MORE pain’s on the way for Beaufort Street traders with two kilometres of road to be dug up to replace water mains.
The Water Corporation says the pipes are a century old and in danger of bursting.
Works start on March 11 between Newcastle and Bulwer Streets, and will take about six weeks.
Work on the next section from Aberdeen to Newcastle Streets runs April 20-May 15, then the last work between Roe and Aberdeen Streets runs May 16-June 19.
The northbound lanes will be closed and the southbound lanes will be converted to single lane for the duration. Footpaths and pedestrian access won’t be affected.
Nathan Hardwick from the Water Corporation says: “While the work we are doing is essential, we understand there can be an impact on local businesses and commuters and we thank them for their patience and understanding”.
He said they’ve been liaising with business owners and they’ll all be staying open during the works.”
NORTH PERTH post office has closed suddenly without any explanation, leaving a bunch of parcels locked inside the building.
Australia Post aren’t saying why the post office shut down on Friday March 1, but it changed hands two years ago and there had been several complaints about customer service in the months leading up to its closure.
The North Perth post office was run by a private operator under the Australia Post banner.
A sign was spotted on the door this week saying “due to unforeseen circumstances, the North Perth Post Office ceased trading at short notice on Friday 1 March 2019”.
It said PO box mail arriving after March 1 can be collected from the Mount Lawley Post Office.
Parcels are being redirected to the Osborne Park business hub on Collingwood Street–a 7km stroll away–but some parcels were still locked inside, and Australia Post tells us “items carded before 1 March are safely secured in the North Perth Post Office and we are working closely with authorities to gain access. We will provide updates to customers on how and when to collect their items as soon as details are confirmed”.
Australia Post says they’re working to “restore services”. In the meantime, if a customer wants to relocate their PO box, they’re offering them a free six-month redirection to the new address.
One Voice reader told us they’d only just paid for a year-long PO box.
We’ve been asked if the post office closure was because of works on the nearby North Perth Common town square, but Vincent mayor Emma Cole says they’ve had no complaints about it and that access to the post office has been kept clear.
THE plan for a community garden at Inglewood Oval is out for comment and locals are calling for public support to help it blossom.
The Inglewood Bowls and Sports Club is keen, more than 300 locals have signed a petition in favour, and Mount Lawley MP Simon Millman even gave the proposed garden a plug in parliament.
“Community gardens are exactly as the name suggests,” Mr Millman told MPs last week.
“They are about coming together as a community and cultivating not just delicious fruit, vegetables and herbs, but also our relationships with our neighbours.
“They are about growing closer together as the growth of our city sees us living closer together.”
• Inglewood Community Garden backers Anthony Ridolfo, Simon Millman (with his Mt Lawley Hardware shovel), Paul Stein and Damian Lukich.
Mr Millman said locals like Anthony Ridolfo, Paul Stein and Damian Lukich (pictured) had “planted the seed of this idea in the fertile soil of Jin Gee Jer Dup, the Noongar name for Mt Lawley, which means ‘home of the honeyeater’.”
Stirling council’s FAQ notes it “will only be approved by council if community consultation shows strong community support for the garden and interest to participate”.
There’s an information session on March 9 at 10am at the proposed site: Inglewood Oval, 1 Stancliffe Street.
Technically it’s in Mt Lawley, but the oval borders Inglewood.
PANDA & Co proudly declares its food is inauthentic Asian.
Having eaten the crab linguine ($21), I can attest they have every right to boast.
This little eatery on Bulwer Street blends Asian and Australian in yummy dishes like smashed avo ($16) with edamame (immature soybeans) and mint hummus, panko’d scotch eggs ($17), and tataki style steak with seaweed salad ($28).
Pandas dangle from the ceiling of this fresh and modern establishment, and the staff continued to smile as they dealt with the lunchtime rush on a sweltering public holiday.
Indoors was packed, so despite the 40C heat the D’Angers sat outside with a couple of icy cold juices.
Our meals arrived promptly and I was slightly taken back at the Singaporean interpretation of linguine – a whole soft-shell crab sitting daintily on top of pasta noodles, looking like it was embracing the linguine with its claws.
But this was a great fusion of cultures: the crab was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the pasta deliciously hot and spicy.
D’Angerous Dave went pure oriental with a stir fried udon ($18) topped with a perfectly cooked, just-runny egg, which he quickly stirred through the dish.
The thick noodles had a pleasantly smokey flavour and a great chilli twang.
He was a bit grumpy about having to go north of the river and leave Fremantle behind, especially in the heat, but was won over by his meal.
“My mouth is dancing like a samba party is going on in there,” he said.
We finished our meal with a couple of moist and flavoursome slices of lemon coconut cake ($5).
• Owners Andy and Rebecca. Photo by JennyD’Anger
by JENNY D’ANGER
Panda & Co 87 Bulwer Street, Perth Mon-Fri 7am-4pm, Sat-Sun 8am-4pm 9328 5935
ALL-GIRL Perth band The Tommyhawks will launch their debut album Underground Raptor next month.
After five years travelling the country in a camper van, sleeping two-to-a-bed, the four musos are in perfect harmony and have forged a reputation for music with pumping beats and meaningful lyrics.
It all started when Fremantle local Addison Axe was asked to write and perform songs for a cabaret show at Perth’s Fringeworld a few years back.
She recruited mate Ness Thornton (Jebediah), and they had such a good time they formed The Tommyhawks, bringing in North Perth drummer Jess June and saxophonist Thea Woodwood.
Twice nominated for a WAMI, the group’s music is dance-orientated with dark lyrics.
The contrast is evident on tracks like Critical, a deceptively mellow song about hate, mob violence, government control and death.
There’s even a nod to Donald Trump in the blood-drenched cartoon-style video.
• Out of the van and into the studio: The Tommyhawks took time off touring to record their latest album Underground Raptor.
“Lyrically there’s a whole lot of fear going on, but don’t be put off by the angst,” Axe says.
“Such is the nature of playful songwriting that the rest of the band were initially oblivious to the lyrics,”
A number of the album’s songs reflect anxiety about climate change, and the fear human beings have over destroying planet Earth.
“The girls did manage to convince me Anxiety 1, Anxiety 2, Anxiety 3 were probably not the most alluring song titles,” Axe says.
“Listen to the music and ignore the lyrics and you will be fine.”
The album title Underground Raptor was inspired by four dogs that hung around the studio, Axe says.
The smallest would start a fight and leave the snarling pooches to it.
“She was the secret fight starter and was given the name underground raptor.”
Catch The Tommyhawks at Lucy’s Love Shack, Murray Street, Perth on April 5, and at Fremantle’s Navy Club on March 9.
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20) The Moon begins her week in Aries. She charges you up with feeling. The focus is on shoring up your resources. The Pisces Sun is making the waters a little murky. It’s best to put your attention somewhere you feel you have sure footing. Mars is giving you traction with practical matters.
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 2) Be honest in your dealings and you’re in line for a royal flush. Trick others and you’ll trick yourself. Trickery is not your style, but the presence of Mars in Taurus could lead you to think that you can stretch things a little. For the rest, there’s a lot of cosmic dancing going on. Enjoy yourself.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 21) Mercury is going to stay in Pisces, enhancing fantasy, imagination, vision quests and assorted potential illusions. There’s not a lot of logic in the air. If you are capable of embracing the delights of emotional intelligence, then there’s much to get on with. If rationality is your thing – wait.
CANCER (June 22 – July 22) Though you are moving quietly, you continue to hold influence. In many ways Cancer represents the instinct to keep what’s vulnerable nourished, protected and safe. It’s a symbol of maternal instinct. Under all that passes for everyday life, such instincts keep determining our behaviour.
LEO (July 23 – Aug 22) The Sun is in Pisces. All sorts of unfathomable longings are in the air, turning Leonine emotions in somersaults. As these waves of emotion come in, drop your resistance and see what it feels like to honour them with open-hearted attention. It’s your soul speaking. Listen courageously.
VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22) With Mercury playing games in Pisces, going forwards, then backwards again, your chances of rising to the clarity that you so long for, are slim. These are emotional times. As the Sun and Mercury pass through Pisces, life leans on us to listen out for advice from our spirit and soul.
LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23) The Sun is in Pisces. Venus is in Aquarius. You are floating around exploring new ideas. They are all very interesting but none of them are making their way into application or action. The Aries Moon at the start of the week could easily make you sensitive to other people’s judgements.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21) The weight of past habits has the capacity to drag us to the bottom. There’s a lot we are doing that really isn’t serving us anymore. It is your job to get frustrated enough and to be insightful enough, to call a halt to all this destructive repetition. Figure out how to get yourself out of yesterday.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21) You are pitting yourself against other people’s apathy. That is a difficult position to find oneself in. Perhaps you would be more successful if you gathered a small group of like-minded friends and fed off the support you can all give each other. Fighting against the ocean is a thankless task.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19) Pluto dismantles that which no longer serves us and opens up the space for regeneration. He is parked at the same spot as the South Node of the Moon. The South Node of the Moon represents the gravitas of the past. Identify what’s worked and make it stronger. Let go of dead weight.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18) No matter what else is happening or not happening, Venus is with you. She is sailing through Aquarius, filling you with all sorts of possibilities for delight. Sometimes she shows herself n the little things – in how the light falls through the trees. Sometimes she arrives with a fanfare.
PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20) The Sun and Neptune are settled comfortably in the middle of their respective journeys through your sign. Feel the wonder of your own presence. It’s a miracle just to be. Watch out for the ego’s touchiness. Open up to an ocean of possibilities. Look into new soulful, creative directions.
TO me this circa-1900 home in Mt Lawley is perfect just the way it is, but for those inclined there is plenty of scope for alteration.
Building an extension on the 520sqm block is one way to go, or you could subdivide the lot.
I’d just move in and enjoy the period features like the gorgeous stained glass, rich jarrah floors, and high ceilings with ceiling roses.
The fireplace in the central lounge has been converted to gas for instant warmth. This large room could be converted into another bedroom, or become the dressing room and en suite of a spacious main.
A third bedroom is located in a studio apartment at the rear of the garden.
There’s lovely white stone benchtops in the kitchen and a small but practical laundry.
Massive glass doors in the dining room open onto the alfresco, which overlooks an underground pool and a swathe of grass.
At the rear of the garden is a huge studio apartment with a bathroom and laundry, making it perfect for short-term accommodation.
This Chertsey Street house is close to the East Perth train station, Mt Lawley Tafe, a heap of cafes and shops, and the Perth CBD.
Flanking the studio apartment is a double garage with a massive mezzanine that would make a great artist’s space or teenage pad.
by JENNY D’ANGER
1 Chertsey Street, Mt Lawley} from $950,000 Craig Brosnan 0417 937 938 Penny Brosnan 0408 950 574 Harcourts City Central
Great Western Woodlands Photography Exhibition 14 March – 17 March 2019
The Wilderness Society WA is asking the community to join them for a celebration of the Great Western Woodlands, the largest temperate woodland left on earth.
State Director, Kit Sainsbury, commented: “We welcome all to come and see a stunning collection of photographic images, showcasing one of Western Australia’s most iconic regions. We have chosen a selection of professional, amateur and junior photographer’s work to highlight the natural beauty of this oft-forgotten part of Western Australia. The winning and runner-up selections from the Wilderness Society’s inaugural Great Western Woodlands photography competition will be displayed, along with a variety of other works for sale.”
Jenarden Clarke-Jayan – Birb
“For context, The Great Western Woodlands covers 16 million hectares, over twice the size of Tasmania. The Woodlands are home to over 20 percent of Australia’s eucalypts, over 3000 different flowering plant species, and they provide refuge for countless bird and animal species.”
“There’s nowhere else in the world like it. It supports biodiversity that keeps our climate in check. But the Great Western Woodlands needs formal recognition, not more mining. We hope this exhibition will encourage more awareness of how these trees and soils store 950 million tonnes of carbon – that’s more than Australia emits in an entire year.”
Jane Putland – A Foggy Sunrise Moment
Community Organiser, Marcel Teschendorff added: “Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see a combination of images from emerging local photographers and established professionals who’ve dedicated years to capturing this raw and rugged part of our home state. Take some time out to enjoy a taste of the wilderness right in the heart of the city”.
Val Marsden – Pink Eremophila
If you can’t make the opening night, the exhibition will also be open from 10am-4pm Friday 15 & Saturday 16 March and until 2pm on Sunday 17 March.
The Wilderness Society would like to thank Lotterywest for their support in enabling this exhibition.
• Jan Wilkie was left bleeding and bruised after the crash (top) while her late-model Mazda 6 was a write-off (above).
A PLAN to allow only left-hand turns on a dangerous intersection in Mount Lawley has come under fire from residents who say it will foist the problem onto their streets.
Stirling council has received funding from the state government’s Black Spot program to modify the intersection of Second Avenue and Carrington Street following several serious accidents there in the past couple of years.
One of the prangs involved prominent local real estate agent Jan Wilkie who was hospitalised after her Mazda station wagon was cleaned up by a Toll van two years ago, but she’s livid about the proposed changes.
Ms Wilkie says forcing drivers to turn will push the problems onto Fourth and First Avenues, and could even be worse at the latter because a hill means cars will be travelling even faster.
Titanic
“It’s like shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic,” she told the Voice.
Ms Wilkie says a week before Christmas last year she came across another crash at the intersection where someone’s fence was damaged.
“I was really shaken, so I rang Simon Millman’s office to see if anything was being done to improve things.”
She says the reply, including the proposed plans, arrived last week and showed Stirling was ready to start works in May. She believes the council should have consulted first.
“What about Perth College? They weren’t consulted. What about their drop-offs and pick-ups; there’s plenty of parents coming from that direction.”
Ms Wilkie believes a roundabout is the best solution, but the council’s chief engineer says that’s not possible.
“There is unfortunately insufficient space to accommodate a roundabout within the existing road reserve, so the most cost effective solution to address the major crash types is to restrict some of the problem movements,” engineering design manager Paul Giamov wrote to Ms Wilkie.
He promised the council would monitor any impacts on surrounding streets caused by the modification.
A First Ave resident of 10 years contacted the Voice to back Ms Wilkie’s campaign to have the design scrapped, saying her street is already dangerous.
“In our view the problem is not with the Second Ave intersection per se,” she said, blaming the hill that caused cars to speed up.
“The cars do not have much time once over the hill till they approach the First and Second Ave intersections.
“What is needed is a solution to assist both the First and Second Ave intersections, and that is to slow traffic on Carrington.
Rat running
“The currently proposed solution will only have any benefit for the Second Ave intersection.”
“On First Ave there are too many cars, too much rat running and especially too much speeding from vehicles turning off Railway Parade. It is difficult to accept that there is now a further proposal that would increase traffic on First Ave.”
Ms Wilkie says since raising her concerns publicly, she’s had a groundswell of support for organising a public meeting. She’s yet to find a date or time but is interested in hearing from any supporters and can be contacted on janwilkie@westnet.com.au or 0418 924 279.
Perth Voice Interactive 