"What an embarrassing effort”: Locals furious over "pathetic" Christmas tree
Locals in the coastal NSW town of Forster are furious over a "pathetic" Christmas tree that was decorated by the council.
In an attempt to spread Christmas cheer, the local council haphazardly threw lights over a huge Christmas tree in the middle of town, prompting outrage from the community.
One local posted a photo of the tree to Facebook, insinuating the tree looks like it was decorated by "Mr Squiggle", while tagging the council in the post to ensure they saw the complaint.
“This is absolutely pathetic, what an embarrassing effort,” they wrote.
“Not that I expect anything less from our council, but this needs to stop. Keep in mind before reading — the Mr. Squiggle effort took three days to complete."
“There is nothing that screams neglect and lack of interest more than an unthoughtful, rushed, ugly, non-Christmassy, rope light installation on arguably one of the most noticeable trees in the entire Forster-Tuncurry."
The poster then compared a Christmas tree from another year with the recent one, and asked whether this is the best that the council could create.
“Is that really the best the creative minds at the council can come up with? A bit of rope light dangling out of a tree?” they asked.
Other locals flocked to the post and agreed with the sentiment, sharing their disappointment in the Christmas tree.
“It honestly would have been better off not being done at all … it’s a hideous mess,” wrote one.
“Our beautiful paradise deserves a lot more so ugly such a disaster effort,” a local wrote.
“How embarrassing for the town.”
The local council caught wind of the disappointment from locals and posted a response to the matter on its website a day later.
It said its staff were not “professional tree decorators” and pointed out that this “comes at a cost”.
“MidCoast Council is aware of the community comment on social media on the Christmas decorations installed on an iconic tree in Forster,” the statement read.
“Council’s Director of Liveable Communities, Paul De Szell, said that while the lighting might not be appreciated by some in the community, even the small amount of decorating comes at a cost."
The council then said that in years to come, locals will be able to have their say for the town's Christmas decorations, with the website stating, "Some sections of the community appear to be very passionate about the lighting and this will give them the opportunity to be involved in the decisions around it."
“Providing Christmas lighting is not a core service of Council, or something we have expert skills in, hence the decision to allow the community the opportunity to take ownership of the lighting going forward.”
Image credits: Facebook