A memorial bench on an Austinmer headland has long served as a canvas for a mystery artist or artists.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the chair’s latest makeover has “saddened and appalled” relatives of the woman it honours.
Descendants of Isabel Boulton say the chair’s newest paint job is not up to snuff, labeling it “disrespectful” and “graffiti”.
Read more: Illawarra film-maker’s indie pop glory days
Ms Boulton was a one-time resident of Austinmer, who would return to the area to enjoy her family’s Oceana Parade holiday home before her death from cancer in 1954 at age 52.
Her husband, Norman Boulton, had the chair installed on Bells Point to mark the place where she liked to look out on the ocean, Mrs Boulton’s niece, Patricia Lee, told the Mercury.
“In my childhood there were six wooden chairs along Bells Point; three [facing] north and three south,” she said.
“She [Mrs Boulton] would sit on the one where the chair is now positioned, and just enjoy the scenery. She just loved to sit there.”
Mrs Lee, of Adelaide, said family members would go to see the bench whenever they visited the area.
She said her son was the most recent visitor, and he was “horrified” to see the chair’s recent rainbow spraypaint treatment.
“In 2016 we were there and it was red – very cheerful and bright,” she said.
“I’ve seen it white with black spots – it’s been so many different colours, as you could imagine.
“It depends on the treatment. As it is now, I would say yes, I’m sorry, it is offensive. It’s just like graffiti.
“I would like to think that someone with an ounce of decency might come with paint remover and restore the seat to an attractive colour scheme so that by the time we are able to go ‘home’ to Wollongong again for a visit, we might be pleased to see and sit on my aunt’s memorial seat.”
Mrs Lee, who moved to Austinmer as a baby and lived there as a teen, was unsure what approvals were given for the chair’s construction.
She would like to see the bench offered formal upkeep and protection.
“It should be heritage listed and thus kept in a respectful condition,” she said.
