and Google Earth printouts.

The bride and groom have refused to comment, but sources say they’re considering a livestreamed ceremony and digital guestbook just to avoid the fallout.

One cousin is rumoured to have already left for Berry “just to be safe.”

Because in the Shire, it’s not just a wedding. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…

To argue about road conditions from a safe distance and no practical experience.