Shire Residents Emerge from 24-Hour Supermarket Lockout, Visibly Shaken but Stocked

Sandy Shores | Editor in Chief | Sutherland Shire Gazette

19 April 2025

After a gruelling 24 hours without access to major supermarkets, locals returned en masse this morning to restock the essentials.

Doors opened at 7am to find dozens already lined up, clutching keep cups and reusable bags with the haunted look of people who’d been forced to eat whatever was at the back of the fridge.

One man was spotted sleeping outside Woolies at Caringbah in a swag, his shopping bags neatly stacked beside him “like a rations drop.” He told reporters he’d run out of tzatziki around 2pm on Good Friday. “We had to eat crackers. Dry,” he said, shivering.

Many reported being “completely unprepared” for a well-publicised public holiday. “No one warned us,” said local woman Kylie-Ann, standing beside her trolley filled with twelve loaves of bread. “Well, the signs were up for two weeks, but still.”

With new ANZAC Day trading restrictions in place this year — full-day closures for major retailers — authorities are urging calm and the use of something called a “calendar.”

“Please don’t do this again,” pleaded emergency services spokesperson Geoff Brandling. “You can survive one day without baby spinach.”

Social media has been flooded with updates, with one user sharing a TikTok of a man sprinting through the carpark yelling, “Do we need wraps?! I forgot if we need wraps!”

Coles and Woolworths have confirmed stores are now fully operational, though staff are reportedly “rattled” after witnessing a grown man sprint for the last sourdough like it was the last chopper out of Saigon.

Veterans’ groups have welcomed the ANZAC Day closures, reminding locals that national sacrifice includes coping without supermarket sushi for 24 hours.

supermarket lockout shire