For generations of Northern Beaches residents, the Bilgola Bends signs have marked birthdays, weddings, homecomings and other personal milestones along Barrenjoey Road between Newport and Avalon, but the disappearance of many ageing displays has reopened debate over how the tradition should be maintained.
The handwritten and painted messages have appeared along the winding stretch for decades, with signs known to have been placed there since at least the 1970s.
Over the years, they have celebrated engagements, anniversaries, declarations of love, family occasions and returning travellers. Some residents have recalled reading them while growing up in the area, while others remember putting up signs for their own family milestones or seeing them on trips towards Palm Beach.
For those residents, the signs became a familiar feature of the drive through the Northern Beaches.
Bilgola Bends Signs Prompt Mixed Reactions
Support for the tradition has not removed concerns about how long individual signs remain in place.
Recent community discussion included complaints about signs that had faded, fallen to the ground, turned around or remained beside the road long after the occasion they marked.
Some residents said older signs had become untidy or contributed to litter along the bends. Others raised concerns about nails and staples being left on power poles.
Even among those who supported the tradition, a recurring view was that people who put up signs should remove them within a reasonable period.
Residents described enjoying newer messages while objecting to displays that remained for months or years. Others recalled the signs as part of the area’s character and a familiar feature when travelling north.
The discussion has therefore centred not only on whether the signs should remain, but also on how the tradition is looked after.
Mystery Remains Over Recent Removal
The latest disappearance of signs has added another element to the long-running discussion.
Ausgrid said it had not directed workers to remove signs from the Bilgola Bends and had received no official public complaints about them. The electricity distributor also said attaching signs or posters to power poles is illegal.
NBC said its cleansing team had not removed them, while Transport for NSW, which maintains Barrenjoey Road as a state road, also denied taking them down.
Who removed the signs remains unclear.
There has been an earlier documented removal. A photograph from July 2011 showed a ranger from the former Pittwater Council taking down a sign from the bends.
Tradition Continues Near Avalon
Despite the recent clean-up, the roadside custom has not disappeared.
At least three new signs appeared near the roundabout at the northern end of the Bilgola Bends in the past week.
Their return follows decades of residents using the stretch between Newport and Avalon to mark occasions that might otherwise have remained private, while the continuing debate has focused on ensuring old signs do not remain long after those moments have passed.
Published 5-August-2026
