Perth Voice Interactive

A HISTORIC painting of Hyde Park rarely seen in public has changed hands at auction, but the new owner remains a mystery.

For a few years now garden historian John Viska has been tracing the 1904 painting by Walter Paterson Meston titled Hyde Park, as it provides a rare vision of the park in its early years. 

“There are very few representations of Hyde Park in its early days… this has high cultural significance,” Mr Viska says. 

It shows early plantings and Mr Viska says “it’s evidence they didn’t clearfell every single native tree.”

Identity

The identity of previous recent owners were also unknown. 

It changed hands at auction three years and when Mr Viska saw it was coming up again he contacted Vincent council. 

He hoped they might be able to acquire it for the Vincent art collection, but the painting was expected to fetch $15,000 to $18,000 and he was told there was no spare cash in council coffers.

We’ve asked the auctioneer GFL Fine Art if they might put us in touch with the buyer but had no luck.

Mr Viska is co-running a walking tour through Hyde Park with fellow local park enthusiast Rodney O’Brien this Saturday December 12, to discuss the lost fountain and the park’s botanical history. 

It’s free and all are welcome, meet at 10am near the Lake Street entrance. 

Meston, who was born in Scotland, moved first to New Zealand and then Western Australia in 1897 where he set up a sign painting business in Kalgoorlie.

He then moved to Perth where he lived close by Hyde Park and had an affinity for plants, being a member of the Grand United Order of Free Gardeners which used to meet at Leederville’s Oddfellows Hall on Oxford Street.

He held watercolour painting lessons though he was largely self-taught, and is represented in the state’s official art collection.

by DAVID BELL

AROUND 100 workers from the Department of Communities have rallied in Fremantle’s over fears they are facing mass job cuts.

The rally was organised by the Community and Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association which fears job cuts are being ushered in under the guise of a “functional review”.

CPSU/CSA community campaign organiser Andrei Buters told the Herald the department was refusing to let them see a copy of the review, raising their suspicions.

The union says high workloads are already putting staff under pressure, with 943 child protection cases languishing without a caseworker.

Adding to this the department was in turmoil, with the CPSU/CSA receiving 70 formal notices of change since 2020.

Staff chanted “hey hey, ho ho, secrecy has got to go” and “one child, one case, children need a safer space” across the road from minister Simone McGurk’s office while a petition was put together asking parliament’s legislative council to commit to no forced redundancies.

Children Union branch secretary Rikki Hendon said the staff played a vital role in protecting at-risk children and families.

“The capacity of the Department of Communities to ensure vulnerable people receive the services and support they need to thrive will be seriously undermined if the government proceeds with mass job cuts through this functional review,” Ms Hendon said.

“Right now, unallocated child protection cases are dangerously high and Western Australians need support to recover from the social impacts of Covid-19. This is the time it would make sense to invest in more people to deliver services at the Department of Communities, not less.

“A lack of consultation, communication and transparency around the functional review and other change is eroding staff morale and trust in the department.”

Ms McGurk didn’t attend the rally, but in a statement read out to the protestors, she didn’t address the issue of job cuts.

While thanking the staff for their work, Ms McGurk said the government was committed to improving outcomes for vulnerable families.

“I want to reaffirm my commitment to working with you and the union to address key issues wherever possible,” she said.

“Change is never easy, and I know that the department has had more than its fair share of change in recent years.

“But we know that we are on the right track, and must stay the course to build on the good work being delivered by all of you.”

by STEVE GRANT

Riders left in the lurch as council faffs about

A GROUP of skaters and BMXers say they’re “utterly dismayed” Bayswater council has delayed a decision to replace the Wotton Reserve skate and BMX park.

The Bayswater Skate Park Community group formed after hearing the Wotton Reserve park would have to be removed for Metronet’s train line upgrades, with closure coming as early as March 2021.

After some pondering and consulting, BSPC has settled on Broun Park in Embleton as the preferred spot for the relocation. It’s an open and well-lit site, close to public transport, close to where current Wotton Park users live, and has enough space for it to be a “community hub” rather than just a concrete track. 

Implored

All along they’ve implored Bayswater council to act swiftly on a replacement, not wanting skaters and riders to be left without a park for years. 

Pro BMXer Todd Meyn told the council back in March continuity was vital for kids getting into the sport. He honed his skills at Wotton Reserve as a kid and said; “I wouldn’t be in the position where I am today, to be doing what I’m doing, if I didn’t have the skate park down the road from me.”

Members from BSPC sit on the council’s skate park committee alongside four councillors, and that committee has recommended the full council endorse the Broun Park option. That recommendation was supposed to go to the December 8 council meeting for endorsement, with the detailed design to go out for consultation.

But at the November 24 council meeting a majority of councillors decided to hold off on a decision until February next year.

Cr Barry McKenna said they should take their time as “there’s going to be a lot more consultation going to be needed” and he wanted state government funding squared away in the council’s bank account before settling on a location. He said December was a bad time for consultation and he didn’t want this rushed through over the holidays. 

There’s been a couple of petitions going around against each of the locations.

Cr Sally Palmer said they needed to very carefully consider this, as moving the skate and BMX facility there would mean “losing” a park in central ward, and two of the three central ward councillors would’ve been away in December. 

Crs Catherine Ehrhardt, Steven Ostaszewskyj and Michelle Sutherland disagreed with the deferral but were outvoted seven to three. 

BSPC member Josh Eveson says the group “is utterly dismayed and in disbelief that this pivotal decision on the future location of the skatepark has been delayed.

“Council’s decision means they are left waiting until February, with the demolition possible as early as March, just one month later,” and they could end up with a year or longer period without a skatepark.

“This will most definitely have a negative effect on young people and young families within the community and surrounding areas.”

A Bayswater staffer advised councillors this decision would add three months’ delay to the nine or so months of work to be done, and would push back a new skatepark opening until at least November or December 2021.

by DAVID BELL

THE McGowan government released its new climate policy this week, but it has already been criticised as a lukewarm response putting WA behind other states.

The policy promises heavy investment in promoting electric vehicle uptake, funding for a mammoth battery in the old Kwinana Power Station to support a renewable grid, and funding for a green jobs plan.

Premier Mark McGowan said in a statement: “The policy commits to tangible initiatives to enhance climate resilience, transition the state to a low carbon economy, and help the community to adapt to the impacts of climate change.”

Transition

“It will also leverage our state’s enormous natural advantages to build clean industries, and jobs that come with it, and transition existing industries to low carbon operations.”

In the lead up to the policy’s release the state government was lobbied by the WA branch of Australian Religious Response to Climate Change to do more.

Members from Perth’s Muslim, Buddhist, Bah, Catholic and other Christian communities held a candlelight vigil outside parliament on November 17 calling for reduced emissions instead of allowing new fossil fuel gas developments.

With the policy’s release, one of the ARRCC’s member groups the Uniting Church WA says it was a missed opportunity.

Susy Thomas, moderator of the Uniting Chruch WA, issued a statement saying: “There are lots of promising project announcements collated here, many of which are welcome starting points, but what we are really looking for in a state climate policy are concrete parameters and an overarching plan for how to transition our economy and reduce emissions.

“As a church, we care deeply about the environment and the most vulnerable in our community. That is why our last Synod meeting in September called for a COVID-19 recovery package that prioritised both renewable energy and social housing.

“We see other states making very strong commitments for climate action and we really hoped that WA would follow suit.

“Unfortunately this State Climate Policy leaves us lagging behind other states even though we have the strongest economy and a $1.2 billion surplus. This means we still have the opportunity to boost our climate commitments as we move into 2021.

“Given we have had rising emissions in WA over recent years largely due to the gas industry, it is troubling to see no requirements or clear plan for reducing emissions from that sector in particular.”

She says while there are some welcome initiatives coming through in WA like the renewable hydrogen, batteries and electric vehicles plans, WA’s funding commitments are much more modest than other states. And we still don’t have a renewable energy target, just an “aspirational net-zero by 2050” goal.