Monthly Chronicle - June 2016

Keep it Local … and Vocal

You know, I was going to write about a different topic altogether this month; the environment, when something happened on Thursday in Hornsby. We all know what the incident was. We watched the internet in horror, read live the unintelligible Twitter feed on our screens, then got the real facts by the time the nightly news was on that evening. It was all over pretty quickly really.  There was fear and concern of course and soon calm, once we all realised it was an incident which could have happened anywhere.

But it didn’t. It happened in our Hornsby. The debates over social media ensued over whether our neighbourhood still a “safe place to live” or “what’s happening to Hornsby?” or “My god, I was about to take my kids to Hornsby” coming from long-term locals and the newly settled alike. And as I read these posts and comments I felt sad.

I felt for the injured and witnesses of course, but also I felt sad for our small businesses in Hornsby. Thursday is a vibrant market day with hundreds of shoppers spread across all the districts – the West Side, shopping centre and the markets at the Fountain. Kids, families, shoppers, locals and visitors mingling, chatting and shopping local. Any Thursday you’ll find this fantastic atmosphere. I personally love our business community; I love the friendly market stalls and the fact that many of the produce sellers are local and everyone is kind and considerate. And that’s what we need to hang on to.

The council should feel rightly proud for all the hard work (particularly the Events Team) in reinvigorating the Hornsby Mall and the West Side. Thanks to the markets we have local produce at our door (the best way to shop from an environmental perspective), craft and noodle nights and the West Side Vibe brings sheds light on all the fantastic restaurants.

We shouldn’t let one incident cloud our judgment about that which we can be sure of, week after week. In my mind, Hornsby is one of the safest places to live, work and shop.

So spread the word! Remind everyone you know and stick up for Hornsby when people question whether or not its safe, or changing for the worse.

Keep it Local … and Vocal. Support the small businesses, cafes and retailers. Keep coming back to the market because what happened on Thursday COULD happen anywhere and should be quickly forgotten but what we have in Hornsby is unique and should be cherished.