Perth Voice Interactive

MORE than 600 dead fish were found in the Swan River near the Garratt Road bridge this week.

Mostly bream, they were reported around the bridge and upstream on March 6, with the WA health department warning against fishing or even touching the water. 

The health department says the cause and extent is still being investigated, but “significant rainfall and increased flows from the Avon River may have contributed to the fish kill. An increased amount of debris is also expected to float downstream in coming weeks following the large rainfall event.”

The dead fish were gone as of Monday March 8 and signs warned “this water may cause ill effects to human and animals” and urging “no direct water contact activities”.

The signs were few and far between; a seasoned fisher named Mitch didn’t spot them, but noticed an unusual orange tint to the water as he threw in a line. 

He had some luck upstream of Garratt Road Bridge, pulling in two bream, saying his catch seemed unaffected and would make a good meal.

“Look – healthy, strong,” he said despite the warning. 

Mitch pointed out the water was the same earthy colour he recalled during a 2012 fish kill, when some 14,000 succumbed to algal blooms. 

Algal blooms have also contributed to dolphin sickness and deaths – along with chemicals – while last year Murdoch university researchers linked high rainfall events to a deadly skin disease on the mammals likened to being burned by acid.

After the 2012 die off the Swan River Trust prepared a report identifying a tangled web of problems. The river’s catchment area has been cleared for agriculture and development letting more contaminants and algae-causing nutrients flow downstream after rain. 

That’s compounded by urban areas using chemicals and fertilisers, though Bayswater council’s won commendations for its efforts to treat stormwater before it hits the river. And the lower overall rainfall means reduced “environmental flow” to keep it healthy. 

The SRT prepared a detailed strategy to fix the issue in 2015, tasking several state departments to take action, but the most recent progress report from August 2020 reveals several unfinished items. 

Delayed or “at risk” items include managing “environmental flows” (a lack of flow let the 2012 algae sit around for months), monitoring contaminants, and research to investigate threats to the river’s ecosystem.

For now the potential spread of the fish kill is being monitored and anyone who sees dead or sluggish fish in other areas of the river are asked to call FishWatch on 1800 815 507.

PLANS to put a commercial kiosk in Hyde Park has the WA branch of the Australian Garden History Society “deeply concerned”.

The society says the kiosk could be detrimental to the park’s health and heritage, and it should be retained as a non-commercial space.  

Vincent council is testing public opinion on whether to put a permanent kitchen kiosk in the same building as the toilets near the western playground. It’s up for debate as to whether it’d replace food trucks, or operate along along with them.

AGHS(WA) branch chair John Viska knows the park and its history like few others, having co-authored the 2003 Hyde Park Conservation Plan commissioned by Vincent council. 

Threat

In a letter to council last week, he said the society’s concerns had been picked up by its national branch, and “as a consequence [Hyde Park] has been placed on the AGHS’s ‘Landscapes at Risk’ list.

The list includes significant gardens and cultural landscapes facing a threat from development or neglect.

Mr Viska’s letter says the park will be impacted by “building activity, parking, signage, rubbish generation, [and] disposal” from the kiosk. 

While the council wants to “activate” the park, the conservation plan warns some sensitive trees needed less activity in order to survive.

Mr Viska wrote in his letter that the kiosk “is in close proximity to a 120-year-old  Moreton Bay Fig… increased activation in this area will have a deleterious effect on the health of the tree”.

Mayor Emma Cole said in a statement about the kiosk: “It’s time to have a conversation about how we want to enjoy Hyde Park into the future and what food and drink options we want on offer at the park, if at all.

“For many people – from those who are enjoying a picnic to parents watching their children playing in the water playground – food and coffee are a big part of the park experience.

“Hyde Park has a reputation as one of Perth’s most beautiful parks and we want to make sure it keeps bringing back visitors and locals alike.”

Public comment’s open til April 2 at imagine.vincent.wa.gov. au and a decision’s due at the April 27 council meeting.

THE first woman elected to a WA road board, Nellie Fawdrey Tant, has had a park named in her honour.

Bayswater mayor Dan Bull first moved to name a park after Ms Tant back in 2019. She was elected to Bayswater’s predecessor the Belmont-Bayswater Road Board in 1921. The first woman to be on a road board and the second to be on a council, she was a key figure in the Women’s Service Guilds of WA which campaigned to win women the right to nominate. 

The Strand Reserve was chosen as a potential green monument to Ms Tant and following a lengthy process “Nellie Tant Reserve” was officially proclaimed on March 8, International Women’s Day. 

Cr Bull says: “The commemorative naming of the reserve is a wonderful way to celebrate such an important milestone for women in WA history.

“We consulted the community on the naming and liaised with both Ms Tant’s family and the Bayswater Historical Society to gather information and ensure it was an appropriate way of honouring Ms Tant’s significant political achievement.”

Landgate policy usually opposes naming places after a person for their public service, but given Ms Tant’s pioneering contribution gave it the green light.

Nellie Fawdrey Tant

Courtesy the Bayswater Historical Society

Nellie Tant was born Helen Fawdrey Hatton in 

England, 1880.

As a young woman she worked as a seamstress, and later married Richard Tant, a painter and decorator.

They had three surviving children, all daughters: Florence Edith May, Nellie Alberta Kathleen, and Doris Lorna Kathleen.

In 1913 the family, who were living in Richmond (now Kew Gardens), Surrey, England, immigrated to Australia, landing at Fremantle on the SS Armadale in that year.

The family eventually settled in Traylen Road, Bayswater. 

Nellie Tant had many interests; the suffragette movement in England, the Spiritualist Church in Maylands, the St John Ambulance Brigade, the Women’s Service Guild, and was a feminist with strong political convictions in the area of women’s interests.

Nellie Tant had an enquiring turn of mind and innovations in any field were of great interest to her.

Ms Tant’s political and community interests took her into local government, when on April 9, 1921 she was elected to the West Ward of Bayswater Road Board.

A World War II era Women’s Land Army Recruitment poster.

ANZAC Cottage is marking Women’s History Month with its March Anzac Afternoon dedicated to the Australian Women’s Land Army.

The AWLA was formed after Japan entered World War II, with Australian prime minister John Curtin’s response to the threat to build-up the armed forces, leaving labour shortfalls at home.

Women were recruited to work the emptied farms and keep the nation fed. 

They were often from cities and unskilled in rural work, prompting skepticism as to whether they’d be up to the task. But soon “skeptical attitudes … generally changed to praise and respect,” according to the Australian War Memorial.

By December 1943 there were 2300 full timers doing at least 12 months’ service, and 1000 auxiliary members working for a few weeks at a time. 

They grew vegetables and fruit, raised pigs and poultry for food, and sheep for wool, but were still paid far less than men working the same jobs.

Cabinet endorsed a plan from labour and national service minister Eddie Ward to improve their conditions in 1943, but the legislation wasn’t completed until the war was over, and the farm workers missed out on the benefits given to other women’s services. 

In 1997 ALWA members were made eligible for the Civilian Service Medal. 

The Anzac Cottage event is on Sunday March 28 from 1.30-4pm at 38 Kalgoorlie Street, Mount Hawthorn. There’s a talk on the skills and work of the Land Army women at 2.30pm. It’s free, and a gold coin donation covers afternoon tea.

FOGO is starting in Bayswater with the “kitchen caddies” going out now and due to be in every home within the next four weeks.

Under the new three bin system the lime green lidded bins currently used for garden waste will now also take food and be picked up weekly. The kitchen caddies are little bins with compostable liners for food waste, because plastic bags can’t go in the green bin. 

The red-lidded bins will be for non-organic waste that can’t go in the recycling bin, and they’ll now be picked up fortnightly. 

Nappies have been a big sticking point because they’ll now be sitting for up to 14 days in the red bin instead of being collected weekly. 

Bayswater’s put out a lengthy list of tips for reducing odour from nappies, continence pads and menstrual products. Residents are advised to try tipping the contents into the toilet before disposing, double-sealing them in plastic bags before they go in the red bin, putting kitty litter in the bin to neutralise odours, and keeping the bin out of direct sunlight.

Bayswater council predicts about half of what currently goes in the general bin will be instead be kept out of landfill and turned to compost. 

The state government wants all councils to shift to FOGO but Bayswater’s done it early for environmental reasons but also reckons it “makes financial sense” according to the letter going out to residents this week.

“We will avoid paying the state government waste levy on food and organic waste sent to landfill”.

Businesses can opt out but only by switching to a commercial waste collector. 

by DAVID BELL

EAST PERTH residents will meet with WA Cricket Association representatives this week to get a better idea of the planned WACA redevelopment.

A reno of the WACA’s been on the drawing board for years since Perth’s new stadium was announced in 2011, and given more impetus in 2013 when the WACA was overlooked to host an international test match for the first time since the 1970s.

The East Perth Community Group’s facilitating the WACA meet because there’s been many various plans over the years, and it wants “to learn what exactly is going to be in our backyard”. They’ll be hearing about it directly from WACA CEO Christina Matthews. 

The latest plan will see the WACA downsized as a 10,000 capacity “boutique venue” and include more areas open to the public.

Pool

The state and federal governments have already committed money to the project but it’d still need cash from the landowner, Perth council. The council’s worried by the addition of a 50-metre pool, as it would have to pay the yearly maintenance bill.

Labor’s state MP for Perth John Carey says there’s been a lot of local interest, and “I think there is some confusion out there and I understand part of the difficulty is there’s not been a final agreement between the City [of Perth] and WACA regarding the design.

“This forum will provide an opportunity for the WACA to directly brief the community and also for the community to ask questions.

“It will also break down some of the myths out there and also address some of the issues.

“For example, the council claims there’ll be a $1.4 million loss per year, which neither the WACA or the state government accepts.”

It’s on March 17 at 6pm at the WACA, tickets are via eventbrite (just search “East Perth Community Group WACA Redevelopment Update”), but interest is high and it is booking out fast.

by DAVID BELL