Locals divided as tea house set to disappear A TUSSLE is brewing at Maylands Peninsula, with locals divided over plans to turn the old Tranby tea gardens into a pizza bar. The WA National Trust owns Peninsula Farms, co-named Wu-ru Woorat, where an operator ran a tea room in the smaller caretaker building west of…

JOHN KEENE is used to raising the bar (youngest Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellow, Australian Chamber Orchestra emerging artist), and this weekend he’ll hit new heights by juggling the roles of soloist and conductor with the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra. The young double bassist has already stamped his mark on the national classical music scene and when borders…

PERTH council workers won’t be surveyed about their job satisfaction this year, despite a recommendation from the state inquiry for a survey within three months of the October 2020 council elections. The inquiry wanted a close eye kept on cultural improvements, noting only 44 per cent of Perth council employees in the 2017 survey thought their workplace was “free…

FREE THE BEARS is holding a quiz to raise funds for their rescue efforts after Covid cut off a funding source.  The group was founded by Stirling resident Mary Sutton after a 1993 tv program about bears being farmed for bile. About 1000 have since been rescued, earning Dr Sutton an Order of Australia medal…

AN archaeological survey is underway at Peninsula Farms April 4 to 10. The National Trust brought in UWA archaeology students and staff to document the landscape and plan future conservation and interpretive works.  They were assisted by the uni’s Centre for Forensic Anthropology, bringing in ground penetrating radar last week trying to identify the original building…

HERITAGE PERTH WEEKEND is back across April 16 to 18 with a new focus on Noongar history. Now in its 11th year, Perth council’s weekend of exploring notable buildings and sites has been co-named Boorloo Kwedjang Bardip Yanginy, meaning Perth Old Story Sharing. Lord mayor Basil Zempilas said in a statement: “With the guidance of…

IN this instalment of Lost Vincent, the City of Vincent Local History Centre brings us the story of the Premier Theatre & Gardens, Stirling and Bulwer Streets, Perth. THE Premier Theatre was built in 1925 on the corner of Stirling and Bulwer streets in Perth.  Its early history was closely connected to the East Perth…

THE former caretaker of Hostel Milligan is concerned there’s no fire alarms or detectors in place to proof the building against another blaze, and the council doesn’t require any.  Tony Ransom ran the hostel there until the owners, Singapore-based Fragrance Group, ceased his lease in 2019 to make way for a double-tower redevelopment that’s yet…

Vincent mayor Emma Cole, Mary Charlton, Mia Pitassi and Helen Ingman from Tools n Things Library, and Andrea Freeman from Vincent’s parks team get ready for the yearly Vincent native plant sale, which is back at North Perth Common April 17. Vincent’s bringing in 5000 native tube stocks and a forest of trees. Vincent residents…

Daisy Tjuparntarri Ward is helping the Yogazeit team plan a program for remote Aboriginal communities. YOGA and mindfulness will be taught in western desert WA Aboriginal communities in an effort to combat high rates of depression and anxiety. Freo-based not-for-profit Yogazeit has brought in Ngaanyatjarra elder Daisy Tjuparntarri Ward to help plan the culturally-appropriate sessions…