Did you know that there is a world-class football field in Cromer Park? The synthetic field at Cromer Park Field 1 has been replaced with a new one, exciting the local football community who use it, from grassroots clubs to representative teams.
The brand new premium synthetic surface uses cork infill, instead of rubber, to reduce the urban heat island effect and provide cooler conditions for players on hot days.
There is also more storage for six-a-side goals, an additional pump to recycle water draining from the field and boot scrapers at every entrance to prevent infill from leaving the ground.
The field is used regularly by Sydney FC A-League women’s side, the Manly United representative teams and the Manly Warringah Football Association, the most prominent football association in Australia with more than 20,000 players.
Photo credit: Manly Warringah Football Association/Facebook
Manly Warringah Football Association and Manly United CEO David Mason said the football community feels blessed to have such wonderful facilities that are used by local grassroots players and the Manly United representative teams at Cromer Park.
“We are extremely grateful to Northern Beaches Council for their continuing commitment to Cromer Park and the synthetic fields in our area but importantly applaud and encourage modern design and technology that has allowed this to take place with respect to the local environment,” Mr Mason said.
Photo credit: mwfa.com.au
Mr Mason said they are looking forward to continuing to work with Sydney FC and Football Australia to attract games and events that inspire young players, especially as they move towards the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
The upgrade is part of the Council’s $1.3 million investment for the sporting community, to ensure the facility continues to attract Sydney FC teams to play locally and inspire the next generation of players.
Meanwhile, the old synthetic surface, which was used for more than 10 years before it reached the end of its life, has been exported to Denmark where it will be recycled.
Did you know that six streets in Cromer are named after six recipients of the Imperial Victoria Cross, now called the Australian Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for bravery in the Commonwealth? Here’s a brief look at these brave young men whose names grace our streets.
Cutler Place, Cromer (Photo credit: Google Street View)
Cutler Place is named after Lieutenant Roden Cutler, who was a prominent diplomat and the longest serving Governor of NSW, having fulfilled the role from 1966 to 1981.
Lt Roden Cutler (Photo credit: Australian War Memorial)
Lt Cutler proved himself to be a courageous soldier at the Battle of Damour, the final major operation of the Australian forces during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign of World War II. He fought for more than 18 days, that culminated in his wounding and the subsequent amputation of his leg .
In 2000, Lt Cutler was honoured as one of three Australian living Victoria Cross winners to be commemorated on a stamp and coin issue. He died in February 2002 at the age of 85.
Middleton Rd
Middleton Rd, Cromer (Photo credit: Google Street View)
Middleton Road is named after Flight Sergeant Rawdon Middleton, who was a bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force. During his 29th mission on a raid on Turin, Italy in 1942, his aircraft was damaged by flak over the target and a shell exploded in the cockpit.
Flight Sergeant Rawdon Middleton (Photo credit: Australian War Memorial/Facebook)
Despite receiving wounds on his face and destroying his right eye, he managed to take control and pilot the crippled aircraft back towards England. However, he did not survive after the aircraft crashed into the English Channel. The last line of his Victoria Cross citation reads: “His devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds is unsurpassed in the annals of the Royal Air Force.”
Kenna Place
Kenna Place, Cromer (Photo credit: Google Street View)
Kenna Place was named after Private Edward Kenna, who was known as the last living Australian Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was given the medal for his involvement in an action near Wewak, New Guinea, during which he exposed himself to heavy fire, killing a Japanese machine gun crew and making it possible for his company’s attack to succeed.
Private Edward Kenna (Photo credit: Australian War Memorial)
Kenna’s Victoria Cross was on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra for a period in 2010. His family later decided to sell his medals, including the VC, at an auction held at Dallas Brooks Hall in July 2011. Kenna’s medal group was sold for over $1 million to an unknown buyer.
Howse Crescent
Howse Crescent, Cromer Photo credit: Google Street View
The street was named after Captain Neville Howse, who was the first Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. An Australian Army officer, medical doctor, and politician, Sir Neville Howse, has been given the award for his action at Vredefort in 1900, when he went out under a heavy cross fire and picked up a wounded man, and carried him to a place of shelter.
Captain Neville Howse (Photo credit: National Library of Australia)
Besides the Victoria Cross, Major General Howse is a recipient of various honours and awards, including the British War Medal, Victory Medal, and Queen’s South Africa medal.
He went to England for medical treatment in 1930 but died of cancer the same year. He was buried in Kensal Green cemetery, London.
Mcnamara Rd
Mcnamara Rd, Cromer (Photo credit: Google Street View)
Mcnamara Rd is named after Lieutenant Frank McNamara who was honoured for his actions in March 1917, when he rescued a fellow pilot who had been forced down behind enemy lines. McNamara was the first Australian aviator—and the only one in World War I—to receive the Victoria Cross.
Frank McNamara c May 1917 (Photo credit: Australian War Memorial/Facebook
The action left him wounded in the thigh and weak from blood loss. He later served in the Second World War as an Air Vice-Marshal. Between 1942 and 1945 he served as Air Officer Commanding British Forces in Aden before returning to London as the RAAF’s representative at Britain’s Ministry of Defence.
He died of hypertensive heart failure on 2 November 1961, aged 67, after suffering a fall at his home in Buckinghamshire.
Badcoe Rd
Badcoe Rd, Cromer (Photo credit: Google Street View)
Major Badcoe was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for fighting in South Vietnam in 1966, whilst he was member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. In his role as an operations adviser for the team, Badcoe showed outstanding courageous behaviour and leadership, where he risked his life under heavy fire in the jungles to save the body of an American colleague.
Studio portrait of Second Lieutenant Peter John Badcock (Photo credit: Australian War Memorial)
Major Badcoe’s Victoria Cross medals have been on display at the Australian War Memorial, making him the 71st Australian to have his medal displayed at the war memorial.
About the Victoria Cross
The actual specimen Victoria Cross medal that was approved by Queen Victoria in the nineteenth century (Photo credit: Mike Weston ABIPP/MOD)
Known as the highest award for valour in the British armed forces, the Victoria Cross was instituted in 1856 by Queen Victoria at the request of her consort, Prince Albert. Since its inception, only 1,348 crosses have been awarded. Around 100 Australians have been given the honour, including five Australians serving with South African and British units.
Photo credit: Victorian Collections
A Victoria Cross medal is made of bronze, which came from Russian guns captured during the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856 at the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine. The first recipients of the cross were also the ones who fought during the Crimean War.
In Australia, the Victoria Cross is awarded by the Governor-General, with the approval of the Sovereign, on the recommendation of the Minister for Defence, subject to review by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal.
DiversARTy, a gallery and studio in Cromer, is running an impressive art exhibit with an equally admirable online initiative to raise funds for cancer victims.
Running for the whole month of September, the Feathers & Dreams charity art exhibit at the Cromer gallery showcases the work of emerging and established local artists who want to encourage art lovers to support Dreams2Live4’s causes. These artists with a heart of gold donated their creative masterpieces, which will be auctioned off at DiversARTy.
More than 50 artworks are up for bid at the gallery. Half of the profits sold at the charity art exhibit will go to Dreams2Live4, which helps patients with metastatic cancer, relapsed lymphoma, relapsed leukemia and aggressive brain tumours receive the best care and better quality of life despite their condition. This charity has provided for over 500 patients in 180 hospitals across the country.
Photo Credit: DiversARTy/Facebook
Due to the COVID-19 regulations, the Feathers & Dreams auction will be done online. The public may also directly donate online to the cause. As of press time, the charity art exhibit has raised $6,800.
Since this is an online auction, bidding is also open for art lovers outside of the Sydney metropolitan area but they will have to shoulder the freight cost. Winning bidders in Sydney may arrange for collection after the auctions, subject to health protocols.
As Bunnings outlets across Greater Sydney are forced to close due to the lockdowns, Bunnings Trade in Cromer has remained open for industrial and hardware supplies needed by its trade customers for their businesses.
In a statement on the Bunnings official site, the company announced that all of its retail stores in the Greater Sydney area will temporarily shut down effective 23 Aug 2021 to support the NSW Government and to ensure the safety and security of the majority of its staff. Trading will shift to the contactless drive-and-collect services, which was introduced in 2020, with orders coursed through the Bunnings online site.
The only Bunnings stores allowed to open for in-person services are for trade customers, including the Cromer store on Dumic Place. Bunnings manager director Mike Schneider said that tradies will still be attended to, especially for emergency repairs, because they will still need supplies to sustain their businesses.
It comes as Bunnings has been continuously named as a casual contact site for coronavirus transmissions. Whilst the store has stepped up and improved its COVID safety measures by introducing a Bunnings Product Finder App to help customers get in and out of the shops faster, transmissions in the retail settings have been cited as one of the reasons why the outbreak hasn’t been contained.
Temporarily closed Greater Sydney Bunnings stores include:
Alexandria, Artarmon, Ashfield, Balgowlah, Bankstown, Belrose, Blacktown, Bonnyrigg, Campbelltown, Caringbah, Carlingford, Castle Hill, Chatswood, Crossroads, Dural, Eastgardens, Gladesville, Gordon, Greenacre, Gregory Hills, Hoxton Park, Kingsgrove, Kirrawee, Lidcombe, Marsden Park, McGraths Hill, Minchinbury, Narellan, Narrabeen, North Penrith, Northmead, Padstow, Penrith, Randwick, Rockdale, Rose Bay, Rouse Hill, Rydalmere, Seven Hills, Smithfield, Thornleigh, Villawood and Warringah Mall
Photo Credit: Bunnings/Google Maps
Whilst customers are encouraged to shop online, the store has also indicated delays in fulfilling the orders, especially in the first few weeks of the temporary shut down.
“Please note that due to a high volume of online orders in lockdown areas, there may be a delay in fulfilling your order,” the announcement for retail customers stated. “Our team is working hard to prepare orders as quickly as possible. Collection and delivery timeframes for your local store will be updated regularly and clearly displayed when adding products to your cart.”
Meanwhile, for trade representatives and trade accounts, contact Cromer’s Bunnings Trade for your supplies via Ph: (02) 9916 9100 Fax: (02) 9916 9199.
Cromer, located 20 kilometres north-east of the Sydney CBD, is one of 10 suburbs with a significant property price increase in the first quarter of 2021, pushing its house median price to just under $2 million.
Data from CoreLogic showed that Sydney’s average price for a home with a backyard rose to 11.2 percent from January to April 2021. Whilst the pace of sales has cooled in March, house prices in some suburbs from the Upper North Shore, Northern Beaches and Sutherland Shire doubled in the same period.
In the Northern Beaches, Terry Hills, Clareville and Cromer were the top-performing markets with house prices up by 18 to 20 percent.
Highlights
Cromer is in the top 10 suburbs with a significant property price increase from January to April 2021.
The suburb is one of three better-performing suburbs in the Northern Beaches, alongside Terry Hills, Clareville.
Upsizing families from the city are drifting to the Northern Beaches to invest in properties.
According to real estate agents from these local areas, upsizing families have been seeking and spending big in these markets, selling their apartment units and townhouses in the city, inner west, or the eastern suburbs to invest or at least put a downpayment on houses with backyards in the Northern Beaches.
Upsizing families want to live in leafy and quiet areas with access to parks and good schools, as opposed to the convenience of the city.
Here are the figures for Sydney suburbs with impressive property price increases between January to April 2021:
NORTHER BEACHES
Terrey Hills
20.8 per cent to $2,483,300
Clareville
18.9 per cent to $3,155,207
Cromer
18.1 per cent to $1,938,976
UPPER NORTH SHORE
South Turramurra
22.8 per cent to $2,101,118
Turramurra
16.2 per cent to $2,240,409
North Turramurra
16.8 per cent to $2,227,529
SUTHERLAND SHIRE
Kurnell
19 per cent to $1,429,800
Grays Point
15.4 per cent to $1,584,099
Yowie Bay
15.9 per cent to $1,842,591
EASTERN SUBURBS
Point Piper
15.9 per cent to $2,695,872
Meanwhile, amid the COVID-19 lockdowns, house prices in Sydney’s markets continue their upward trend although CoreLogic said stocks are falling down with few sellers.
On the other hand, major banks in the country have launched programs for a three-month deferral for mortgage payments, prompting experts to predict that the lockdowns will not derail the property market in this region.
The French-Middle Eastern fusion fine dining restaurant COYA offers Cromer a grand total of five degustations curated and prepared by veteran chef Ashraf Saleh.
Chef Ashraf Saleh, the man in the kitchen responsible for the restaurant’s French-Middle Eastern fusion menu, is a veteran in the culinary industry who’s worked in five-star establishments all across the globe. In 2019, chef Ashraf released “Coya: French Middle Eastern Cuisine” — a cookbook that shares the same name as his restaurant which details the dishes both he and his customers love.
‘Coya’ is a Middle Eastern girl’s name, and chef Ashraf had intended to give it to a daughter, if he ever had one with his wife, Kit Saleh. Instead, their family was blessed with two sons. The two opted to dedicate their love to their new restaurant by naming it after the daughter they never had.
The restaurant offers five degustation menus for customers to order from, each offering carefully curated courses which can be complemented with pourings of wine. The menus available allow patrons to select options befitting of their personal preferences or dietary restrictions. There is a six-course carnivore degustation which offers primarily meat-based dishes, and likewise there is a nine-course pescaterian degustation that revolves around seafood.
Scampi, one of the courses of the pescaterian degustation in the restaurant. Photo credit: Instagram/COYA
Also available at the restaurant is a nine-course carnivore degustation, a nine-course herbivore degustation, and lastly, a 13-course degustation which serves a mixture of dishes from across the other course menus.
Reviewers were particularly enamoured with the way the restaurant presents their dishes, likening them to art and how each dish was not only visually appealing, but also incredibly delicious. The restaurant’s ambience has also been described as “cosy” and the service has also been considered “friendly” and “accommodating” by numerous customers.
Photo credit: Facebook/COYA Cromer
Those interested in dining can visit the restaurant on Sunday the 9th of May 2021 from the hours of 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m to celebrate Mother’s Day. Between the 5th of May to the 15th, a limited-time menu curated by chef Ashraf will be available as part of the special event “Taste of the Beaches 2021”.
COYA can be found at 61-63 Carawa Road, Cromer, open Wednesdays to Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Visit their website here. For the latest updates on meals, deals, and other special announcements, follow their social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
Food presentation is just as important as the flavour when it comes to fine dining. At COYA, a Middle Eastern and Australian restaurant in Cromer, you’ll probably have the most beautiful food you’ve ever tasted in your life.
Chef Ashraf Saleh has quite the knack for plating and his skill is part of the reason patrons love dining at this restaurant. Adventurous foodie lovers will be satisfied with his presentation and preparation as he fuses Middle Eastern influences with basic Australian dishes to turn the food into a gastronomic delight.
Using interesting spices and ingredients, Chef Saleh creates a different menu every few months or so that your visits to this restaurant would be like a new experience each time. And if you really want to indulge, COYA offers a degustation course for $66 per person, which is unexpectedly affordable for fine dining.
But there is also another reason COYA is a foodie haven. Aside from the beautiful and tasteful dishes, the restaurant holds events nearly every week as an excuse (or a privilege!) to enjoy more flavourful food.
For July 2019, here are the foodie events to look forward to at COYA:
WHAT
WHEN
TICKET PRICE
Burger Pop-Up A meal of burgers with a bottle of beer
Sunday 7 July 2019 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
$28
Meat Lover’s Feast A seven-course menu that includes hogget, mutton, pork, duck, quail, rabbit and bacon chocolate gateau for dessert
Friday 19 July 2019 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
$69
Christmas in July A four-course Christmas dinner
Sunday 28 July 2019 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
$45
* tickets are paid at the event
For regular fine dining, COYA opens every Wednesday to Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. On Sunday, the restaurant is open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
“Amazing Menu. What a brilliant array of fresh produce & vibrant equisiteflavours. Each plate as pretty as an artwork flowed Beautifully into the next. Every course was a sheer pleasure for the eyes as well as an excite to the tastebuds. Cant wait to come back for more.”
“What a gem! Every single thing on the degustation menu was so good that I wanted to lick the plate! Unique and super fresh dishes and top-notch presentation. Went on a weeknight (BYO Wednesday and Thursday) and it was lovely and relaxed with super attentive service. Absolutely must go if you live on the northern beaches, or worth a little trek if you don’t. Hanging out for a cookbook.”
~ Alana Lennie, Google Reviews
Well, this was unexpected. A small restaurant at Cromer shops (Cromer shops?) making amazing food and delivering fantastic service. We did the $66 degustation and everything was delicious. They also do a la carte and brunch on Sundays. The menu changes every 8 weeks or so. I’ll definitely be back. Recommended.”
A group of devoted parents from Kids Club Northern Beaches, located on Middleton Road in Cromer, challenged themselves to take 10,000 steps a day for the Walk For Autism fundraiser.
Every step they completed for eight days, translated to $1. The money would help fund Autism Spectrum Australia‘s (ASPECT) research to help children with autism and their families.
Walk for Autism happened on the 31st of March to the 7th April 2019. Kids Club was able to raise $1,378,981, a little short of its goal of $1,400,000. Despite not reaching the goal, the money raised would still go a long way towards the efforts to better understand the condition.
Kids Club Cromer also left a jar at the foyer of the centre for additional gold coin donations. There were supporters who directly donated instead of joining the Walk For Autism challenge.
People in the autism spectrum experience with their senses differently thus they could have a harder time coping with what’s going around them. Those in the spectrum are also prone to anxiety and confusion, which might make it harder for the families.
Kids Club is a high-quality daycare facility for 0- to 5-year-old kids, including those with special needs. It has five sites in New South Wales, three in the Australian Capital Territory, and one in Victoria.
A new indoor sports centre is expected to rise soon on the grounds of the Cromer Campus of Northern Beaches Community College. This wonderful news was announced earlier this March by Education Minister and Pittwater MP Rob Stokes together with MP Brad Hazzard.
This project came in after the success of the indoor sports centre that was built in 2001 at the Narrabeen Sports High School. Similarly, the Cromer High indoor sports centre can be used by both students during their school hours and by other community groups in Cromer at other times.
But despite its identical scheduling, the proposed indoor sports centre for Cromer High will not simply be a duplicate from the one in Narrabeen. The Northern Beaches Council will be in partnership with both the Department of Education and Cromer High to avoid any duplication for this project.
Members of the community have expressed their support for this project. Even Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan shared how the peninsula is desperately in need for more sports facilities. But the dilemma they always encounter is its lack of space for the sports facilities to be developed.
That is why when a new multi-million dollar sports centre has been granted at Cromer High, Mayor Regan greatly welcomed this opportunity to progress the partnership with the school in order to allow members of the community to gain access towards the sports centre during off school hours.
Cromer High Principal Justin Hong with students Photo credit: NBSC Cromer Campus/ Facebook
Cromer High Principal Justin Hong expressed his gratitude towards the proposed sports centre to be built on their school grounds. The new sports facility will be of great use since Cromer High has about 650 enrolled students at present, and a number of Year 11 and 12 students are also staying inside the campus to do their HSC.
Principal Hong also agreed that this proposed new sports centre will be beneficial for the entire community of Cromer.
