The café culture took over Bondi in the 80s, a decade that saw rents double and school enrolments halve. In 1977, there were 1000 children attending Bondi Public School. Fifteen years later, the number had dropped to 250. The newcomers were steadily changing the character of the place. Fox Studios took over the Show Ground and Bondi Beach became a haven for wannabes. The higher cost of living displaced many locals to neighbouring suburbs or else further along the coast. Suddenly, the “locals” of Bondi were the café goers, who seldom stepped foot on the beach, let alone entered the surf. The surf had become a backdrop for a steady stream of traffic, with the occasional sports car purring past envious onlookers.

Dan Webber