Media is political

with demolition, was researched and documented. WACRA spread the story via local networks. A public forum was held at the Henley Town Hall. Local papers were contacted, local MPs were consulted, and finally the local council was brought to the party. In just a few months, Estcourt House was saved from the bulldozers. In the same way, the old Grange School was saved and is now occupied and heritage protected, albeit after ten years of various strategies, activism and struggle.

Marty Cielens, Becky Llewellyn and several others talk about their role in saving Henley Beach Library. Henley Beach Library was saved by several community groups coming together. WACRA and the Community Library Action Group (CLAG) used petitions, banners, information brochures, talks at local schools, trading tables at an open day in Henley Square, and press and radio interviews. In addition, Charles Sturt Council invited people to have a say about the library on their Your Say webpage. Residents had been alerted; they made a lot of noise and attracted attention to their cause to keep the library. The outcome: Henley Beach Library remains open.

When matters are not resolved through consultation, negotiation and campaigning, WACRA is likely to go into protest mode. The Baju/H2O multi-storey apartment and retail development near Henley Square was a major project that raised serious concerns with WACRA from its inception to the present day. Kenzie van den Nieuwelaar and Jim Douglas report how they organised the protest. WACRA was very concerned that the development was in an historic conservation zone and the development application went to the Environment, Resources and Development (ERD) Court. A public forum was held at the Henley Town Hall, which overflowed with concerned citizens. A speaker from the National Trust reminded the audience about the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. Media coverage was guaranteed. A website, Henley Voice, was maintained, but unfortunately the development went ahead. However, major changes were achieved.

Assessing if outcomes can be achieved by community activism can create tension. It was revealed during interviews with Anthony Psarros and Jim Douglas that the Save Our Beaches campaign was predicted by them to be particularly challenging: the SA Government led by John Olsen had a position that would be difficult to shift. Yet the protest went ahead. It was driven by the will and sheer numbers of people who wanted to demonstrate. Even when the odds were against getting a good outcome, these leaders felt obliged to go with the flow of popular demand. If you don't fight, you lose.

Media is political

In 1993, Kate Barrett was successful in mobilising citizens against telecommunications towers being built in Henley Beach. Perhaps because there was no other avenue for protest, extensive use was made of mass media. The campaign attracted a lot of interest and engagement, and some initial successes. Many years later, in 2017, a new proposal saw a huge Telstra tower constructed on East Terrace. WACRA was successful in getting the tower awarded a brickbat for inadequate consultation and duty of care from the Civic Trust of South Australia.

During the major Save Our Beaches (1997-98) campaign, the media was fully engaged. WACRA had daily interviews on radio and television. Newspaper articles captured the effort