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  • Stirling says no!

    Submission defies demands to merge

    STIRLING city council has lodged its official submission with the WA local government advisory board to keep its boundaries intact, after several months of council rallies, adverts and social media campaigns promoting the status quo.

    Councillors voted to keep Stirling as is—its only concession being Hale Road which moves Churchlands, Wembley and the city’s section of Wembley Downs into the G7 and Woodlands to remain with Stirling.

    Council also voted that none of Vincent be included in its boundaries.

    Mayor David Boothman says he favoured a more natural boundary than that proposed by the Barnett government: “The City of Vincent and residents have delivered a strong campaign to merge the entire Vincent area with the City of Perth and our proposal would align the inner-city living and commercial areas of the City of Vincent with the Perth CBD.”

    “We cannot ignore the views of the Vincent community and in turn, it is hoped that the City of Bayswater will similarly respect the wishes of the residents in the suburbs of Mt Lawley, Inglewood, and parts of Dianella and Menora, who wish to stay in Stirling, in their submission. It has always been the intention of the city to fight to retain its boundaries and this was reflected in our submission.”

    The council spent $59,000 on an extensive anti-merger campaign that included a rally at the Astor Theatre, newspaper and radio advertising, and social media.

    Cr Boothman was also photoshopped as William Wallace (Braveheart), Barack Obama, Luke Skywalker and John Lennon in a series of spoof posters.

  • Pinched playground?

    • Enjoying Stirling council’s new $1 million playground at Dianella. Photos supplied
    • Enjoying Stirling council’s new $1 million playground at Dianella. Photos supplied

    Stirling’s $1 million state-of-the-art playground is set to be pinched by the new Bayswater-Bassendean council in the forthcoming boundary amalgamations.

    Stirling city council spent three years painstakingly consulting with residents and community groups over the innovative Dianella playspace, officially opened by mayor David Boothman last week.

    But under the proposed Barnett council mergers the playground—which took 10 months to build—and several other facilities in Dianella will end up in Bayswater.

    “It would be a shame if we were to lose the park because of an arbitrary decision to draw a line on a map,” Cr Boothman says.

    “Local government is all about local communities; but in the government’s eyes councils count for nought.”

    The park, nestled between bushland on Light Street, includes a climbing wall, balancing logs and beams, a small water play area and a bird’s nest swing.

    It is overlooked by the colourful public artwork, “Splendid Wren”.

    “As well as a range of activities for youngsters, the playground has other features for families to enjoy including a barbecue and picnic area, a half-court, multi-goal area for basketball, soccer and netball as well as excellent shade and grassed areas to enjoy a full day out,” Cr Boothman added.

    In 2012 the council built a $3.2m universal playground at Yokine Regional Open Space, designed to cater for children of all ages and abilities.

    by STEPHEN POLLOCK

  • Engineering an artistic solution

    • Luke Halpin wants to show off local artists’ work. Photo by Jeremy Dixon
    • Luke Halpin wants to show off local artists’ work. Photo by Jeremy Dixon

    When engineer Luke Halpin decided local artists weren’t getting the support they needed from galleries, he made a drastic shift in his career and started up arts organisation Artlab.

    “We started to hear stories of people who had artwork stored up in their garages or their sheds, waiting for exhibition space, or waiting until they had money to hire a space for a week,” he says.

    He aims to rectify that with Occupy Pop-Up, his temporary gallery on William Street.

    “We try to promote these local artists as much as possible,” he says, and he’s now got more than 300 pieces from 60 local artists on the walls.

    Mr Halpin says he received great feedback from artists who sold works in the last auction he ran: “I’ve been telling people, if I could turn feedback into dollars we’d be millionaires by now.”

    Going from engineer to art patron seems like a bit of a jolt but he says he always allowed a bit of art to filter into his science at his former job.

    “I’d always been creative in my designs, which had led me into trouble in engineering: You’re supposed to follow the code!

    “My superiors never enjoyed that at all.

    “It was when I was financially stable enough to step away from engineering and start supporting local artists… I was told that I’d finally stepped into my box.”

    The works are on show at 224a William Street until this weekend, when there’s a big auction of the pieces on Sunday October 13 at noon.

    by DAVID BELL

  • Remember when?

    A very sparse looking turn-of-the-century Hyde Park, a 1913 look at family life in West Perth and the excitement of the opening of the Woolworths Variety Store in Leederville (right)are amongst the winners for Vincent’s local history photographic awards.

    Debbie Saunders, who operates the Oxford Street cafe 50mL, won an award for submitting photographs of the strip from 1958 when excited punters packed the footpath waiting for the opening of the new supermarket (the building now operates as Greens & Co, the cafe HQ of fellow council scrutiniser Stuart Lofthouse).

    Jeannette Gaebler submitted a 1905 photograph of a father and son in a stark Hyde Park. Works on the park started six years earlier, and this is the earliest photo of the park in the Vincent collection.

    The local history collection at Vincent now has about 4000 images of the city’s history. There are details of all winners on the library website.

    by DAVID BELL

  • Bloomin‘ big!

    14. 800NEWSWhen Dianella gardener Rae Conway spotted a rose the size of a dinner plate growing in her garden, she decided she had to share it.

    Ms Conway, who arrived from South Africa 16 years ago, called the Voice to say she didn’t think it was fair to keep the gigantic flower to herself, and invited our photographer down.

    She has a few tips for anyone hoping to grow their own monster: “My husband is just very gentle with them. He’s very much into the blood and bone,” she says. “It’s got a horrible smell [but] gives them a jolly good feed.”

  • 15. 800LETTERSSmall is beautiful
    WE would really like the City of Vincent to stay intact and without merging. We had previously been with the City of Perth and felt neglected. Now we feel part of a community as Vincent has enabled its residents in this.
    We are aware that as a community we have few rights as these reside with corporations and states, and that democracy is in name only.  It seems that merging of councils will make it easier for our limited rights to be more easily over-ruled.
    Small is beautiful” and in so many areas of life we have found this to be the case.
    Allen & Mary Droste
    Edinboro St,  Mt Hawthorn

    Puppy love
    AS Bob Dylan inimitably tells us, the times they are a changing.
    Note, for example, the changes brought about by social media in the approach to local government election campaigns.
    Particularly in mind, Sally Palmer’s attempt to return to faction-riven Bayswater city council.
    Ms Palmer has introduced another intriguing factor that, while unrelated directly to social media, seems likely to touch a popular chord—puppy love (Voice, October 5, 2013).
    Will this help catch enough votes to secure for her the south ward seat?
    Patience, folks. Time will tell.
    Bill Proude
    First Ave, Mount Lawley

    One truth
    I HAVE been reading with great interest about the calibre and offerings of my opponents and would-be successors in the Vincent council chamber and mostly I am drawn to one truth—at this critical time, Vincent needs experienced people at the table.
    I have seen people campaigning about schools and education (state government matters), CAT buses (with a multi-million dollar price tag), zebra crossings (which Main Roads confirms are death traps) and free wifi (already agreed to and actioned by the council).
    If both Cr Buckels and I are defeated on Saturday October 19 the most experienced people in the room will have been in their chair for only two years.
    I remain opposed to forced amalgamations, but with a state government imposed date of July 1, 2015 looming as D-day, I ask that Voice readers please think about how long it takes someone to settle into their role as a councillor. For me, it was at least 12 months and I have observed the same with my colleagues.
    Please, don’t get me wrong—fresh ideas and innovation are critical for any organisation, and with only two incumbents running the community will be guaranteed new faces. However, at this critical juncture for local government and particularly Vincent, I firmly believe the experience and understanding I offer the community is worth voting for.
    Josh Topelberg
    Candidate, City of Vincent
    South Ward

    Party pooper
    COUNCIL elections end October 19, 2013. In light of our recent experience in Vincent it would be good if voters considered voting for a candidate with no affiliation to any political party. We need genuine local representation, not someone there to boost his or her political career.
    Z Han
    Bulwer St, Highgate

    Merge now!
    LAST week acting Vincent mayor John Carey takes a shot at the Perth lord mayor and PCC when, quite rightly, Lisa Scaffidi voices her disappointment that more due diligence instead of  emotionally-charged rallies has not occurred.
    Vincent council has spent more than $50,000 of ratepayers’ money so far on a cause that only about 20 per cent of its constituents seem to agree with. With a “specialist consultant” soon to be thrown into the mix, this figure is sure to blow out even more.
    I am a passionate business owner in Leederville. I care enough about my community to be at every council meeting, having my say and questioning the all-too-often poor decisions of Vincent staff. I take offence to your claim “there is almost total support” for your campaign to oppose the planned mergers.
    I support the proposed mergers and so do many others in Vincent. The current system that allows discretion by a group of people hardly qualified to be making the sort of decisions that can affect someone’s livelihood does not work.
    Far from being open and transparent, it is full of behind-closed-doors decisions with a total lack of community consultation.
    You don’t listen to the people, especially those who do not share your point of view. In fact, you gag those who oppose you, a fact I know firsthand after being banned from your Facebook pages.
    My frustration with a council and a system that does not work is all the motivation I need to say anything is better than what we have now. Stop spending my money on your self-serving campaign. Bring on change.
    Debbie Saunders
    Oxford St, Leederville
    The Ed says: This letter has been cut for length and legal reasons.

    Vote to save Vincent
    PERTH city council has formally rejected taking in all of Vincent (Perth Voice, October 5, 2013)—no surprise there after recent statements and events.
    Congratulations, though, to Cr Jim Adamos for at least bringing some logic into the debate in contrast to the “cherry-picking” approach demonstrated by the lord mayor and other Perth councillors.
    We all need to consider very carefully what this means for the Vincent plebiscite. Premier Colin Barnett has said all of Vincent could go to Perth if the two councils could agree—clearly, they cannot.
    So the only way forward is with a strong vote in favour of not abolishing the City of Vincent (Question 2).
    As regards Question 1, it now appears to be largely academic, but logic dictates we should still favour the option that keeps all of Vincent together — and stuff the City of Perth and whether it wants all of us or not.
    Lisa Scaffidi obviously considers what we in the community think is of no importance—it’s all about the bureaucrats and a small number of council members. I am very pleased to see acting Vincent mayor John Carey giving the lie to Scaffidi’s arrogant assertion you can’t do due diligence at the same time as involving the community.
    I love the vernacular used, too—chewing gum and walking at the same time. I guess that sums up the difference between Vincent and Perth—our diversity enables us to multi-task, whereas Perth is all about big business.
    Be warned, members of the Vincent community, this is the sort of approach you’ll get to community involvement if we end up in the City of Perth. In the plebiscite, vote to retain Vincent.
    Ian Ker
    Vincent St, Mt Lawley
    The Ed says: Mr Ker was an inaugural Vincent councillor and served for 14 years, retiring in 2009.

  • In utopia at Formosa

    16. 800FOODFORMOSA, Northbridge

    by JENNY D’ANGER:

    Formosa Vegetarian Eating House is a strange and disturbing place that challenges concepts of food and can leave your head spinning.

    Just finding the eatery had the D’Angers puzzled because the space is dominated by signs for Utopia, a bubble tea and Asian sticky bun and cake vendor. The two eateries share a front counter and seating area, and even the staff seemed interchangable.

    Once we discovered the small print “Formosa” we were left to wonder why  a vegetarian noshery had dishes such as sizzling black pepper steak, chicken and cashew and lamb hotpot, on a menu that wouldn’t look out of place in any Chinese eatery.

    But nothing at Formosa actually has meat in it—nothing, as we confirmed—I even went back to the shared counter twice to make sure I was ordering from the correct menu.

    Not even the tasty Taiwanese noodles ($10.90) which had little bits of something that looked and tasted like ham.

    The sizzling chicken ($15.80) too was made from soy. It looked like chicken, the texture similar, and the taste much like I remember from my pre-vegetarian days.

    But this tasty dish could be devoured with a clear conscience: No-one had been dispatched, squawking to the big coop in the sky, for your gastronomic convenience.

    It was the same with the sizzling eel, little parcels wrapped in seaweed, giving them a fishy taste.

    The fishiness was a bit strong for me but D’Angerous Dave loved it.

    But I have to say the real winner was the one that wasn’t pretending to be anything but what it was—a vegetarian roll ($5.80).

    We had ordered it as an entree but the Formosa has a very casual, cafeteria ambience and everything arrived more or less together.

    The meatless roll had a lovely crunchy, nutty coating and a soft but firm savoury inside.

    According to the menu, saving the planet can be as simple as eating vegetarian.

    It cites a UN report saying the livestock industry is the biggest contributor to today’s most serious environmental problems.

    Fresh water loss, rainforest destruction, spreading deserts and air and water pollution, soil erosion and loss of habitat—farting!—the litany of damage done by sheep and cattle farming goes on.

    The health benefits of a vegetarian diet are well-known and, with prices like these, the bank balance would be healthier too if more people gave up meat

    Formosa Vegetarian Eatery
    Upstairs at 109 James Street,Northbridge
    Open Mon–Thurs 11am–12, Fri/Sat 11am–2am

     

  • Pure imagination & infinite possibilities

    17. 800ARTS
    • Aaron Bradbrook. Photo by Jeremy Dixon

    A Scantily-clad young woman hides between a wardrobe and wall while nearby a bare male foot pokes from underneath a wardrobe door.

    The poster-sized photographs are two in a series for Aaron Bradbrook’s Borderland exhibition at the Perth Centre for Photography.

    They were taken in his former home in Maylands where, luckily for him, the new tenants were old mates, providing continued access after his move to East Fremantle.

    The half-awake, half-asleep world of hypnagogia, and CS Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe influenced the exhibition, with the images an adult take on “childhood imagination”.

    Seen through the prism of hypnagogia a house is more than a place of shelter, becoming a realm of “pure imagination and infinite possibilities”, a “playpen where the inhabitants and their objects interact with one another,” Bradbrook says.

    “Potentially a wardrobe can be anything you want, until you open it.”

    Bradbrook took out the PCP’s Uncover awards, which were launched in 2010 to find and nurture young talent.

    In the first year submission numbers were low but as word spread they soared.

    “Last year we had around 200 applications,” director Christine Tomas says.

    Winners are provided hanging space for an exhibition, along with mentoring and practical assistance.

    “[And] the offer is also there to use our framing…we have a lot at the gallery,” Ms Tomas says.

    Bradbrook, 24, has notched up some interesting photography experience while studying at Edith Cowan, spending time at Arizona State University and Pathshala South Asian Media Academy in Bangladesh.

    A two-day bus trip took him out of Dhaka to a slum village on the south coast.

    “I photographed and talked to people to tell their story,” he says.

    The experience was “humbling” and helped him take stock of his own life.

    “People live so fortunately in Australia—we don’t have a lot to complain about.”

    Borderland is on until October 26, at PCP 100 Aberdeen Street, Northbridge.

  • Stylish at 40

    This stunning two-storey home on Joel Terrace, Mt Lawley could feature in a magazine showcasing cutting-edge modern living.

    So I was surprised to learn it was built in 1971, the home of well-known architect Peter Christou.

    At a time when most of Perth was building homes with closed-off rooms, Christou created sweeping open spaces and relatively few walls, soaring ceilings and huge plate-glass windows.

    Front of house is a sprawling formal lounge/dining area, where floor-to-ceiling bifold doors take in river and hill views—and lead to a timber deck.

    Port-hole skylights

    This is the perfect spot to enjoy a vino while watching planes take off from Perth airport and Burswood Casino’s flickering lights.

    The informal living spaces are equally impressive, with soaring jarrah ceilings, plenty of huge windows, port-hole shaped skylights, and a fantastic red feature wall.

    A central fireplace, open on two sides, has been converted to a stylish gas version, with heat-rocks spreading a mellow warmth.

    The ship’s galley feel to the kitchen is not just about its shape, but also the use of marine ply for the plentiful cupboards, pantry and bench tops.

    Glowing a soft gold, they’re topped by stainless steel.

    Two of the three bedrooms form a ground floor wing, where the ship ambience continues, with timber walls and floors in the hall and sloping, white-painted timber ceilings in the bedrooms.

    Head upstairs and Christou’s home office is an amazing space, where  cupboards and drawers, designed to hold his architectural drawings, are also crafted from softly-glowing marine ply.

    Skylights and banks of windows in the slanted jarrah ceiling ensure this is a light-filled space.

    The adjacent sitting/kids’ play area opens to the kitchen below and has glass doors leading to a deck overlooking the pool, with its natural rock waterfall.

    This time of the year you could go all Swedish and heat up in the cedar-lined sauna, off the downstairs bathroom, before taking a plunge.

    Said bathroom is a gorgeous space, with a wall of glass onto a very private Japanese garden.

    Back upstairs the main bedroom is a huge space, with ensuite and walk-in-robe, not to mention a balcony with sweeping views.

    Sitting on 491sqm, this amazing light-filled home offers everything today’s family could want, in a package that has stood the test of time.

    by JENNY D’ANGER

    161 Joel Terrace, Mt Lawley
    $1.595 million
    David Lomax | 0412 292 450
    Acton Mt Lawley | 9272 2488

  • Baysy’s back!

    • Bayswater Soccer Club won the Cool Ridge Cup in August, beating Ashfield one-nil, but now they’re after the big one—the premier league grand final against Stirling. It’s been a 40-year drought. Photo supplied.
    • Bayswater Soccer Club won the Cool Ridge Cup in August, beating Ashfield one-nil, but now they’re after the big one—the premier league grand final against Stirling. It’s been a 40-year drought. Photo supplied.

    Bayswater City Soccer Club hopes to break a 40-year hoodoo when it faces Stirling Lions in the premier league grand final on Saturday.

    Bayswater versus Stirling—could this be an omen for the looming council mergers?

    Baysy last reached the final in 1972—losing to East Fremantle—but a series of brilliant displays this season has got it within touching distance of the trophy again.

    The team secured a final berth by beating Stirling Lions in the major semi-final two weeks ago.

    “We got the boys in four weeks early for pre-season training,” says coach Chris Coyne, a former Perth Glory and Dundee defender.

    “I think it has made a huge difference to our fitness and if you look back at our games, we have scored a lot of winning goals with three or four minutes to go, when other teams have started to flag.

    “We maybe don’t have a stand-out player like some of the other teams, but we have a great team spirit and never-say-die mentality—it has served us well.”

    The part-timers are a motley bunch that includes gas fitters, delivery men and a Brazilian carpenter.

    Bayswater councillor Mike Anderton—a long- suffering Liverpool fan and Baysy supporter—says the boys can lift the trophy.

    “I’m confident the team can break the long drought,” he says.

    “It would be an amazing achievement for a club that is regarded, by some, as one of the smaller outfits in the league.”

    BSC formed in 1980 when Lathlain Meazza and Rosemount Juventus merged, and enjoys fervent support from the local Italian community.

    Mr Coyne says they will try win the final in style and play the “beautiful game” as it was intended.

    “Stirling will try and kick us off the park, but we’re going to pass it around and try and play some football.”

    The final kicks off at 3pm on Saturday at Litis Stadium

    by STEPHEN POLLOCK