The daughter of billionaire real-estate developer Harry Triguboff is the latest provocateur to launch an attack on a Sydney public golf course, this time the Bondi Golf & Diggers Club.
Orna Triguboff has complained to Waverley Council about stray golf balls from the nine-hole course landing in the backyard of her multi-million-dollar home. As reported by the Nine Network, the course’s par-3 second hole is adjacent to the rear of her property. However she doesn’t live there as the land is currently a construction zone.
Oh, the hypocrisy. The daughter of the man who made a motza from building a stack of apartments with spectacular views overlooking The Australian Golf Club now has the audacity to object to a golf course bordering her $11.5 million property.
For the record, the golf course has been there since 1935. Surely you considered that, Orna, when you bought the property in 2021?
What’s the golf club meant to do? Rip up the second hole and turn Bondi Golf & Diggers into an eight-hole layout?
Harry Triguboff’s net worth is estimated at $23.8 billion and he is ranked fourth on the Financial Review Rich List of Australia’s 200 wealthiest people.
As the founder of Meriton Apartments, ‘High-rise Harry’ has built more apartments than any other Australian residential developer.
The 90-year-old entrepreneur has also been reported as saying Sydney has “too many forests and parks” and called for Australia to have a population of 100 million people.
Which brings us to his daughter Orna, the Meriton heiress.
We can assume the open green space of the Bondi golf course was an appealing feature when purchasing the property. But what if it was a suburban park? Would Orna be complaining about footballs being kicked by screaming teenagers? Or the laughter and noise from children playing on swings and slippery dips?
Orna Triguboff’s argument is straight out of the NIMBY (not in my back yard) playbook by residents who put self-interest ahead of community benefit.
If the folks at Waverley Council had any gumption or a decent sense of humour, they would erect a 25-foot-high concrete wall to prevent balls lobbing into her backyard. After all, no more Hot Dots in the backyard is the solution Orna is seeking.
Orna Triguboff’s complaint follows the attack on Moore Park Golf by NSW premier Chris Minns, who announced a decision to repurpose nine of its 18 holes for public parkland. That was a decision created purely in the shady back rooms of parliament that the voting public strongly detest.
Golf is the second-most popular sport in the country. Bondi Golf & Diggers is a much-loved public asset.
It’s about time governments started treating the game with respect and stop trying to divide the community with spurious arguments about golf’s sustainability.
