Next to the lake was a sign: ‘Warning - water!’ Our Nanny State has gone too far

June 18, 2026 — 5:00pm

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The world is a frightening place. To get away from it all for a few sweet hours, my partner and I slipped into the Rippon Lea gardens – part of the magnificent Victorian-era estate in inner Melbourne. I wasn’t expecting to be jolted out of my relaxation by one overblown warning after another.

On arrival, the ticket-seller warned us that part of the garden was taped off from the public while the Bunya trees were shedding their pinecones. These bastards (the cones) can grow up to 10 kilograms. They’re as big as a football but were one to plop on the head of, say, your favourite footballer, it’d be enough to wipe them out for the season. Or just wipe them out.

But then there was a sign near the entrance telling us to watch our step along the tracks due to the Ficus macrophylla, which grows tree roots like a dog’s hind leg. (My partner, a botanist, talks like this in the great outdoors.)

Another sign further along the track did nothing to lighten the vibe. Propped in front of a great big fig minding its own........

© WA Today