Perth Voice Interactive

VINCENT council is set to spend $200,000 on a major new public artwork.

The city is looking for expressions of interest from artists, and prominent sites for the artwork have already been earmarked:

• Birdwood Square on the corner of Beaufort and Brisbane Streets;

• The corner of Bulwer and Vincent Streets;

• Ivy Park on the corner of Charles and Carr Streets; and,

• Beatty Park Reserve on the corner of Charles and Vincent Streets.

Vincent mayor Emma Cole says: “Vincent is well known for our murals and festivals, but we are keen to see other forms of public art for our community to interact with.

Prominent

“We want to see this artwork in a prominent location, to have an impact and to signal that you are in a creative place.”

The project is part of the city’s Arts Development Action plan, released late last year, which aims to make Vincent the arts capital of WA.

“We know that art is something our community wants to see more of,” Ms Cole says. “Public art was a subject that came up repeatedly in conversations we had with residents during our Imagine Vincent community engagement.”

The “Percent for Art” fund will be used to pay for the new artworks.

Vincent was the first council in WA to introduce a PFA policy, which requires developers to contribute one per cent of the total cost of any development over $1million towards a public artwork.

In the past many of those artworks were integrated into the same building by the developer, leading to some half-arsed, uninspired works in tucked-away locations.

“They are shocker barry crockers,” then-Vincent mayor John Carey said in 2015, when they tightened up the rules to try and improve the quality of PFA artworks.

He said one particularly shoddy piece of art on Fitzgerald Street (now removed), looked like it could be debris that fell off the top of the building during construction.

Vincent council has got better results by pooling the cash and commissioning an artist to craft a bigger work that’s not necessarily tied to one building – like the Fitzgerald Street robots.

The city’s accepting submissions of interest for the new artworks until September 9.

After that there will be concept designing for two months and some community engagement sessions. Installation is scheduled for June next year.

by DAVID BELL

A THUNDEROUS hose has led to a spray of complaints from neighbours of a Charles Street car wash, but Vincent council is letting it run later.

Vincent council staff found Eco Spray Carwash had been operating the high-pressure hose outside its approved 8.30am-5.30pm trading hours, but will rein in Friday and weekend spraying to give residents some relief. As a trade-off, Eco Spray can keep working until 7pm Monday to Thursday.

The hose runs at 94 decibels and the vacuum is 85 (a household vacuum is 70-80dbA).

But Eco Spray’s business director says the hose was only used during business hours.

Neighbours also complained about “very noisy…loud music” playing.

The business director says “I am 100 per cent sure it has never ever happened”.

Disregard

At the July 23 council meeting, councillors approved an application to extend the car wash’s opening hours to 8am-7pm Monday to Thursday.

Cr Joanne Fotakis was the only one to vote against it.

“I can’t see a way to accept in any form an extension of hours,” Cr Fotakis said at the meeting.

“My concern has been in looking at the ongoing breaches and blatant disregard for our current requirements of operation…I don’t accept an extension of those hours as a way to solve that.

“I understand the impact on neighbouring residents. I’ve been down and had a look at the operation a number of times. It is intense, and I’m not happy to support an intensification of the operation at that site.”

Council staff ‘acknowledged’ there’d been some instances of after-hours spraying, and warned the washers to be on their best behaviour, keep the stereo down, and come up with a noise management plan before the new hours can apply.

by DAVID BELL

ILLICT watering holes or ‘sly-grogs’ were built on Australian shores as soon as the First Fleet arrived in 1788.

Almost a decade later the first legal pub was opened in Parramatta in Sydney, serving thirsty patrons rum and brandy and the occasional batch of beer.

Once a 5 o’clock destination for the working class to enjoy overcooked steak and powdered gravy, today’s Australian pub serves a plethora of contemporary eats, including slow-cooked meats, gourmet pizza, local seafood, American BBQ and the eternal chicken parmi.

The menu at Bill’s Bar and Bites at the Leederville Hotel isn’t super adventurous, but it’s perfect for those looking for some quick and simple fare.

Deep-fried classic

If calamari was a man, I’d be worried about my wife’s infatuation with it.

Fortunately, Kylie’s obsession makes her a pretty good judge of the deep-fried classic.

She reckons Bill’s salt and pepper squid ($16) is fresh and tender with no stringy bits, but suggested the kitchen crank up the deep fryer as the crumb coating was a bit soggy and textureless. A shame, because the squid itself was bang on.

The fish tacos ($18 for 3) are a great filler. They’re far from jaw dropping, but a tasty treat nonetheless.

Soft tortillas are packed with cabbage slaw, jalapeno and two small but satisfying crunchy pieces of moist fish.

Like the tacos we were stuffed, but it didn’t stop us from ordering the tempting lamb pizza ($23).

The base is deliciously chewy and topped with juicy, slow-cooked lamb braised with moroccan spices. The tender lamb is drizzled with a tangy spiced yoghurt and a heap of crunchy dukkha.

The decadent lamb pizza complemented the warm and intimate setting in this historic hotel, which is softly lit with table candles.

According to many current and former employees, Bill’s Bar and Bites is haunted by the ghost of Ol’ Kanga–a bookie who once ran the Leederville Hotel’s gambling operations.

Kanga lived in the hotel’s tower room, where his presence can still be felt to this day.

Regardless of the hotel’s ghostly past, Bill’s Bar and Bites is very much alive and kicking.

by MATTHEW EELES

Bill’s Bar and Bites
742 Newcastle Street,
Leederville
9202 8222
billsbarandbites.com.au

UPDATE: The City of Perth commissioners have approved the ATP Cup’s grant at the July 30 council meeting.

THE City of Perth is considering a $120,000 sponsorship of the men-only tennis tournament slated to replace the Hopman Cup in WA.

The mixed-gender Hopman Cup was held for the last time in Perth in January this year, with the doubles match pitting Serena Williams against Roger Federer.

It attracted 14,064 fans to Perth Arena, the highest attendance for a single game in the tournament’s history.

Tennis Australia is now hosting the replacement “ATP Cup”, and it’s just for guys.

Regrettable

The City of Perth’s event sponsorship panel noted “the loss of a women’s element to the tournament was regrettable”, but still recommended commissioners give $120,000 in cash and $10,000 worth of banner advertising to promote the event.

They’ll vote on the funding at the next council meeting on July 30.

The WA government is the major sponsor but Tennis Australia is hoping for council funding too.

Tennis Australia believes the six-day men’s only event (January 3-8) will attract even bigger crowds than the 110,000 people who came to the city for the eight-day Hopman Cup, and could have more than triple the number of TV viewers.

It’s a tri-city event with matches also being held in Sydney and Brisbane.

At January’s Hopman Cup, Serena Williams said “obviously it would be heartbreaking” if the unique, mixed-gender event was cancelled.

In March the WA government said “Tennis Australia is also exploring the potential for a high-quality professional international women’s tennis event to join the program in Perth in the future”.

There’s been no announcements yet, but Perth will get a one-off women’s event in November when the Fed Cup is held in Perth for the first time since 1971.

Battle of sexes

Mixed doubles have a long tradition in tennis, but occasionally men have played women in singles.

In 1973 Margaret Court took on retired champion Bobby Riggs, who’d bragged that aged 55 he could still beat any top female player in their prime.

After winning that match, he played 29-year-old Billie Jean King in a match dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes”.

Riggs lost the match in straight sets and according to his son suffered six months of depression as a result, though he bounced back and became close friends with King.

VINCENT council has introduced a “12 month amnesty” on change of use applications for the main Beaufort Street strip in a bid to fill vacant shopfronts.

Currently a business must apply for a change of use if they want to open a different type of business from the one previously there, which can take 90 days and costs $295.

Recently traders have been leaving the strip in droves and pressure has been mounting on state and local governments to intervene.

The amnesty runs until July 23 next year and new businesses have a year before they have to submit a change of use application.

After that they will have to submit an application to change use.

“For businesses who are keen to move in, we can’t afford to wait,” Vincent mayor Emma Cole says.

“We want to fill vacant tenancies and bring people back to Beaufort Street as soon as possible.”

At the July 23 Vincent council meeting, councillor Josh Topelberg said there’d been some community concern that the amnesty could see Beaufort Street flooded with cafes.

Eateries

An increasing number of cookie-cutter eateries has been partly blamed for the demise of the strip, which was once renowned for its mix of quirky retail and dining.

The amnesty applies to buildings facing the stretch of Beaufort Street between Bulwer Street to the south and Angove Street to the north.

Liquor barns and industrial uses are banned in that area, but “cottage industry” is permitted.

Any building works on the main strip still have to get council approval, so the rule change will mostly benefit retail “pop ups” or artists that don’t need to install equipment like a stove hood to get up and running.

Vincent mayor Emma Cole said “in terms of anything bizarre coming out of this, building and health compliance [rules] remains in place…so I feel pretty confident that this is a good approach and we’re not going to see car washes move into existing shopfronts or anything of that nature”.

The amnesty will complement the City of Stirling’s joint “Vacancy Project” which aims to get an “interesting mix” of businesses on Beaufort Street.

It’s similar to the Activate Perth project which has successfully filled empty CBD buildings with pop ups including a native flower florist, a hula hoop fitness club and an Aboriginal artist’s gallery.

by DAVID BELL

A POIGNANT game of snakes and ladders will be held in Perth during homelessness week to raise awareness of how people who can quickly go back to square one in life.

The theme of this year’s homelessness week is “Home Safe Home”, and organisers Grief Centre WA hope the board game will be a light-hearted entry point for people to find out more about those living rough.

Grief Centre general manager Linda Rawlings said they “secured a small grant from Shelter WA to run a workshop during Homelessness Week, and I wanted it to be a fun way to engage people who are living rough or have experienced homelessness with people who have no idea what this might be like.”

The number of Aussies calling the streets home has dramatically increased in the years leading up to the last census in 2016, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

This year’s homelessness week (August 5-11) includes a diverse range of events across WA including Albany’s Big sleep Out and the Couch Conversation in Fremantle.

The game of snakes and ladders in Perth will be held on Wednesday August 7 at Street Friends Sub-Station on Moore Street.

Morning tea is provided and there will be prizes for the winning team.

The number of players is limited so go to eventbrite.com.au or call 9444 7659 to register.

by BERNHARD HARTL

ARTIST, anthropologist and philanthropist Sagitte Yom-Tov, who died in 2013 aged 36, may soon have a laneway named in her honour.

Vincent council is considering naming the laneway between Irene and William Streets after her.

Yomtov means “good day” in Hebrew.

The lane is near her home and beside Hyde Park, one of her favourite places.

She carried out an ethnographic and archeological site study at the park, looking at its Aboriginal significance ahead of the council’s lakes restoration project.

Her thesis examined the benefits of Aboriginal bilingual education.

She spent a lot of her free time volunteering, teaching literacy and numeracy, helping out at animal shelters, helping homeless people and volunteering for Starlight Foundation.

Her family set up a fund in her name that contributes to causes that were important to her, including helping Aboriginal kids through year 12 and into tertiary education, and the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation that assists victims of human trafficking in Vietnam.

Ms Yom-Tov went to Carmel School (which holds a Hebrew debate competition in her memory) and Mt Lawley High School (which has an art award in her name).

She was a musician and artist who loved the work of Georgia O’Keeffe, and an O’Keeffe-inspired mural of an arum lily she painted in 2002 on Glendower Street is still there.

Renaming the laneway after Ms Yom-Tov was a community submission from the council’s “Name the Lanes” project, and is currently out for advertising until August 23, accepting comments via mail@vincent.wa.gov.au or 9273 6000.

The proposed name is “Yomtov Lane” because Landgate rules don’t allow hyphens anymore.

Vincent’s following a new, more diligent consultation process for naming lanes after it was criticised for not asking nearby neighbours what they thought of the names given to nine roads around Beaufort Street earlier this year.

While the council initially asked the community for ideas, they didn’t go back to all the neighbours for a final yea-or-nay once they’d settled on a final list.

by DAVID BELL

A RENT-A-CUP start-up is hoping to dramatically reduce landfill by doing away with single use, takeaway coffee cups.

With an estimated one billion plastic-infused cups going to landfill in Australia every year, it’s time for lateral thinking, says Northbridge resident Laurence Hellmuth.

“[They] are causing environmental problems that will last for generations, for a product that is only used for minutes.”

Inspired by a similar scheme in Freiburg, Germany, he and wife Nordine started RTRNA (returna), a reusable coffee cup network, popping up in an increasing number of cafes across the metro area.

Waste crisis

“Created from a desperate need to do something about our reckless use of resources, reliance on single use consumable products and the Australian waste crisis,” he says.

A growing number of people take their own cups, but more is needed, Mr Hellmuth says.

“It … relies entirely on the customer having to remember to bring their own cup and having to buy one in the first place.

“Our research tells us that people hate having to carry their cups around and that they frequently forget them.”

Instead they can “rent” a cup for their coffee from participating cafes for a refundable $5 ($3 without a lid).

Drink it immediately, or return it to the cafe, or an other member eatery later and the $5 is refunded.

The returned cup is washed and ready for the next customer.

A number of local cafes have signed up, including Hilltop Coffee in Hilton and Threeo Coffee and Micro Lote Coffee in Fremantle, and Little Olive Leaf and 2 Green Fingers in Willagee.

Lizmar Fonseca and her husband recently took over the Pakenham Street Micro Lote, and with a strong environmental ethos were quick to sign up.

“It’s a good alternative to not using take away cups and to help with the environment,” Ms Fonseca says.

RTRNA cups, and lids, are made from high grade plastic, which unlike regular plastic lids, doesn’t react to heat, giving off harmful fumes.

And rather than being “down cycled”, it can be recycled: “Keeping it in the loop to be made again,” Mr Hellmuth says.

For more info or to sign up go to RTRNA.com 

by JENNY D’ANGER