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Climbing old heights at Parliament House
FOR the first time in a decade, visitors to Parliament House will be able to enjoy unrestricted access to its roof from the lawns, as the normally strident security is relaxed for this year’s special open day this month.
The fencing has been up since 2003, when extra security was put in place following 9/11, says Carol Mills, secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services.
“It’s the thing I hear most, that it’s such a shame you can’t walk over the building and on to the roof anymore,” she says. “So we wanted to do this in the true spirit of Open Day.”
Parliament House usually hosts an open day every two years, but it’s been three years since the last one, as the plan was to tie in with Canberra’s Centenary and the building’s own silver jubilee.
“It’s a great opportunity to celebrate, as 25 years is the first real milestone in its 200-year framework,” says Carol. “We really want this open day to be a more active participatory event, so we’re doing things like showing the flag up close, so people can see if it’s really the size of a double decker bus, and how heavy it is.
“The building will be open more
Kathryn Vukovljak reports
extensively than previous open days.”
Parliament House Open Day is on August 24, from 9am-5pm, and is a joint effort between the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Department of Parliamentary Services – with the House of Representatives the overall leader.
So, this year the public will be able to see the Mace, the symbol of the House of Representatives, up close in the Speaker’s Office for the first time, as well as tour the chamber and the private courtyards.
Andres Lomp, director of international and community relations in the House of Representatives, says the theme of this open day, “Threads of Our Nation”, came about because the building combines art, history and culture all woven together.
“It’s more than a parliament, although that’s the primary reason it’s here,” he says.
Having worked at Parliament House for 25 years, Andres says he feels privileged to be there.
“It’s been a career commitment for me and I have a great respect for the institution,” he says. “We want to share our stories on Open Day so the
index / contacts
Arts&Entertainment 23-25
Canberra Confidential 18
Cinema 24
Dining 25
Garden 26
Letters 12
News 3-15
Politics 10-11
Puzzles 27
Socials 19-22
Cover: Queanbeyan author Nichole Overall. Photo by Andrew Finch. Story Page 4.
community understands how it really operates.”
Visitors will also be allowed into the Prime Minister’s office and sitting room, tour the Senate, try on costumes in the Parliamentary Education Office, try broadcasting, hear from the builders and artists who worked on the build-
Arts editor: Helen Musa, 0400 043 764 helen@citynews.com.au
Design and photography: Brent McDonald, brent@citynews.com.au, 0421 962 325
Graphic designer: Leonie Fox
Contributing photographer: Andrew Finch
Distribution: Richard Watson, circulation@citynews.com.au
Responsibility for election comment is taken by Ian Meikle, Level 1, 143 London Circuit, Canberra.
ing, visit the underground carpentry workshop and give Hansard a go.
“It’s been an incredible 25 years of change for Parliament House, in terms of technology, environmental pressures, diversity of the workplace and social media,” says Andres.
“People say, how can you have spent
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25 years in the same job, but it’s never the same job. Every time there is a new parliament, it all changes.
“It’s always changing, always exciting.”
For more information on Parliament House Open Day, visit www.25years. aph.gov.au
Carol Mills...“It’s the thing I hear most, that it’s such a shame you can’t walk over the building and on to the roof anymore, so we wanted to do this in the true spirit of Open Day.”
Andres Lomp... “It’s been an incredible 25 years of change for Parliament House.” Photos by Brent McDonald
‘Struggletown’ wears its history with pride
AS Queanbeyan prepares to celebrate its 175th anniversary, a local freelance writer has penned a new history of the city that could give Canberrans a finer appreciation of “Struggletown”.
Author Nichole Overall says there’s a lot we don’t know about our more mature satellite, which was built into a prosperous regional centre by hard-working pioneers “before Canberra was even a twinkle in a politician’s eye”.
For starters, there’s that nickname. It makes Queanbeyanites bristle defensively and is generally used condescendingly by ACT residents, who should know better than most how it feels to have one’s hometown sneered at by outsiders.
However, after years of research into local history Nichole says there is good reason for our nearest New South Welshmen and women to wear the label “Struggletown” with pride, and for Canberrans to respect their organically grown neighbour a little more.
“Queanbeyan has battled and faced hardship and some adversity, but at one point in time it was also considered one of the wealthiest districts in the colony,” she says.
“They’ve gone through all of those ups and downs, and yet they’ve managed to thrive as a growing cosmopolitan centre, so I see it as a badge of honour.”
Nichole traces the name to a 1950s scheme that allowed post-war migrants to live in makeshift housing while permanent homes were built. The policy made Queanbeyan “a bit scrappy looking” to outsiders, she says, but the new Australians it brought in worked hard and helped make the city what it is today.
And despite the unflattering view many Canberrans hold of present-day Queanbeyan, the facts tell a different story.
“Much to the astonishment of many,
Stephen Easton reports
I think, Queanbeyan is actually one of the safest cities in NSW,” says Nichole, rattling off some facts from Census data.
“We have one of the lowest average unemployment levels for non-metropolitan NSW as well, and we also have one of the most ethnically diverse populations anywhere outside of Sydney or Melbourne.”
Nichole happens to be married to the mayor, Tim Overall, but her mostly selffunded book is independent of the city’s official 175th birthday celebrations. She even eschewed applying for a City Council grant to spare Tim from any conflictof-interest suggestions, but luckily won some funding from IMB Building Society’s Community Foundation this year, which helped with printing costs.
So what makes Queanbeyan a city of champions?
“A couple of reasons,” says Nichole.
“The first is the prodigious sporting talent that’s come from here… but the other thing that people probably don’t realise is that we’re actually a city of champions in every sense from community service to regional leaders, industry to artistic endeavours and cultural pursuits. The breadth of talent that has come from the town, but is not as widely recognised as it should be, is quite extraordinary.”
The list of illustrious Queanbeyanites is indeed long, and many of them are thought of as being from Canberra, including “something like 40 per cent” of the Canberra Sporting Hall of Fame, according to Nichole.
Current and former Raiders Ricky Stuart, David Furner, Glen Lazarus, Trevor Thurling and Terry Campese were all born in Queanbeyan, as was Terry’s uncle, former Wallaby David Campese. There’s also Matt Giteau and Matt Henjak, both of whom have played for the ACT Brumbies and the Wallabies.
A couple of hip-hop artists who were born
across the border have also made both cities proud: Triple J radio announcer Hau Latukefu, of the hiphop duo Koolism which formed in Canberra, and his fellow wordsmith Omar Musa, whose books and performances have earned high praise in recent years.
Local graphic designer Dana
Stewart-Thompson worked with the photography of Trudy Taylor, nee Woods, whose family owned and ran “The Queanbeyan Age” for many years. While the author says it was originally intended to be “far less comprehensive”, she still offers apologies for any omission.
“The problem is, with a history
as extensive as this, there’s no way you can cover every event, milestone and personality.”
Copies of “Queanbeyan City of Champions” can be pre-ordered from qbncityofchampions.com.au for $49, or $80 for the limited edition hardcover.
It’s not about us, it’s about you. Open Day. Saturday 31 August. 9am–4pm.
Pre-register on /TheAustralianNationalUniversity
Queanbeyan author Nichole Overall... “we’re actually a city of champions in every sense from community service to regional leaders, industry to artistic endeavours and cultural pursuits.” Photo by Andrew Finch
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Dr Nicola Powell...
“So many people don’t see its relevance, but science plays a part in everything we do.”
Photo by Andrew Finch
Science can be cool for kids, says Dr Nic
DR Nicola Powell, who until recently worked as a plant industry scientist at CSIRO, is scripting a science-based kids’ TV show that promises to steer the topic away from geeks and crazy scientist types, to something “engaging, cool and fun”.
“Science is so important to everything in life,” she says. “I want to inspire children to be scientists. So many people don’t see its relevance, but science plays a part in everything we do.”
Working from the premise that children understand more than we think, Nicola says the show will be very hands-on and visual, with a changing audience of children, and that she will present it herself.
“My aim is to make it personable, and I think I’ll be able to get the message across while very much being myself,” she says.
“I want to talk to the children in a way that gives them credit, and encourages them to see science as I do – creative, exciting and important for everything.”
Nicola, who also runs a copywriting business, says her area of expertise is studying cold tolerance in wheat at a gene level.
“By 2050, food production will have to increase by 50 per cent, so this research is helping humanity,” she says. “How are we going to feed the world? I love discovering
Passionate young scientist Dr Nicola Powell wants to get kids fired up about her favourite subject – and she knows exactly how she’ll do it.
KATHRYN
VUKOVLJAK reports
new things and concepts that relate to life – it’s something that really drives me.”
Inspired by Ian Chubb, Australia’s chief scientist, who recently launched a position paper called “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the National Interest: A Strategic Approach”, Nicola says his concept fits exactly with what she is trying to do.
The position paper describes a need to strengthen education, new knowledge, innovation and influence – which are underpinned by the enabling sciences and mathematics, engineering and the technological sciences.
“For me, this is what it’s all about –educating and inspiring children in new ways, to prepare for the future,” she says.
Aimed at seven to 12-year-olds, Nicola says her show, which she will trial on YouTube, will use concepts the kids are being taught at school, but making them more engaging and fun.
Football night
SPORTING commentator Tim Gavel is host of Woden Valley Football’s “A Night of the World Game” at the Hellenic Club Woden, 7pm, on August 30. Guest speakers Les Murray and Zeljko Kalac will give their view on football in Australia, the World Cup and the A-League. Tickets at $75 (table of 10, $700) include a three-course dinner and are available from events@ wvfootball.com.au or by calling 0403 363353.
Qwire celebrates
THE Canberra Gay & Lesbian Qwire will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a gala ball at the Hellenic Club Woden on Saturday, August 31. In inviting the wider community, the choir promises a fun filled night. Tickets are $85 each ($70 unwaged) from canberraqwire.org.au
Men of league
THE Men of League lunch will be held at the Hogs Breath Cafe, Phillip, 1pm, on Friday, September 6. Cost is $35. Bookings to 0418 485032 or hoghome@netspeed. com.au
Walk for awareness
PARKINSON’S ACT is organising a Unity Walk from Rond Terrace in Commonwealth Park, 11am, on Sunday, August 25, to raise money to help train future doctors to recognise the signs of Parkinson’s disease through ongoing support for the ANU Medical School. President Michael Dwyer said the walk highlights the prevalence of Parkinson’s, which affects one in every 350 Australians. Register online at unitywalk. com.au or call 6290 1984.
Linking men
CANBERRA Raider David Shillington and a former counter terrorism operator and author Shane Horsburgh are the guest speakers at Menslink’s annual business breakfast at the National Press Club, Barton, 7am-9.30am, on Tuesday, September 24. “Our goal at Menslink is to provide positive role models and support for young men as they go through the turbulence of their teenage years,” says CEO Martin Fisk. “With one in five teenagers no longer living with their father, the need for Menslink’s services are greater than ever.” Tickets are $70 and available via npc.org.au/membership/membersevents/ menslink-business-breakfast.html
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‘We look forward to seeing you at our Open Day’
Librarian Mel’s ordered eye for vintage fashion
WHEN she’s not busy categorising her fashion collection according to the Dewey Decimal Classification, local stylist, vintage dealer and ex-librarian Mel O’Brien is hunting down vintage clothes that fit within the ideal of her online shop, Librarian Chic.
“Pearls and glasses are a staple, of course,” she says. “But it’s more about taking classic looks and wearing them in a contemporary way. Like red lipstick by day, or a mix of tweed and satin – practicality blended with imagination. I have great love for clothes that wear well, with a story woven into each item.
“When I worked in the reading room at the National Library I’d see the most fashionable women in beautifully tailored suits, outfits put together with great attention to detail. It was like they were dressing up for those beautiful books. I loved that.”
History teacher Mel says she’s still a librarian at heart. “I have a deep desire to put things in order,” she says.
“I suppose that’s why I love building a collection and I can’t resist giving all the clothes Deweys. I also feel that collecting these clothes, to pass on to women who will love and cherish them, ties all the pieces of the puzzle together for me – history, fashion and cataloguing.”
Mel says that part of what she loves about vintage – even though she prefers to call her clothes “timeless” – is that it’s a backlash against fast fashion.
“Shopping should be about curating a collection, building a wardrobe you love and will adore forever,” she says.
“If the focus is on items that are loved, and that fit in with a woman’s lifestyle and charac -
Kathryn Vukovljak reports
ter, then they’ll never go out of style. I like to think of it as styling for savvy women; it’s not frivolous but it’s fun and sustainable.
“I like to dress edgily. I’m interested in aspirational purchases, and I want things to last.”
Along with her assistant Nathan Harris, whom she met and clicked with “over a flamboyant ‘80s bolero” at the Folk Festival last year, Mel says she sources her handpicked pieces mostly through travels to Sydney and Melbourne, but that people also contact her.
“I’ve had diplomats’ wives get in touch with me, saying they have items I may be interested in,” she says. “That’s when I find the most amazing clothes in beautiful condition that they just don’t have a use for anymore. In most cases, they’re still sentimental about the clothes and they want them to go to the right place.”
She doesn’t feel the need to hang on to pieces herself though, and says that her regular stall at Fash’n’Treasure in the Old Bus Depot Markets is a particularly delicious part of her job.
“It’s satisfying to make connections with people, and to help facilitate Cinderella moments when they find an item that’s perfect for them,” she says.
“I love the interaction between women and clothing, and what feels right. There’s nothing better than seeing someone fall in love with an item they’ll cherish. I see them coming out of the change room cuddling the clothes! And that’s what it’s about.
“I think this is the future direction of fashion, it feels right. I love the stories, meeting people, starting something.
“Fashion is definitely the love of my life.”
Mel O’Brien... “Shopping should be about curating a collection, building a wardrobe you love and will adore forever.”
MARK PARTON has been batting election analogies around the office.
IF Kevin Rudd manages to cling to power at this upcoming election he’ll become a Labor immortal – the bloke who took the wheel of the Titanic just before it hit the iceberg.
Of course, that’s not going to happen. The Government will suffer a swing against it particularly in NSW and WA, which will result in a clear Coalition win.
Former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone came up with a great analogy involving Rudd and the carbon tax: the Prime Minister is like the man who pours petrol through your lounge room, sets fire to your house and then casually walks around the block before “arriving” to announce he’s there to put the fire out.
I tend to draw on sporting contests for my analogies; I figure the election is like an international, one-day cricket match. Tony Abbott’s team has batted first and made a big score. Federal Labor has gone in to bat but former captain Julia Gillard has been dismissed early. She was left stranded by her batting partner Kevin and run out in extraordinary circumstances. More wickets have fallen since then and some of the batsmen just conceded and walked and it leaves the batting side in
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diabolical strife: six wickets down and needing to score at nine runs an over for the final 20. It’s mathematically possible for them to win, but highly unlikely.
Kevin and his remaining batsmen have to throw caution to the wind and “go the tonk”. That’s why we’ve seen extraordinary backflips, amazing policy formation on the run and general turmoil from the Government. The PNG solution, changing tax regimes in the Northern Territory and feigning movement towards the legalisation of gay marriage… just a few examples of some rather extravagant shots from Rudd and his team.
The final weeks of this campaign should be chock full of entertainment as they open the arms and try to be like Chris Gayle on that memorable Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval.
All Tony Abbott has to do is bowl line and length, send his fieldsman to the boundary and watch the required run rate figures go up on the scoreboard.
Sit back and enjoy the action in the next fortnight because it’s set to be most entertaining.
Mark Parton is the breakfast announcer on 2CC
Big week for wardrobes
BOOSTING good quality, acceptable donations to charity op shops is the aim of the second National Op Shop Week, August 25-September 1.
National Op Shop Week is the brainchild of Jon Dee, the 2010 NSW Australian of the Year.
“It’s a great time to clean out your wardrobes and do something positive for those in need,” says Jon, the founder of the DoSomething! charity, which runs the week in partnership with the National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations (NACRO).
“By giving those clothes a second life, you also help the environment by keeping them out of landfill,” he says.
“We need the Australian public to dig deep into their wardrobes and donate good quality clothing directly to their nearest charity op shops.”
A significant number of charity community programs are funded by the income derived from charity op shops and their clothing col -
lection bins. Many Australians also visit their local charity op shop to find a bargain or to save money on essentials.
To make it easier to donate, more than 2000 Australian charity op shops have been listed on DoSomething!’s OpShopWeek.com. au website, which is sponsored by national retailer Aldi. Charity op shops listed at the site include Vinnies, the Salvos, Red Cross, Lifeline, The Smith Family, the RSPCA, Brotherhood of St Laurence, the Animal Welfare League, the Asthma Foundation, Anglicare, MS Australia, Uniting Care and Mission Australia’s Big Heart Op Shops.
Kerryn Caulfield, CEO of NACRO, says charity op shops are integral to the fabric of Australian society: “We like the fact that the items we donate and the money raised from them will be put to good use.” For
Power to the pesky, vote big parties last
This is Australia! We do not have an American form of democracy, says political columnist MICHAEL MOORE. For accountability, vote below the line and put the major parties last.
TONY Abbott hates the idea with a vengeance. Kevin Rudd has a similar attitude. The trouble with minority governments for men who would be kings is that they might be held accountable.
A hung parliament (to use the pejorative term) means that the party leaders cannot simply run a three-year dictatorship.
The current election is confusing for so many Australians. They simply do not know who the candidates are in their local electorate. Rudd, Abbott and a complicit media have turned a Westminster election into an American-style presidential race. However, people in Canberra do have some options to make the next Federal government more accountable.
It makes these leaders angry. Really angry! It is the one thing that puts them on the same page, singing a similar tune. It is those pesky independents and crossbenchers.
Abbott has made it clear that he will not lead a minority government. In simple terms, he will not accept the will of the people and will not accept having any of his decisions questioned. This is the same man who thought he would be able to end the previous minority government by simply running a negative campaign for a number of months. He made the prediction that the Gillard Government would be short-lived, incompetent, would not be able to get any legislation through or be able to govern.
He was wrong on all counts. Julia Gillard was able to negotiate unprecedented amounts of legislation through the parliament and maintain a mostly stable government. The instability for Gillard did not come from crossbenchers such as Bob Katter, Adam Bandt, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakshott. It came from within the Prime Minister’s own ranks, constantly fuelled by Kevin Rudd and his band of disaffected cronies. Look how quickly Rudd moved to consolidate his own position and make sure no one could again do the same thing to him.
In the two Canberra electorates there would have to be a massive swing to oust either Gai Brodtmann from the seat of Canberra or Andrew Leigh from the seat of Fraser. And the truth is that neither has performed poorly. In fact, Andrew Leigh in particular has been
Michael Moore politics
an outstanding contributor for a first-term member.
However, if voters wish to send a message about accountability, minority government and the importance of the crossbenchers they can simply choose any of the smaller parties ahead of the majors on their House of Representatives ballot paper.
In our preferential system, the vote will move to the majors, but the message will be clear if enough voters choose this option.
The real choice across the ACT is in the Senate. Any analysis will show that Kate Lundy is secure as a Labor Senator. She has been a competent and hard-working Senator building up a strong profile. The same is not true of the Liberal candidate, Zed Seselja. He established a reputation in the Legislative Assembly, but within months of building the trust of the people of Tuggeranong he jumped ship. This seat is vulnerable.
The ballot paper for the Senate will provide many opportunities for the people of the ACT to ensure that Canberra is no longer taken for granted. Ideally, vote below the line. It does not take much more time and it stops preference deals that concentrate power. Put the major parties last on the ballot paper is the simple message.
There will be a number of small parties and independents contesting the election, but the most likely crossbench chance is Simon Sheikh.
He played a key role in GetUp! before deciding to contest an ACT Senate seat for the Greens and has an impressive track record. Whether the government is Coalition or Labor he could play a critical role in ensuring accountability.
Send a message to both political leaders. This is Australia! We do not have an American form of democracy. For accountability, vote below the line and put the major parties last.
Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health.
Rangers ‘gave up’
AND a worry, too, Greg Cornwall (Letters, CN, August 21), that the Canberra Liberals, campaigning to form government in the ACT in 2012, consistently and knowingly infringed the ACT’s Code of Practice for the Placement of Moveable Signs in Public Places, along roadsides, at shopping centres and even, on election day, at polling booths. Our hard-working city rangers were overwhelmed and, in the end, simply gave up.
Patricia Saunders, Chapman
Curb personal spending
I BELIEVE it is time politicians were put under some pressure to moderate their personal spending of taxpayers’ money. Accordingly, I have sent the following to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Prime Minister Rudd:
“Whoever wins on September 7, it appears that it will be necessary to engage in some cost cutting to control the ballooning deficit and government debt. It would seem only fair to me that politicians who are going to be dispensing the ‘bad medicine’ should share in it with
the Australians they are affecting. If you win government will you legislate some measures to ensure that politicians make a meaningful contribution to the effort by accepting cuts to some of the ‘perks’ such as travel expenses and a freeze on salaries (regardless of what the tribunal may award)?”
Of course, I’m not expecting a reply from either of them.
David King, via email
Community service
ELECTION time is here again! Just before voting intentions go into labour, I am reminded of someone who said the trouble with this country is that there are too many politicians who believe, with a conviction based on experience, that you can fool all the people all the time.
And in Britain, an MP found guilty of a false election expenses return and ordered to do community service, inspired a bright spark to comment “Isn’t that what MPs are supposed to do?”
Colliss Parrett, Barton
A century of stories
NINETY nine years ago, just after the outbreak of World War I, Red Cross began its humanitarian work in Australia, with volunteers putting together comfort parcels for soldiers.
Nearly a century later, Red Cross has found a place in the hearts and minds of most Australians and we are thrilled to launch a major project to kick off our Centenary celebrations. We’re collecting the personal stories of the people who have shared in a remarkable history: the power of humanity in action.
My Red Cross story dates back to 1915. My family received a letter from Red Cross informing them of the sad news that my grandfather’s brother had been killed in Gallipoli. I still have the letter and cherish it as it represents a piece of my family’s history.
Since its beginnings on August
13, 1914 Red Cross has become the world’s largest humanitarian organisation through the simple yet powerful act of people helping people.
Now is the time for generations of volunteers, members and supporters, the thousands of people who have helped and been helped by Red Cross, both in Australia and overseas, to tell their own stories in their own words, in their own ways.
Our Centenary Story Collection
website allows you to read, watch or listen to sample stories, and then upload your own words, photos, audio and video recollections directly to the site. These stories will form the heart of the Centenary website when it’s launched in 2014. Please visit redcross.org.au/centenary and share in our Centenary celebrations.
Robert Tickner, CEO, Australian Red Cross
Red Cross fundraisers during World War II.
When Gunning goes up in smoke!
Every year, sleepy little Gunning sets the night sky alight with a fireworks display reckoned to be second only to Sydney’s New Year’s Eve. How is this possible?
STEPHEN EASTON has the answers...
EACH year in a little rural village with about 500 residents, just outside the ACT, one of Australia’s biggest cracker nights fills the sky with colours, sounds and the smell of sulphur.
The Gunning Fireworks Festival claims on its website to offer “a display of fireworks second only to Sydney’s New Year’s Eve”, which might be a little hard to believe at first. But ask about the framed photographs of festivals past on the walls of Gunning’s pub, The Telegraph Hotel, and there’s a good chance you’ll hear much the same thing.
The unique festival, complete with food, music, rides and children’s entertainment, is actually like a spectacular afterthought, explains Fireworks Australia managing director Martin Brady, whose company organises the event. Originally, the massive fireworks show was not open to the public.
“How this started was we did a trade demo for our wholesale clients,” says Brady. “Companies from around Australia would travel to Gunning –we chose it because it was near our warehouse – and for two hours, we would demonstrate the latest and greatest in commercial fireworks.”
Word got around about the private event and people soon lined the fences of the property where it was held to see the crackers, which led Gunning Golf Club to propose that they host the event and charge entry as a fundraiser.
“And that was fine with us,” says Martin. “Then the last year we did it at the golf club there was a 40-minute traffic jam, so we moved it to the Gunning Showground a few years ago.”
This year, on September 14, he expects a few thousand people to turn up, including a coterie of clued-up Canberrans, alongside Fireworks Australia’s commercial guests from around the country and overseas.
The business put food on the table
KISS, Motley Crue, Guns ‘n’
when Martin was growing up and his father used to supply a lot of the crackers that Canberrans lit in their backyards every Queen’s Birthday long weekend, until that was outlawed.
The company is now one of the major national players in the pyrotechnics industry and the festival is almost certainly Australia’s premier commercial fireworks demonstration.
“When [home fireworks displays] became more regulated, we evolved more into a commercial fireworks supplier,” Martin says.
“At that time the industry was pretty old-school and a bit staid, so the thing that really pushed us along was that we went to Asia ourselves and created all-new supply lines that hadn’t been in Australia before; a lot more product, different product, better product.”
In the mid ‘90s, according to Martin, there were only a few commercial fireworks suppliers, with a limited
range of high-priced products.
“For a three-inch aerial shell in those days, the wholesale price was $17. We put our first one on the market for $3, and we weren’t doing it for nothing.”
Although its main business is supplying explosions used for theatre, film, television, concerts and public events nationwide, Fireworks Australia’s creative side, which designs the displays themselves, is never short of work either.
“Our biggest [display] work now is touring shows,” says Martin. “This year we’ve done KISS, Motley Crue, Guns ‘n’ Roses and we’ve got someone out with Pink now.”
The company has taken care of Canberra’s last few New Year’s Eve and Australia Day displays and has put in proposals to do them again this summer.
Martin is confident his ideas for Australia Day 2014 will be the biggest
and best yet, as is generally expected of things that go bang.
Along with markets, festival food and kids’ entertainment such as face-painting, temporary tattoos and amusement rides, guests at this year’s Gunning Fireworks Festival can expect the nine-piece Brass-ere Jazz Band and the Goulburn Pipe Band taking it in turns from 4pm.
The professional fireworks demonstration runs for about an hour and a half, with the largest explosions left till last, and at the end is a grand 12-minute finale, set to music, purely for the enjoyment of onlookers.
“Don’t be too worried about the weather,” says Martin. “It’s a bit like a drive-in movie; you can sit in your car.”
Gunning Fireworks Festival, Gunning Showgrounds, Nelanglo Street, September 14 from 4pm. Adults $10; children $4; $25 per vehicle.
Peace of mind for the village people
Catherine Carter property
THE decision to move into a retirement village is a big one –for residents and their families, and the highest standards of accommodation, amenity and support are essential.
That is why a new accreditation scheme – the Lifemark Village Scheme – has been developed for retirement village owners and developers.
The scheme ensures retirement village operators are accountable and responsive to residents, and gives residents confidence that their village is being managed ethically and professionally.
Unlike aged care, where accreditation is compulsory and regulated, retirement village accreditation is voluntary and entirely industry-driven – evidence of providers’ commitment to excellence.
Lifemark goes beyond an operator’s legal obligations. The new scheme contains the highest standards of any accreditation program in the industry’s history. It measures the most important aspects of village life including services, respect of dignity and safety.
Lifemark recognises that consumers and governments expect human-service industries to have high operational standards and it covers all aspects of the retirement village experience, including the performance of staff, the quality of the food and catering, security and even social activities.
With Canberra’s cohort of people who are 65-plus tipped to make up nearly 15 per cent of the population by 2023, it makes sense that we should have complete confidence in our future housing choices. What better time to live it up!
Catherine Carter is ACT executive director of the Property Council of Australia
Pyrotechnician Martin Brady in his Gunning warehouse... “Our biggest [display] work now is touring shows. This year we’ve done
Roses and we’ve got someone out with Pink now.”
Photo by Brent McDonald
High praise for the personal touch
THE founders of Bonsella Business Solutions, Dion Cannell and Bernard Hardy, measure their success by the success of their clients, so they were pleased to see two win their categories in the ACT round of this year’s Telstra Australian Business Awards.
Behind the scenes of these local success stories – Canberra Furnished Accommodation, which won the Micro Business category, and Residential Reports, which took home the Small Business Award – Bonsella has been there, working to provide their satisfied clients with more than just the basics of accounting and financial services.
“Our message to clients old and new is that the right accountant is more than an adviser, they are part of your team and become your strategic partner,” says Dion.
“We try to differentiate ourselves from other businesses by taking a holistic approach; we like to see ourselves as their first point of contact for anything they’re trying to do.”
“We’re proud to wish Canberra Furnished Accommodation and Residential Reports the best of luck at the Telstra national finals.”
Founders of
message to clients old and new is that the right accountant is more than an adviser, they are part of your team and become your strategic partner.”
‘I can call on them when I need something’
THE boutique financial services and advisory firm comes in for strong praise from Laurie McDonald, the founder of Canberra Furnished Accommodation which boasts a portfolio of 50 budget, executive and luxury properties in central Canberra locations.
Laurie’s formula for success is based on providing modern residential apartments, custom designed with quality furniture and equipment so guests feel they are in their own private home for rates less than hotel accommodation. Guests include business people on work contracts, people relocating to the capital, those in between buying and selling or renovating their own properties and families on holidays.
“We entered the Telstra Business Awards two times prior to this win without success and, I have to say, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for
my business, as I used the awards process to grow and improve my business as I went along,” Laurie says.
Laurie credits Bonsella Business Solutions for being instrumental in her success.
“I think I have the best accountants in Canberra and I highly recommend them” she says.
Laurie met Adam Davidson, of Bonsella, at a business function and was immediately impressed by the Bonsella approach to being “business adviser” rather than just accountants.
“I love my annual financial reports from Bonsella and gain great insights into how my business is performing by their professional overview” she says.
“The thing I like most is that I just pay one annual fee and I can call with as many weird and wonderful questions as I like throughout the
year, everything from payroll to tracking key performance indicators.
“Bonsella has never let me down,” she says.
“It’s been seven years and I can call on them when I need something. They have given me sound support and advice so I could grow the business and continue to move it forward. I think when you’re on to a good thing, you stick to it.”
‘They’re integral to our business’
RESIDENTIAL Reports
is a one-stop shop for the inspection reports that are legally required to sell a property, driven by the father-and-daughter team of director Lindsay Collison and operations manager Kelly Hill.
As well as rapid growth and other hallmarks of success such as staff and customer satisfaction, the judges were especially impressed by the company’s visionary $40,000 investment in developing its own innovative piece of software, “Report Builder”.
“We went out to buy it and there was nothing available, so we built it ourselves, and it increased our productivity by over 40 per cent, pretty much overnight,” says Kelly. Most people they asked for advice about the idea laughed and told them it was crazy, but Bonsella heard them out and helped them make the vision a reality.
Kelly has strong praise for the Bonsella team, and says that she and Lindsay both “feel very strongly” that the firm has been a big contributor in their recent success.
“We’ve been through a number of accountants and none have delivered the level of service that Bonsella has. We got on board with Dion and he genuinely took an interest in our business right from the start.”
Bonsella’s staff have clearly won the respect and admiration of the busy mother of four, who says they are always ready to fit in with her schedule and understand that her priorities go beyond work.
“It says a lot about Bonsella, the fact that two of their clients have won in their categories,” she says. “If you’ve got a good accountant, they form part of your team, and Dion has most certainly done that. We consider Bonsella integral to our business and we refer back to a number of the people who work there for a lot of major decisions.”
Canberra Furnished Accommodation, winner Telstra Micro-Business Award, call 6295 0975 and Residential Reports, winner Telstra Small Business Award, call 6288 0402.
Bonsella Business Solutions, Dion Cannell, left, and Bernard Hardy... “Our
Kelly Hill
Laurie McDonald
Rupert’s mighty bite of Big Apple success
During a recent visit to New York, arts editor HELEN MUSA catches up with a young Canberran with Manhattan at his feet
“I’LL be the guy with the big guitar on my back,” says Rupert Boyd, as we arrange to meet on Broadway for a chat.
He’s the brilliant Canberra guitarist who’s been taking Manhattan by storm and, yes, as the grandson of modernist Australian architect Robin, he’s one of those Boyds.
Educated at Ainslie Primary, Campbell High and Dickson College, Boyd has graduated with first-class honours under Timothy Kain from the ANU, an artist diploma from the Yale School of Music and a masters from the Manhattan School of Music, where he won the Andrés Segovia award.
As he steers me towards the best brioches on Broadway, Boyd regales me with stories about minimalist music guru Terry Riley, traditionalist audiences at the Newport Festival, Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt’s interest in music and the unbelievable amount of money around Yale.
The word around the expatriate community in New York is that he’s just about the most successful of our young whizkids in the Big Apple, but it wasn’t always so. When he left home eight and a half years ago to study in the US, he didn’t know a soul, “but after two weeks I felt I did,” he reports
– there’s so much stimulation here.”
Boyd hasn’t starved, and feels “very, very lucky.” But neither is he much good at business, telling me, “I hate talking about money”. Heredity is against him. His great-grandfather, the ceramicist, Merric Boyd, used to give away his now-priceless pots to friends. With a shrug he quips, “sometimes, I think I have that in me.”
Graduating from Yale in 2008 he found non-campus life tough, but after an invitation to play in Washington DC and Chicago and a superb review in “The Washington Post” that began, “Remember the name Rupert Boyd,” he attracted the interest of US agent Dan McDaniel.
Soon there were invitations to perform at the Newport Music Festival in Rhode Island, the New York Festival of Song and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The D’Addario Music Foundation sponsored his debut in Carnegie Hall. His calendar is full well into 2014.
Meantime, Boyd formed the Australian Guitar Duo with fellow ANU graduate, Jacob Cordover, now living in Barcelona, and together they’ve toured the world. Coming up in October is a gig on the “Queen Mary 2’s” Atlantic crossing from New York City
to Hamburg, and there is talk of 10 days in the Caribbean. Well as the joke goes, somebody has to do it.
When we meet, he’s preparing to perform three concerts a day at the Newport Festival, one in a threestorey Vanderbilt mansion called The Breakers. Then it’s off to Australia, where we’ll see him perform with American cellist Laura Metcalf in an “election-free concert” on Election Eve, September 6.
It’s all been hard work, but Boyd’s not complaining: “Everyone I know in New York City is a workaholic, but I love it,” he says, as he picks up that guitar. Guitarist Rupert Boyd and cellist Laura Metcalf play Schubert’s de Falla and Paert, at Wesley Music Centre, 7:30pm, Friday, September 6, Tickets at the door.
Guitarist Rupert Boyd... “The word around the expatriate community in New York is that he’s just about the most successful of our young whizkids in the Big Apple,” says Helen Musa.
Photo by Matthew Fried
Teams target tantalising productivity gains
THE tantalising productivity gains and service improvements offered by information and communication technology (ICT) often prove elusive to large, complex organisations, especially those with all the added complications of working in the public sector.
It is for this reason that government organisations all over Australia have turned to the consulting technology at Oakton.
At the firm’s Canberra office, located at Kingston, customer solution development is taken care of by two teams working closely together, led by Greg Mellor and David Mathews.
As director of Business and Systems Consulting, Mellor leads the group that provides the advice while Mathews, as director of Implementation and Managed Services, oversees the deployments.
“The consulting practice and the technology practice work very closely together to deliver those client outcomes, right from the business level through to implementation,” says David. “We look at areas like collaboration and relationship management, in the context of how government engages with its citizens.
“We look at information management, data warehousing, business intelligence, a whole range of project-management services, testing services and also some of the security elements of government auditing and risk management.”
Before David’s group helps clients roll out the solutions, Greg’s team of consultants defines the requirements.
“Often, they will have a legacy system that they need to replace, or they’ve got some capital funds and they need to migrate their business to more of an e-business
framework, or sort out information assets and get better at managing the data holdings they have,” says Mellor.
The consulting team are experts in looking at the complex portfolios of systems owned by large government organisations, which are often the result of 20 years’ worth of upgrades and policy changes.
“The demand for government services is changing, too,” says David. “People are expecting a much more mobile, citizencentric engagement with government service delivery.”
Oakton’s experts have recently helped a lot of government agencies meet the contemporary needs and expectations of citizens with mobile and cloud-based solutions that provide the desired cost-tobenefit and data security, as well as on ways to drive productivity with a streamlined mobile workforce.
“One good example is education,” says Greg.
“Oakton’s developed a Web 2.0 capability range for the Queensland Government called The Learning Place, and it provides a whole bunch of contemporary approaches to deliver education services.
“It’s really to accommodate the kids who have got mobiles and tablets, and who are keen to pick up this education material anytime, anywhere, and be able to collaborate and communicate with their peers.
“Their parents are also getting involved in the whole process and there’s also information there for the teachers and the principals, so that they can help shape their schools and their education delivery.”
Greg says that internally, one big and increasing challenge for government agencies is capturing all the insights available through the “explosion of data” that has taken place over the past decade through effective business intelligence systems.
“To me, when you start getting that back-end right, getting your information
architecture right and getting your data governance right, then it starts to flow from there; you start to get better information filtering through,” he says.
“It’s getting the right information to the right level within your organisation at the right time, to help them in that decisionmaking process,” adds David.
“It’s only going to increase, in terms of the quantity and disparate nature of the data, and the pace of change. Business intelligence is all about having the framework and the governance, as well as the access to all of those disparate elements, to help people make the right decisions.”
Another area where there’s a lot to gain,
but risks to manage, is cloud computing, which can help all kinds of organisations improve their operations and drive down costs.
“I think it’s an obvious direction that government needs to investigate, and Oakton is very well placed to support agencies to be able to do that,” says David.
While there’s a large and growing number of exciting ICT solutions out there, Oakton’s consulting and technology directors each have a cautionary word.
David says one of the biggest mistakes clients make is to choose a preferred answer before fully understanding the question, and Greg adds that the change management
process is as important as the technology implementation itself.
“How do you institutionalise those changes into the way the government enterprise actually operates? That can be a real challenge when there’s so many different initiatives going on at one time,” says the lead consultant.
“On the one hand, yes, it is about the quick wins and the things we can do within a few months but it’s also about that strategic change that gives you the long lasting results.
“It’s about the ability to look beyond the short political cycle and look to that five, ten-year horizon.”
Oakton’s director of business and systems consulting, Greg Mellor (left) and David Mathews, director of implementation and managed services... “We look at areas like collaboration and relationship management, in the context of how government engages with its citizens,” says David.
Canberra Confidential
Dignity in the face of fire
WHILE the election protagonists try to outbid each other with public service scalps, it is heartwarming to see the dignified way the APS is getting behind its Centenary of Canberra Initiative, a celebration of the service, its people and their contribution to the development of Canberra.
The Initiative features a website, which invites the Canberra community and all APS staff, past and present, to post a picture and add their story to the history of the nation’s capital.
Another major part of their Initiative is the Walk and Play charity event at Kings Park, near the Carillon, 7.15am, on Friday, August 30, when departmental secretaries and agency heads will lead off public servants for a 5km bridge-to-bridge walk. All money raised at the event will go to Boundless Canberra, the first all-abilities playground.
More information on the Initiative at apscentenaryofcanberra.gov.au and walk registrations to boundlesscanberra.org. au/walkandplay
Centenary cheers
NEW Manuka bar Polit has created a Centenary cocktail, which is selling like crazy as patriotic Canberrans clamber for the concoction made from a fine Tasmanian sparkling as the base (Able’s Tempest). Before they pour the bubbles they dissolve a sugar cube in a combination of select bitters (the exact concoction a secret, of course). Then they add sparkling cranberry juice and top it with more Tassie bubbles.
Owner Mary-Jane Liddicoat, clearly tired and possibly emotional about her new drink, colourfully describes it as “pretty”, “yummy” and, curiously, “a delicious, easy-to-quaff celebration of where we have come from and where we are going.” Right.
Bloomin’ traffic blues
WHY does it take a month to condition traffic on Commonwealth Avenue to the presence of temporary lights at the Floriade crossing and yet we need nary 24 hours for the Australia Day celebrations in Commonwealth Park?
This is a bureaucratic mystery that confounds CC every year.
With still weeks to go until the darling flower show opens on September 14, random walkers and cyclists eschew the perfectly safe passage under Commonwealth Bridge for the thrill of bringing peak-hour traffic to and from the city to a standstill.
But beyond the month of this purgatory, and an acceptable further month of Floriade crowds, there’s still another fortnight of lights before they snuff them out at 5pm on Monday, October 28, when CC starts counting the sleeps to next September.
Pages of history
an hour doesn’t seem long enough to realign the inner slob.
It costs 50 coconuts and includes a $50 Canberra Centre Gift Card. Bookings for Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25 to the customer service lounge on Level 1 or email customerservice@ canberracentre.com.au
Sad ‘Times’...
TELOPEA Park School appears to have made publishing history with its “stunning” new cookbook called “Un Zeste de Telopea” with editor Valerie Cretegny promising a “very colourful 143-page cookbook with lots of recipes from the chefs of restaurants, parents and children”. Having overcome the impossibility of printing a book that isn’t an even number, the principal and someone from the French embassy will launch the fundraising publication at the bilingual school on September 11. Needless to say, the school’s cool P&C will be proffering champagne.
A guy thing
HELP, at last, for the fashion-challenged male... The Canberra Centre is offering men the chance to “achieve your fashion aspirations in a 30-minute personal one-on-one style session with useful tips and advice from our personal stylists”, though half
Done and dusted
THE ad-deprived local monthly sports magazine “Play” has curiously devoted its premium back page to what appears to be an advertisement for Canberra Stadium’s “2013 Kick Off Schedule”, a handsome (largely historical) list of footy matches from February, with barely four of the 22 games listed yet to be played at the time of publication (two by now). Is this really the best use of taxpayers’ money?
Cheeky Andew
GREAT line: Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr accused Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson of showing “more cheek than a sumo wrestler”.
A coupla blokes
CON the Fruiterer (aka actor Mark Mitchell) is here for a “coupla hours” to launch the Crace Community Garden with “Better Homes and Gardens” personality Jason Hodges on Saturday, August 31.
SNIGGERING has turned to sympathy as CC exposes the latest circulation numbers the clearly embarrassed “Canberra Times” is reluctant to share with its advertisers. Our city’s daily paper appears helpless to resist the drag of the drain as its flagship Saturday edition goes down the gurgler by 13.7 per cent to an unthinkable low of 40,475. The weekday edition is down 8.4 per cent to 26,153 and the Sunday, by 10.28 per cent to 26,138. Maybe there’s some relief in the digital numbers, but unlike its other Fairfax stablemates, “The Times” has been coy sharing them to date.
Silly ‘Times’...
POPPING up on Facebook was a paid ad from “The Canberra Times” querying if CC had entered its “fast approaching” fun run and that we should challenge ourselves on “Saturday, August 8”. Given we noticed it on August 16 and that August 8 is a Thursday, some dullard clearly doesn’t know that the paper’s laudable fun run is, this year, on Sunday, September 8. Thank you, Mr CityNews, we can hear them chorusing in Fyshwick!
And free ‘Times’
FREE “Canberra Times” watch: bundles of Saturday’s edition at the weekly Farmer’s Market, Epic.
Polit Bar’s cocktail
Abode – The Apartment Hotel is pleased to announce the opening of our third hotel in Woden.
Our new accommodation offering transforms a 70s commercial building into stylish accommodation, located just minutes to the city, parliamentary triangle and major Canberra attractions.
Abode Woden, located at Juliana House, is a refurbishment and reuse project and is on target to be Australia’s first Green Star and NABERS rated hotel in Australia and will be the smart choice for the savvy visitor.
To celebrate our greatest achievement to date, we are offering rooms at Woden from just $119 per night.
Ron Shead with Lois Langtry Bob & Chi Irwin with Jack Pennington & Pauline McCauley
Lyn & Noel Madden with Jackie & Peter Clarke
Margaret Flett & William Diedricks
Audrey & Robert Rough
Pat Mahomad, Helen Commens, Sheila Counahan and Kathleen Henderson
Frances Crimmins, Bernadette Carbin and Lina Silva
Thomas Turner, Gemma Steeds, Joe Rogers, Amy Rowland, Harry Williams and Jess Wood
Elliot Rehwinkel and Danielle Buecher
Jackie Green, Holly Suitor, Taylana Jackson, Michelle Neil and Tanya Alcorn
Sally Witt with Alexa and Andrew Cumpston Mimi, Jeremy and Nahlani Jackson
Lauren Hernandez with Jake Henshaw Lucy Snooderini, Lee Diep and Kacy Searborino
Rachel Brightman, Chey Pettingill and Keiran Slade
Joanne Hudey and Emilia Ciampa
Shiree Yap, Elise Bailey and John Y
Tony Edwards, Randolph Sparks and Janet Fabbri
Marion Langworthy, Toni Green, Deborah Wohlfahrt and Dana Maier
Vicki and Ross Jackson
Mark Rote, Peter Barrett, Betz Earl, Chloe Sparks, Randolph Sparks, String Nikolic and Bethany Rote
Cora Fabbri, Linden Orr, Anne Bicknell, Rita Woolhouse, Bonnie Arugay, Mark Lim and Toby Aan
Brendon, Prad, Nat and Jess Southi
Nick Eveleigh, Kristen Wood, Jess Costello and Dan Egan Myles Loughhead and Britt Nichols
Rafael Florez, Emily Agius, Luke McDonald, Mitch Lewis and Deicy Quiros
David Fulton, Misha Kaur, Areta Kaur and Carlin Haskett Chester and Caroline Beattie
Rob Purdon, Prof Peter Leahy and Prof Gabrielle Cooper with UC vice-chancellor Prof Stephen Parker Dr Dianne and John Firth, with Michael and Kaely Woods
Eric Hodge, Dr Alison Wicks and Adrian Rumore
Dr Naroa Etxebarria, Dr David Pyne, Dr Adriana Vanden Heuvel and Dr Chris Gore
Meredith Hunter, Dr Rhian Parker and Dr Vivienne Lewis
David and Wendy Bryant with Ann Steward and Tim Conway
Prof Anne Daly with Prof Lawrence Pratchett and Associate Prof Laurie Grealish
Natalie Bowman with Dr Nadine White and Dr Michael Schaper
Dr Jules Wills, Dr Gordon Waddington and Dr Roger Adams Jo Cockwill and Mike Clapper
George Brzostowski with Gerard Brennan
Dr Elizabeth Thomson and Tony Wennerbom Lyn Fryer with Stephen Simpson
Dr Scott Heyes and Dr David Hyndman
Prof Nick Klomp with Angelina Russo Dr Bill and Lois Maiden
arts & entertainment
A dive into the netherworld
By Helen Musa
IT will be a case of “play it again, Alan” when classical pianist Alan Hicks emerges from the shadows to play the piano man on stage with veteran theatre performer Chrissie Shaw in a new show called “Bijou”. Hicks is normally to be found on the sidelines, subtly underlining beautiful voices. As one of Australia’s top repetiteurs, he’s usually the first choice to accompany visiting operatic and art song dignitaries when they come to town.
Head of voice at the beleaguered ANU School of Music until last year, he’s been behind most of the town’s operatic initiatives and productions in recent years.
But now that he’s out in the wider world, combining a leading role at UC Music with courses in voice and piano, he’s taking a dive into the netherworld of the Parisian demimonde.
I use the word “dive” advisedly, for the inspiration for the show is a woman made famous in a photograph by Georges Brassaï –“Bijou au bar de la Lune”. Dripping with fake jewellery, plastered with make-up and well past her prime, the real-life Madame Bijou knew all the dives in Paris.
Shaw was riveted by the photograph and recognised Bijou as the perfect subject for the kind of intelligent, one-woman show in which she specialises.
“The play’s had a good, long genesis,” says Hicks, who tells “CityNews” he first heard the music in development with The Street Theatre’s “Hive” project.
“The show has always required an accompanist and initially Peter J Casey did it before he moved to Wagga Wagga, then pianist Raphael Wong stepped in for a while.” Finally, The Street’s director, Caroline Stacey, with whom he’d spent nine hours a day for a month last year working on the opera “Albert Herring”, suggested Shaw approach him.
It’s a collaboration that’s worked well, with Shaw’s musical literacy matching his own. Conservatoriumtrained in piano, she plays the clarinet and the accordion, and she also wrote the script, in which the ageing Bijou, once a belle but now living by reading palms and telling stories, confuses the past and the present, truth and lies as she talks to the piano man.
Hicks believes it’s the first time he’s appeared on stage “in a theatrical form” but that this venture into popular musical theatre is stretching him – “I’m developing my vamping skills,” he says.
“Sometimes I have a visible role, I am the pianist and we interact, there’s some Satie, Kurt Weill, Hollander, Bruant and even San Saens – a terrific selection,” he says.
Going right over the top, the pair have also insinuated operetta, political anthems, nursery rhymes,
the waltz, the Charleston and exotic Eastern musical interpretations.
Hicks notes that it’s not solely a cabaret show, with visuals interwoven. With Victorian director Susan Pilbeam at the helm, Gillian Schwab, Imogen Keen and Victoria Worley as designers and Liz Lea as choreographer, the production will pull out all the theatrical stops.
And there is a warning from Hicks, constantly vigilant as the father of young children – this is definitely NOT “a show for all the family”.
“Bijou”, by Chrissie Shaw for Made in Canberra, at The Street Theatre, August 29-September 8, bookings to 6247 1223 or thestreet.org.au
Artistically harvesting a century of wheat
visual arts
“StellrScope” At Gallery 5, Questacon, Parkes, until September 1.
Reviewed by John Milner
CHALLENGING traditional conceptions of science as a separate, even incompatible domain to art is “StellrScope” – a highly creative exhibition that explores the scientific innovations in Australian wheat production over the past 100 years. Conceived by local artist Eleanor Gates-Stuart (in collaboration with CSIRO) the exhibit coincides with the Centenary celebrations and connects the Canberra region to William Farrer – the father of the Australian wheat industry.
The exhibition comprises a series of multi-media installations. On entering the space one will confront six 3D holograms that focus on different associations of wheat: be it the ultimate enemy, the weevil; or bread, the glorious end product.
Especially impressive are the two colourful hemispherical displays called “StellrLume Domes”, which invite the viewer to explore two layers of imagery – a surface projection, which might consist of an examination of wheat DNA, and an inner layer triggered by the viewer’s physical interference.
The internal layer provides glimpses into early innovations of wheat production, for example, scribblings from Farrer’s diary or tractors ploughing fields.
In a similar interactive fashion, the kids’ floor installation tracks movement when entering the imaging spectrum – again allowing a direct connection between viewer and artwork. This piece also demonstrates Questacon’s mission to achieve inter-generational appeal.
“StellrScope” provides unique and refreshing explorations into a crop that has been fundamental to Australian prosperity but is not typically thought of as capturing public imagination.
The exhibition also provides insights into broader questions regarding the relationship between art, science and technology, and how these productive relationships can be used to engage a broad audience.
Chrissie Shaw as Bijou.
Photo by Lyndel Arnett
Alan Hicks... “developing my vamping skills.”
“Virtual Wheat” at Questacon.
arts & entertainment Dope mules drag up laughs from the sewer
Dougal Macdonald cinema
“We’re the Millers” (MA)
MANY films deal with carrying a shipment of drugs across borders and past watchful eyes of enforcement agencies. How that idea looks on the screen depends on the genre chosen for the screenplay. Comedy might seem to be the least painful.
“We’re the Millers” purports to take that route from Mexico to Denver in a gigantic gas-guzzling motor home carrying several tonnes of concealed marijuana.
The deeper the screenplay digs into that main structural member and the harder it works to persuade us to laugh, the more forlorn it becomes as it concentrates on outsmarting the real bad guys or avoiding the law enforcers. But to discern what it says about salvation and human kindness, you need to distance your brain from what’s on the screen.
Jason Sudeikis plays a small-time street peddler of weed who, to pay out a debt, agrees to bring back a consignment that his supplier describes as a smidgen. For a cover story, David persuades stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston), tough street kid Casey (Emma Roberts), and dweebish adolescent Kenny (Will Poulter) to tag along playing the members of the Miller family.
From this point the integrity of the plot
“We’re the Millers”... an over-egged pudding.
begins to crumble and constrict the scope for the actors to develop their characters. Spoiling the broth begins to become significant for the film’s effect.
The excess of cooks are Bob Fisher, Steve Faber and four other writers who adopt for their dialogue policy the sewer and genitalia of every kind. Some folk find those subjects cause for laughter. But here they develop into an over-egged pudding.
At Dendy, Capitol 6, Hoyts and Limelight
BOOK NOW FOR THE SAVE THE CHILDREN ACT COUNCIL’S ELEGANT...
Red&White
“Frances Ha” (MA)
I FOUND this film to be charming but I’m blessed if I can explain why.
Greta Gerwig (who co-wrote the screenplay with director Noah Baumbach) plays Frances, in her late twenties, a dancer whose aspirations don’t match her ability, unemployed, dependent on friends for a place to stay a while.
Her best friend is Sophie (Mickey Sumner, who inherited her acting chops from parents
Sting and Trudie Styler). At present they are living apart. They may have been lovers. Now the love is of the soul rather than the flesh. And life’s vicissitudes frequently interrupt their togetherness.
The plot is vignettes presenting Frances as a peripatetic soul with a huge capacity for joy of life yet little notion of what she really wants to get from it. Baumbach and editor Jennifer Lame have strung together a relatively brief (86 minutes) collection of relatively extended clips in which Frances skips through a life in New York and Paris that she may think has purpose but that we are concerned for its lack thereof. But her optimism knows no bounds and failure has no place in her lexicon.
Sam Levy’s black and white cinematography is lovely, reminding us again that when the photographer’s vision reduces images to their basics, the result can transcend the emotional effect of glorious colour.
If you don’t expect too much from “Frances Ha”, it’s unlikely to disappoint.
At Capitol 6 and Palace Electric
“Red Obsession” (PG)
BEFORE advertising and the culture of subjective comparison and competition came along to manipulate the minds of consumers, innkeepers would hang a bush over the front door to proclaim that the wine therein was good.
Today wine writing and competition
supports a significant media cohort. When Australian filmmakers David Roach and Warwick Ross set about making “Red Obsession”, the vignerons of Bordeaux welcomed their presence. They co-operated with interviews and winery tours. It was publicity that money could not buy.
But the film’s core purpose turns out to be less to praise the great Bordelaise wines than to go somewhat antipodean and look at the Chinese wine scene. In 2010, the top prize at a prestigious UK wine competition went to a Chinese label.
I like wine, for its taste, low calories and beneficial complicity with good food. But as the film observes, by implication and somewhat tongue in cheek, wine’s economic mystique can lead fools into paying too much for a beverage that obeys gravity’s immutable laws on its journey through the human body. As Shakespeare observed, “sleep, nose painting and urine” (Macbeth, Act 2, scene 3).
Planting vines in an arid region where little grows may seem a folly. But it’s happening in China and the film spends useful time investigating it. Compared with the verdant beauty of the vines beside the Gironde, the Chinese vineyards may not be visually pleasing, but, as the old saying goes, “Good wine needs no bush”. Nor does it have to cost the earth.
At Capitol 6 and Palace Electric
Gala Wine Dinner
Dress up, step out and savour award-winning, traditionally made Bunnamagoo Wines matched to a delicious degustation menu in the sumptuous surrounds of the newly refurbished National Press Club ballroom.
When: Saturday, September 21, 7pm for 7.30pm.
Where: National Press Club, 16 National Circuit, Barton.
What: Black tie, degustation wine dinner. Charity auction and raffle.
Bookings: Tickets at $150 each (tables of 10) plus small booking fee at npc.org.au/membership/membersevents/save-the-children-gala-dinner.html
Why: All proceeds support the untiring Australian and international work of Save the Children.
Applications open for CAPO cash
THE Capital Arts Patrons Organisation, CAPO, is 30 years old this year and has opened applications from Canberra artists for 14 awards, with values ranging from $500 to $25,000. CAPO grants support excellence in the arts, significant opportunities for artists to develop their careers, and innovative community cultural development projects. Since its beginnings in 1983, CAPO has awarded more than $1.8 million to more than 330 artists and arts organisations and, last year, 11 grant recipients received support to the value of more than $60,000.
In a unique formula, CAPO raises money through business sponsorship and donations, and through its annual art exhibition and auction, where artworks donated by Canberra’s leading and acclaimed artists are on show and for sale.
This year’s gala event, where the recipients of the 2014 grants and awards will be announced, is being held at Canberra Museum and Gallery on November 23.
Application form and guidelines at capo.org.au/capo-grantguidelines/
Applications close at midnight on Friday, October 25.
–Helen Musa
Helen Musa arts editor
Wendy Johnson dining reviewer
arts & entertainment
Wendy Johnson dining
WE’RE undergoing a bean explosion in Canberra. Coffee beans, that is.
Every time you turn around, another little café is making a big entrance on the nation’s capital ensuring coffee lovers can get a fix anywhere, anytime.
That’s not the only trend. The other is the number of places opening that source their food from an external supplier, instead of creating it onsite. Perhaps that’s because the real money to be made is from serving cup after cup after cup of coffee.
Mint Road, at Narrabundah, is such a place. The owners – “descendants of pioneering Narrabundah settlers” – source pastries and tarts from local patisseries and gourmet sandwiches from local suppliers. At least it’s all local...
And you guessed it. Mint is a major theme with the perky fitout, even to the mint-coloured sand in the big hourglass. The bold-striped wallpaper is delightful and the funky planters in corrugated iron containers perched on the wall charming.
The Italian coffee used by the baristas is a unique blend of 12 bean varieties and my cappuccino was intensely satisfying. No doubt Mint Road will eventually dominate the Narrabundah coffee takeaway scene.
The glass cabinet, near the cash register,
Coffee with the touch of Mint
displays all the food goodies, including the thick slice of banana bread I enjoyed (warmed up, of course) and the not-toosweet orange friand my friend enjoyed. We spotted bags of muesli on shelves behind the counter, but were told they were display only (huh?).
We popped by on a Saturday – the place had only been open a wee while – and it was busy. The tables outside were nearly all occupied, with customers clustered around heaters. We waited a few minutes and lucked in with a couple of spots on the bench seating positioned along the wall to the right at the entrance.
Mint Road can’t do a lot about its size but it is pretty tiny and it’s not hard for the place to get congested with people sitting, people lining up to order and staff
squeezing past customers to serve food and coffee, no doubt hoping and praying they don’t spill anything.
Small wooden “tray tables” protruding from the wall divide the bench seating here and there. They are large enough for two cups of coffee but not much more. So you juggle your plates on your lap or take turns using the tray tables to eat. And what to do with your bags?
Did we enjoy it? Yes, we did. Was the coffee good? Yes, it was. Is it worth another trip? Yep, but when the weather gets warmer and we can be more comfortable with a bit of elbow room outdoors.
Mint Road, Shop 4, 59 Boolimba Crescent, Narrabundah. Call 6260 6713. MondayFriday, 7am-4pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8am -3pm.
‘ALLO ‘Allo, what’s going on at Tempo Theatre? Yes, they’re reviving the BBC TV comedy “‘Allo ‘Allo”, based around the episode where wartime cafe owner Rene and his wife Edith deal with the priceless portrait of the “Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies”. At Belconnen Theatre, August 30-September 6. Bookings to 6275 2700 or canberraticketing.com.au
STOPERA is at the Top of the Cross with “Enchanting Operetta”, where singers Rebecca Collins, Rachael Duncan and Rohan Thatcher and pianist Vivienne Winther will perform a selection of hits from “The Merry Widow”, “Die Fledermaus”, “The Mikado”, “The Pirates of Penzance” and so on. At the Southern Cross Club (1pm lunch and show, 2.30pm show only), Sunday, August 25, Bookings to 6283 7288 or cscc.com.au
CRAFTACT has found a crafty way of luring people to its annual fundraising event by serving up fine food on the best locally created and designed objects. Eight food fusion dishes by Soju Girl, Močan & Green Grout and Two Before Ten will be accompanied by an auction, door prize, gift pack and entertainment. On the 9th floor, Nishi Building in New Acton, Saturday, August 31, bookings to 6262 9333 or programs@ craftact.org.au
EDITOR Irma Gold tells us that the final Canberra Centenary event for her anthology, “Invisible Thread”, will be held at 6pm on August 28, in Paperchain Bookstore in Manuka, with John Clanchy, Penelope Layland, Michael McKernan, Mark O’Connor, Sarah St Vincent Welch and our own Robert Macklin reading their work. RSVP to 6296 6723.
“THE Happiness Jar” by Canberra author Samantha Tidy places the story of 27-year-old cystic fibrosis sufferer Rachel against the red dust of the Kimberley, and the Ganges in India.
Tidy and National President of the RSL, Ken Doolan, will launch the book at the National Library Bookshop at 6.30 pm on Thursday, August 29. The event is free, but bookings to nla.gov.au/ bookings or 6262 1424.
TAIKOZ has a 90-minute drumming workshop coming up at the Canberra Theatre. They say the workshop “will allow you to feel the awesome power of the taiko, the vitality of the rhythm and the fun of making music in a group”. At The Playhouse, 4.30pm and 7pm, Monday, September 2, bookings to 6275 2700 or canberratheatrecentre. com.au
EXPRESSIONS of interest for the newly-announced Anne Edgeworth Writers’ Award from should be submitted to the ACT Writers Centre by close of business on Friday, September 6. More information at actwriters.org.au
Helen Musa arts in the city
Jon Elphick in the role of Rene.
Mint is a major theme with the perky fitout. Photos by Brent McDonald
The Italian coffee is a blend of 12 bean varieties.
Learn
u
Tall tales of unpopular conifers
MANY people shun conifers and their appeal has been in decline in gardens for many years.
Cedric Bryant gardening
green colour.
All of which is unfortunate as they can be, as Adrian Bloom – one of the most knowledgeable conifer experts in the world – says, “essential ingredients to a garden not easily or fully replicated by other plants”.
“I fully appreciate their value as well as their problems; unfortunately, it is the latter which is often highlighted by the gardening media who often feel conifers have no place in the modern garden,” the Englishman says.
The demise of conifers is also partly due to gardeners not checking their ultimate size and, to a lesser degree, by garden-centre staff unfamiliar with conifers.
Most conifer labels state their size in 10 years, not their ultimate size, which is really no use. Growth will depend on the soil and subsequent care and attention to watering and feeding.
For example, 20-30 years ago, metre-tall Golden Cypress were sold by the hundreds in Canberra. Now they have grown to giants of 15m plus with a similar spread and are very
costly to remove when in the wrong place.
In the ‘70s, conifers were very popular here, especially with the migrant population from Europe, where they are still very popular.
The other popular but incorrect notion is that “we will trim them to keep them small”. Fine in theory, but forgetting the trunk will still keep growing.
Before taking home a conifer, do some research; try Victoria’s Conifer Gardens Nursery’s website for a start.
THERE is a conifer for every situation. For example, many miniature conifers may take 100 years to grow to just one metre tall while others will reach 40m plus in the same period.
A great place to start is at Cockington Green with their extensive use of small conifers, as illustrated here. One of the most popular conifers sold today is Thuja “Smaragd” from where the jewel Emerald comes from, originally from the Latin smaragdus referring to its dark
Conifers make an excellent evergreen foil against deciduous trees or shrubs, and can be used as an accent plant or for screening such as a hedge. I have illustrated screening a building, reaching its full height or could equally be used as a formal clipped hedge.
WITH ever decreasing blocks sizes or for small townhouse gardens, many conifers are suitable for containers. The beauty of conifers is the minimum amount of care required.
In our garden, we grew a small, compact conifer with a weeping habit, namely Picea abies “Nidiformis”. It hasn’t been pruned in 10 years and has retained its neat shape.
The most important point is to lightly trim only in October and March. Never cut back into the old wood as most conifers, unlike other plants, will not grow back from the old wood. Finally, the trimming needs to take place from the very start, and not leaving it for several years when, depending on the variety, it starts to get scraggly.
WORK in the garden is now a pleasure as the days warm:
• Check out your local garden centre for conifers.
• Once roses have been pruned, spray with lime sulphur for scale insects and other pests.
• As the flower buds form on roses, feed with organic Neutrog “Seamungus”, a combination of seaweed and chook poo.
• Even though garden centres have seed potatoes for sale, it is better to delay planting for at least another month.
• Spray fruit trees when the first buds show pink (before they come into flower) with Kocide or Bordeaux for curly leaf fungus.
with Nick Huggins, Dan Harris-Pascal and Colin McLean
Check out the dwarf conifers at Cockington Green.
Low-growing Picea “Nidiformis” for the smaller garden.
Thuja “Smaragd” for screening or a perfect hedge.
Joanne Madeline Moore
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)
Venus is visiting your relationship zone, so you’re in the mood to morph from a roaring Ram into a loving Lamb. And some amorous singles will fall in love at first sight. You’re also keen to have fun with family and friends, as your social side switches into overdrive. Plus, with Mars barnstorming into your entertainment zone (until October 15), you’re ready to rock ‘n roll!
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)
Bulls will feel unusually boisterous, as Uranus and Jupiter stir up your spontaneous side. So it’s a wonderful week to shake up your usual routine, and act on impulse – who knows where it may lead? Attached Taureans – prepare to be surprised by your spouse. Single? You may be drawn to a potential partner who’s not your usual type.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)
Do you feel as if you’re lost in a giant Gemini maze? Things improve as the week progresses, and Saturn and Pluto help you view a problem in a more realistic way. By the time the weekend rolls around, you’re firing on all cylinders as you study, socialise, travel, talk, text, tweet and multi-task to the max. Finances are also favoured – as long as you’re not frivolous.
CANCER (June 22 – July 22)
Cancers can be overly cautious creatures, so you have to be careful life doesn’t pass you by from the comfort of your cozy Crab cave! With Jupiter jumping through your sign (until July 2014), it’s time to take on a mighty challenge or go on a grand adventure. Be inspired by birthday great Ingrid Bergman: “I don’t regret a thing I’ve done. I only regret the things I didn’t do.”
LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)
Do you feel a bit like the Muddle-Headed Wombat? Don’t worry if you start the week in a cacophony of confusion... Neptune’s doing a number on you, and it will be hard to think straight. Friday through to Sunday will be delightfully productive days as you re-focus, plus Saturn and Pluto help you power through projects with plenty of passion and purpose. Go Cats!
VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)
Expect a busy week as Neptune, Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter all make aspects to Mercury (your ruling planet). Don’t waste valuable time wondering what a loved one is thinking – you are probably way off the mark. Instead, put your versatile Virgo mind to good use via reading, writing and vigorous research. Saturday is super for networking, socialising and group activities.
LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)
Worrying about money matters won’t solve problems – being practical will. So put energy into devising a workable new financial strategy. Attached Librans – when it comes to your partner, expect the unexpected. Are you sick and tired of being single? Stop looking for love in the same old places. It’s time to step outside your comfort zone and be more adventurous.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)
Scorpios have a range of superlative talents. You are strong, sexy, passionate, powerful, resilient and resourceful – plus you’re also pretty adept at holding onto grudges. But the only person that ends up hurt is yourself. So your motto for the moment is from Mother Teresa (born on August 27, 1910): “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)
Your Sagittarian gypsy gene is stimulated, as Mars moves into your travel zone and adventure calls! If you can’t get away (between now and October 15), then go journeying in your mind via studying another culture, learning a new language or reading travel books. When it comes to work, creative ideas combined with good communication skills will take you far.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)
With diplomacy planet Venus visiting your career zone, patching up problems with work colleagues will be easier now than at other times. Friday should be fabulous, as the Sun and Saturn make beautiful music together and your Capricorn creativity really shines. Projects involving education, travel, international contacts and social networking are particularly favoured.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)
With Saturn moving slowly through your career zone, it will take a while to reach your professional goals. Be patient, Aquarius! Draw inspiration from birthday great Lily Tomlin: “The road to success is always under construction.” Mighty Mars rushes into your relationship zone (from August 28 until October 15), so if you’re looking for love, you’ll have to be proactive.
PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)
When it comes to a close relationship, do you have ridiculously unrealistic expectations? Or are you jumping to fanciful conclusions? Perhaps it’s time for a dose of reality, before it all ends in disappointment and tears. The best way to utilise your over-active imagination is through creative pursuits like photography, art, drama, dance, singing, writing and music.
Daily astrology updates at www.twitter.com/JoMadelineMoore Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2011
4 What is the prairie wolf also called?
7 What, colloquially, is a wellintentioned, but often clumsy, social reformer (2,6)?
8 During WWII what did they call the countries that fought against the axis powers?
9 What is a written or printed paper furnishing information, etc?
11 Name particular micro-organisms whose existence require free oxygen
13 Which rectangular piece of woven fabric is used to keep us warm?
15 What do we call those people who sell things?
17 What is a fraudulent transaction called?
20 Which fireproof fibre can also prove fatal?
23 To have yielded assent, is to have done what?
24 What is a generous bestowal of gifts?
25 Name a diamond-shaped pattern of two or more colours Down
1 Which clumsy flightless bird formerly inhabited Mauritius, and is now extinct?
2 What is another name for a pillar?
3 To be unemployed, is to be what?
4 What is a box, for packing and transporting goods?
5 Which colour lies between orange and green on the spectrum?
6 What is the principal subject in a musical composition?
9 Which term describes the remains of anything broken down or destroyed?
10 What do we call items of flora and fauna, indigenous to Australia?
12 What are sudden abnormal, involuntary muscular contractions?
14 Name one of the Seven Dwarfs
16 Which are the longer morse code signals?
18 What is a common term used for a bet?
19 What is a bucket-like container for transferring molten metal?
21 William Shakespeare was known as the what?
22 To expel from a place or position occupied, is to do what?
