Opinion

Blogs

Taree, Kempsey or Coffs?

No doubt about it, the Mid-North Coast is a great place to holiday, mostly free of the freneticism that is part of city life. Aah, your mind turns to Hawks Nest, Harrington, Crescent Head, South West Rocks, Nambucca and maybe even Forster and Port Macquarie. You're unwinding already.

But there's a dark side and, as I write in The Herald today (Monday), that's in the three main depot towns many holiday makers must visit to restock the camping fridge and replace camping gear. Those depot towns are Taree, Kempsey and Coffs Harbour, and as you know no-one in their right mind would contemplate even an overnight stay in any of them.

The dark side is the tattooed class that pollutes the shopping centres and main streets of these towns as graffiti on legs. The year 2008 was a year of abundance for these people, with the baby bonus hitting $5000 and Rudd's end-of-year handout, and the result was nothing short of visual assault when I was in each of the three depot towns in early January. The tattooed class has always milled about in these places, waiting for a welfare cheque or a new victim, but suddenly they're milling about in numbers that threaten social takeover!

Which is the Mid-North Coast's tattoo capital? In my column today I opt for Coffs Harbour, which thankfully is the most distant from my home town of Newcastle, and one of the reasons is the grotesqueness of the tattooed women. At Coffs women seem to find life's achievement in idiotic motifs that dip into and out of fat folds or sit like a scab on a fat, shapeless upper arm. Arrrgh!

What's your vote for the tattoo capital?

Posted By: Jeff Corbett on 6/02/2009 3:54:37 PM | Comments (148)

comments

Date: Newest first | Oldest first

Jeff from the vitriol spewing forth from your keyboard since your return to work, i dont think your holiday did you much good in terms of relaxing. i can only think that maybe someone gave you a christmas present you didn't like or maybe you didnt get one at all and so have a general 'hate' on for everyone. go for a bike ride in your lycra and i'm sure you'll feel better or what about a lay around in the chook pen? that might help. there is probably some treatment available - an appointment at the doctors could be the answer.

Posted by senior sergeant smith, 6/02/2009 6:45:39 PM

What a load of rubbish your labeling a lot of people here. Not wise words "Tattooed People" go suck on a lemon you idiot I have several tattoo's but still work my ass off,raise a child and earn over 80.000 per year, and never hang out around shopping centers waiting for a government payment .... or praying on people the label the people your referring to should be "uncared for as children" or "people raised from drunk or drugged up parents (if any at all)" or better yet "societies rejects the government prefers not to acknowledge" or even still "the kid everyone picked on at school" point being we as teachers and parents have a duty of care to raise our children properly, and when we don't things like this 'loitering" happen. hence my real point I was raised properly have tattoos and do NOT do this and I also come from taree.

Posted by Tammy, 6/02/2009 6:53:38 PM

Couldn't agree more Jeff. No doubt you will get a lot of outrage from the "inked idiots" who will cry "it says who I am" etc etc. What it really says is that they have brains the size of pimples and the self- esteem of a wart hog. The worst of the lot have the "Tramp Brand" at the top of their bum. Yuk.

Posted by kimo, 6/02/2009 7:01:32 PM

I earn $100,000 a year and have tattoos, your a touch narrow minded arent you. I now live and work in China where there are few tattoos if any, tattoos are not just for the downtrodden and oppressed, or as you would put it the dole bludger, but also for the hard working windswept and interesting international traveler/worker. Get a real job, better still get a tattoo

Posted by suzhousid, 6/02/2009 9:51:59 PM

Taree, Kempsey and perhaps Coffs Harbour have a strong dairying history which was significantly curtailed by deregulation of the industry in 2000. Turnips, Mammoth Purple Tops, in particular, were once a common crop for the dairy cows with the forage on top being the major value of the crop. The cows would scavenge for the turnip itself which was just under the ground once they had "acquired" a taste for the turnip. They could gorge themselves swallowing the turnip whole and it was common for the turnip to become lodged in the cow's wind pipe. One farmer said he kept 2 house bricks in the dairy so he could smash the lodged turnip saving the cow from choking.

Posted by chaff and oats, 6/02/2009 11:32:12 PM

I just laugh at people with tatts as it's just so pathetic. 10 years ago the only people who had tatts were strippers, bogans and crooks. Suddenly tattoos have become the latest fad because Britney and Christina have one. Just wait till the next group of celebrites declare tattoos to be yuck and watch the rush to the laser clinics. Still why should we be surprised it's obvious tatts are for the stupid. Knowing how I feel about tattoos a friend once emailed me an AMERICAN SURVEY: If you have a tattoo statically you are

Not only less likely to have a university degree but less likely to have even finished high school.

More likely to use drugs.

More likely to have a criminal record and have been to prison.

More likely to be unemployed and if you are employed more likely to be in the bottom third of wage earners.

This is the company that you’re associating yourself with. You may want to think about that before you get angry at those of us who think less of tattooed people. If you’re going to mark yourself with their colours then you can’t blame us for thinking that you belong with them. If you want to argue the statistic of the survey may I suggest that you spend some time in your local Housing Commission ghetto and count the number of tattooed people first. One more interesting statistic for the girls is that tattooed women are more likely to be gay.

Posted by Brando, 7/02/2009 7:39:55 AM

Yeh,why do the youth of today try to make themselves so unattractive. Is it a statement.........a statement of what ? There is no pride in looking ugly. Is it gang related ? clan related ? Idiot related ?

Posted by Survivor, 7/02/2009 9:26:39 AM

my vote is Raymond Terrace

Posted by Bundabahdave , 7/02/2009 9:51:33 AM

Mayfield/Windale are an even bet.

Posted by boogie man, 7/02/2009 10:06:30 AM