Perth Voice Interactive

THE old railway worker’s cottage at 34 Cheriton Street may soon be home to a new local research centre for the Museum of Perth.

The not-for-profit history group is based in the CBD but has outposts in East Fremantle and in Bunbury, where they’ve put together extensive histories of local properties and biographies of historic people in return for peppercorn rent. 

MoP executive director Reece Harley wrote to Vincent council proposing the museum restore 34 Cheriton Street and move in a research office, community meeting room and local history library, and there’s space in the back for the museum to move in an 1896 railway train carriage it owns.

Peppercorn

The museum hopes to either acquire the property or get a long term management order with a peppercorn lease.

The 110-year-old cottage near the East Perth train station is owned by the state government but managed by Vincent council. But it’s been a bit of a burden eating up maintenance funds to keep it secure against squatters, and it needs extensive restoration. 

The rear lot has a community garden run by the local Norwood Neighbourhood Association who welcome the MoP’s plan.

A few years back they hoped to turn the cottage into a community hub but were never quite able to muster up the numbers and hours, and then NNA’s driver behind the project Anton Haynes died in January.

Fellow garden member Simon Thackrah told Vincent council: “The residents and community garden volunteers that I’ve consulted are supportive … the opportunity to partner with the Museum of Perth is really exciting for us. A staffed presence at the house would ensure that the garden can be open to the public for longer hours than we as an association were able to achieve.”

The museum gets funding from Lotterywest, philanthropic grants, and most of the research staff are funded via the federal government work for the dole program. Mr Harley noted there was a need for more WFTD placements in the Perth city area, and having another 30 workers on site would help nearby cafes. 

Mayor Emma Cole said “for a long time we’ve been looking for a solution to Cheriton Street … every now and again an opportunity comes out of the blue that works really well”.

The council voted unanimously to support the future use and management being handed over to the Museum of Perth, which will have to be approved by minister for lands Tony Buti.

“We’ll be happy to do whatever we need to do to support that,” Ms Cole said.

BANKS RESERVE users have succeeded in saving the park’s pavilion, for now.

Vincent council decided back in March 2019 to replace the pavilion with a partially covered plaza as part of the Banks Reserve Masterplan.

During public consultation at the time some users said the pavilion should stay as the area doesn’t have many community halls.

But the council’s rationale for demolition said parts of the building were “rapidly nearing end of life” and it did not meet current accessibility standards. It cost $35,000 to maintain per year and would need $500,000 to bring it up to a “reasonable, compliant standard”. 

Community usage was pretty low with an occupancy rate of 8 per cent, with the other major user being a privately run childcare centre which had its lease expire in mid-2019.

Now as the demolition date draws near and construction fencing has popped up around the building, a campaign’s started to “Save Banks Reserve Pavilion”.

Lost community

Yoga instructor Wendy Herring signed the anti-demolition petition: “I taught yoga at Banks for two years prior do closure during Covid,” she said.

“I am not teaching anywhere now. 

“I had a core group that I taught for eight years in Mount Lawley. 

“I have lost my community.”

Ms Herring and about 40 locals attended a meeting with mayor Emma Cole at Banks Reserve on May 1 to protest the plan.

Ms Cole told the Voice: “We are taking on board the feedback that was provided on Saturday… and we won’t be demolishing the building until we’ve looked at what the options might be and what the costs would be.”

Options include maintaining the building, keeping a part of it, or redesigning the plaza plan to include an indoor-space. 

Ms Cole said, given the costs involved, “if we were to provide a community facility, we’d want to know the community actually uses it”, noting the historically low community occupancy rates of the building. 

In the meantime small works will go ahead to pull out some asbestos.

by DAVID BELL

BAYSWATER council’s plan to relocate the Wotton Reserve skate park to a nearby spot in the same park has proven predictably unpopular with its skate advisory committee.

The committee fears the new skate park might be smaller if the council spends state government skate funding on unrelated park improvements. 

The skate advisory committee is made up of skaters, BMXers and a few council representatives, and formed to help the council decide where to move the park once it had to be demolished for Metronet train station upgrades. 

The state government is putting $2.5m into the new park.

The committee overwhelmingly favoured Broun Park, but nearby residents objected so a split council voted to relocate it to another spot further south on Wotton Reserve (“Skate park to move despite threats”, Voice, May 1, 2021).

Windmills

That was despite Morley Windmills Soccer Club, who also use Wotton, objecting to the skate park encroaching on its parking space. 

The skate committee met again this week and has thrown a spanner in the works: They passed a resolution pointing out that the Wotton Reserve option involves spending state government money on a carpark more than 250m away from the skatepark that’s intended to appease the Windmills, and on relocating a playground 250m away that’s unrelated to the skate park.

The resolution notes the state gave that $2.5million for the skate park, and the committee “wishes to state our objection to this money being used towards non-skate or BMX related infrastructure”. 

That resolution now goes back to the full council to consider.

Correction: LAST week’s story on the skate park featured an incorrect vote tally, missing out councillor Giorgia Johnson who also voted with the majority keen on the Wotton relocation option.

by DAVID BELL

PREGNANT women have been ‘traumatised’ by WA’s lockdown say women’s health advocates.

They’re campaigning for lighter childbirth restrictions in future lockdowns, arguing premier Mark McGowan approved 40,000 punters packing into Optus Stadium for a footy game, but expecting mums were only allowed one support person. 

Make It Make Sense campaign leader, doula and childbirth coach Jessie McGarry said WA’s tough restrictions separated families, as women were forced to choose between their partners or their experienced childbirth support workers. 

“No one can replace a partner and the love and support they give, but also, no one can replace the doula who is experienced in what a woman will go through physically, mentally and emotionally in birth,” she said. 

“The fact that [women] have been faced with this choice is one thing… a step down from that is, these women can’t even have their partner come in and join them unless they are in ‘active labour’”. 

“If a woman experiences a bleed, and she has to go in because she’s worried about the health of her baby, she has to go in alone … women miscarrying have to go in alone”. 

The restrictions also enforced tight constraints on support people visiting loved ones who’d given birth, with rules varying between hospitals. 

In an Instagram post on Ms McGarry’s account, one woman wrote: “My husband was kicked out soon after [the baby] was born and not allowed to visit… I found the whole ordeal distressing and traumatising.”

Another said: “My husband had to leave after our baby was born. I was alone on the ward for two nights before leaving early despite not feeling ready.” 

“The expectation on women is ‘well you’re alive so deal with it,’” Ms McGarry said.

“Coming out of a birth and being alive and your baby being alive, doesn’t protect you from birth trauma”. 

“The way that we birth matters; it will stay with us for the rest of our lives”.

“A lot of it comes down to this intense feeling of grief where their experience has been ripped away from them”. 

While the restrictions eased on Saturday, Ms McGarry said the fear of having to birth if they were reintroduced was causing anxiety among pregnant women.

“They’re not able to rest. 

“They’re just in a constant state of fear knowing that things can change at any second”. 

Stricter

Ms McGarry said she couldn’t understand why the restrictions were stricter than during WA’s first lockdown. 

“When Covid arrived, hospitals went down to one support person, and Dads could visit two hours, twice a day,” she said. 

“It was pretty decent compared to what we have now”. 

“It’s like it’s getting harsher and longer each time… that’s why it’s scary”.

The restrictions are also putting pressure on midwives, who are in overdrive compensating for the support which would otherwise be given by doulas. 

“They are shattered, and they are the ones who have to enforce these rules, even though they didn’t make them,” she said. 

“They are the ones who are given the job of turning these loved ones away”.

Health minister Roger Cook pushed responsibility onto hospitals, saying they were acting on their own health advice.

When pushed by reporters who pointed out the restrictions were imposed by order of his government, Mr Cook said: “We require our hospital leaders to implement the changes consistent with the public health advice … in terms of restricted movement.”

Mr Cook said hospitals had a high number of people vulnerable to Covid, so it was important to keep access to a minimum.

The once-grand balconies as seen in 1926. Photo from the State Library of WA, BA533/11.

HIS Majesty’s Theatre is having its long-vanished balconies and verandahs restored and the Perth Theatre Trust needs help ensuring the new works are authentic.

The two tiers of classical style balconies were once a point of pride of the building, but were removed around 1950 when city building surveyor AG Sloane deemed them dangerous. 

The Trust is hoping to find original balcony components to can be used as moulds or models, from pieces of columns, metopes, balustrades, balusters, pediments, light fittings or post brackets.

Any drawings or photos of the demolition would be useful as well: Get in touch via hmt@ptt.wa.gov.au or drop items at the stage door at 825 Hay Street (they’ll be returned after architects can inspect them).

Arts minister David Templeman issued a statement saying the works would help the hard-hit performing arts industries. 

“We want to ensure the beloved His Majesty’s Theatre remains a world-class venue for opera, dance and theatre,” he said.

“These works are particularly exciting, and they complement other improvements from the past few years, including upgrading the orchestra pit, box office, auditorium and entranceway.

by DAVID BELL

This week’s story from the Vincent Local History Centre seeks any information on a photo and items found tucked behind a mantelpiece while the 1920s home at 10 Janet Street was being renovated. 

THE older character homes found in the inner-city suburbs of Vincent can contain unexpected mementos of former owners.

Home renovators are sometimes rewarded with unusual and interesting historic finds under their floorboards or buried in their backyards.  

Recently, the residents of 10 Janet Street found some historic treasures tucked behind their living room mantelpiece while renovating their 1920s home. The finds included a faded photograph of a little girl and her toy pram, an old soap box package and a match box containing a tiny pencil and a child’s drawings.

They recently shared their discoveries with the Vincent Local History Centre in the hope of finding out more about the family who left them behind. 

None of the items were inscribed with names or dates, but it’s likely they date from the 1930s or 1940s. During this time Black Swan Safety Matches were manufactured by the WA Match Company formerly in Havelock Street in West Perth Librarians at the Vincent Local History Centre helped narrow the search for the girl in the photo by scouring through records of former residents of the home, which was built in 1923. With 15 different residents and families living at 10 Janet Street between 1923 and the 1950s, finding the identity of the girl in the photo is no easy task.

After a search through residential and ownership records for the home, it is possible that the little girl was the child of Walter and Evelyn Parker who lived in the home with their two children George and Shirley in the 1930s.

Evelyn Wilhemina Parker (nee Tite) died in 1936 at the age of 28 leaving her husband to raise their two young children. The family moved from 10 Janet Street soon after Evelyn’s death.  

If you are a former resident of Janet Street, or you recognise the little girl in the photo, please get in touch with the Local History Centre. The local history librarians would also love to hear from other residents who may have found historic treasures buried in and around their homes. 

To learn more about when your house was built or the people who have called it home, the Local History Centre offers free workshops to introduce you to resources and information that can help you unlock the secrets of your home.  The next house history workshop will be held in at the Vincent Library and Local History Centre on Wednesday 12 May at 9.30am. The workshop is free, but bookings are essential: email or 9273 6090

WA governor Kim Beazley with Notre Dame and Curtin uni students at Government House. Photo by Stacey Harding ‘Imagine if we never did anything because we thought we were too small or too young? Nothing would ever change’

“THE leaders of tomorrow are in this room,” said WA governor Kim Beazley while opening a Youth Democracy Forum at Government House last month as part of a Youth Week lecture series.

Students from UWA, Curtin, Edith Cowan, Murdoch, and Notre Dame Universities attended the Royal Room with questions and concerns about Australian politics and democracy. 

The guest panel of five speakers began with University of WA political scientist and lecturer Ben Reilly who said there was a decline worldwide of young people’s support for democracy.

Democratic

Prof Reilly analysed which countries were fully democratic versus those with flawed or hybrid forms of government, using juxtaposed photos of Winnie the Pooh and Chinese President Xi Jinping to question students on which image was banned in China.

The forum looked at what Australia’s democracy might look if young people lost faith in politicians and governing systems.

East Metropolitan MLC Samantha Rowe and former chief justice Robert French touched on voting, saying while it was about having accountability for your civic service, politics could seem very complex and muddy people’s view.

Curtin lecturer and ABC broadcaster Glynn Greensmith said it was important for young people to be well informed about political candidates and their policies and not just “click like” on their face value.

One of the youngest people ever voted onto WA local government was Mosman Park councillor Georgie Carey in 2019, when she was just 21 and still studying at university.

 “Youth represents all people,” Cr Carey said, encouraging forum participants to volunteer for local government. “We need more representation in traditional political spaces, there is a lack of trust in political institutions.” 

Cr Carey, who studied marketing at university, said governments had a branding issue and needed their representatives to reflect the diversity within Australian society. 

She argued today’s youth were engaged with political issues, but in a more contemporary way through conscious consumption, online activism, or social media entrepreneurship. She said it was still important for youth to be involved in decision making places and spaces.

“With pressing issues on climate change, the treatment of women in Parliament, the future of employment, and the ongoing strain of the global pandemic, the future could seem bleak for younger generations,” she said.

“Imagine if we never did anything because we thought we were too small or too young? Nothing would ever change!” 

After the forum Notre Dame journalism student Jamie Warnock said it was a great experience: “It gave us good exposure to media and political experts in their field, and they covered a broad range of topics, it was amazing.”

Social justice

Edith Cowan University student Brianna Melville said, “I’m passionate about social justice and broadcasting but some older people just dismiss me when I try to mention my thoughts on politics, the panel today really appreciated what we had to say.”

Governor Beazley’s call to arms was a reminder that youth are the future of democracy. 

“It is not about youth asking us for answers, it’s about ‘what do you think’,” Mr Beazley said.

NORTH PERTH’S Special Needs Dental Clinic is hoping for an extended lease until it can move into a new permanent premises, with Vincent council preparing to turn Haynes Reserve into parkland. 

The land is owned by the council and also hosts the Kidz Galore childcare centre. Last year after a concerted campaign by parents the council decided to let the childcare centre stay until 2025 to ease the transition. 

The state government’s lease over the Sydney Street dental clinic ends in June 2021 and the council was going to start work on that half of the block as soon as July.

But in January clients asked for parity with Kidz Galore’s 2025 extension to give the clinic time to get into a new full-service site instead of being crammed into a smaller interim clinic at Fremantle Hospital.

Concerned parent Barbara Joan Martin wrote to the council saying it was important to minimise disruption for the clinic’s vulnerable clients. 

Interim site

She wrote the main candidate for an interim site only has room for two surgeries compared to the current clinic’s four. That’ll likely lead to a doubling of appointment waiting times, which are already at 14 months for a recall appointment.

She wrote that the the smaller site will “cause some of the staff (who are a valuable resource) to be dispersed throughout Dental Health Services diluting the skillset for this clientele” and also means fewer student placement spots: “A minute percentage 

of dental graduates go on to study special needs dentistry”.

The possible interim site is also in a hospital setting which some patients have a phobia of, and it has lifts that some fear using. 

Sam Carrello is the general manager of Dental Health Services WA and told the April 28 council meeting his focus was on not making the clients have to move twice: 

“If we can avoid an interim solution — and an interim solution that’s not equivalent to what they have now – I think certainly the clients and consumers will benefit, so I ask for an extension, parity, similar to Kidz Galore if that’s possible.”

Mayor Emma Cole commented that the health department should have told them earlier that the clinic wanted to stay earlier in this lengthy process which had involved community and stakeholder consultation.

“A lot of work went into this and it was very difficult to hear from the Department of Health, after that process had concluded, that there was an issue in terms of their their lease,” she said.

“Whilst we’re dealing with some of the most vulnerable people in the community who desperately rely on the service, and I have the greatest empathy, I also do feel that the Department of Health does need to provide us with a plan, that this is something that they should have done a long time ago.

“This has been put at the doorstep of the City of Vincent as something that we must do, but we really do rely on the Department of Health to come to us and tell us what their plan is.”

Forum

The request to stay longer only arose in January during a consumer forum as the department met with clinic users to plan the transition, and they heard about Kidz Galore getting an extension.

For now, councillors voted to give the state government a three month lease extension for “further time to secure an alternative site” with another three months offered if the health minister shows them a relocation plan and timeframe. 

It’s unlikely the council will grant them a full extension to 2025 since it looks like Kidz Galore will able to move out early by 2023. 

By DAVID BELL

ATTADALE mum Victoria O’Neill will take part in a death-defying skydive today Saturday (May 8) to raise funds for people with sarcoma, a bone and soft tissue cancer most common in children and teens.

Eleven people will do the charity skydive at Jurien Bay, with Ms O’Neill hoping to raise at least $10,000 for Sock it to Sarcoma!

In 2010 Ms O’Neill’s nine-year-old son Harry was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

“You can imagine being told ‘your child has cancer’ is every parent’s worst nightmare,” she says. 

“He had 18 rounds of chemo and limb salvage surgery to remove the tumour which was located in his left shoulder and humerus. 

“We also have another girl jumping called Grace Deluca who had Ewing’s sarcoma about four years previous to Harry, and at the time she was in kindy.”

Ms O’Neill has organised seven Sock it to Sarcoma! skydives since 2011.

“Everyone is paying for their jumps and any other outgoings over the weekend,” she says. 

“So all money donated goes directly to the charity with no administration fees taken out.

“There are various different events throughout the year which are organised to raise money, but these have been a bit limited due to the last year and covid-19. 

“We do an annual bike ride which happens towards the end of the year and various other events.” 

To make a donation to the skydive go to https://secure. sockittosarcoma.org.au/donate/