Shire Potholes Now So Big Council Considering Sister City Agreement With Narnia

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

10 August 2025

After two relentless weeks of torrential rain, the Sutherland Shire’s roads have developed a new “urban feature” - potholes so large they may require their own postcodes.

Local motorists say the craters are now less “maintenance issue” and more “mythical portal.” One resident claims she saw a lamppost and a faun while driving down the Kingsway near Gymea. “I thought it was just the reflection off the wet bitumen,” she said, “but then I heard sleigh bells.”

Council has reportedly placed witches’ hats around several of the larger ones, though many say the cones are now functioning as warning buoys for passing kayaks. “We’ve stopped calling them potholes,” said a Kirrawee dad. “They’re sinkholes with ambition.”

Infrastructure experts blame the Shire’s “unique combination” of record rainfall, questionable drainage, and a local tradition of driving utes that weigh more than small caravans. One academic suggested they could serve as “community assets” if rebranded as plunge pools or micro-dams.

In the meantime, residents are adapting. A Caringbah mum says her kids now measure their commute by “number of potholes survived” rather than minutes in the car. And there’s talk of launching a new Shire-themed obstacle race, The Great Suspension Test, with entry fees funding repairs -  or possibly just bigger cones.

Efforts to contact Council failed after their media team reportedly drove into the Kingsway pothole and emerged in 1987, where they’re now attending a meeting about fixing a different pothole.