A RECENT walk for Coffs Harbour locals Jenny Rodwell and Denise Walsh took the pair over a footbridge in a forested area behind the Showground.

The bridge bears a plaque naming it Wendy Hall Bridge, a fact that piqued the interest of the pedestrians.

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“Wondering who she was I searched the internet,” Jenny told News Of The Area.

“I then contacted the council to find out what contribution she had made to Coffs Harbour that was the basis of the honour of having a bridge named after her.”

She was told that Wendy was a respected member of the council staff who had passed away.

She was described by a council colleague as a nice person.

“This raised several questions for me.

“Who was Wendy Hall?

“And what is council’s policy of naming infrastructure?”

Armed with a Coffs Collections photo of Wendy, taken in the 1990s, with the then Member for Coffs Harbour, Andrew Fraser, NOTA placed a call to the former pollie.

“Wendy was the Tourism Officer/Manager for Coffs Harbour Council in the 1990s, the best I’ve ever known,” Andrew told News Of The Area.

“She was vibrant, a pocket rocket and always had a smile on her face.”

According to Andrew she lived, breathed and ate her job and it was impossible not to get onboard with her promotions.

“I just couldn’t say no if she asked me to support one of her events.”

Andrew recalls fondly a promo she ran with little wooden spinning tops.

“I’ve still got mine – it was for a promotion: Coffs Harbour Is Tops.”

Former mayor and Coffs Harbour’s longest serving councillor, Keith Rhoades told NOTA, “I absolutely loved Wendy.

“She was amazing at staging events and was the person who organised the June 1994 opening ceremony for Coffs Stadium, now known as the C.ex Coffs International Stadium.

“It was a mammoth task which turned out to be a six-hour event entertaining the Coffs Harbour community.”

Keith recalls why the bridge was built in the first place.

“The bridge came about because we needed access for foot traffic from the Showground to the CBD, otherwise we had to come out the front and walk along the highway and come in to town that way.”

A bridge went in and there was a request to council to name it in honour of Wendy and all the wonderful things she did for the city.

The plaque adjacent to the structure notes the bridge is the final link in the Coffs Creek Walk and was officially opened by the then Mayor John Smith, on 4 September 1999.

Wendy Hall passed away through cancer.

City of Coffs Harbour has a Reserve Naming and Memorial Policy explained on its website.

Essentially members of the public can apply for the naming of infrastructure after a person.

There is criteria to ensure an equitable approach as seen on the City of Coffs Harbour website.

By Andrea FERRARI