Perth Voice Interactive

PERTH’S Greek community has called on the British Museum to give their countrymen back ancient Parthenon artworks taken in the 19th Century.

As WA’s Museum Boola Bardip re-opens this week with a cast from one of the great Parthenon friezes held in the Brits’ Elgin Marbles collection, local Greeks have presented a petition to Mt Lawley Labor MP Simon Millman asking for the WA Parliament to support the originals’ return.

The British took the artworks in the early 1800s when Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. 

Elgin

The British ambassador to the Ottomans, the Earl of Elgin, claimed to have the Ottoman Sultan Selim III’s authority to take parts of the frieze and the 2400-year-old marble statues now known as the “Elgin Marbles”.

Whether he had the Sultan’s permission is disputed, and in any case the Greeks themselves didn’t approve, with their government long calling for their return.

Australia’s Greek communities formalised a global campaign for restitution in 1981, with an international organising committee founded by Sydney man Emmanuel John Comino.

They’ve been campaigning to get parliaments across the world to ratify calls for the artifacts’ return.

The Parthenon petition to WA parliament states: 

“It is unconscionable for the Government of the United Kingdom to retain possession of the Parthenon Sculptures. They are the rightful property of the Greek people and their government, and must be returned to Athens.

“Now we ask the Legislative Assembly to express its support, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, for the repatriation of the Parthenon sculptures to Athens and to convey that support to the United Kingdom government through its representatives in Australia.”

Mr Millman agrees they should be returned. He’s been keen on the issue for a while, making a statement to parliament in March 2018 on behalf of the Perth Greek community, and has now submitted their 124-signature petition on November 11.

“As the WA Museum opens in all of its splendour next week, members of Perth’s Greek community will be reminded, when they see the cast of the Parthenon Frieze on display there, of the much more tumultuous story of its original,” Mr Millman said last week.

“The WA Museum cast serves to preserve history, should the original frieze be further damaged. However, the original frieze was taken from the Parthenon along with its many many other iconic sculptures and decorative pieces and scattered across the globe as souvenirs, often under the guise of saving them from pillagers. The irony is not lost here.”

Stolen property

Australian human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson stated last year: “The trustees of the British Museum have become the world’s largest receivers of stolen property, and the great majority of their loot is not even on public display.”

The British Museum also holds Aboriginal artefacts and human remains and has steadfastly refused to return items, only allowing temporary loans of significant artefacts like the Gweagal shield. It has allowed limited numbers of human remains to be returned, but there’s many loopholes to jump through and it’s still at the discretion of the museum’s Trustees. 

The British Museum has a monumentally lengthy defence of retaining the Parthenon sculptures on its website.

by DAVID BELL

THE 2021 Skyworks has been cancelled on public health grounds.

Back in June when the now-departed Perth city council commissioners endorsed tentative planning for the Skyworks, it was always subject to advice from the WA chief health officer Andrew Robertson.

Late afternoon on Friday November 13, the council was informed the CHO had advised premier Mark McGowan that the Skyworks ought not proceed “on public health grounds”.

The Skyworks was budgeted to cost the council $2.2 million, and most of that has not been expended. However the council’s list of payments for September shows a $99,000 payment to “Howard and Sons Pyrotechnics Displays” for the 2021 fireworks contract.

Lord mayor Basil Zempilas said in a statement; “We have said all along public safety and wellbeing must come first. 

“We’re disappointed there’ll be no fireworks, but the City of Perth will still be the home of next year’s Australia Day celebrations in WA. This is a fabulous opportunity for our city to shine and celebrate like never before.

“A new program of family activities, music and entertainment and neighbourhood events across the City of Perth is already being planned. We will celebrate Australia Day 2021 and we will do it safely.”

Councillors will consider a revised Australia Day program at the November 24 meeting. 

City Christmas events will still go ahead, as they’re smaller and spread out.

by DAVID BELL

WE all wonder what to do with our designer clothes and accessories after a one-off Instagram fashion shoot, but a group of online influencers have decided this years’ Garage Sale Trail is a great opportunity to offload some clobber.

Twelve bloggers and influences are hosting a mega garage sale with the City of Vincent this weekend (November 21 and 22) at the Mount Hawthorn Main Hall. Other sales across town include antique collectors, plant enthusiasts, and parents with a truckload of toys to re-home.

Vincent mayor Emma Cole says: “The Garage Sale Trail is a great way to meet your neighbours and make some extra money, but it also helps us divert valuable resources from landfill.

“Every year there are so many pre-loved treasures up for grabs that might otherwise have been destined for the tip.

“We all need to take responsibility for the waste we generate and this event is a great reminder that we shouldn’t automatically throw things away when we’re done with them.”

Fashion blogger Jenelle Witty is organising the Mount Hawthorn Main Hall sale and says: “I get sent a lot of samples from designers but I don’t get enough wear out of them, so my footprint in terms of the amount of clothes coming into my house is something I want to tackle.

“I want to encourage people to shop second-hand and approach fashion in a more considered way.

“So many people will buy something and wear it once before hiding it away in the back of their cupboard. But you can give your clothes a second life by selling them or swapping with friends.”

You can find garage sales nearby at garagesaletrail.com.au

‘Nondescript’ and in a sea of asphalt, but Bayswater approves new station design

BAYSWATER councillors have given a thumbs up to Metronet’s Bayswater train station plans, despite the Government Architect’s ravaging review of the concrete design as “stripped back and nondescript”. 

The WA Planning Commission makes the final call in December but councillors recommended approval subject to a score of conditions.

Councillors weren’t happy to see the train station surrounded by a harsh ring of three- and four-lane roads, saying it would make walking or cycling there a perilous journey.

Safe

Mayor Dan Bull said at the November 10 special council meeting: “It’s really important that the design of the roads is such that people feel confident and safe when they’re walking in and around the precinct” and when cycling there.

The council’s conditions include a lowered speed limit in the precinct (perhaps down to 30kmh), safer access for pedestrians and cyclists, and pulling out as few trees as possible.

The recommended improvements weren’t enough for Cr Catherine Ehrhardt, who pointed out “the State Design Review Panel’s report was scathing… [it] considers the design is ‘functional and bulky, lacking in attention to other disciplines regarding architecture, urban design and landscape’.

“The Office of the Government Architect was even more critical… the OGA stated the design is simply not good enough, and I quote ‘overall the design does not adequately respond to the distinctive character and context of the Bayswater town centre’.”

The OGA review said the pre-cast concrete design was a “stripped back and nondescript approach that lacks distinctiveness and character. This will limit the ability of this piece of infrastructure to play a broader civic role in catalysing regeneration”.

“Nondescript is not what the community hopes and dreams of,” Cr Ehrhardt said.

“I feel really uncomfortable about supporting what’s on the table even with the massive raft of conditions; conditions we know will likely be ignored by the WAPC if past history is to go by. I appreciate it’s an attempt to make this better but I’m not going to rubberstamp in any way, shape or form a substandard plan for one of our major town centres”.

Cr Michelle Sutherland said after years of consultation and work on the plan, “I do feel this station and locale, the whole region around it, should be world class. 

“It will be one of the first glimpses of Perth for international visitors and will hopefully be a gateway to the east of Perth. I do feel parts of it are undercooked.”

Cr Bull warned if they voted it down, they might be shut out of negotiations to improve the plan down the road, and Crs Ehrhardt and Sutherland were the only votes against. 

by DAVID BELL

ERIC SEERY got his first guide dog Sundae nearly four years ago, and says it’s made huge improvements to his life.

He lives in Wellard and catches the train to work at the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety in the city.

He has a small amount of low-detail peripheral vision remaining and was previously able to get to work by using a cane, but when he trialled a walk with a guide dog he says “it totally blew my mind”. 

Sundae, a labrador retriever, has made the journeys a lot smoother and quicker and she can handle unexpected changes to the route.

Independence

“My eyes went bad when I was eight years old – a genetic condition – and I’ve gone through life maintaining a lot of my core independence.

“With the white cane I was good at getting around, but a lot of that was familiarity,” he tells us. “The cane is really good at finding obstacles, but then you’ve got to find your way around them… the dog avoids the obstacle.”

He says that’s important living in a city like Perth, where “there’s roadworks happening all over the place at various different times.

“Having Sundae has just helped me easily walk though those environments.”

Mr Seery’s also happy when people offer assistance, and having Sundae has led to more people coming up and asking if he needs a hand getting around particularly tricky obstacle setups. 

“I’ve found that having Sundae, people are more freely offering help or just a heads up, ‘we’ve got a truck across the footpath, just wait 30 seconds,’ those sorts of things.

“I love it, I really appreciate it when someone says ‘how are you going mate, do you need a hand?’ And just that question is the most amazing thing, when that honest, genuine care comes out from a stranger.”

Remembers

Sundae remembers other routes, even from a single journey a year ago – like a trip to the doctor. 

She can also find things like doors, elevator buttons or chairs with a vocal command, and if Mr Seery needs to find a rubbish bin she’ll survey the street and bring him to one, most of the time. 

“She’ll take me to something that’s usually a bin. Occasionally we’ll find a bore water box or something.”

And the dogs that end up being selected as guides love doing their jobs.

“She gets really proud,” he says. “She gets real pleasure out of doing the work she’s trained to do.”

Once the harness is off, she’s off duty, free to get pats and to act like an ordinary dog, running around the yard with Mr Seery’s other dog, playing with her squeaky toys (that she selects herself, since she can go into the shop) and trying to sneak into the laundry to eat the cat’s biscuits. 

“When she’s at home she’s a member of the family… the main thing is I’m able to take her with me wherever I go,” and she gets days off when he’s heading to familiar places or in company and he can get around with a cane. 

“I’ve started giving her a bit more of a break on weekends, because she’s started getting a bit tired by the end of the week.”

He’s also taken her back to a restaurant down in Rockingham owned by the people who raised Sundae as a puppy. 

“To take her back to that family to say ‘thank you, here’s this beautiful dog that’s helping me out’, it was really a wonderful experience”. 

Puppy plunge

THE yearly Central Park Plunge went down on the weekend with 300 participants abseiling 220m down the St Georges’ Terrace skyscraper for charities.

Sponsors pitched in cash for people to plunge for their chosen charities with about $570,000 raised. 

Federal Perth Labor MP Patrick Gorman went over the side to raise money for Guide Dogs WA, netting them more than $3,000. 

After surviving the stunt and being reunited with his son Leo on the ground, he was happy to report: “No by-election necessary.”

Stories by DAVID BELL

THE yearly Central Park Plunge went down on the weekend with 300 participants abseiling 220m down the St Georges’ Terrace skyscraper for charities.
Sponsors pitched in cash for people to plunge for their chosen charities with about $570,000 raised.
Federal Perth Labor MP Patrick Gorman went over the side to raise money for Guide Dogs WA, netting them more than $3,000.
After surviving the stunt and being reunited with his son Leo on the ground, he was happy to report: “No by-election necessary.”