Balmoral Beach, Sydney: Why a photo of this picnic table has caused outrage

A photo of a sign reserving a picnic table at a popular beach has sparked anger among locals.

The sign was spotted on Saturday at Balmoral Beach, on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

‘Reserved 31/8 from 1:00 PM’, it said.

An angry resident posted a photo on social media showing another sign taped to a second table nearby.

Social media users called the act “unacceptable” and a “dictionary example of entitlement.”

“Yes, no, we can’t reserve public tables,” someone wrote.

‘If you want it, you put in the effort and sit there all day from 8 in the morning.’

A spokesperson for Mosman Council told Daily Mail Australia that the council ‘does not take bookings for picnic tables and does not promote the use of them’.

A sign requiring a public picnic table to be reserved on a North Sydney beach (pictured) has sparked anger from locals, who described it as a ‘dictionary example of rights’

Jimbo, another 2GB resident, called Ben Fordham on Monday morning to express his anger over the signs which he described as an affront to “old-fashioned decency”.

Jimbo said he was “pretty annoyed” by the act and told Fordham he would try “not to swear” during the live broadcast.

“Imagine walking into a park and wanting to have a picnic at one of these taxpayer-funded tables where you can enjoy a picnic in a democratic way. And when you get there, you see this sign,” he said.

“It’s like putting a ‘private property’ sign on the steps of the Opera House or charging an entrance fee to Bondi Beach.”

‘What’s going to happen now? Will there be time slots to walk on the grass? Will the swings be off-limits?’

Other locals said they would feel better if there was a thank you note on the sign or if it was for a “super important event” like a wedding.