THE Noongar name Kaal Yimniny (fire here) has been endorsed for Perth council’s upcoming Hay Street public space. More Aboriginal language names are also on the cards at the urging of state Aboriginal affairs minister Ben Wyatt.  The draft working name for the space just in front of the district court was “Irwin Street Plaza”.  The…

THE East Perth Power Station also has a fiery new Noongar name;  its redevelopment is be known as Koomba Kalark.  The name “place of the big fire” references the site’s former use as a power station, rather than any local tradition. Premier Mark McGowan said in May 2019 he wanted any redevelopment to have some…

PERTH city council’s new CEO will be Michelle Reynolds, currently CEO of the Rottnest Island Authority. Ms Reynolds is due to start August 4 when current CEO Murray Jorgensen’s contract ends. The commissioners sitting in for an elected council are happy with Mr Jorgensen’s work but from the beginning he was intended to be a…

Poison lake kills ducks HYDE PARK’S birdlife is suffering a botulism outbreak, with more than 50 dead birds collected so far and 20 taken away for intensive care. Botulism outbreaks are common at this time of year but this has been a bad one at Hyde Park. The bacterium paralyses the birds and in bad…

WITH no Dawn Service and no veteran’s march this Anzac Day, the RSL is encouraging commemorators to walk out  on their driveways at 5.55am to observe the day. Musicians around the country are planning to play the Last Post, but Mt Hawthorn’s Coogee Street will be lucky enough hear it done by a musician trained…

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN and Indian artists have teamed up for a new program that connects kids to art and captures their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Local WA theatre Barking Gecko has teamed up with ThinkArts in India to create Isolate>Create>Connect, an online workshop for kids to join around the world.  The 10 week program encourages…

A NEW 37-level hotel and 22-level office building has been approved for the old Hostel Milligan site. Most of the 1930s hotel that currently sits on the site will be demolished, keeping only the walls facing Murray and Milligan Streets. The 1930s hotel was built around an older 1880s house known as “Pearl Villa”, which…

PROTECTING the CBD’s Christmas ornaments and events cost Perth city council near $450,000 in payments to a private security company. In 2018 someone wrecked one of the giant baubles on the city’s Christmas Lights trial, so commissioners spent an extra $100,000 on security last year. It was also hoped a strong security presence would encourage…

LIVE music returned to the city this week as residents in East and West Perth emerged from their balconies to musicians playing for the neighbourhood. Activate Perth’s City Sessions socially-distanced show on April 12 brought 15 artists to balconies, tennis courts and rooftops to liven up quarantine life for people in apartments. The idea came…

Bayswater council is fine with a slightly expanded WA government control zone, as long as the state takes care of the parks. THE Bayswater train station upgrade rolls along with the WA government selecting a tenderer to design and build the station, platform and surrounds. The tenderer is Evolve Bayswater Alliance, a project name of…