Perth Voice Interactive

HERITAGE PERTH WEEKEND is back across April 16 to 18 with a new focus on Noongar history.

Now in its 11th year, Perth council’s weekend of exploring notable buildings and sites has been co-named Boorloo Kwedjang Bardip Yanginy, meaning Perth Old Story Sharing.

Lord mayor Basil Zempilas said in a statement: “With the guidance of the City of Perth Elders Advisory Group, the Bridyas, we have introduced dual naming for this event to reflect the importance of the cultural heritage of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people,” and he hopes the events will make for a better understanding of shared history.

Elder Uncle Farley Garlett said “my culture, Nyoongar Culture, is about stories – stories told to our children who learn our lore and culture. 

“For our youth, it is about guiding them along in life. 

“Our family is an extended family where we all come together, sit down, tell stories and share.”

Among the 133 events this year are:

• Yokai Healing at Wellington Square on April 18, the long-time site for Sorry Day, with stories from survivors and families of the stolen generation;

•  A Coolbaroo Dance at Perth Town Hall on April 17 at 6pm, harking back to an old tradition that was popular at the Coolbaroo Club when Aboriginal people weren’t allowed in the CBD without permission. Coolbaroo means magpie in Yamatji and the black and white bird represents races coming together;

• Fireside Yarning at Matta Gerup (Heirisson Island), with Bridyas telling their stories on Friday night;

•  A tour of East Perth’s forgotten history April 17 and 18. Well-liked walking tour group Two Feet and a Heartbeat lead a guided talk through the old colonial cemeteries, the lost Chinese cemetery, and the hidden Jewish cemetery;

• Chung Wah holds an open house, participating for the first time in a Heritage Weekend. It’s 111 years since the Chung Wah Association’s foundation stone was laid;

• Former Heritage Perth director Richard Offen returns to the public eye for a talk on Perth’s oldest buildings on Saturday at the City of Perth library, telling the stories of their construction and the people who built them.

Like previous years there’s also many tours of iconic buildings, but they’re popular and always fill up so book via visitperth.com/heritageperthweekend

IN this instalment of Lost Vincent, the City of Vincent Local History Centre brings us the story of the Premier Theatre & Gardens, Stirling and Bulwer Streets, Perth.

THE Premier Theatre was built in 1925 on the corner of Stirling and Bulwer streets in Perth. 

Its early history was closely connected to the East Perth Football Club, which had previously screened films at Perth Oval. 

The construction was funded by club patron Bill Haynes and for many years the theatre was managed by EPFC secretary Cyril Norton. 

In 1937, the adjacent outdoor theatre Summer Gardens opened and in the 1950s Cyril’s son Graham Norton took over management of the theatre. 

“Every suburban theatre in Perth had gardens because it was too damn hot in the theatre in summer,” Mr Norton said in an interview with the Local History Centre in 2008. 

“If it rained, they used to have to carry half of the projection equipment across into the theatre and start 20 minutes later in the theatre.

Cheap seat

“Of course everyone from the cheap seats in the garden used to head straight into the theatre for the good seats upstairs.

“[From the late 1950s] television was having an effect on our attendances. First thing we did was start running a lot of Italian movies. There were a lot of Italians in the area. 

“We used to advertise the posters around the restaurants and areas around Lake Street and James Street… We ran Greek films and Italian films and English speaking films. 

“It kept us going for a while and that’s why we still owned the cinema after all the TV hoo hah.”

Ice rink

The Premier Theatre closed in 1963 and was converted into an ice skating rink and later a disco. 

The Summer Gardens closed in 1975 when the screen blew down in a storm. 

All of the buildings were demolished in 1987 and were replaced with an office building, which was in turn demolished in 2018 to make way for construction of a new supermarket due to open shortly.  

Mr Norton’s full interview is available at the Vincent Local History Centre, and for more great photos of former cinemas and life in the Vincent area visit: https://cityofvincent.imagegallery.me/

THE former caretaker of Hostel Milligan is concerned there’s no fire alarms or detectors in place to proof the building against another blaze, and the council doesn’t require any. 

Tony Ransom ran the hostel there until the owners, Singapore-based Fragrance Group, ceased his lease in 2019 to make way for a double-tower redevelopment that’s yet to start. 

The building was supposed to be secured by the owner under a heritage agreement signed by Fragrance, Perth city council, and the WA Heritage Council. But it wasn’t secure enough and after months of break-ins, a fire damaged the innards in March.

At last week’s Perth city council meeting Mr Ransom lodged a question, first noting: “Thankfully the fire department extinguished the significant fire which would otherwise have become a massive inferno in the heritage-listed Milligan Hostel/Pearl Villa last week.

“Can you advise if the building is still protected with 30 smoke detectors, two heat detectors, emergency alarm lights and alarm bells being active?

“Or is the building now unprotected, with power to the detectors now being disconnected? If disconnected, how does the council now match the previous protection?”

Council CEO Michelle Reynolds responded: “The building is declared as non-habitable by the city and therefore cannot be occupied. All access points remain permanently sealed. Persons illegally entering the building, actually breaking and entering, is a matter for local police.

“As the building is declared non-habitable and is to remain unoccupied (vacant) there is no requirement to have an operational fire system in place. All services to the building have been disconnected.”

That’s in line with DFES recommendation to switch off all utilities to deter break-ins and reduce the risk of fire, but the catch is that wired smoke alarms become useless. 

When Mr Ransom showed us around the building in 2019 he pointed out they had an arsenal of fire extinguishers at the ready in case of any fire, and council inspectors regularly visited to ensure all fire-preventing gear was up to standard. 

Shortly after the fire when we spoke to Fragrance’s local agent, architect Laurie Scanlan, he told us they were doing everything they could to secure the place.

We queried if it’d have been more secure just leaving the hostel tenants in place until closer to the development date. Mr Scanlan said work was supposed to start much sooner and the original start date had been delayed due to “Covid; these are things we couldn’t have imagined” and his focus now is on keeping it secured.

Ms Reynolds also told councillors “a structural engineer was engaged, at the city’s request, by the property owner and found that the recent fire did not damage the heritage elements of the building” including the villa, which is to be kept as part of the redevelopment approval. 

By DAVID BELL

Vincent mayor Emma Cole, Mary Charlton, Mia Pitassi and Helen Ingman from Tools n Things Library, and Andrea Freeman from Vincent’s parks team get ready for the yearly Vincent native plant sale, which is back at North Perth Common April 17.

Vincent’s bringing in 5000 native tube stocks and a forest of trees.

Vincent residents get heavily subsidised prices and anyone who’s signed up to the adopt-a-verge program can collect their 20 free plants there.

Mayor Emma Cole says native plants are a smart switch given how little water they use, along with providing snacks and homes for wildlife. The folk from the Tools n Things Library will also be there, in case you need to borrow a shovel or hoe to put your new plants in.

It runs 8am to 11am at the corner of Fitzgerald and View Streets.

Daisy Tjuparntarri Ward is helping the Yogazeit team plan a program for remote Aboriginal communities.

YOGA and mindfulness will be taught in western desert WA Aboriginal communities in an effort to combat high rates of depression and anxiety.

Freo-based not-for-profit Yogazeit has brought in Ngaanyatjarra elder Daisy Tjuparntarri Ward to help plan the culturally-appropriate sessions which start in May.

Ms Ward says “learning to be mindful and look after our health and wellbeing will be relevant for generations to come.

“I’m looking forward to welcoming the team from Yogazeit to our Land and sharing our knowledge to help them support our young generations with breathing, mindfulness and movement.”

Aboriginal people experience higher rates of depression and anxiety, and Yogazeit says physical and mental health are improved by mindfulness and yoga. 

They’re planning breathing activities, mindfulness movement (trauma-sensitive yoga), relaxation and mindfulness games, along with yarning and storytelling. 

“We will really immerse in the community,” Yogazeit’s Regina Cruickshank says, and the curriculum will be delivered in traditional language and illustrated by school children from the communities.

“Learning to live mindfully helps us to increase focus, decrease stress and manage our emotions, ultimately to cope better in difficult times. 

“By building on the skills already in place in our remote indigenous communities, we bring together the history, language, and stories of the land and combine this with evidence-informed practices of yoga and mindfulness for youth.” 

The eight campuses involved are spread across large distances in the Western Desert, but share common bonds in the cultures of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara, and Pintupi people.

WELLINGTON SQUARE had a soft reopening this week after $17.5 million upgrade.

The park’s received a dual name Moort-ak Waadiny (Searching for Family) in recognition of the area’s significance to Aboriginal people.

“It’s very exciting to see so many people here,” lord mayor Basil Zempilas said on Saturday March 27. 

“This wasn’t advertised; the doors just opened today, the fencing just came down and look how many people are here.

“It is wonderful to see this park, Wellington Square, reimagined, alive, and open again for business,” he said.

The state government kicked in $4.37m via Lotterywest for a place of reflection to commemorate the stolen generations and for a 3000 sqm intergenerational playground called Koolangka Koolangka Waabiny, “Children’s Children’s Playground” in Whadjuk Noongar. 

Perth state Labor MP John Carey said it’s the kind of space needed to get more families living in the city. 

“What is fantastic about this attraction is it’s for families.

“What you’re seeing here today is the kind of stuff that children love; water playgrounds, flying fox, climbing equipment. 

“This is the kind of stuff that we need to see in Perth.” 

“This is world class,” Mr Zempilas said. “This facility for children of all abilities and all ages is as good as anything anywhere in the world.”

New amenities include event spaces, new footpaths, furniture and shaded BBQ and picnic areas (there’s about 350 new trees), skate park, pump track, and basketball court. New lighting and CCTV has been installed and the sports fields have been reworked with input from nearby schools and sports clubs to get them down there more. 

The community launch is on April 10 from 11am to 4pm, with food trucks, sports and cultural activities.\

by DAVID BELL