Perth Voice Interactive

A STACK of wedding photos has been unearthed in the archives of the National Trust of WA, and the search is now on to try to find the happy couple.

The photos were taken at Peninsula Farm but the NTWA tells us they have no information beyond the date, July 31, 1971. 

That was a few years before Peninsula Farm was acquired by the NTWA, when it was still owned by the Bond Corporation which was planning to restore the cottage and develop housing on the rest of the site. 

The fashion, a mix of mod and on the early edge of the prairie revival wave, could be a clue that the couple were trendy or a bit counterculture according to a wedding fashion buff we consulted.

If you have any clues as to who the couple could be, contact the NTWA on trust@ntwa.com.au

‘Sad’ artists call for improperly removed works to be returned 

TWO German artists are seeking the return of their public artworks after they were removed in breach of Vincent council’s public art policy. 

In 2012 Vincent council commissioned art duo Reinigungsgesellschaft – Martin Keil and Henrik Mayer – to create a $30,000 city-wide  installation.

They created new street signs for their Urban Storylines project, giving local roads whimsical and aspirational new monikers and hanging them alongside the real street names. 

The signs were removed some time around 2017, but no one at Vincent could find a record of who authorised it or why.

The council’s Public Art Policy states that removed artwork “will be offered back to the artist and/or donor in the first instance”. Most councils have similar policies to avoid falling foul of federal copyright laws which requires artists get a “reasonable opportunity” to remove artwork themselves.

Instead the signs were sent to the council’s depot where they sat rusting for years. 

Eventually Pickle District-based arts group Voxlab found the signs among other bits of metal at the depot, and asked if they could re-use them in a new sculpture. That prompted Vincent council to reach out to Reinigungsgesellschaft for their consent, only to find it was the first the Germans had heard about their removed. 

Former councillor Dudley Maier, who had become friends with Keil and Mayer when they visited Perth to install the signs, has been trying to find out why the policy wasn’t followed. After a series of back-and-forth questions, an answer in the most recent council minutes confirmed the policy wasn’t followed.

The Voice contacted RG, who are still hoping to have the signs returned.

In an email, Keil and Mayer wrote: “We are quite sad about the outcome of our Urban Storylines project. Our intention at the time was to install a future agenda in the form of street signs through future themes that move the people of Vincent.

“We were not informed about the signs being taken down. As artists, we are naturally saddened that our work of art is being removed without informing us. 

“We would like the street signs to be returned to us. For us, the Public Art Project in Vincent is of great importance. We look back fondly on the productive time and the exciting encounters with people and initiatives for a sustainable future in Vincent. We will show the street signs in exhibitions in Europe to interest a European audience in Vincent and Perth.”

We put some questions to Vincent about the art policy.

Mayor Emma Cole said the signs were up for five to six years, but were not intended to be permanent. Ms Cole said some people complained they made street signage confusing. 

Voxlab, who have been in touch with RG and don’t want to step on other artists’ toes, are now planning to use other street signs to complete their Pickle Poles project.

A BAYSWATER councillor was forbidden from calling the council “divided” amid a frosty meeting this week, with mayor Filomena Piffaretti ordering Cr Elli Petersen-Pik to withdraw his remark.

Cr Petersen-Pik had raised a notice of motion calling on the council to change how it shared promotional activities between elected members, such as appearing in press releases or online posts documenting attendance at community events.

He said a fair-share system would remove the possibility of favouritism towards a ruling clique.

“This power can be, and has been, used to promote specific councillors or exclude others,” Cr Petersen-Pik said. 

“This will stop it for good, and from my perspective it will be an important step forward for having a united and harmonious council where all councillors feel that they are part of it, and not excluded, no matter who’s the mayor in the future.”

Cr Dan Bull, a former mayor himself until Cr Piffaretti took the chair in 2021, agreed they should bring in a fair share process. He’d had a scan of 

the council’s official Facebook page and scrolled through 46 promotional items to tally up appearances.

Promotion

According to Cr Bull’s count he and west ward colleagues Giorgia Johnson and Lorna Clarke had only been featured once as part of a group photo 

– about a fifth as often as councillors more closely aligned with the mayor.

Cr Petersen-Pik did not featured in any of the post. 

Deputy mayor Catherine Ehrhardt said she had felt excluded in the past, but not while Cr Piffaretti was mayor.

But she said it wasn’t an urgent matter and would needlessly eat up officer’s time given the council’s Social Media Policy was due for a review in November.

“I have been previously hurt by a lack of media opportunity, but the thing that I complained about the most was actually being cut out of photos … which had happened numerous times but hasn’t happened recently for the last 18 months,” Cr Ehrhardt said.

“[I] was actually cut out of photos to the point where a shoulder was left in, and people would contact me and say ‘were you in that photo? I can see your shoulder’.”

Cr Petersen-Pik wants a policy written and adopted before the 2023 election so that the new rules could be implemented straight after.

“We have councillors who feel excluded. And there are so many tensions around this council, it should be said, this council is divided. And I hear so many concerns from so many councillors, and it is so unfortunate…”

But Cr Josh Eveson called a point of order, saying Cr Petersen-Pik had made an “adverse reflection”.

The council’s standing orders state members can’t “reflect adversely on the character or actions of another member”.

Cr Piffaretti upheld the point of order, and directed Cr Petersen-Pik to withdraw the comment.

Cr Petersen-Pik: “I’m not allowed to say that there is a divisive council?”

Cr Piffaretti: “No.”

Cr Petersen-Pik: “Even if we do have a divisive council?”

Cr Piffaretti: “That’s your opinion, councillor.”

Cr Petersen-Pik: “But I’m speaking my opinion here.”

Cr Petersen-Pik withdrew the comment at the mayor’s direction, and said “I feel like what’s happening here now is exactly what I’m talking about, but I’m not allowed to say what’s happening.”

The vote against the promo sharing plan was split along the same lines as the vote for mayor in 2021: Crs Sally Palmer, Giorgia Johnson, Bull and Petersen-Pik voting in favour of it, and Crs Assunta Meleca, Michelle Sutherland, Ehrhardt, Eveson, and Piffaretti against.

by DAVID BELL

BAYSWATER’S citizenship ceremonies and barbecue breakfast may be shifted off Australia Day.

Following councils like Fremantle, Vincent, and Cambridge who moved their events out of respect for Indigenous people opposed to January 26 celebration, Bayswater councillors voted at their May 23 meeting to put a change out for public comment. 

The ceremonies would be held within three days of Australia Day, the window allowed by the Albanese government when it loosened up the prior Liberal government’s rule of strictly January 26 ceremonies.

Along with the citizenship ceremonies, the council had held the “Australia Day BBQ” until its Reconciliation Advisory Committee suggested rebranding it to the “Community BBQ Breakfast” in 2021. The public will also get a say on whether the BBQ breakfast stays on the 26th.

Councillors Josh Eveson and Michelle Sutherland opposed the motion. 

Cr Dan Bull also voted against putting it out to public comment, because he said the council should make the decision to change the citizenship ceremony date immediately. 

Cr Bull said he’d attended a recent Reconciliation Advisory Committee meeting where members had discussed shifting the ceremonies, and said “the depth of feeling was actually very moving… it helped me learn more about actually how difficult this time of the year is for many Aboriginal people.”

But the majority voted to put it out for comment so his foreshadowed motion didn’t get a full hearing. 

Cr Lorna Clarke said given the depth of feeling often prompted by discussion around January 26, the council should take a firm stance against racist comments during the consultation, which she said were particularly common in social media comments.

by DAVID BELL

AN East Perth street has been renamed “Sailani Avenue” to honour the contribution of Indian Anzacs in World War I.

Private Nain Singh Sailani was a Hindu Gurkha from northern India who arrived in Asutralia in 1895 and enlisted in 1916.

He was one of 12 known Indian Anzacs and was buried in Belgium. Pte Sailani was one of two known to have been killed in action along with Private Sarn Singh in June 1917.

Last year the consulate general of India in Perth, at the behest of the Ministry of External Affairs, requested a street be named after Pte Sailani to honour the sacrifices of Indian soldiers (“Street to honour Indian Anzacs,” Voice, September 24 2022).

Perth council endorsed the change and now the paperwork’s made its way through the lengthy state government process for renaming just in time for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Australia.

Perth mayor Basil Zempilas attended a May 23 renaming ceremony and said: “The naming of Sailani Avenue pays homage to the sacrifice made by Private Sailani and shines a light on the contributions of all Western Australia’s Anzacs from the Indian community.”

The road used to be called Nelson Avenue after the British admiral. Nelson still has the adjoining Nelson Crescent named after him. 

“MORONS” are vandalising trees and costing Perth ratepayers tens of thousands to replace them, but lord mayor Basil Zempilas says vandals won’t win.

Speaking about the city’s Urban Greening Strategy that outlines the tree planting plan for the next decade, Mr Zempilas was aghast at the number of trees needing replacement.

In the last year $249,000 has been spent replacing newly planted trees that were either vandalised, taken out by cars, or failed to thrive. 

“Some of the vandalism that you see to the trees, you think… what is wrong with people?” Mr Zempilas said at the May 23 council briefing.

He said the council’s parks team and citizen volunteers like those who’d turned up to recent community planting days were working hard to keep the city green and shady for future generations, “and morons want to walk past trees and snap them in half”.

Mr Zempilas said despite the cost of replacement “we don’t give in though. 

“And actually one of the choices for our city to make would be ‘oh well, it’s too hard, we tried planting trees but people keep breaking them in half’ 

“But I’m very, very proud of the city that we continue our efforts and continue to find ways to make it harder for the morons to do what they do and we should be very proud of those efforts.”

Along with vandals and bad drivers, The CBD’s trees have suffered in recent years with extreme heat spells taking a toll on deciduous trees.

London Planes and Moreton Bay Figs have been shedding much of their canopies under heat stress, prompting the council to bring in tankers for the 2020/21 summer.

by DAVID BELL