Perth Voice Interactive

RARE Carnaby’s black cockatoos have returned to Baigup Wetlands.

The Baigup Wetlands Interest Group and Bayswater council have been working to pull out weeds and restore biodiversity at the wetlands’ which straddles Bayswater and Maylands. The area’s suffered from acid-sulphate soils, high salinity levels, invasive weeds and introduced species including domestic dogs bothering the wildlife.

The group’s goal is to provide a habitat for birds, terrestrial and aquatic animals like turtles, skinks, and the famous dancing peacock spider. 

The endangered Carnaby’s cockies were historically recorded in the area but when the council commissioned a wetlands management plan back in 2014, the birds hadn’t been seen there in years. 

Only two anecdotal sightings had been reported, with surveys in 1991 and 2010 coming up empty-handed. 

But a 2018 fauna survey recognised it was on its way back as a potential feeding area.

This week the council reported that cockies had come back, feasting on native plant species which had long since disappeared before revegetation efforts.

Regular wetlands walker John Baas photographed the birds, and tells us “I go to Baigup at least once a week and have been for years”. 

The birds are occasionally heard in tall trees outside the reserve and sometimes fly overhead, but he says “this is the first time I’ve seen them feeding in the reserve… the first time I’ve actually ever seen them using Baigup as habitat”.

The 2018 fauna survey also said the area also has potential to become a habitat for quenda again. The quenda, aka southern brown bandicoot, were also historically seen at Baigup but none were found in that survey, likely due to introduced predators, the habitat becoming fragmented from other bushland, and increased waterlogging. 

Meanwhile the Baigup Wetlands Interest Group’s work carries on, with volunteers invited to come down to work on the reserve this Sunday April 18 at 9am. 

Follow their work at http://www.facebook.com/BaigupWetlands/

by DAVID BELL

‘Pay $500,000 or we won’t come’

WA Day celebrations look like they’ll be held outside the WA capital after Perth city councillors decided against giving organisers the full funding they wanted. 

It was held in the Perth CBD in 2018 but then the major events moved to Burswood in 2019 before being Covid-cancelled in 2020.

Perth councillors have now voted to pitch in $150,000 funding in hopes of bringing most of the WA Day celebrations back to the city, falling short of the $500,000 the organiser Celebrate WA had requested. 

As the Voice went to print, Celebrate WA was yet to publicly confirm the locations of the June 6 and 7 events, but one of their board members Fiona Kalaf last week told councillors they just wouldn’t be able to do it in the city without $500,000 funding.

Ms Kalaf said most of the $150,000 would have to go towards “hostile vehicle management”, referring to the barriers introduced under federal government guidelines following a number of vehicle attacks over east and overseas.

The pricey barriers were the reason most of the 2021 Chinese New Year was moved to the Perth Cultural Centre precinct instead of happening in the streets.

Ms Kalaf told councillors: “We ask you to consider… whether or not the state’s major celebration should be held in Burswood or be brought home to the heart of our state, the capital city of Perth WA.

“Celebrate WA will bring life back into the city: Fireworks, a world class music festival, a free family friendly festival attracting over 150,000 people, and] significant economic value to the city and its ratepayers,” estimating the $500,000 will result in $23 million of economic activity. 

She said without the full funding it was unlikely Celebrate WA would consider a move in the future either.

A skeleton crew council of just five members had to make the call, as Cr Di Bain was an apology and three other members had declared potential conflicts of interest and stepped out of the room: Lord mayor Basil Zempilas is employed by Seven West Media, whose chief executive Maryna Fewster sits on the Celebrate WA board; deputy mayor Sandy Anghie is married to Celebrate WA chair Michael Anghie; and councillor Brent Fleeton is employed by Clarity Communications who handles Celebrate WA’s PR. 

In the sparse chamber councillor Rebecca Gordon said the projected footfall was attractive, but agreed staff had made the right call in recommending $150,000.

“Notwithstanding that this may result in the event not occurring in the City of Perth, I think this is the appropriate figure,” Cr Gordon told the chamber.

A Celebrate WA spokesperson told us an official announcement was impending.

by DAVID BELL

A BAYSWATER smash repairer with a long record of breaches has been fined $18,000 for continuing to take money off customers despite not being licensed to fix their cars.

Raymond John Goodall from The Force in Smash Repairs was fined back in 2012 for operating without a licence and misleading consumers about having one. 

He did eventually get one, but in 2019 fell afoul of Consumer Protection after a score of complaints that he’d taken money from customers upfront but never fixed their cars, leaving them to sit on the lot for months.  

Many customers were taxi or rideshare drivers who relied on their car to make a living. But delays ranged from three months to more than three years without work being done.

Mr Goodall has not held a licence to work on cars since March 2019 but still kept taking on jobs after that date.

Bayswater council took him to court over a half dozen instances of pollution drifting off his property from July to September 2019 when he carried out car spray painting. The magistrate noted Mr Goodall continued working despite council officers warning him to stop after the first three instances, and he was fined around $17,000.

Still Mr Goodall toiled on, and in March he was in court for accepting $12,000 from six more customers in the past 15 months, and again being sluggish with finishing the job.

Consumer Protection this week announced he’d been fined another $15,000 and ordered to pay $3,000 compensation to two of those customers.

Consumer Protection commissioner Lanie Chopping said in a statement: “Some vehicles were never repaired. Each car owner no doubt experienced stress, inconvenience and potentially loss of income as a result.

“Equally concerning is that Mr Goodall did not hold the required motor vehicle repairer business licence. The licensing regime exists to ensure the provider is a fit and proper person who is suitably qualified to carry out work that involves safety and specialised technical skills.”

by DAVID BELL

A WA-made film is soon to get a wider screening after wowing audiences at its premiere last month. 

Shot entirely in Merredin, Greenfield is the tale of a man who returns to his small town to win back his former girlfriend, but tensions explode when his brother lets him in on a dark secret.

The Voice’s own Matt Eeles saw the premiere at his WA Made Film Festival and says 

“Greenfield is a powerful piece of WA filmmaking. 

“It’s the kind of quality film that only comes along every now and again. 

“The young cast are impressive too, turning in some of the finest performances I’ve ever seen in a local film.”

It’s on West Perth’s The Backlot cinema from April 22, tickets via eventbrite.

A BOOK about the history of WA’s fire service and Murray Street’s Old Perth Fire Station launches this weekend, with 2021 marking 120 years since the station opened. 

“120 Years of WA Fire Service History” was written by long-time fire service members Phil Cribb, Ron Harley and Bill Rose.

Mr Harley compiled fire service memorabilia for years, dating back to when the old brass and copper gear was being phased out.  

“I said, ‘we’ve got to save this old stuff for future generations’,” Mr Harley said, and the gear he saved now populates the museum housed the old station (‘Firey fanned a flame’, Voice, March 20, 2021)

In the 1880s before the station opened Perth had just three permanent paid staff working out of the former Pensioner Guard Building on Barrack Street, at the south side of the Perth Town Hall. 

If a fire broke out, volunteers would hitch up the water truck to the only transport at hand: 

“Horses required to pull the fire appliance were sourced from the horse drawn taxis parked outside the building,” the book says.

As the 1890s gold rush led to a booming population the need for a bigger fire brigade was clear, and insurance companies, the colonial treasurer and local governments pooled cash to establish the WA Fire Brigades Board.

The Perth Fire Station on Murray Street was finished in 1901, and they now had their own stables with 18 horses instead of having to press taxi mounts into service. 

In case of fire, the fireys had to be dressed and horses saddled up in a minute to keep the chief officer happy, though one legendary record saw it done in just 16 seconds. 

The horses were well-conditioned to respond to the sound of bells. The book records one instance where “a retired fire station horse, which was pulling a milk cart, heard the pounding of hooves coming down the street and the strident ringing of the fire bell and raced along the street with its former workmates”.

The station got its first motorised fire appliance in 1908, but horses continued to be used in the city until 1920 and in the country for a few years longer.

The vehicles led to changes at the station, as the old limestone arch had to be dismantled to fit the taller appliances, and other old columns, mouldings and doors were pulled out over the years.

But apart from the minor changes the building was still mostly intact when it closed in the 1979. It narrowly avoided demolition and today the building’s been restored and now acts as the DFES Education and Heritage Centre. 

The full tale is in “120 Years of WA Fire Service History” and is available for pickup at the centre after the April 18 launch at 2pm, where the authors will be on hand. Free but book via educationandheritage@dfes.wa.gov.au

AUTHOR Melinda Tognini gives a talk this Friday April 23 on the people often left out of the story of Australia at war: The wives and families of the men who died.

By the end of World War II the phrase “lest we forget” was in common usage to remember the fallen soldiers, but their wives struggled in obscurity as they dealt with with poverty and social isolation.

When the war ended their pensions were subsistence level, but by banding together to form the guild they’d go on to win significant increases to the pension and campaigned to get subsidised aged care and affordable housing.

Tognini’s book Many Hearts, One Voice – The Story of the War Widows’ Guild in Western Australia delves into their story and her talk is at the Vincent Local History Centre (Loftus Street) at 10am. It’s free and there’s morning tea but book via 9273 6550 or local.history@vincent.wa.gov.au

An extract from Melinda Tognini’s Rumours:

A RUMOUR circulated that a small boat had been spotted in the  sea near where Herman had disappeared.

The rumour implied that Herman was a German spy and had been picked up by the passing vessel. This was despite the fact the sea had been so rough that day that no small boat could have survived the swell. 

Herman’s body was never found, although an inquest concluded his death was a terrible accident. Like numerous other families with men who died in service for their country, Rita and her children had no graveside to visit. 

VP Day was one of mixed emotions. The war was over. Peace had been declared. Yet they had to come to terms with the fact that Herman would not suddenly appear at the front door nor bake another loaf of bread…

…Rita never remarried. However, she did find a way forward when the Western Australian branch of the War Widows’ Guild was established in November 1946. 

Through this organisation, Rita discovered others who understood her loss. Not only did she develop life-long friendships, but she also became the guild’s inaugural treasurer. Rita also used the business knowledge she’d gleaned through the bakery to help secure the lease of the Esplanade Kiosk in Perth’s CBD in 1949. 

The dual aim was to provide a central meeting place for war widows and establish tearooms as a business venture. Although she would never forget the rumours and misinformation surrounding her husband’s death, Rita was able to find renewed purpose through the assistance she could offer the Guild and the women she met there. 

THE late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visited Perth on a number of occasions including in 1962 when he opened the VIIth British Empire and Commonwealth Games. 

The official opening of the games was held at Perry Lakes Stadium before a crowd of 50,000 people on 22 November, 1962. 

The Duke of Edinburgh officiated in his roles as the Queen’s representative and president of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Heatwave

The 1962 games coincided with a scorching heatwave that triggered a spate of metropolitan fires and caused many spectators and athletes to wilt with heat exhaustion. The Duke of Edinburgh made himself popular by staying for the entire 10-day duration of the games, visiting every sport that was in session, despite the extreme heat.

Frank McGrath, a former building surveyor with the City of Perth who volunteered to help operate the electronic scoreboard at Perry Lakes Stadium, recalled a casual encounter with Prince hilip at Perry Lakes Stadium during the games: “I had a gold armband which entitled me to go anywhere on the ground, including the Members’ Bar. One day, I walked in to find HRH the Duke of Edinburgh having a quiet drink  He invited me to join him for a while.”

During the Games, Beatty Park was the site of the swimming and diving events with Australian swimming legends such as Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose winning gold medals and breaking world records. 

Excitement

Joy Spence, wife of the then Beatty Park Manager Len Spence, recalls the excitement of the occasion: “It was an exciting time for Perth, and you felt it. Even to walk down the street you felt it. All those beautiful flags, all around the perimeter of Perry Lakes, they were a sight worth seeing. All the extra scaffolding with the extra seats and people everywhere. Also, we had Philip to thank for getting Underwood Avenue finished. I believe it just stopped at Jersey Street before, but that was continued on from Jersey Street to Perry Lakes so that Philip would have a nice smooth ride.”

Prince Philip was warmly welcomed to Perth in 1962, although solo he did not attract quite the same level of adulation as his previous visit in 1954 with the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II. 

Students from Mount Hawthorn Primary School were among the many thousands of well-wishers who lined the streets of Perth waving Australian and British flags to welcome Prince Philip in 1962. 

More photos are at https://cityofvincent.imagegallery.me/

THE winner of the Fremantle Round House ballad competition has joined calls for the Swan River Colony’s first execution to be revisited, saying he doesn’t believe the hanged boy was guilty of murder.

Local troubadour Justin Walshe wrote The Ballad of John Gavin after delving into the controversial circumstances behind the 15-year-old’s execution and burial in sand dunes near the Round House, saying he’s been “trying to get to the bottom of it … there’s a lot to it that hasn’t really been uncovered.”

Walshe performed his tune on the 177th anniversary of Gavin’s execution between Good Friday and Easter Sunday on April 6.

Gavin was a Parkhurst Reformatory Boy; “he was a convict, although they were never officially called convicts,” said Walshe.

In 1843 the youngster arrived aboard The Shepherd and was sent to work for the Pollard family on an isolated farm in North Dandalup, but five months later his employer’s son, 18-year-old George, was murdered with an adze.

After being detained in the Round House, Gavin produced a confusing confession and was executed a mere three days later.

Walshe says there appeared to be no rational motive or the physical ability to kill Pollard. 

“He was brutally hanged and doesn’t seem capable of the crime he was hanged for.”

Local playwright Peter Leonard Bibby has also delved into the mystery in his script Boy on a Rope and he names Pollard’s mother Jane as a more likely murderer. 

Bibby’s script reveals a more complicated story than those found in the few historic records available, and Walshe says it’s not implausible the death was actually filicide.

Laziness

“Jane Pollard, a tall large woman, was pregnant at the time; she had just lost a daughter and she was more than clear about being more than annoyed at her son’s singing and laziness,” Bibby says.

He reckons the mother was the “accuser of John Gavin from the very first moment” reportedly manhandling the young boy into the barn, locking him in, and heading straight to the magistrate.

“Gavin was not present when he was accused, from the beginning it was illegal in the way a magistrate would work at the time,” says the playwright.

Forensic testing suggested the adze that killed Pollard came in from a high angle, a challenging action for someone of Gavin’s diminutive physical structure. He was so small weights were tied to his legs to ensure his hanging as successful.

Bibby says it’s more plausible the fatal injury was caused by a tall large individual, and only one person on the farm matched that description; the victim’s mother.

Jane Pollard also claimed to have found her son’s dead body only after noticing his incessant singing had stopped.

That conflicted with Gavin’s confession, with the youth telling police there was yelling and screaming during the murder.

There is also mystery surrounding the aftermath of the execution. An 

“excellent mask of his face and cast of the skull” were made and were reportedly sent to the British Museum where they were subsequently stolen, although some scholars dispute this. 

Walshe and Bibby believe Gavin’s story highlights the “great issue of law and order in the Swan River Colony”.

by SAXON OMA