For over four decades I have been a rail and bus photographer.
However, during this time I have aimed the lens at other subjects, be they different transportation, scenery, buildings and other bollocks.
Given these do not really fit the scope of my other sites, I felt compelled to set up a new site so as to inflict my other photographic garbage upon the world. While primarily Philippine and Australian content, there will be the occasional forays into Fiji and Hong Kong. Perhaps other locations should the current pandemic ever allow it.
So sit back and enjoy, or hate, even be indifferent. That choice is purely up to you.
Farewell to the decrepitude of Eastlakes Shopping Centre
Part 5 - Bye McDonalds
Welcome to the fifth installment.
A little south of Sydney, nestled deep in the bosom of Eastlakes, once stood a shopping centre so gloriously shabby it felt less like neglect and more like an act of quiet rebellion. While shiny new malls were popping up across the suburbs like overachieving mushrooms—packed with designer stores, $12 smoothies and the warm emotional charm of a corporate waiting room—this one stubbornly refused to modernise. Mostly because no one cared enough to stop it. Until now.
Built in 1964 (peak brown-tile era, when hope was optional), the Lakes Shopping Centre was dropped smack in the middle of what used to be a racecourse. Because obviously, the natural evolution of thoroughbred horses is discount retail and a fish shop with a smell you never quite forget.
Surrounded by an endless ocean of red-brick sameness, the centre was many things: a relic, a community hub, a luxury pigeon resort, and an architectural cry for help. But for me, it was personal. Armed with a camera and an unhealthy fondness for decaying buildings, I set out to document its demolition—because nothing screams “emotional closure” quite like watching your childhood get crushed by an excavator in glorious 4K.
I used to come here with my grandparents, mostly for McDonald’s. It was a sacred monthly pilgrimage involving Big Macs and, on one unforgettable occasion, mild but character-building food poisoning. So when the mall’s fate was sealed, I did what any reasonable, slightly unhinged nostalgic adult would do: I started a blog series nobody asked for—but, mercifully, some people seem to enjoy.
This thrilling instalment opens with the final demise of the old Eastlakes McDonald’s as it is lovingly reduced to rubble. A heroic six-hour vigil on November 12th saw me waiting for the front to come down, marking the end of the last retail chapter on the site.
As December rolled in, only two stubborn survivors remained: the switch room building and the nearby trolley bay on the lower car park level. At the time of writing, they were believed to have about two months left.
Note: With the demolition work now nearing its end, it is unlikely there will be updates at the current monthly frequency. However, there has been some developments that will hopefully see us able to continue to cover this exciting retail (and residential) project as it progresses.
A huge thank you to the team at Moits for your support, encouragement, and friendship. Have never met a better team of people.
With progress on McDonalds moving fast, this was the first time I returned in the afternoon for a second visit.
Fascinating to watch as each portion of McDonalds is brought down with everything being expertly separated by the excavator for recycling.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and thirteen below
the excavator for recycling.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Above and below.
With some rather strong winds blowing, Sydney's east-west runway was put into use. This always gives the opportunity for some planes (another hobby) as part of the demolition photo mix.
This is Sichuan Airlines B-306N wearing its special 'Panda Route' livery.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Separating metal type products from the other guff..
This was to be my biggest day at the worksite, hanging around from 9am till 3pm just in case the front of the old McDonalds was reached and brought down.
Which it turned out happened around 2ish.
With photos today numbering 141, it was also the biggest amount of shots taken on the one day. Even more so than my tour through the mall during demolition.
I ain't going to bore you with all of them, but the ones below will be quite extensive.
I headed down around lunch time to get the latest shots and to attend the Moits BBQ event which I was generously invited to.
A great chance to catch up with not only the wonderful Moits guys in a more social environment, but also some who are part of the next stage (construction).
Refilling the sprinkler truck.
I finally managed a shot of this one filling up. I always seemed to catch the other one :-)
Photo: Brad Peadon
BBQ area barriered off as it is an operational worksite.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and below.
Moits even have their own BBQ trailer which is pretty cool.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Above and six below.
Maurice is busy removing the timber part at the rear of the old Maccas.
Photos: Brad Peadon
This impressive beast turns up to collect another load of stuff from the site.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Above and four below.
Had the absolute pleasure of meeting Mr Stephen Gardener who has been sharing elevated photos and videos of the work as it progresses.
Below are four images are of the spectacular image he enjoys.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Looking south-west over the site and it is looking pretty barren now.
Below: Before.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Panoramic looking south-east.
Photos: Brad Peadon
BBQ Time
Finally got to meet the other Moit brother, Michael.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Yummy is an understatement.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Cool BBQ setup. I really need one of these :-).
Photos: Brad Peadon
Group photo showing Team Moits, people from the upcoming construction phase, a couple of local friends and yours truly.
Background shows the old switch room, the last real part of the centre to still remain'
Photo: Moits Employee who's name I didn't get.
Great setup. I mean, who can possibly say no to a sausage sizzle?
Photos: Brad Peadon
Me, Maurice, Shane, and Nick.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Thanks to Moits for putting this wonderful BBQ lunch on.
Todays work was mostly digging up some of the thick foundation at the south end of the former multilevel carpark.
Above and ten below
Work commences on breaking up some of the carpark foundation down the south end.
One excavator jackhammering the concrete, with the other cutting a line into it. A good portion of the south-east corner of the foundation was lifted by the next day.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Cutting (if that's the correct term) into that concrete.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Toowoomba?
We be a long way from that lovely Queensland locale.
Removal of the three level carpark foundation had begun with a good portion at the south end. While a very small start on the McDonalds foundation was also noted to have been done..
Above and seven below.
The south-east corner of the carpark foundation has been brought up and the refuse is being sorted.
Photos: Brad Peadon
A bit of a start had been made on the McDonalds foundation.
While taking thee usual shots around Eastlakes I heard a loud bang and saw the Moits guys all heading towards the old McDonalds. Seems a rather large truck decided, for whatever reason, to use Racecourse to get to Maloney Street. He hit a tree near the Maccas bringing a huge branch down that was big enough to have cause serious injury. Glad I wasn't there a minute later than I was. If not bad enough, the truck driver just took off towards Maloney 🙁 Full points to the Moits guys for coming out straight away and helping with the resultant traffic mess.
I've never been much of a fan of buses that have come since the 90s, but these new ones are a special sort of ugly.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Foreground is the former carpark under the office block. It was next in line for going.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Ground Test truck going about its business in the middle of the site.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Curious onlooker.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and eight below
A bit of unplanned excitement as a large truck strangely decided to use Evans Ave to get to Maloney Street, rather than just going there directly.
He took out a part of the tree near the roundabout, bringing it crashing down. Luckily nobody was underneath, something that is quite normal for that time of day 😟
Thankfully Team Moits were quickly on the scene helping direct traffic safely around it.
Sadly the truck driver (seen below) thought it a good idea to take off quick smart.
All trace of where McDonalds was located is virtually wiped out.
A new truck has been on site the last couple of days. With 'Ground Test' signage on it, I can only assume it is resting soil quality or contamination. Confirmation of this would be great.
It was otherwise somewhat quieter this morning.
Above and four below.
A closer look at the ground test truck this morning.
Whatever they were testing, was via the hole cut in the concrete below.
Work had again moved to the north end, with it being the turn of the old carpark area under the offices getting ripped up and trucks noted continuing the effort to haul it all away.
Above and seven below.
Breaking up the massive slabs of carpark foundation.
Have to admit to being a bit lazy. This weather does little to motivate me. Went down earlier this morning. Not unlike the last visit, they continued to dig out the rear of the site, and the foundation from up the Evans Ave end down towards the old carpark.
Douglas Partners is an Australian, employee-owned engineering consultancy specialising in geotechnical, environmental, groundwater, rock mechanics, geophysics, earthworks and materials-testing services. The firm traces its origins back to the early 1960s (initially as part of a piling company) and was formally established as Douglas Partners in 1983.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Some more Eastlakes wildlife.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and two below.
Foundation of former carpark still being removed with another fortnight worth of work likely before all gone.
Photo: Brad Peadon
TRACE Environmental is a boutique Australian environmental-consulting firm founded in 2014, specialising in contaminated-land and groundwater assessment and remediation.
They offer a wide range of services — from site investigation / environmental site assessments and contamination testing through to remediation and project-management — tailored to each client rather than using one-size-fits-all solutions.
Their clients span many sectors including property/real estate, construction, infrastructure, oil and gas, transport, government, manufacturing and more.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and two below.
Rockwell Drilling Services is an Australian drilling contractor established in 2011 that provides geotechnical, environmental, mineral-resource and exploration drilling services along the east coast and in parts of the South Pacific.
rockwelldrilling.com.au
They deploy a fleet of rigs — including small, low-headroom/limited-access rigs and larger exploration & deep-hole rigs — allowing them to undertake a wide range of projects from tight-space site investigations to large-scale mineral and coal exploration and deep-hole drilling.
rockwelldrilling.com.au
Their services include drilling for geotechnical investigations, mineral and coal exploration, groundwater monitoring wells, wireline coring, reverse-circulation, air-core drilling, instrumentation installation and specialized capabilities like over-water or underground drilling when required.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Having fueled up the excavators, the Moits fuel truck heads off again.
Really not a huge amount to report rather than the ongoing breaking up and removal of the carpark foundation. A big job taking over a couple of weeks.
The downstairs trolley bay is a true survivor, being one of the last two surviving structures on the site. It is assumed, but not confirmed, that it has some electrical link to the switch room that has this held up also.
Carpark foundation continues to be removed, as does more ground testing. As can be seen from the map below, the vast majority of the site has now been removed, with nothing but sand left.
Above and two below
The ripping up and removal of the carpark foundation has been a big job in itself. Photos: Brad Peadon
Temporary site office has been moved up to the Evans Avenue entrance so the carpark foundation underneath could be removed. Photo: Brad Peadon
Looking south-west across the site from Evans and Barber Avenue corner. Photo: Brad Peadon
Terratest Drilling. Former east side loading dock area.
Terratest is a long-established Australian site-investigation and drilling company, with roots going back to the early 1960s. Headquartered in the Sydney area, they operate across multiple states including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT. Over more than six decades they’ve built a reputation as one of the major players in geotechnical and environmental drilling on the east coast.
Their core work revolves around geotechnical drilling for construction and infrastructure projects, along with environmental drilling for contamination and groundwater investigations. They also undertake sonic drilling, water bore drilling, non-destructive digging and specialised borehole imaging and geophysical logging. With a large and varied fleet of drilling rigs — from compact urban-access machines to heavy-duty sonic rigs — they’re able to work on everything from tight inner-city sites to major civil infrastructure projects.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and four below More drilling tests going on around the site. Photos: Brad Peadon
The old fancier fencing that was put around the Chinese Shrine that went by December 10th. Photos: Brad Peadon
Please note: With the old Eastlakes shopping mall now almost completely reduced to dust and nostalgia, and the next stage of construction lumbering into action, our updates are likely to become a little less frequent than the near-religious monthly schedule we’ve heroically maintained.
But fear not! Stay tuned for further developments…
