Artist Hanif Wondir stepped up when asked for help by his neighbour. Picture: Hanif Wondir
A boat owner slapped with a council infringement notice after complaints over his boat parked in the driveway took matters into his neighbour’s hands with an epic payback.
The homeowner’s “cheeky” response to the council rules struck a chord with many Aussies facing similar battles with local councils over boats, caravans, trailers and unregistered vehicles parked on residential properties, grass verges or on the street for months.
The move came under rules to improve the “visual amenity” of the area – so the homeowner did exactly that, then outsmarted his council and the complainant – roping in a different neighbour, mural artist, Hanif Wondir, into his payback plan.
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The mural done by Hanif Wondir for his neighbour. Picture: Hanif Wondir
The boat is still tucked in behind the new fence/gate on the driveway but you can’t miss it if you tried now. Picture: Hanif Wondir
Mr Wondir said he was called in to paint a hyper-realistic mural of the boat directly onto the new fence and gate, to ensure that anyone passing – including the complainant – could still see exactly what was behind the new structure.
“My neighbour has a sea-faring vessel which he parks on the side of his home,” he said. “He received a letter from the council stating he needed to build a new fence to hide said vessel from view of the street.”
“After reluctantly building the fence and driveway, he presented a cheeky idea to me that would require my artistic skills.”
The painting was a detailed optical illusion of the house, driveway and vessel – which was so convincing it’s as though the council’s order never existed.
“A painting of a boat in a driveway next to a house on a fence in front of a boat in a driveway next to a house,” is what Mr Wondir titles the artwork.
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The hyper realistic mural has many people looking twice. Picture: Hanif Wondir
He even shared a time-lapse of the project, which took “a few days” to complete.
The illusion has fooled every passer-by, with one admitting they “thought it was a plastic see-through fence at first.”
“This was a fun one, even got my boy to help out,” Mr Wondir added.
Even officials reportedly saw the funny side after the artwork made it onto national television – with a council staffer visiting to take photos and congratulate the homeowner.
“The neighbourhood is smiling,” Mr Wondir said.
This as opposition builds to boats taking over suburbs, with the Sunshine Coast Council given a petition calling for enforcement of existing regulations to crack down on “unofficial camping” of residents’ possessions on suburban streets.
No solution was offered for where the owners of any these vehicles, boats or trailers could park instead but the petition was tabled and a motion passed linked to it – with the council CEO to determine appropriate action to address the issues raised by residents.
At least one Aussie council, Noosa Shire, provides trailer parking spaces for boat owners close to the water, to prevent blow-ups in the suburbs over boats. It said “whilst parking a registered boat trailer on local streets is lawful, long-term parking on busy roads is discouraged”.
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A humble homeowner now has the most epic gate a boat owner could want.
The attention to detail has some thinking the gate is see-through plastic. Picture: Hanif Wondir
In Mr Wondir’s neighbour’s case, large trailers with boats were considered not adding to the “visual amenity” of the homeowner’s street, with his council authorities ordering the man to build a fence to hide his fishing boat, which was parked not on the street, but on his driveway beside his house.
On the Gold Coast, a community site has been inundated with complaints with one resident disgusted over neighbours putting out orange cones on the street “so their nearly 60yo son can always park his boat and trailer on the street”.
She said when workers parked there, he “lost his sh*t so much over ‘his spot’ on the street being taken, he actually nudged the worker with the bullbar on his car as the worker walked across the street to the house being renovated. Nearly turned into fisty cuffs. Best thing it was all caught on the renovated house’s camera.”
Hanif Wondir even got his son involved in the mural.
According to Jade Boat Loans, the battle over boats parked on residential properties is playing out even worse across Australia – with rules varying wildly between councils and states – some allowing indefinite “mooring” on streets (provided they’re under 7.5 metres and registered), while others demand they be moved every 24 hours or ban them outright from streets.
In NSW they must be moved every 28 days (registered) or 15 days (unregistered) if the trailer is parked on the street,
Victoria, ACT, Queensland and Tasmania allow indefinite parking if under 7.5m and registered with a one hour limit if larger.
WA and SA have the strictest rules, with many councils requiring boats hitched to vehicles and moved every 24 hours, or don’t permit residential parking at all, while in NT the rules are set by individual councils based on Australian road rules.
They recommend all boat owners should check in with their local council over the rules governing parking their trailer on the street or even in their driveway.
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