AS vape shops pop up near schools and parks, new rules proposed at Bayswater council could see any new ones restricted from opening in sensitive areas.
Councillor Catherine Ehrhardt lodged a notice of motion at the October 25 council meeting calling for options on how to exert planning control over where vape shops, tobacconists and cigar lounges can open.
Currently they’re allowed to open anywhere a shop is permitted, meaning they have even less restrictions than a liquor store.
Proliferation
“I’m concerned about the proliferation of these stores,” Cr Ehrhardt told us ahead of the meeting, especially when they’re operating in line of sight of schools where they could entice kids into taking up a vaping habit.
“They’re popping up everywhere … we need to do something about it, and have the council and community decide where they want these shops.”
Depending on how community consultation goes, potential restricted areas could be near schools, parks, in town centres, or near homes.
inspired by Vincent council’s moves to crack down on smoking and vape purveyors.
They have draft rules in the works that’d ban new smoke shops from opening near residences, child cares, schools, medical centres, offices, temples, restaurants, or parks, and they wouldn’t be allowed on ground floors.
Cr Ehrhardt’s motion was supported 8-1 and options are due to be presented to councillors at December’s meeting.
Anzac Cottage holds its annual sunset service for Remembrance Day this November 11. Most local ceremonies are held at 11am but the Friends of Anzac Cottage decided
in years past to hold its service at 6pm so it matched 11am in France, where the armistice was signed to end World War I.
The Friends of Anzac Cottage are bringing more young people in to contribute to the ceremony this year in hopes that the next generation will ensure the commemoration of the lives lost in war endures into the future.
All are welcome at 38 Kalgoorlie Street, with commemorations starting at 5.30pm. Photo by Les Everett
• Jay Jay Jegathesan performing an adaptation of Pete Malicki’s A Psychopath.
A 10-MINUTE continuous-take confession of a fictional serial killer has landed local performer Jay Jay Jegathesan in the global finals of the World Monologue Games.
Before Covid, competitive monologuing was usually held live on stage, but in 2020 when performers were languishing amid lockdowns Australian producer and writer Pete Malicki started up the online-based World Monologue Games allowing competitors to film remotely and send in submissions.
“At the time performers around the world couldn’t perform, couldn’t film,” Jegathesan tells us. “[Malicki] came up with the concept of trying to engage the world acting community to be able
to perform without the things you’d normally need to make a short film – the crew, the equipment, the location – all of which couldn’t be done because of Covid.”
It’s the third time Joondanna actor and filmmaker Jegathesan has entered the WMG, and this year his sinister performance as psychopath Mark Theo Carter scored him a top three spot in the Australian regionals.
“I had done some acting 20 years ago at the UWA Dramatic Society, and I thought all my acting [skills] had gone once the real world came along,” he said.
But his son Radheya Jegatheva has become a filmmaker in recent years and Jegathesan started doing some voice-over work for them, rekindling his dormant acting passion.
Jegathesan says he’s gravitated towards malevolent characters in part because they’re so different from the roles he might otherwise get typecast into: “The look I have isn’t one that typically gets the normal hero roles: This Indian-looking guy, born in Malaysia, wears glasses,” the type of look that could get him typecast as “a husband or father who gives some advice on life”.
“So I’m quite happy to be given these evil, sinister roles. I feel there’s much more depth in those roles. And they’re completely different from how I am in real life.”
Preparation is gruelling. Jegathesan’s entry was inthe ‘endurance’ category for monologues between 5 – 10 minutes, and it all has to be filmed in one take.
At the 2022 Australian regional finals last month judges awarded Jegathesan six points, just one point behind the equal-first performers Louise Chapman of Newcastle and Sydney’s Eveline Benedict who both got 7.
But the popular vote heavily favoured Jegathesan: Audiences gave his performance 31.7 per cent, with the next most popular sitting at 14.4 per cent.
“The judges are told you’re only supposed to judge the performance alone,” Jegathesan says. “Not the language, not the script. So I could have performed in German or Klingon, as technically speaking you’re supposed to judge it on the performance alone.
“But I think the audience, they’re caught up in the whole thing.”
At the global finals on November 19 he’ll be up against the best monologuers from around the world, livestreaming at 5pm Perth time and with stream links via www. worldmonologuegames.com/2022-global-finals
ANYONE who travels on the railway through Maylands will know the Old Peninsula Hotel, located just opposite the station.
Opened in 1906, the hotel was a venue for many social events early last century and in later years was a local hostelry.
In the 1970s the Peninsula was about to be demolished for a car park for the nearby tavern, but was saved by a small group of community activists. The Swan Brewery gifted it to them for community purposes.
As the financial burden of maintaining it became too much, the building was handed to the City of Bayswater and eventually leased to Dome Coffees.
It remains one of the most familiar sights of Maylands, and the story behind its possible loss is just one small part of the story of Maylands being kept alive by the Maylands Historical and Peninsula Association.
MHPA was formed in 1992 and for the last 30 years has been active in preserving and displaying information about Maylands: the people, the places, the buildings and the lives led in times past.
Celebrating these 30 years of community action, the association is presenting Maylands History and Heritage Month in November.
Various events will showcase the different aspects of this suburb: past and present.
Maylands is well known for its thriving cafe and bar scene and boutique shops around 8th Avenue and Whatley Crescent, but it was also once a thriving industrial centre and working class neighbourhood.
Early in the 20th century the railway yards were a hive of activity with freight, parcels, pipes for the Goldfields pipeline, and many types of general goods being transported to and from Maylands sidings.
The Brickworks supplied many of the bricks for Perth’s largest buildings and the Industrial School for the Blind’s bustling community provided employment, schooling and housing for blind residents.
Perth’s original airport was opened in 1924 on the Maylands Peninsula and operated through World War II and up to 1964, by which time the new Perth airport was operating. Remnants of the Maylands Aerodrome can still be seen in a special display by the boat ramp.
There are also over 20 places of worship around the suburb; Christian, Buddhist, Islamic, Spiritualist and many other denominations, each with a fascinating story and many with distinctive architectural details and interior decoration.
During Maylands History and Heritage Month experienced guides will take participants around the suburb on three walks to explore these aspects of its heritage.
Taking about two hours each, the walks will have stops along the way at such iconic buildings as the Industrial School for the Blind – now the home of WA Ballet, the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple, the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the original Maylands Primary School and the former Presbyterian Church on 7th Ave.
The walk around Maylands Peninsula will introduce visitors to sites such as the brickworks, the original Perth aerodrome, the oldest privately owned boat yard in WA and Peninsula Farm as well as introducing some of the traditional connections of the Whadjuk people to the Swan River
Some of the Association’s most popular talks over the last year are being repeated at midday on Thursdays at Maylands Library – perfect for anyone who prefers not to travel to evening meetings.
The Association has a long and proud record and is still thriving today, with membership numbers steadily rising and the monthly public meetings well-attended.
A small committee and keen volunteers ensure the Old Police Station on Guildford Road is a welcoming place for visitors and the various displays created by head researcher John McLennan are regularly updated.
It’s a great place for visitors to become acquainted with the heritage of the suburb and its history.
The talks at the Library are free, but places need to be booked through Eventbrite (search Maylands talks). The walks, for which a charge applies to cover refreshments and tour materials can also be booked through Eventbrite (search Maylands Walks)
Enquiries or questions about the bookings can be made to 0402 164 206 or by emailing maylandshs@ gmail.com
Walks
Worshipful Maylands: Saturday Nov 12, Sunday Nov 13, 10am and 2pm leaving from the Old Police Station.
Maylands Peninsula: Saturday Nov 19, 2pm, Sunday Nov 20, 10am and 2pm from the Golf Club Cafe.
Heritage Buildings: Saturday Nov 26, Sunday Nov 27, 10am and 2pm from the Old Police Station.
Talks
Protesting Maylands: Thursday Nov 10, 1-2.30pm, The Rise
The Railways and Maylands: Thursday Nov 17, 1-2.30pm, The Rise
Perth’s 1st Airport: Thursday Nov 24, 1-2.30pm, The Rise
Monthly Monday Talk
Bush Tucker, Roasted Swans and Barrels of Beer: Connecting the Swan River and Kings Park by Jennie Hunt. Monday November 21, 7.15pm at the Old Peninsula Hotel.
LONG time community campaigner and Voice correspondent, the late John Collins, has been memorialised with a public bench in Weld Square.
Mr Collins lived on Edward Streetin Perth for 45 years until his death last year. He was active on local issues like re-opening long-empty public housing for homeless people, and pushing out East Perth’s loud and noisy concrete batching plants from that neighbourhood.
Friends, family members and Edward Street neighbours remembered him at Weld Square on October 30 and dedicated a commemorative plaque to him on a park seat, following a submission to Vincent council by his brother Peter.
Vincent mayor Emma Cole attended and said: “John was a person who knew his neighbourhood, was helpful and friendly to all he met and got involved with issues that affected them.
“The relocation of the concrete batching plants at the Claisebrook end of Edward Street was but one example of John’s commitment to the improvement of his community.
“He also gave assistance to those less fortunate and sometimes gave food to the homeless that he had purchased from the nearby lunch bar,” Ms Cole said.
Peter Collins told us via email: “We were considering ways in which we as a family could establish a long-term memory of John which we could share with his local community.”
AS the campaign to ‘save SymbioticA’ art research lab at the University of WA goes global, the uni maintains no decision has been made and it wants “genuine consultation” over its future.
The cutting edge biological art research centre has been part of UWA’s Nedland campus since 2000, but has been flagged for possible closure due to the uni’s financial strains (“UWA to axe art hub,” Voice, October 22 2022). This follows deep staff cuts to social science departments in 2021.
A statement from UWA says: “The university is proud of its strong links to arts and culture in the WA community and continues to be committed to offering a vibrant collection of programs, displays and performances spanning music, theatre, museums, galleries and publishing.
In mid-October “the University commenced consultation with the School of Human Sciences regarding the proposed cessation of SymbioticA, which is an artistic laboratory that provides artists and designers with access to science and engineering laboratories.
“The university acknowledges the commitment respective employees have brought to SymbioticA in establishing an international reputation over the years.
“Like many universities, UWA is faced with the need to manage its finances in order to secure long term sustainability and strategic alignment.”
“At this stage it is important to note that this is a proposal for change and no decision has been made on the future of SymbioticA, as we undergo genuine consultation with colleagues at this time.”
The online “Save SymbioticA” petition shared by former artist-in-residence Kira O‘Reilly has reached 12,300 signatures.
Support for the centre has flooded in from arts organisations around the world, including the Helsinki-based international Bioart Society, the physics-art organisation Arts at CERN in Geneva, and the director of the Biotipia Musuem in Munich Michael John Gorman. SymbioticA’s fight to stay open has now been covered in international press from ArtAsiaPacific to Cosmos Magazine.
The university originally gave the centre 10 working days to respondby October 25 but extended that to November 1, and UWA brass will now mull over the options.
The local author, an associate professor at Notre Dame Fremantle, has released a regular stream of crime thrillers over the last decade; but what makes her works stand out is that most have been non-fiction.
Her latest release The Ballroom Murder follows that theme, exploring the shooting of Cyril Gidley on the ballroom dance floor of Government House in Perth in 1925.
Gidley had been shot by his former fiancee Audrey Jacob, a Fremantle woman who lived with her parents and siblings on High Street.
The inclusion of the historical context in the ‘Notes’ at the back of the book lets the drama flow like a crime story.
Straw has been researching and teaching crime history for a few years after getting hooked exploring the tale of the murderer in her own family.
She’s drawn to the stories of women involved in crime (or policing it) and said she took two years researching Gidley and Jacob’s story, fitting it in around her full-time work.
“I wanted to figure out for myself why Audrey Jacob shot her ex-lover dead,” she said.
“Once I start writing, it’s not as long, as I tend to not procrastinate and just get it done,” she said, noting the writing itself took one year.
“Very few writers can devote all their time to writing so when you feel frustrated because you are juggling work and writing or work, children, family life and writing, there’s many other people in the same place as you.
“The key thing is to make the most of the time that you get to write – use it to the maximum degree!”
Straw said the key element of writing a crime story (she’s also got a couple of genuine thrillers amongst her 14 titles)is “setting up a story that captivates the interest of the reader but allows them to make up their own minds too.
“Books are like my children; I don’t have favourites. I like each of them for the journey they took me on at the time. The last two books with Fremantle Press have been such fun to talk about though!”
Straw said being a historian, the best part of writing the book was piecing together the full story of the shooting from the remaining archival evidence.
Her next project is something she’s been wanting to do for a long time.
“I’m writing a book on the Kennedys during the summer of 1944 at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. This was the summer that changed their lives and took Jack Kennedy to the White House.”
LEELEE Lucky’s in Mt Lawley has a catchy name, but was the food at the Asian cafe any good?
Owner LeeLee certainly hada heart-warming backstory with her parents being some of the first Vietnamese boat people to arrive in Australia in 1977, after spending two years in a refugee camp in Malaysia.
On arrival her mother traded her wedding ring for a wok and spatula, and borrowed money for cooking oil, then opened a market stall using surplus food provided by the UN Refugee Agency.
The stall was highly successful and 46 years later her daughter is carrying on the family tradition with LeeLee Lucky’s.
Situated on Central Avenue in a lovely pocket of suburbia with gorgeous old character homes and manicured gardens, there were remnants of Halloween everywhere with a row of giant fluffy spiders on the garden wall opposite the cafe.
The small cafe had a tiny open kitchen, where you could literally see them preparing the food a metre behind the till. There was also a small stove with a pot boiling away in the corner, where an older Asian woman was busy making hot meals.
The place was super clean. Sounds like a given, but I’ve been to a lot of grubby cafes and this looked spotless. It also had a relaxing air with a cute little curtain on the window, chilled artworks and a pleasant colour scheme (a bit like someone’s lounge).
This sense of relaxation was enhanced by the wall-to-wall 80s ballads playing in the background, including Hello, Red Red Wine, I want you to be my Baby and Smooth Operator.
It was like being back at my school disco in Glasgow in 1987, where by the end of the night I was dancing cheek-to-cheek with “Big Tina” from the Gorbals.
The cafe was pretty busy ona Tuesday lunchtime – regulars rubbing shoulders with tradies – and the friendly staff seemed to be on first-name terms with a lot of the clientele and were incredibly polite.
The menu was compact with spring rolls, rice paper rolls, banh mi, pho, Vietnamese salads and some desserts.
The banh mi seemed to be very popular, but I wanted something more substantial.
It wasn’t long before the older lady brought over the steaming beef pho ($15) to my bench seat beside the window.
It was a fragrant affair with the coriander, spring onions, noodles and light broth creating an enticing aroma. The pho really came to life when I added some of the beansprouts, chillies and lemon juice from the side plate.
The finishing touch was a liberal dose of hoisin sauce which the lady from behind the counter had kindly brought over.
But what about the main attraction – the beef?
I’ve had plenty of phos with old shoe leather in there, but this thick-cut beef was tender and had no traces of fat.
The broth was nice and clear too; not swimming in a pool of oil.
I washed it all down with a watermelon juice ($5) which was nice enough, but a bit sweet for my tastes.
When Through the Barricades came on, it was time to leave, but the lunch was so good I got a Lemongrass beef salad and Vietnamese chicken salad (both $15) to take home for dinner
My wife “Special K” and I struggled to finish the massive bowl of salad which included a generous mound of rice noodles, shredded carrot, cucumber, lettuce and plenty of protein.
The little tub of fragrant dressing was a zesty delight that really brought out the flavours in the slices of tender chicken and beef.
Dinner was another success and I will be back to try Lucky’s spring rolls and banh mi.
LeeLee Lucky’s 181 Central Ave, Mount Lawley leeleeluckys.com.au
• Geoffrey Drake-Brockman with his Floribots at the Morris Museum in New York in 2018.
Will cybernetic plants rampage about the CBD and swallow humans like some disturbing version of the Venus flytrap this month?
Maybe if you watched Terminator 2 too many times and believe that AI machines can become self-aware and destroy humankind.
The Voice can guarantee that the 128 ‘Floribots’ installed in Hay Street Mall will react in spectacular fashion to your movements and emotions like some colourful, interactive organism.
A mix of robotics, optical artworks and AI, Floribots is the only interactive robotic flowerpot garden in the world, and was the brainchild of award-winning WA cybernetics artist Geoffrey Drake- Brockman.
“One day I accidentally mis-connected a prototype origami chatterbox to a robotic system and it suddenly flipped inside-out,” Drake-Brockman says.
“I could see that this action was like a flower blooming, so I could make a whole garden of robot flowers that would develop the idea of a collective robot.
“…when I came to write the software to control the swarm I wanted an ‘emotional’ model for the way it would respond to the world. I thought of the behaviour of my then toddler-aged sons – remembering the ‘terrible twos’, and I had conceptual driver for the system’s behaviour.”
The “field of flowers” has already gone down a storm in New York, where audiences were wowed by them shooting up to more than a metre in height and suddenly blooming pink and yellow, before returning to a small bud.
Almost like a social organism, the hive has a collective mood based on the movement detected by its infra-red sensors (imagine the Borg from Star Trek minus the galaxy-destroying bit).
It means that two visits to the installation are never the same.
With a degree in computer science from UWA and an MA in visual arts from Curtin Uni, Drake-Brockman initially worked as a computer systems analyst, until he found his calling in the twilight zone between cybernetics and installation art. He has pursued that calling full-time since the noughties.
Drake-Brockman says creating the R2-D2 flowers pushed him to the physical and technical brink.
“With 128 robot flower pots it has literally thousands upon thousands of moving parts that all need to synchronise and function smoothly,” he says.
“I often say that Floribots ‘only just works’.
“When I achieved a stable formula that functions and responded to its I audience I froze the design.
“One of the first strange things I encountered were audiences who were fascinated and literally ‘stopped in their tracks’ watching it. I had to explain to them that Floribots can only see motion, so they had become invisible to it, which could cause it to sink into a ‘mood’ and exhibit ‘attention-seeking’ behaviour”.
If the Floribots use AI, should we be worried about hurting their feelings, after then-Google senior software engineer Blake Lemoine claimed the company’s AI chatbot LaMDA was a self-aware person (he was subsequently fired)?
“I’m not convinced that current level AIs are sentient in the everyday way that we understand this word,” Drake-Brockman says.
“However, I see every reason to believe that eventually sentient AIs will emerge.”
And what about the terrifying prospect of AI becoming self-aware one day and deciding that pesky humans are a nuisance and should be terminated?
“I believe we should be aware of all the possibilities, good and bad, from AI,” Drake-Brockman says.
“I think that humans should guide AI development towards ‘favourable AI’.”
Shown for the first time in Australia since 2007, the free exhibition Floribots will be at the Moana Chambers Building in Hay Street Mall from November 5 to December 2.
If you’re after an East Perth pad that will wow your jet-setting clients and friends, this could be right up your AMEX gold card alley.
Situated on the 6th floor of the exclusive Adagio development, you can enjoy a breath-taking panorama of the Swan River from the balcony of this three bedroom two bathroom apartment.
Aperitifs, canapés and bellinis will go down a treat on the 20sqm balcony, where I can imagine guests mingling before venturing out into the city or going back inside for a slap-up meal.
The inside isn’t too shabby either with a gorgeous honey-tinge to the polished floorboards, which really ‘pop’ against the white sleek kitchen.
Apartment kitchens can be on the small size, but this is a spacious number with top-end Miele appliances and a large island with enough room for a breakfast bar.
There’s plenty of space in the open plan dining/lounge area for a sizeable table and a nice couch facing that glorious view.
The floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors ensure you can enjoy the view from several vantage points in the open plan area.
The bedrooms continue this theme with large windows maximising the view and ensuring plenty of natural light.
One of the highlights is the main bedroom ensuite which has double vanities, a huge shower and even a bath worthy of any up-market hotel suite.
The home includes a large seperate laundry, audio visual security intercom, ducted reverse cycle air con, lockable storeroom and two secure underground parking bays.
The facilities at the Adagio complex are top class with a 25m lap pool, children’s pool and spa bath, a fully equipped gymnasium, on-site theatrette, sauna, BBQ area, games room, residents lounge and meeting room.
There’s also 10 visitor car bays and even a designated car washing area.
Situated on Terrace Road, this 136sqm apartment is within walking distance of Elizabeth Quay and the Optus Stadium, and the new owners will no doubt be going for lots of lovely walks and cycles along the Swan River foreshore.
Offers above $1,399,000 38/90 Terrace Road, East Perth Home open today (SaturdayNovember 5) and tomorrow11:30am-12pmRealEstate88 9200 6168 Agent Chris O’Brien 0452 581 831
Perth Voice Interactive 