NEWS DESK
Time to take out the trash in Green Wedge Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au History in homes: Dorothy Booth, left, and Veronica Hahn have gathered household collectables to be displayed at the Old Bakery Museum in Mentone. Picture: Yanni
World turns but past not forgotten A WORLD of collectible items that were once part of our everyday past is on display at the Old Bakery Museum, Mentone. The ‘Where have all the houses gone?’ exhibition also includes a series of photographs of aesthetically pleasing houses that have long since been knocked down and replaced with townhouses or apartments. The collectibles are from a time pre-and-post war when things were made strongly to last – there was no such term as “planned obsolescence”. Nothing was expected to be just thrown away and everything was expected to be repaired at least once in its lifetime. Shoe soles were repaired at home using metal wear protectors, saucepans had new handles attached and tyres were patched – not replaced. The everyday items were found in everyone’s homes: Dad shaved with them, mum cooked with them, the kids played with them - and everybody used them. The interesting memorabilia donated over the years
includes a Coolgardie safe, range of food mixing devices, tool for stringing beans, metal kitchen utensils, women’s compacts, battery powered home medical apparatus – even a grape-seedling tool. The display provides an intriguing and relevant snapshot of Mordialloc and Mentone is quieter times, when people knew their neighbours and kept a spare key under the mat. Ah, those were the days ... Organiser Dorothy Booth said: “At long last we are up and running and ready for people to come and see where all the houses have gone. “It took us longer than expected, due to illness, but we think people will like our exhibition when they see what is on display. “See if you know anything about the house we are trying to find.” The Where Have All The Houses Gone exhibition is at the Old Bakery Museum, Mentone, Sundays 2-4pm . Stephen Taylor
RUBBISH tips and concrete crushers will be banned from Kingston’s Green Wedge after a state government decision last week to rezone about 366 hectares of land in Heatherton and Clarinda. The Green Wedge land north of Kingston and Heatherton Rds, and outside the urban growth boundary, was a Special Use Zone meaning waste businesses could operate in the area. Labor Planning Minister Richard Wynne announced last Wednesday (14 October) that the land will be rezoned to a Green Wedge A Zone meaning existing waste industry businesses will have to cease operations when their existing leases run out. The decision was made in time to foil an attempt by the Alex Fraser Group to extend its concrete crushing operations in Clarinda until 2038. The company had been due to appeal to VCAT on 26 October against Kingston Council’s decision to refuse a licence extension (‘Come in number C143, your time is (nearly) up’, The News 7/10/15). Council had written to the state government in May asking for a C143 planning amendment to be approved to rezone the land from Special Use to Green Wedge A Zone. Kingston mayor Cr Geoff Gledhill welcomed the Planning Minister’s decision to approve council’s rezoning request and hailed it as “a landmark” for future generations. “We’re thrilled to have this major initiative approved. This is no ordinary decision, but instead is one that will bring positive change to the south east of Melbourne for years and decades to come.
“There are very few moments where a council is called upon to make decisions that will endure for generations; this decision is one of those moments. “Council and the community have been clear that the Kingston Green Wedge is no longer a place for the waste industry, and while Kingston is willing to play its part in hosting modern stateof-the-art waste recovery facilities we believe these should be directed towards industrial areas and away from parklands and suburban streets.” The mayor said landfill sites will be “rehabilitated and ultimately turned into public parkland for the chain of parks, a process which will take decades”. Mr Wynne said council can now proceed with long-term plans for the Green Wedge and pursue the chain of parks proposal, freeing up land for open public use, which was drafted in the 1970s. “We said before the election that we would protect Melbourne’s green wedges, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said. “The rezoning will turn this spot into one which families and the community can enjoy, making Kingston a more liveable place to be.” Defenders of the South East Green Wedge secretary Barry Ross said the group is “absolutely delighted” with the Planning Minister’s decision. “This is a mighty victory for the Green Wedge. It’s the most significant step forward to happen in the last decade. “This has made it very clear the government is going to protect the Green Wedge and we hope that will be a deterrent to any other ill-advised attempts to carve it up.” Neighbouring residents have long complained to council about odours and dust from landfills in the Heatherton and Clarinda area.
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OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News 21 October 2015
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