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  • Urban forest is becoming myth

    Urban forest is becoming myth

    SEVEN of the CBD’s grandest gum trees will be removed for two high-rise towers to be built opposite Perth Arena.

    Singaporean-based developer Claridges’ plans for a 26-storey block of offices and a 33-storey block of units was approved by Perth’s Development Assessment Panel on February 20, with the three state government appointed experts and Perth commissioner Gaye McMath unanimous in their support.

    Perth council’s 2016 Urban Forest Plan is powerless to protect trees on private land – the council skipped the stage intended to give the plan some teeth and instead opted to encourage residents to “micro green” with flowers on their balcony or shopfronts. Provisions for protecting trees on privately-owned land is still several years away.

    • Only one of these trees will survive the chainsaw. Photo by David Bell

    Tallest

    The tallest of the gums stretches nearly seven storeys high, but only one will be retained for the $290m development. Other smaller species will also be felled. 

    In a report to the panel the council’s planners lamented the loss of the trees but said they could not stop their felling.

    The council’s policies haven’t just failed to protect the trees; another rule on its books calls for new CBD developments to have “nil setback”, making it virtually inevitable that developers have to chop them down.

    • Woods Bagot’s design for the old townhouse block at 725 Wellington Street.

    That rule can be waived if there’s a good reason, but Perth’s planners cited it as a hindrance to keeping the trees at Claridges’ Wellington Street site.

    Apart from the deforestation, Perth’s planners were glowing about the buildings, saying the project would be “instrumental in revitalising of this part of the city centre”.

    A pedestrian bridge will link the two towers above a public plaza, which will retain the single remaining gum at its entry near the existing Four Points Sheraton Hotel.

    Claridges is an offshoot of Bonvests Holdings, which bought the site in 2018 for $33.5m after all former owners of the existing Eden Park strata units agreed to accept the above-market-value offer. Bonvests also owns the Four Points which will be given an upgrade.

    by DAVID BELL

    ————-

    ‘Great cultural value’

    A NEIGHBOUR says the eight gum trees are of “great cultural value” and their removal should be run past the city’s traditional owners to gauge their significance.

    While praising the towers’ high-quality design, the neighbour said in a submission to the DAP they couldn’t support them because of the tree loss.

    “The trees in question are potentially the largest in central Perth by height and canopy extent… [and] are also rare examples of mature endemic flora in a city dominated by exotic European species and therefore are of great cultural value,” the submission read.

    The neighbour said the trees’ removal ran counter to the city’s cultural development strategy which promoted native flora and green corridors as one of its six key goals.

    The submission said if the ground floor of the front tower was brought back in line with the podium levels the trees could stay without much loss of floor space.

    The project’s hired town planner Peter Simpson responded: “While it is acknowledged that it is preferable to retain mature trees, the location of the trees and the size of the development means that any retention would have a significant impact on the built form of the podium and tower above when considering the canopy of the trees. 

    “Additionally, the tree root protection is also likely to impact the location of the basements. This would have a significant impact on the project viability and also the design of the proposed development.”

  • History’s humming along

    History’s humming along

    THE stories behind five local and iconic live music venues will be told in a new oral history project launching on March 12.

    Music in Vincent is a joint project between the Vincent local history centre and the state library, which teamed up to collect stories and interview 13 prominent figures from past and present venues.

    There’s mainstays like the 65-year-old Charles Hotel, home to the Perth Blues Club since the early 90s and a renowned ground for new performers, touring musos and long-time veterans like PBC president Rick Steele, who was interviewed.

    The Rosemount Hotel’s also featured, a part of the live music scene since the 80s that’s been reinvigorated as one of the top live music venues in recent years. There are interviews with music programmer Andrew Ryan, muso Vanessa Thornton and Luke Rinaldi who was booking agent for 12 years.. 

    • Perth music scene pillar Rick Steele showing Emma Cole around one of his long-time haunts, the Charles Hotel.

    Ellington Jazz Club owner Bernard Kong tells the tale of the intimate little venue that was quickly recognised as world class and has hosted huge international names in jazz.

    The historians have also tracked down former Hyde Park Hotel owner Paul Higgins, whose family ran the place during its raucous heyday as a punk venue.  

    The interviews also tell of the genesis of Fremantle’s world music hub Kulcha, which was born in the cultural melting pot of North Perth as the North Perth Ethnic Music Centre. 

    Vincent mayor Emma Cole says live music is a big part of Vincent culture and the venues “are like second homes to our musicians and their audiences”.

    “Most of us in Vincent have a story to share of a gig at one of our favourites,” Ms Cole said.

    After the screening, the interviews and transcripts will be available in the Vincent and state library catalogues. Music in Vincent launches Thursday March 12 at the Rosemount Hotel at 6pm. 

    by DAVID BELL

  • Towers for school site

    Towers for school site

    HIGH-RISE towers would be allowed behind the old Perth Girls School in East Perth under development guidelines currently out for comment.

    WA government-owned Development WA has been working with the site’s new owners on guidelines for a mixed use precinct with residential, retail, office, dining and community spaces. 

    Development WA is the mega-planning body resulting from a merger between Landcorp and the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority and holds the powers of both.

    The East Perth school building is heritage listed as a “particularly fine example” of the inter-war stripped classical style. 

    The draft guidelines say the school building and model cottage “will be retained and adaptively reused with minimal external alterations”.

    • Artists impression of how the Perth Girls School precinct could look.

    New buildings won’t be allowed to block the view of the school from Wellington or Plain Streets, but towers up to 25 storeys high would be allowed at the back of the block.

    An even higher “landmark tower” would “define the hilltop” at the corner of Bronte and Plain Streets. It has no height listed, but a 3D model of a 50-storey tower was deemed “overbearing”. 

    Owners Australian Development Capital and Warburton Group like what they see. 

    ADC director Rod Hamersley said the draft reflected the vision the companies shared with DevelopmentWA, the Heritage Council of WA, and Perth council.

    Mr Hamersley said the plan responded to demand and “will deliver much needed amenity for residents in the area including a supermarket, bar and restaurant and creative office space”. 

    About 300 people attended an open day on February 29.

    Comment is open until April 8 via mra.wa.gov.au or at level 2, 40 The Esplanade.

    by DAVID BELL

  • One for Leedy

    One for Leedy

    ANOTHER big development is in the pipeline for Leederville.

    An eight-storey, 52-unit block is planned for 194-200 Carr Place, with four lots to be amalgamated for the $17 million project.

    Vincent council staff are dead keen, recommending the Development Assessment Panel (with two councillors and three state government appointed members) approve it at the March 13 meeting despite some elements being outside the council’s planning rules.

    • Hillam Architects’ plan for 194-200 Carr Place, prepared for owner Hanrise Pty Ltd.

    Owner Hanrise Pty Ltd initially planned a slightly bulkier development last year, which was rejected by those who made submissions over its bulk, limited setbacks, lack of greenery and traffic woes.

    Some of those were addressed in the re-design (the upper storeys got a slight trim to appear less opposing, front and rear setbacks were added, and privacy screening will be installed). But the landscaping got even more barebones, with the number of proposed trees dropping from 57 – 19. A mature tree with a canopy of 9.9m will be removed, and one “medium tree” will be planted.

  • Purple up for epilepsy

    Purple up for epilepsy

    CURTIN UNIVERSITY will be awash with purple on March 29 when hundreds of families lap the oval dressed in purple for epilepsy awareness month.

    The “Purple Walk” is from 10am-2pm and includes live entertainment, food vans and children activities like face painting, a bouncy castle and cuddly animal farm.

    About 26,000 people in WA have epilepsy with 1400 patients diagnosed each year.

    Epilepsy WA CEO Emma Buitendag says one in 20 children in Australia will have a seizure and one in 200 Australian children have to live with the condition.

    The over-60s are now the largest age group of Australians being diagnosed with epilepsy.

    • “Purple Walks” are held across Australia.

    To register for the walk go to purplewalk4epilepsywa.com.au or call 1300 852 853. 

    Advance registrations receive a gift. Prizes will be awarded to best dressed walkers and highest online fundraisers.

    As part of epilepsy awareness month, the Sydney Opera House will be lit up purple on March 26. 

    There are about 250,000 Australians living with the condition, but Epilepsy Action Australia CEO Carol Ireland says there is a lack of understanding of how epilepsy affects people differently. 

    To get involved or to find out more go to epilepsy.org.au

  • Macy’s sad plight

    Macy’s sad plight

    PERTH’S Sam Fitzpatrick tells us the heartbreaking story of her daughter Macy, who has a genetic disorder that causes several conditions including refractory (drug-resistant) epilepsy.

    MY four-month-old daughter Macy has a devastating genetic disorder called WOREE syndrome, caused by a mutation on the WWOX gene.

    The gene is essential for brain development and children affected by this syndrome display refractory (drug-resistant) epilepsy, profound global delay and severe cognitive impairment. 

    Most children with WOREE Syndrome will not live to adulthood. 

    • Macy Fitzpatrick

    There is around 50 cases known worldwide; at present there is no cure. 

    It’s absolutely heartbreaking to be told that at this point in time there is nothing that we can do to help prolong Macy’s life. 

    However, through occupational therapy, physio and early intervention we can improve her quality of life. 

    My husband Tim and I have always been extremely honest and open about our journey and although this has been the toughest four months of our lives, the only option we have is to move forward and really enjoy whatever time we have with her and give her the best life we can. 

    Macy has proven time and time again that she is a little fighter and we will continue to fight with her – she really is the sweetest little soul. 

  • Take a leaf out of our ancestors’ book

    Take a leaf out of our ancestors’ book

    JAN RODDA is as Freo as you get – she’s been thinking outside the square for decades and is a regular volunteer down at her local community centre where she’s always up for a good talk on saving the environment. In this week’s SPEAKER’S CORNER she finds a novel solution to one of the problems that’s emerged from the novel Coronavirus scare.

    WE were going to be a paperless society, they said.

    Yet still endless forests are cut down for wiping our bums day after day, and the paper gets flushed away.

    What a waste of animal homes, carbon sinks, ground water purifiers, fresh air and rain producers and sheer beauty.

    And now with the panic buying of toilet paper due to fears of Coronavirus, seeing the last square of paper on the roll might be pretty scary, right?

    Well, you might like to take  a short garden or balcony stroll before your next sit to ease such worries.

    Why? Because a humble leaf from the garden can do the trick perfectly. And yes, they flush.

    Now here’s some more detail if you are ready for it … amused at least .. curious and willing at best.

    Nasturtium leaves, mulberry, grapevine, various other vines are great and they don’t need to be edible leaves to use as TP. Just not too glossy or brittle, and don’t use any with a milky sap!! About 10×10 centimetres should do, as are the sheets on some standard rolls.

    The underside of leaves can be pretty good and less slippery. Some big leaves can be gently torn to size. The different seasons offer a variety of leaves too! Oh, how nice.

    Decades ago my house had a blue and white gingham bag hanging on two nails behind the door of the outhouse; this was to store the quarter size torn newspaper sheets. The pull-chain flushing cistern hung  high at the back of the wall. (Pull down quickly three times for ]each flush!) 

    I recall Thursdays in our younger days at our Coogee beach shack, the shared dunny in the sand hills because that’s when the man came to  empty the  can of the thunder box.

    Blessed be those men.

    In some urban areas remnants of laneways still exist for the same now outdated purpose.

    Next came septic tanks under the green lawns. But it was 119 years ago that toilet paper rolls as we know them came into being.

    Prevent haemorrhoids

    Earlier still in 1857 Joseph Gayetty is said to be the inventor of flat sheet commercial TP, with his name apparently on every sheet. The paper was said to “prevent haemorrhoids”!

    Of course around the globe there have been and still are different practices, and for at least 60,000 years here in Oz natural materials were used for the job, and that’s a pretty long and proven time.

    These days and with urban deep sewerage, the press of a button says bye byes (unless you use a bidet) to ‘quilted’ , ‘plush’, ‘ultra plush’, ‘scented’, ‘angel soft’, ‘extra durable’, ‘unmatched comfort’, ‘impressive durability’  TP. In my experience many types of green leaves match that.

    At least in 2004 the production of coloured TP stopped. 

    Sacre bleu.

    How much did it matter if it did not match the bathroom?  Sales declined when people started to question the medical and ecological impacts of dyes.  And of course there’s more than dyes that matter, recycled  paper or not… although that’s a good start.

    One company says 27,000 trees each day are cut down for TP manufacture, but I am unsure if that’s for global or national use. Even though some TP package labels say they are from “responsible forest use”, ought we not consider the water and energy in the manufacture, the cardboard cartons we don’t usually see, at the back of the supermarket and in the shipping containers as well as the travel miles? Local production is pretty much a thing of the past. At least some is still  Australian made.

    For uber-local enter, or re-enter green leaves. The tree or plant remains there, healthy to use our CO2 and  to still  pump out O2 for us. And many, many more good reasons exist for using local green leaves in your ’water closet’.  Simply collect on your way for a sit, or bag some for the dunny basket or windowsill each two or so days. And give yourself a smile.

  • It’s burger time

    It’s burger time

    NOT all of Perth’s best restaurants are found in affluent suburbs or ritzy high-rises in the CBD.

    Some are hidden down lane-ways and poorly-lit back streets, or in Hoodburger’s case, a Northbridge food court called Old Shanghai.

    Surrounded by Chinese restaurants with bain-maries, Hoodburger stands out like dog balls with a bright menu of mouthwatering burgers.

    Hoodburger occasionally release a limited-edition burger like the sausage and pepper, and the Vietnamese-inspired chicken tender banh mi, but the regular menu has all the classics like cheeseburgers, a ribwich and fried chicken sandwiches.

    Hoodburger’s beef patties are made from organic chuck and brisket, sourced from a farm in Gingin. 

    The meat is ground daily and the fluffy, perfectly sized buns are baked in-house and grilled to order.

    You’ll never get bored here as you can watch all the action unfold in the large, open kitchen.

    I prefer my burgers big but simple, so I ordered the double cheeseburger ($16).

    The two huge patties were charred on the outside and perfectly pink on the inside, and the pattie’s edge was crunchy and smoky.

    The melted cheese, onion and pickles took this burger to the next level and it was the best I’ve ever eaten. 

    My wife Kylie didn’t speak once as she devoured her huge tender sandwich ($11), crammed with two deep-fried chicken fillets, cheese and pickles.

    Every time I asked if she was enjoying her meal, she’d just roll her eyes and nod with a smile from ear-to-ear.

    My little ones, Ollie and Chloe, shared a regular cheeseburger ($12) and it went down a treat.

    “I want this for dinner every night,” Ollie muttered between mouthfuls.

    With eyes bigger than my belly, I ordered a serving of french fries ($4) and two hot chicken tenders ($3.50 each). 

    The moist tenders were super spicy and crunchy, and complemented by the sharp and salty blue cheese dipping sauce ($2).

    At a time when restaurants in Perth are closing in record numbers, Hoodburger is a culinary success story.

    Owners Matt and Tom Shaw have grown their business from a street cart to a successful business, with a second Hoodburger on Beaufort Street in Inglewood.

    With burgers this good, the brothers deserve every success, and hopefully that means more Hoodburger joints across Perth.

    by MATTHEW EELES

    Hoodburger
    123 James Street,
    Northbridge

  • Dark laughs

    Dark laughs

    THE Over The Fence Comedy Film Festival is turning 22 this year and the line up of international short films keeps getting better, director Greg Coffey says.

    The theme of this year’s festival is Scrambled! with 14 comedies delving into the pitfalls of relationships, including for the first time movies from Holland, South Africa and Brazil.

    It’s ostensibly a comedy film festival, but this year’s shorts are anything but sweetness and light.

    Mr Coffey’s favourite film Going Up is about a hit man who doesn’t like his job, but it’s a family business so he feels obliged to pitch in.

    He finds himself sharing a painfully slow lift ride to his victim’s seventh floor apartment.

    • A scene from the comedy short HeartBreakIns.

    “A guy gets in who is a talker, and he just talks and talks,” Mr Coffey says.

    Discovering the man is his intended victim, the assassin’s waning interest in the family business is revived and he is happy to carry out the hit.

    “Because the man is so fricking annoying.”

    But things don’t quite go to plan…

    Queensland film HeartBreakIns is a comedy of errors as a cranky old man with dementia mistakes a burglar for a removalist and helps him load the truck with his worldly possessions.

    “As the crook goes to leave he says, ‘I forgot to pay you’.”

    But of course that’s not the punch line, and an argument escalates between the increasingly cranky old man and the burglar. 

    The Over The Fence Comedy Film Festival is on at Backlot Perth, on Simpson Street, West Perth March 12 to 14. There are two showings daily. For the full program go to overthefence.com.au

    by JENNY D’ANGER

  • Doug Parkinson Celebrating the music of Van Morrison

    Doug Parkinson Celebrating the music of Van Morrison

    “Dear Prudence.”

    IT was just two words, but as the free-lovin’ 60s drew to a close and The Beatles wound up, they were a powerful message about the changing of the guard, of a unique Aussie talent bursting onto the scene.

    When Doug Parkinson first belted out the opening of The Beatles’ classic call to play, you had to sit up and take notice, and if the hair didn’t stand up on the back of your neck, your radio wasn’t up loud enough.

    His unmistakably gruff and raspy voice cut through like a clarion and the single raced up the national charts, peaking at No 5.

    Five months later his band Doug Parkinson in Focus did it again with the hit Without You/Hair.

    After launching a successful solo career, Parkinson also found his feet on a different type of stage – musical theatre.

    His first foray was in the 1973 Australian debut of The Who’s rock opera Tommy, then later that year he replaced Reg Livermore in the role of Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar.

    But with his ‘Lucifer’ beard and shock of hair, he seemed born for the role of Judas, and when the musical returned in the 80s, his portrayal of the fallen disciple was a triumph.

    Parkinson’s standing in the annals of Aussie music can be measured by the company he keeps on stage; a roll-call of the country’s top musicians, including Tommy Emmanuel, Billy Thorpe and Daryl Braithwaite.

    But he’s always kept his feet firmly on the ground, and his homage to the music of Van Morrison is a respectful and accurate tribute.

    In an evening filled with all of Morrison’s classic hits, Parkinson and his eight-piece band will make you sit up and take notice again – of what made this iconic Irishman a superstar.

    With hits including Brown Eyed Girl, Moondance, Bright Side of the Road and Have I Told You Lately, there isn’t a more qualified singer to showcase the music of Van Morrison than Doug Parkinson.

    With the soul, grit and power that is Doug, this will be a show for all Van Morrison and Doug Parkinson fans alike.

    Doug Parkinson presents an evening celebrating the music of Van Morrison
    Saturday April 4, 7.30pm
    Astor Theatre, Mt Lawley
    Tickets: ticketek or astortheatreperth.com