THE 1899 Boer War was the first conflict where a WA soldier was awarded a Victoria Cross. It was also the first war fought by the Australian commonwealth: 20,000 Australians served in the southern African conflict and 1000 died (many from disease). Despite these arresting facts, the Boer War has become Australia’s “forgotten war”, its…

FORMER Vincent CEO John Giorgi says elected councillors need more training so they stop making decisions that are open to appeal to the unelected but powerful state administrative tribunal. Mr Giorgi told the West Australian newspaper that councillors don’t understand their roles, particularly on planning matters: “You can be [an ordinary person] on the street…

BAYSWATER city council is committed to its Mertome retirement village and has “no intention” of selling it, says mayor Sylvan Albert. Cr Terry Kenyon put the cat amongst the pigeons at last month’s council meeting when he asked that the “residents of Mertome be given an urgent meeting with council to be informed if they…

“HERITAGE listing” used to be a dirty term. Heritage Perth executive director Richard Offen recalls when he first arrived from Britain in the early 2000s people “viewed a heritage listing as an infringement on their civil liberties”. “They thought it meant you couldn’t do anything with it and it reduced your values, which wasn’t true…

FORMER Vincent deputy mayor Warren McGrath has traded in eight angry councillors for Twelve Angry Men. Mr McGrath, an environmental consultant who retired from council in October to spend more time with family, is using his new-found free time to star in a local production of the classic teleplay about 12 jurors who must decide…

INTERNATIONAL artists have come together to create the exhibition Dear William, a dedication to William Street. Stemming from a Vincent council project to showcase the street’s history and culture, artists visiting Perth for Form’s public art festival put their interpretations of the street on show. The street is steeped in culture, housing the Perth mosque,…

Western Power slugs locals with $419 fee WESTERN POWER is threatening to charge residents who fail to trim their own trees “a minimum of $419” to do it for them. One Voice reader describes the threat as “absolute extortion”. He’d received a note in the mail warning him to trim his trees within 30 days…

A SUNSET service will be held at the Anzac cottage in Mt Hawthorn to honour fallen soldiers. The cottage was originally built as a memorial to those who died at the landing at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, but now serves as a salient reminder of soldiers who also died in subsequent conflicts. On February 12,…

THE man who gashed his arm open on one of Beaufort Street’s near-invisible bladed bike racks has been denied compensation. Vincent council’s insurer LGIS knocked back Russell Merriman’s claim saying the council wasn’t liable and the onus is on pedestrians to watch where they’re going. But after reading the article in the Perth Voice where…