Hail Shatters Garden Peace
May 3, 1999
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Just one of the Navy cars
hit by the storm. POMTD Paul Grant inspects the hail damage on a
Navy car in the transport compound near Garden Island.
Picture: ABPH Damian Pawlenko |
Dozens of cars, trucks and buses owned by Defence were peppered by the cricket ball sized balls of ice, while many also had windscreens shattered.
Lady Gowrie House, a sailors accommodation at Bondi, had its basement flooded and the sodden carpets now need to be replaced.
The Executive Officer of KUTTABUL, LCDR Shane Moore, said: "We had a broken window here at KUTTABUL and our cars were damaged,"
Off base the private cars and homes of civilian and uniformed employees were damaged. Mr Max Formann, the Navy's Sydney transport manager said: " Thirty eight cars, trucks and buses were damaged and the damage bill will be between $250,000 and $260,000."
He said repairing dents will cost between $5,000 and $7,000 each vehicle.
"Then we have 12 vehicles with bad windscreen damage which puts us down 12 cars."
He said it would be some weeks before the windscreens are replaced because the screens had to be made, due to such high demand. In addition a number of Navy buses suffered roof dents.
Mr Formann said the vehicles were hit in an arc throughout Sydney's eastern suburbs including Garden Island.
The roof of Maritime Headquarters was damaged as were structures in and around Garden Island with skylights and windows broken, a fully inventory is still being done. PENGUIN had minor damage with a broken window, WATSON and Endeavour House were okay, but there was damage to Lady Gowrie.
Defence facilities of Victoria Barracks suffered $800,000 damage while Sydney's overall damage bill from the storm is expected to be around the billion dollar mark.
By Graham Davis