The Old Patonga Store

Near the Hawkesbury River

In a corner of Broken Bay

Lies the Village of Patonga

A place they used to say

Was a little slice of heaven

Perched beside the sea

But no longer is Patonga

The place it used to be.

For the dollar's come to town

And in its usual way

It's tearing down our memories

Getting rid of yesterday

The general store is gone

Now a pub stands on the site

And it's open every morning

And it's open late at night.

The tourists come in droves

To sip their Chardonnays

And gaze upon the beach

Where we spent our childhood days

But they don't know what they're seeing

And they don't know what was done

Or how our town was changed

To profit just someone!

We said it couldn't happen

The council said it could

The Mayor declared it "Progress"

And of course that is always good

We asked what would happen

If our heritage disappeared

The council said "Don't worry"

And the developers all cheered.

Our town became afflicted

By the dreadful "Dollar Grubs"

Which have a nasty habit

Of turning General Stores into Pubs

They said it was the future

There was no need to "carry on"

But when we turned around

Our way of life was gone!

Now in amongst the "Beemers"

The Mercedes and the like

Perhaps you'll see an old bloke

Quietly riding on his bike

He thinks he's going fishing

But he is do something more

He's pedalling into history

Just like the old Patonga Store.

Email, 15 Jan 2010 Vic Jefferies, St Hubert's Island