I notice in todays SMH, it says George Street is now the epicentre of Sydney’s drunken violence.
A couple of weeks or so ago I had to drive into George St at Four O’clock in the morning. I went there to pick up a kid who needed a safe lift home. What I saw and experienced shocked and amazed me and, in a way I still can’t believe what my eyes told me.
Coming up Bathurst St and turning right into George St., The first thing I saw was one of those long caravans, painted in Police colours which was obviously a mobile Police Station.
“That’s a bit rich”, I thought because most of the publicity and media attention had been on Kings Cross. Now, I know for years there has always been trouble around Town Hall. In fact I’ve often picked kids up from there to get them out of fights etc. Kids can get very territorial and one bunch of young people desecrating another groups turf, especially if they dress differently can lead to a bit of ‘agro’. But what I experienced that night was nothing like that! I literally felt like I was entering a war zone. Honestly I felt I was in a war zone like in Beirut after a bomb had gone off. There weren’t just kids there, either.
I’m down opposite “Cheers” he told me. Youths and others were crossing and swaggering along the street like they were bulletproof. The dim lighting, the agro all around and the numbers made me feel very uneasy indeed.
Now, I’m not a wowser. I’ve seen and experienced a lot in my time but to me, this was beyond the pale.
I couldn’t get out of there fast enough! I picked him up and was so glad to get out of there, I left feeling sorry for the Police and Ambulance Workers who, night after night have to deal with this.
All this simply has to stop. Apply the Newcastle solution NOW.
