THE STRANGE festival is back for its second year, celebrating misfits and the misunderstood in Perth’s CBD.
The 10 days festival runs June 16 to 25 with free visual, aural and experiential artwork installations and performances.
Artist Michael Betts will premiere his Grand Lane mural Giger Revisited, morphing the artist’s 1991 painting of Debbie Harry with millenial icon Margot Robbie.
Melbourne guides The Midnight Horrors will lead six walking tours exploring the living, dead, mythological and extinct birds that inhabit the city.
Meanwhile Forrest Place will get even stranger than usual with the dance of the Heartland’s Fire as a finale on June 25 at dusk.
It’s all free and the program’s at strangefestival.com.au
A trio of trolleys contemplating their new surrounds at Dog Swamp Reserve.
SHOPPING trolley dumping is out of control and supermarkets should be charged $500 for every one left out on public land longer than 48 hours, Stirling councillor Joe Ferrante reckons.
He proposed an increasein fines to $500 at the May council meeting since the current $200 fine didn’t seem to be working: “Supermarkets are not doing enough to stop this environmental issue from littering our streets, parks and footpaths,” his motion said.
“Recently, I viewed in our local parks and main streets large numbers of dumped or discarded trolleys left for large periods of time. Trolleys left on footpaths can cause accessibility issues for our elderly.”
But council staff advised Cr Ferrante they had to wait until the state government completed upcoming reforms to the Local Government Act due to come into effect in late 2023. One of those changes is a new way to create standardised local laws, and then they’ll be able to wage their trolley war.
For now Stirling staff advised they’d keep an extra eye out for trolley dumping at hotspots like Dog Swamp Shopping Centre and Innaloo: “The city’s Community Safety Team can identify any retail shopping areas and public spaces where the abandonment of shopping trolleys is causing community concern and undertake targeted enforcement using provisions within the current local law.”
We passed through Dog Swamp Reserve this weekand found five trolleys in the park, five more on surrounding verges, and eight others at the two adjacent bus stops. Those trolleys (mostly from Coles) aren’t location-locked, unlike the trolleys at nearby North Perth Plaza which have wheels that freeze if they detect they’re taken out of the carpark.
Bayswater council has also grappled with this trolley problem. In 2021 the council endorsed a motion by Cr Steven Ostaszewskyj to increase fines from $100 to $450 for anyone abandoning a trolley or a supermarket failing to retrieve their trolleys when advised.
IT’LL be a fine time for smokers in Vincent’s town centres, with penalties for smoking coming into effect on July 1 following the introductory “education and awareness” transition period.
The fine for lighting up ina smoke-free area is $100, and “failure to extinguish tobacco product or e-cigarette upon direction of an authorised person” is priced at $200.
But the council seems pretty reluctant to hand out fines to any but the especially recalcitrant.
Their enforcement policy says they’ll take into account“the number of times an offence has been observed, graduating to enforcement if a person is unresponsive to education, the safety and vulnerability of the person, and the public interest to pursue enforcement”.
Oz Day debate
PUBLIC comment is sought on whether Bayswater council should move its January citizenship ceremonies from January 26.
Councillors decided toput it to a public vote at their May meeting, after being encouraged by members of their Reconciliation Advisory Committee to consider an alternative date to Australia Day.
It follows councils like Fremantle, Vincent and Cambridge moving their ceremonies off January 26 due to the date being a sad reminder of colonial violence for many Aboriginal people (“Oz day up for debate,” Voice, May 20, 2023).
Comments are open until July 10 at engage.bayswater.wa.gov.au or at any of Bayswater council’s libraries, then councillors are due to vote on the feedback in August.
The survey specifies they are “not” seeking feedback on the actual date of Australia Day itself.
Riverstones’ most recent design for the Barbas’ family home planned for Auckland Street.
A FAMILY’S “dream home” in North Perth has turned into “nothing but a headache and a disappointment” after neighbours opposed the two-storey plans.
The Barbas family lodged an application with Vincent council in November 2022 to build a four-bedroom house on Auckland Street.
Under setback guidelines, approval should automatically be given if the house is at least seven metres from the street, but the awkard shape of the 353sqm block, a 2.5m sewer easement on the rear boundary and an angled road on the other side would leave the family a tiny 94sqm triangle to build on if they were applied.
Setbacks
Vincent planning staff have recommended councillors reduce the setbacks to less than three metres, given other shorter-than-usual setbacks in the street and to avoid the block remaining eternally empty.
In the first round of community consultation in January and February, nine objections were lodged with the council. The main complaints were the small setbacks – especially those that would abut the neighbouring houses – and some complained of the house being two storeys (which is allowed in that area).
The Barbas amended their plans twice to increase the setbacks and rejig some other areas of complaint. A second round of consultation brought in more complaints.
One neighbour was concerned about a pool below a balcony, “due the possible situation where people jump into the pool” but planning staff deemed it “not a relevant planning consideration”.
More amendments followed and the plans were presentedto the June 13 council briefing, where again the Barbas faced stern opposition from locals who did not want the house so close.
Prospective next-door neighbour Fiona Hunter said the council staff had been “strict” about setbacks when she was building her home, and the same standards weren’t being applied to the Barbas’ plans.
Low-level
Other neighbours speaking at the briefing said the Barbas’ amendments had been “low-level” and they didn’t feel their submissions had resulted in anything but “negligible” changes.
One of the applicants, Frida Barbas, held back tears as she told councillors, “My husband and I have worked all our lives towards the goal of owning and building our own house, a place my two children and grandchildren can call home.
“When we purchased this block in 2021 we were so excited with the idea of building our dream home – nothing too fancy, but enough for a comfortable home.
“It has been emotionally stressful and put a financial strain on our lives as we are paying rent whilst paying off a mortgage, and you know those interest rates are going up faster than anything.
“We believe we had the raw end of the deal and we’re all only seeking now is to find a middle ground that doesn’t see us continue to make more sacrifices and changes than what we currently made to get here.”
Councillors vote on whether to approve the plans at the June 20 meeting, with neighbours hoping to meet councillors on-site.
• Maria and Otto Cappi in 1957 (left) and their 40-year vow renewal (right).
FROM Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East: The stories of “The Changing Faces of Maylands” will be told at the Maylands Historical and Peninsula Association’s meeting on June 19.
MHPA president Keith Cundale is presenting the talk after interviewing locals to hear their stories and family histories of how they came to Maylands.
“I’m intrigued by the fact that Maylands is a pretty multi-ethnic suburb, and has been since the 1920s” when many laborers came from distant lands to work in the newly industrial district.
Through the mid-20th century many came from Italy, like Maria and Otto Cappi, one of the family stories Mr Cundale will be relating.
“I spent a lot of time talking to Maria’s daughter, Silvana Cappi. It’s a great story,” Mr Cundale says.
“Maria’s brother came over to Australia to seek a new life,” while Maria remained in Italy.
Her brother “got to know this other guy living here a while – Otto.
“Otto was saying, ‘I really need a wife’. Maria’s brother told him, ‘I’ve got four sisters!’
“They started corresponding, and they wrote letters to each other over a few years, and they decided they were compatible and should get married.”
They were married by proxy before they’d ever met, and photographed together in 1957 after Maria’s arrival.
The talk is on at the Old Peninsula Hotel (the Dome HQ) at 7.15pm on June 19. It’s free and with light refreshments.
• The former Ukrainian Hall in Hann Street, Leederville c 1960s. Photo courtesy of Lesa Melnyczuk Morgan
WITH Refugee Week taking place June 18-24, this week’s history corner from the City of Vincent Library looks at the experiences of Ukrainian refugees and their connection to the Vincent area.
SINCE the latest conflict between Russia and Ukraine began, millions of Ukrainians have fled to neighbouring countries.
About 5000 Ukrainians have taken refuge in Australia. These recent arrivals have joined earlier waves of refugees, migrants and displaced persons who came to Australia after World War II.
Many of these Ukrainians lived through the Soviet imposed famine of Holodomor in the 1930s, forced labour in Germany, pressure to return to the Soviet Union after World War II and prolonged periods in Displaced Persons camps in Europe.
Refugees
Researcher and educator Dr Lesa Melnyczuk Morgan has been collecting the history and stories of Ukrainian migrant refugees in Western Australia for many years.
Dr Morgan said the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived at the port of Fremantle on October 11, 1948 on the boat Kanimbla.
“The families, which were mostly from German ports, were welcomed by the WA authorities,” Dr Morgan said.
“They were settled in hostels and camps in Graylands, Northam and Cunderdin.
“The majority were sent to Northam. Slowly after working off their passage, Ukrainians moved into Perth City or country towns near the camps.”
In Perth during the 1950s, a small but tight-knit community of Ukrainians congregated around institutions including the Ukrainian Association of WA, which was officially incorporated in 1951. The association bought a parcel of land on Hann Street Leederville in 1955 and set about building a community hall.
The foundation stone for the hall was laid in 1957. After lots of community support and fundraising, it opened in 1961.
The hall became an important focus for the Ukrainian community in Perth from the 1960s until the 1990s it made way for the Mitchell Freeway on ramp on Southport St.
Dr Morgan said the hall was a special place for local Ukrainians.
“Ukrainians were and are very social people who love their culture, with music, dancing and food that reminded them of better times with their families and homeland, Ukraine,” she said.
“We all grew up attending events and social occasions in the hall that we called our WA Ukrainian home.
“The City of Vincent was integral and central in the development of our Ukrainian cultural and also growth as New Australians.”
Dr Morgan has published several history books on the subject of Ukrainians in WA including Holodomor: Silenced Voiced of the Starved Children and Silent Memories: Traumatic Lives.
In recent years, Dr Morgan has also published several children’s books based on themes of family, love, care and Ukrainian history.
Dr Morgan will be presenting a talk about her work and Ukrainian refugee experiences at the City of Vincent Library and Local History Centre during Refugee Week on Wednesday, June 21, 10-11.30am.
To book a seat for this free event, contact the library on 9273 6090 or book online at Eventbrite: https://tinyurl.com/2axtpvwa
WHILE schools and parents often fret over fandoms and video games, counsellor Mike Keady is using games like Minecraft and Dungeons & Dragons to connect with clients and help them open up about mental health.
Mr Keady is known as “the Nerd Therapist”, and has been practising for about three years.
Based in Clarkson, the 31-year-old found his niche after seeing many other counsellors in online groups confused or concerned about popular franchises like Fortnite or Pokemon.
“There was a lot of posts like, ‘what’s Pokemon about? Because I work with kids now and a lot of them are into Pokemon and I don’t know what it is’,” Mr Keady says, and the replies were discouraging.
“And one of the top comments, and one of the most agreed-with comments, was: ‘It is an animal fighting game marketed towards children’.
“And that’s incredibly disingenuous… Pokemon is about friendship, and the passion of ambition in life.”
The online exchange prompted him to start a blog called the “Pop Culture Competency Project,” providing resources about popular fandoms so counsellors could brief themselves on the common cultural phenomenon.
He wrote the blog anonymously at first, over “that worry thatit wasn’t professional” to be a therapist who plays video games and is familiar with the details.
About a month went by. “And I hadn’t received one negative comment online, which is kind of cool, because the internet’s a terrible place, especially in the comment sections!”
The anonymous blog impressed one potential employer so much that they sent Mr Keady a job offer.
He couldn’t take it at the time, but it prompted Mr Keady to embrace the Nerd Therapist role, and he would go on to incorporate both video games and tabletop games like D&D into counselling sessions alongside more common therapeutic approaches like Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
Checkers
There’s a long history of research into the effectivenessof incorporating video games or tabletop games into treatment.
Therapists found it usefulto play checkers with clients in the 1950s. In the 1980s and early 90s researchers found D&D sessions were a good way to explore identity and emotional development with clients roleplaying out fantasy characters and solving problems in a small group. And the first Nintendo console had only been out for a couple of years before therapists were asking “Can the Mario Bros. Help?” – the title of a 1991 article by psychologist James E Gardner who found games useful for building rapport and exploring emotions.
Another surge of research emerged in the past 10 years with the soaring popularity of Minecraft, a collaborative Lego-like video game.
Mr Keady has found roleplaying games especially useful for socially anxious people wanting to build social skills, and as a way to talk with clients about their needs and aspirations, untangled from discussing what they enjoy about roleplaying as a knight or a wizard.
“I see a lot of self discovery,” he says. “I see a lot of self-worth and self-understanding from people that haven’t taken the time to consider: ‘my characters are always healers’, or ‘my characters were always orphans’ or ‘my characters are very conflict-averse diplomats’.
“I’m not saying if you play one character, that’s who you are.
“But every character has an unconscious story to tell… our fantasy says a lot about our wants, and our dreams, and our aspirations.”
But gaming therapy is still rare in Australia, and Mr Keady’s only aware of a couple of practitioners.
Even some professional therapists are still not very welcoming about fandoms and intense interests, and some of Mr Keady’s clients have come to him after a bad experience.
“I get a surprising number of young people whose therapists just don’t know how to handle it,” Mr Keady says.
Sometimes it’s “just casual disinterest… when you’re working with young neurodivergent people who are sensitive to that sort of thing, they can pick up on that slight body language”.
But other clients have had experience with past counsellors who “are more aggressively invalidating, and have even sent judgmental emails to parents” warning them off video games.
That invalidation can be crushing for people whose interests mean a lot to them,and Mr Keady says a lot of his work with those clients is “about rebuilding trust in therapists”.
He sees in Pokemon something common to a lot of fictional worlds that are especially popular among young people, like Beyblade or Yu-Gi-Oh: These are worlds where young peoples’ interests are taken seriously and encouraged by adults.
The pop-culture angle of his practice makes for a lot of younger clients, but he’s also found a client-base among older adults who otherwise wouldn’t go to traditional therapy, but enjoy the community aspect of tabletop gaming therapy sessions.
“If I was a boardgame, I’d be ‘From Ages 8 to 60’,” he says.
Mr Keady is appearing at Supanova Comic Con and Gaming at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre on Sunday June 25 to talk neurodivergence, fandoms, and gaming for growth.
PAGE 12 “Day of the Dead” (Voice Food, June 10, 2023): the statement that “God had unzipped his fly and let rip all over the state” is disrespectful and unnecessary.
Victor Smith Yokine
Nothing ambiguous
REGARDING “More trees to go,” (Voice, June 10, 2023): “but staff said it was ‘ambiguous’ as to whether they needed ‘approval’.”
Nothing ambiguous about it , the lease states quite clearly that no trees are to be removed without authorisation.
As does the Land Administration Act and arguably the EPA.
Management of the site, a Class A Reserve on Crown land is vested in the City via the Act; the City has shown it is not competent to manage the land and appear to be under the impression that the only stakeholders worthy of consideration are the leaseholders despite this Reserve being on public land.
Individual ratepayers face fines and sanctions (over $90K) in the last three years from unauthorised tree removal whereas the club seems strangely immune from censure. This is inequitable.
Importantly were it not for members of the public bringing the original removal of 69 trees (57 without authorisation) to council’s attention – the council nor anyone outside the club and certain circles at Stirling would even have known about the unauthorised removals, something quite lost on WALGA’s poster child for protection of the the Urban Canopy, Mayor Irwin.
Simon Wheeler Scarborough
Crude
“IT was bitterly cold and God had unzipped his fly and let rip all over the state.” (Voice food, June 10, 2023)
How crude and immature can your writer get? There is no call for this kind of offensiveness anywhere, let alone in a cafe/restaurant review.
J Wolfe North Perth
A culture of silence
IN six years of this current government we are yet to hear anything positive about our youth, the arts or indeed anything related to cultural affairs.
Our youth are struggling as a whole, as indeed are musicians and anyone connected to the performing or visual arts.
We have the most invisible arts minister the state has ever had – and no youth policies whatsoever.
This should not be fringe stuff – to be lost in the parochialism of football and the mining and construction industries.
It’s serious – there are high levels of anxiety and depression in our young people that are being ignored – particularly at a state level.
These people need strong advocacy and one can only hope that the new premier can provide it.
Tony Reed Mount Hawthorn
Norwood truly rocked
RE: “Rocky start for Norwood,” (Voice, April 8, 2023:
I stayed a couple of weeks at the Norwood Hotel in October 1987 on my first visit to Australia.
It was the quintessential Aussie hotel, full of character and full of characters — locals and visitors.
It provided a great introduction to Aussie life.
I vividly remember a jukebox in the downstairs bar playing George Michael tracks from Faith. There were tennis court(s) opposite the hotel.
I got warned by a cop for carrying a beer in Lord Street outside, when I had no idea of the law on that subject.
A bit later, I bought a clapped-out panel van and drove to Wave Rock one day and when I returned to the hotel, I discovered a bloke had died in the room next to mine.
Sad way to go, all alone in a dark, slightly dilapidated room with the sun blazing outside.
I’m sorry to hear the old Norwood Hotel is no more as it holds so many memories for me of my time Down Under. In my view the hotel should have been preserved as a historic building.
RESTAURANTS with amazing views tend to have mediocre food.
They often rely on the vista to lure people in and get away with over-priced meals and poor service.
So when my wife “Special K” said she had booked Hamptons City Beach for her dad’s birthday lunch, my heart sank a little.
Let’s start with the positive – after days of biblical rain the grey clouds parted and the sun gingerly came out to play as we drove up Stirling Highway.
The blue skies were a good omen as we easily found a space in the Hampton’s large beachside car park. The restaurant is classy but casual with a gorgeous standalone bar, polite and friendly staff, corporate-style decor and very comfortable cushioned seats.
It has the air of a hotel lobby, but isn’t bland or anodyne with some ocean paintings by a local Perth artist adding a vibrant splash of colour to the walls.
The restaurant design maximises those gorgeous ocean views – there’s a huge bank of almost floor-to-ceiling windows along the length of the restaurant, ensuring every table has a great view.
It’s an amazing vista with tankers, boats and weatherfronts transforming it into a kaleidoscope of colours and hues.
The main menu had a range of starters (tea smoked duck breast, sweet corn & manchego croquette, wagyu bresaola) mains (chargrilled beef fillet, berbere spiced kangaroo fillet, lamb rack and tasmanian salmon) as well as some pizzas and a decent kids menu including pasta, pizza and fish and chips.
It was a solid enough menu, but some specials or a couple of exotic dishes would have really got my tastebuds standing to attention.
Out of all our meals, my wife’s and father-in law’s bone-in chicken breast ($37.50) was the standout: two large pieces of tender chook with a gorgeous white wine dijon mustard cream and tomato concasse.
Adding to the bevy of flavours was the sage and parma ham, bocconcini and a dainty mound of mushroom risotto.
“It’s one of those creamy indulgent dishes that keeps you coming back for more,” my wife said.
The father-in law nodded in agreement and then shovelled in another forkful of chicken.
Across the circular table, my mother-in law was tucking into her twice cooked pork belly ($41).
Hamptons didn’t skimp on portions with a giant slab of Porky Pig on the plate.
“Badly-cooked pork belly can be fatty and a real slog, but this is delicious,” said the mother-in law.
“I really like the apple puree, pickled red cabbage and baby carrots.”
The dish came with a nice jus and some fondant potatoes on the side. The least-impressive main was my seafood pappardelle pasta ($36.50).
There wasn’t enough prawns, squid, mussels and fish, and while the Napolitana sauce was tasty it didn’t have the depth of flavour and rich burst of tomato I was expecting.
The large ribbons of pappardelle were nice but didn’t have that super light quality I associate with freshly made pasta.
An enjoyable if slightly underwhelming dish.
The serves were big, so we couldn’t fit in a dessert but there was a small range including bombe alaska, madagascan vanilla bean panna cotta, toasted meringue, as well as gelato, sorbet, dessert wine and a cheese board.
Our lunch at Hamptons was very enjoyable and it’s a great choice for a special occassion (go for breakfast or lunch so you can enjoy those ocean views).
While not hitting the culinary heights of some other top-end places, it’s a nice overall experience.
Hamptons City Beach 179 Challenger Parade, City Beach hamptonscitybeach.com.au
• Kitty Littéur and Matthew Pope. Photo by Chayla Taylor Photographer.
DURING the week she’s on stuffy Zoom calls handling important business matters, but come the weekend her alter ego Kitty Littéur comes out to play as she indulges her real passion – burlesque.
A playful performer who likes to tease, Littéur has been ripping up the Aussie burlesque scene for nearly 15 years and has won umpteen competitions including Miss Burlesque Perth 2020, Burlesque Muse National 2021 and Miss Tassel Twirl Australia 2011.
The Perth local is currently getting ready to compete at the burlesque WA state finals at the Astor Theatre in Mt Lawley.
Littéur, 36, first got into burlesque in her early twenties, when she was collecting vintage clothes and corsets. After attending a vintage market held by Sugar Blue Burlesque, she was cajoled into trying a class.
“A common origin story for many Perth Burly performers – my friend wanted to sign up for classes and didn’t want to go alone so bam – here comes your girl because friends stick together,” Littéur says.
“I had been collecting vintage clothes and corsets for years, so I was thrilled to find a hobby that enabled my wardrobe to grow.
“And then the other performers and Sugar Blue Superstars (aka teachers) were so awesome and I never met a spotlight I didn’t love. I didn’t stand a chance against all that!”
Littéur says burlesque is always evolving and changing, but she still loves a routine with a tiny top hat: “One of the great things about going out to see a burlesque show is how many different styles you’ll find out there, and how much it crosses over with different styles of performance like drag and circus,” she says.
Cheeky edge
“My favourite thing about performing is having fun and sharing it with the audience. I love making people laugh, I’d make it my full time job if I could.
“My style of performance always has a playful, cheeky edge: I have a different style of tease to others, and I like to bring a bit of fun and a laugh into even my raunchiest stuff.”
At Mx Burlesque WA 2023, Littéur will be up against six contestants from across the state including Minxy Milva (Nollamara), Lola Moore (Ocean Reef), Pixie Lust (Rockingham) and Delza Skye (Oakford). They’ll compete in three categories – Red Carpet Parade, Striptease and Unique – vying to take out the top prize of $1000 and the Mx/Mr/Miss Burlesque WA title.
“The finalists are so unique in their own style, the WA competition will feature some seriously sexy acts, while others bring comedy to the stage and others skill and their own interpretation of burlesque,” says the show’s producer A’dora Derriere (Melanie Piantoni).
Littéur says the state finals have something for everyone.
“Burlesque is great fun for adults and can be amazing and glitzy, sexy and risqué, silly and funny, or dark and kinky – it’s all out there for you, you just have to find it, and support the shows you love. You’ll see bits and pieces borrowed from burlesque and vaudeville everywhere you go.”
But for the performer, it’s perhaps the escapism of being risqué and glamorous for a few hours, while still having the safety blanket of a nice house and job when the makeup and feather boa comes off at the end of the night.
“In my dreams I swan around in a fluffy robe being a full time performer and glamorous human, but the reality is that I have a full time job (which is actually super cool and I love it too – I get to feed different parts of my soul in different areas of life)” Littéur says.
“I have an amazing partner who I love very much and supports me in everything and a furry family including the world’s cutest dog and two fluffy biscuit bandits (cats).”
Mx Burlesque WA State Final is at the Astor Theatre 7.30pm on Saturday June 24. Tix at astortheatreperth.com
Perth Voice Interactive 