AN UNAUTHORISED demolition of a heritage-protected Mount Lawley house has seen the son of a former Stirling mayor fined $8,000. The Building Services Board issued a $4,000 fine to building company Riviera Homes and another $4,000 fine to company owner John Philip Italiano, son of former mayor Giovanni Italiano. Number 5 Dene Street sits in…

A COMMUNICATION board installed at Maylands’ Gibney Reserve is a Perth first, letting kids communicate no matter their language abilities – or even if they don’t speak at all.  Communication boards are more commonly seen in hospitals and rehab settings, helping people communicate via pointing to symbols if their voice is injured, if they’re on…

WRITER, horse trainer and literature lecturer Portland Jones will immerse herself in the historical surrounds of Peninsula Farm as a writer in residence. Dr Jones will use the time to work on her third novel, which harks back to 1860s Perth.  Her first novel Seeing the Elephant was praised as a sensitive and lyrical Vietnam War-era…

STORIES, photos, documents, memories and meanings are sought to tell the history of Maylands’ Peninsula Farm, stretching back to when the area was known as Wu-rut by its traditional Whadjuk Noongar owners. The property’s been vested with the National Trust since 1977. Ahead of the 2029 bicentenary of colonisation, the National Trust WA has brought…

CHICKENS, bees and pigeons will soon be legal in Vincent. Until now backyard poultry has been banned in the southern half of Vincent, and nearly-impossible to keep in the northern half given setback rules meant most blocks could never fit a chook. Twelve-year-old Piper from Leederville spoke at her first council meeting on December 13…

CELSIUS Property Group’s 13-storey apartment proposal for North Perth has been unanimously rejected by the Joint Development Assessment Panel. CPG’s 373 Fitzgerald Street project, with two towers measuring 13 and 11 storeys, was opposed by a heavy majority of people living nearby. Vincent council’s planning staff also opposed the plan, saying it was way out…

WHILE the new animal rules are a win for the birds and the bees, the new law is bad news for cat-lovers who walk leashed cats in local parks. Under these changes cats will be banned altogether from Britannia Road Reserve, Smiths Lake, Robertson Park, Banks Reserve, and Hyde Park. Cat-ally Sam Fitzpatrick wrote to…

A RULE requiring councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day has been quashed. On December 13 Vincent council unanimously voted to write to the new federal Labor government asking for the former Liberal government’s rule requiring all councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26 be quashed. Vincent mayor Emma Cole noted increasing discomfort…

FROM the archives of Vincent Local History Centre, this week we have a tale of how migrants made their mark on Christmas traditions across the 20th century. THE Australian Christmas fare has come a long way from the northern hemisphere winter traditions of roast meats and plum puddings.   While some people cling steadfast to…

AFTER five years of being forced by the former federal Liberal government to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day, Vincent council will ask the new Labor government if it can welcome new citizens on a “less disrespectful date”. Some Indigenous representatives have ceased attending January 26 citizenship ceremonies, and those that do seem increasingly uncomfortable…