A new fence is being built at Wedding Cake Rock to stop people climbing it

11 December 2018

Wedding Cake Rock is to get a bigger fence, in the latest attempt by officials to stop selfie seekers at the popular site.

A group of visitors sitting on Wedding Cake Rock, pictured in December 2014, prior to the landmark’s closure to the public. — A group of visitors sitting on Wedding Cake Rock in December 2014, prior to the landmark’s closure to the public.

Earlier this year it was reported Police had been called in to assist the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) with enforcement at the site in Sydney's Royal National Park, in a bid to discourage people from climbing the existing 1.6-metre-high fence.

However even the police presence, large warning signs and threats of $3300 fines appear to have done little to stop thousands of social media users continuing to put their lives at risk by taking photos at the site. The hashtag #weddingcakerock has racked up more than 25,000 tags on Instagram.

With the deterents failing the NPWS have now admitted defeat, revealing they have 'been forced' to build an even bigger and more robust fence at the site.

"We are looking at a variety of fencing designs and materials, at an additional cost to taxpayers, in an effort to deter those who are disobeying warning signs and climbing over the fence," a NPWS spokeswoman told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"We are assessing fence designs which are proven to be more difficult to climb, using more robust materials, whilst retaining a similar fence height. The new fence will be installed next year."

According to the NPWS spokesperson, 13 on-the-spot $300 fines had been issued since April 2016, with numerous other verbal warnings issued in the last two years.

Wedding Cake Rock is particularly unstable, with a 2015 geotechnical survey revealing it could collapse at any time.

"We are calling on people to think about the consequences of their actions, the impact an accident would have on themselves, their family and friends and the emergency services people who put their lives at risk to undertake dangerous cliff rescues and retrievals," the NPWS spokeswoman said.

Collapse or not, the site is already notorious. In November 2015 two men had to be rescued after one fell from the rock and landed on a precarious ledge metres below, and in April 2017 Shazia Edah-Tally, 19, fell to her death close to the location.