Artist Hanif Wondir stepped up when his neighbor asked for help. Photo: Hanif Wondir
A boat owner was issued a trespass notice by the council after complaints about his boat parked in the driveway put the matter in the hands of his neighbour, with an epic payback.
The homeowner’s ‘brazen’ response to council rules struck a chord, with many Aussies facing similar battles with councils over boats, caravans, trailers and unregistered vehicles parked on homes, grass verges or on the street for months.
The move fell under rules to improve the area’s ‘visual amenities’ – so the homeowner did just that and then outwitted his council and the complainant – by including another neighbour, mural artist, Hanif Wondir, in his payback plan.
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The mural created by Hanif Wondir for his neighbor. Photo: Hanif Wondir
The boat is still hidden behind the new fence/gate in the driveway, but you can’t miss it if you try now. Photo: Hanif Wondir
Mr Wondir said he was called in to paint a hyper-realistic mural of the boat directly onto the new fence and gate, to ensure that anyone passing by – including the complainant – could still see exactly what was behind the new structure.
“My neighbor has a marine vessel that he parks on the side of his house,” he said. “He received a letter from the municipality stating that he had to build a new fence to hide the ship from view from the street.”
“After reluctantly building the fence and driveway, he presented me with a bold idea that required my artistic skills.”
The painting was a detailed optical illusion of the house, driveway and vessel – so convincing it was as if the council’s decision never existed.
“A painting of a boat in a driveway next to a house on a fence in front of a boat in a driveway next to a house,” Mr. Wondir calls the artwork.
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The hyper-realistic mural makes many people look twice. Photo: Hanif Wondir
He even shared a timelapse of the project, which took “a few days” to complete.
The illusion has fooled every passer-by, with one admitting they “at first thought it was a plastic clear fence.”
“This was a fun one, I even got my son to help,” Mr Wondir added.
Even officials reportedly saw the funny side after the artwork appeared on national television – when a city worker visited to take photos and congratulate the homeowner.
“The neighborhood is laughing,” Wondir said.
This comes as opposition grows to boats taking over suburbs, with the Sunshine Coast Council receiving a petition calling for the enforcement of existing regulations to crack down on the “unofficial camping” of residents’ belongings on suburban streets.
No solution was provided as to where the owners of these vehicles, boats or trailers could park, but the petition was submitted and a motion passed related to it – requiring the council’s CEO to determine appropriate measures to address the issues raised by residents.
At least one Aussie council, Noosa Shire, is offering trailer parking to boat owners close to the water, to prevent boats from being blown up in the suburbs. It said: “While parking a registered boat trailer on local streets is legal, long-term parking on busy roads is discouraged.”
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A humble homeowner now has the most epic gate a boat owner could wish for.
The attention to detail has led some to believe the gate is clear plastic. Photo: Hanif Wondir
In the case of Mr Wondir’s neighbour, it was deemed that large trailers of boats did not contribute to the “visual experience” of the homeowner’s street, with municipal authorities ordering the man to build a fence to hide his fishing boat, which was not parked on the street, but in the driveway next to his house.
On the Gold Coast, a community site has been flooded with complaints, with one resident disgusted by neighbors putting out orange cones on the street “so their almost 60-year-old son can always park his boat and trailer on the street”.
She said that when workers parked there, he “lost so much because ‘his spot’ was taken on the street that he even nudged the worker with the bull bar on his car as the worker walked across the street to the house being renovated. Almost turned into fist cuffs. The best part was that it was all caught on the camera of the renovated house.”
Hanif Wondir even involved his son in the mural.
According to Jade Boat Loans, the battle for boats parked on properties across Australia is playing out even worse – with rules varying widely between councils and states – some allowing ‘mooring’ on the streets indefinitely (provided they are less than 7.5 meters high and registered), while others require them to be moved every 24 hours or banned from the streets entirely.
In NSW they must be moved every 28 days (registered) or 15 days (unregistered) if the trailer is parked on the street,
Victoria, ACT, Queensland and Tasmania allow unlimited parking if under 7.5 meters and registered with a one-hour limit if larger.
WA and SA have the strictest rules, with many councils requiring boats to be linked to vehicles and moved every 24 hours, or not allowing residential parking at all, while in NT the rules are set by individual councils based on the Australian Road Rules.
They recommend that all boat owners check with their municipality about the rules for parking their trailer on the street or even in their driveway.
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