Developer McCloy Group to erect $200,000 wooden whale sculpture in Driftwood Shores subdivision

Driftwood Shores will see 10 hectares of mostly cleared land converted into a new neighbourhood offering "picturesque" views of the lake, according to the developer.

The subdivision was approved in 1984 but the site remained largely untouched until McCloy Group purchased it in early 2022.

The developer, headed by former Newcastle mayor Jeff McCloy, has begun advertising 72 blocks of land online, describing them as "boutique parcels" surrounded by "unobscured water views".

In June 2023, Mr McCloy told the Newcastle Herald he had purchased an award-winning whale sculpture, adding to his "extensive" public art collection.

Bleaching was constructed by Newcastle artist Michael Greve and had an asking price of $200,000.

He told the Herald he planned to install the wooden sculpture at the entrance of the Driftwood Shores estate.

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"It's between the golf course and a salt-water lake and around the corner is the ocean, so it's very symbolic of the area," he said at the time.

"It's a marvellous piece of natural art. How these artists see the shape in those things and do it I'll never know."

Bleaching was reportedly made from a 400-year-old fallen red gum.

The sculpture won the major prize in the 2023 Sculptures at Scratchley show in Newcastle. The sculpture's size and striking shape impressed more than 20,000 visitors at the event.

In plans submitted to the council, the McCloy Group proposes to install the sculpture, which is 6.5 metres tall and 5.3 metres wide, at the corner of Anderson Avenue and Monash Avenue, just metres from a public footpath connecting Monash Avenue to Chauvel Crescent and Coila Lake.

In the Statement of Environmental Effects submitted to the council, the developer said the subject site is in the northern corner of a residual parcel of land.

The developer said the sculpture was "not a bulky structure" and would not disrupt views on neighbouring properties.

Twin 10-metre curved, timber-clad masonry walls will be built behind the sculpture, with signage and steel capping to signify the entry of the estate. Earthworks and landscaping would be completed to surround the sculpture with low-lying planting.

The project is estimated to cost $77,000.

Tuross Head environmental group Friends of Coila told the Bay Post in September 2023 that the development could devastate the existing community, endangered fauna and ecological communities surrounding Coila Lake.

Have your say on the development at esc.nsw.gov.au. Submissions close on Friday, September 29.

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