POST Newspapers 11 October 2025

Ferry fatal for disabled sailing

By JEN REWELL

A charity that launches 1500 disabled people into the freedom of sailing will be forced to close when the Matilda Bay Metronet ferry terminal is built nearby.

“We will have to stop completely,” said Graham White, vice-president of Sailability, that operates from Royal Perth Yacht Club.

“Safety is paramount,”

He said disabled sailors would not be able to cope, physically and mentally, with ferries cutting through their tranquil bay every 15 minutes.

The serenity of Matilda Bay had been a “critical element” when RPYC was chosen as the base of volunteer-run Sailabiilty in 2000.

“To put a ferry there is just

crazy,” he said.

“I’m very conscious of safety,

I’ve spent my whole life at sea.

“Fundamentally, the problem we face is the ferries are big, 25m long, and having a disabled person coming out of our little harbour in a 2m or 3m dinghy is out of the question.”

He said any collision could be fatal for sailors with a disability such as blindness or no legs.

“But the second factor is that many people with a disability, if they were confronted with something that was out of the ordinary, it’s possible for them to have a major episode,” he said. “It’s not something that most people understand.”

Sailability has mentored many world-class sailors, including Kylie Forth, who lost her eyesight to cancer when she was three and a leg to bone cancer six years later.

She began sailing in Sailability and is now a world

She is currently in training to skipper Australia’s only blind sailing team at the World Sailing Inclusion Championships in Oman.

While she is now an extremely capable sailor and loves the adrenaline of high winds, other Sailability clients require calm

Opponents of the ferry terminal in the centre of Matilda Bay were also shocked to find that deep in the environmental report is news that 29 protected mature trees on the foreshore will be chipped to accommodate the ferry terminal’s

Residents face $5000 borer bills

By JACK MADDERN

Western suburb residents are set to be charged up to $5000 to remove any tree infested with the deadly shot-hole borer.

The new fee structure is part of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s borer management strategy.

DPIRD previously covered the cost of removing affected trees. It has cut down about 5000 trees across the state.

Mosman Park council confirmed that local governments and private residents would now be responsible for the cost of removing their own trees.

“Both residents and the Town are now responsible for the cost of tree removal,” the council said.

Arborist Dave Crispin estimated that each tree could cost up to $5000 to be chainsawed.

“If a DPIRD inspector now tells a resident their tree is infested and needs to be removed, they will either have to pay up or, depending on where this line is drawn, take them to SAT or court,” he said.

Eight old moreton bay figs at Lake Claremont were chipped. In future residents and councils must pay the costs. TOP: The culprit beetle.

He said the new approach risked infected trees being left standing because residents could not afford to remove them.

Mosman Park mayor Paul Shaw said the borer strategy had failed.

“I am a long way from an expert on shot-hole borer and containment, but clearly the state government strategy didn’t work,” he said.

After admitting this year that borer eradication had failed, DPIRD has switched to a man-

agement phase.

Mr Crispin has collaborated with the City of Canning and BioHerbicides Australia to develop an anti-borer chemical treatment that has been proved effective in trials.

He is concerned that DPIRD is overlooking a more cost-effective approach.

“We are talking $300 to $500 on a treatment potentially saving a tree rather than $3000 to $5000 removing one,” he said.

• Please turn to page 60

World champion

Kylie Forth, far left, is one of 1500 sailors who could be left high and dry if Sailability has to close at Matilda Bay.

Photos: ABC News Gian De Poloni

Fine state of affairs at QEII

Perhaps some more parking should be provided close to QEII Medical Centre instead of penalising hospital workers for trying to earn a living by caring for our loved ones (QEII fines harvest $270,000, POST, October 4).

Perhaps some more parking should be provided to enable hospital visitors, many of whom would be of an advanced age, to park close to the facility?

People don’t park illegally out of bloody-mindedness. They usually do so because of lack of alternatives or an inability to walk a great distance to their destination.

When Forrest Highway opened. WA Police revealed during a trial period that something like 70% of drivers went beyond 110kmh.

Instead of tut-tutting about the naughty drivers, why didn’t they look at it from another angle? Seventy percent of drivers believed 110kmh was too slow on such an excellent highway.

Please

So too here. A high proportion of the 3842 parking fines would have been imposed on people who held a completely different opinion to the parking authorities.

Francis Wright Beach Street, Cottesloe

‘Confusion’ continues over Cottesloe beach path plans

As deputy mayor and a candidate for mayor in the Town of Cottesloe, I am keen to correct some misinformation that has been circulating about the Marine Parade shared path project.

This project has been under consideration since at least 2014 and is now progressing thanks to secured federal government funding.

There appears to be some confusion about the category of this shared path. As our current mayor has stated, many times, it will not be a Principal Shared Path.

A PSP is a specific type of path built to Main Roads WA standards,

Fair warning on new cafe

Claremont Mayor Jock Barker says the council may have been misled about the volume of traffic associated with the new Side Piece Deli (Swanbourne cafe a ‘daytime nightclub’, POST, October 4).

Mr Barker, you were certainly not misled by pre-approval submissions from nearby residents, all of which were summarised in your agenda papers and all

of which highlighted traffic and parking as major issues.

The mayor, councillors and council officers are invited up any day to witness the impacts of their governance failure on surrounding residents and businesses.

The noise, odours, congestion, disruption and pedestrian safety hazards are far in excess of those generated by any previous cafe on the site.

But we told you that in advance, too.

Kerry Satchwell Shenton Road, Swanbourne

Safer cycling

Kevin Morgan (Morgan blasts light-spill threat, POST, October 4) is opposing cyclists and the proposed upgrade to the Cottesloe coastal shared path.

He wants to reduce its speed limit to 10kmh.

Improving Marine Parade itself for cyclists would be a sound first step instead. A 30kmh limit for cars, and stopping through traffic, would be a good start.

Bruce Robinson Barsden Street, Cottesloe

including a 4m minimum width and extensive lighting. These standards do not apply to local shared paths such as the one proposed for Marine Parade, which will typically be 3m wide, not the 4m required for a PSP.

The Town has engaged qualified designers with specific experience in shared path projects. They have incorporated community feedback and advised that lighting is not required along the entire path. Instead, lighting will be targeted to areas where it is needed for safety.

The design of this shared path aligns with the Department of Transport’s own philosophy, to prioritise the safety and comfort of the most vulnerable users, including children and pedestrians.

Like many others on Cottesloe council, I’m a walker, not a cyclist. I look forward to enjoying a revitalised beachfront promenade that delivers amenity and safety at minimal cost to ratepayers.

Melissa Harkins John Street, Cottesloe

• Ms Harkins’s rival for the mayoralty, Kevin Morgan, has said years of council minutes and decisions reveal a proposal for a PSP (Morgan blasts light-spill threat, POST, October 4).

He said Cottesloe staff’s community engagement report called it a PSP, “a primary route similar to the Perth to Fremantle path along Curtin Avenue”. His inquiries with the Department of Transport showed that a PSP would require 200 poles five to seven metres high, 22m apart and burning all night, and a speed limit of 25kmh for bikes and e-rideables.

He said the path should be designated a footpath, with a 10kmh speed limit. – Editor

• More letters pages 12, 18, 26

Magic Apple phone photo resurfaces

When Bob Harper’s iPhone slipped out of his fingers into the surf at City Beach at 6.10 on a cold June morning, he thought it was gone forever.

“I was on the beach and I took the photo of the moon and thought, ‘that’s a good one’, and then the phone slipped through my fingers just as a wave came up,” he said.

He was taking photos of friends of his late daughter Mel Murdoch, and supporters from the City Beach Surf Club and Cottesloe Rugby Club who had gathered to celebrate

her memory.

People scrambled to grab the iPhone as it slipped away, illuminated in the whitewash, but the ocean took it.

Incredibly, it washed up on shore again three months later, and was found by another swimmer at south City Beach, closer to Bob’s house than where it was lost.

The finder, a man called Paul, charged it and used the

emergency contact numbers on the phone to get in touch with Bob’s son.

Bob was thrilled to again see the picture he had taken in June.

“I was so pleased with the photo, it was dark and stormy and the moon was just reflecting across the water,” he said.

The June event raised $13,000 for the Cancer Council and Bob said he hoped to make it an annual event.

Subi wins epic heritage fight

Subiaco developer Barrie Le Pley has lost his four-year battle to demolish a strip of historic Hay Street shops.

State Administrative Tribunal senior member Stephen Willey handed down a 90-page ruling that found that the 1920 buildings, which have been hidden behind scaffolding for several years, were not in imminent danger of collapsing, and had not changed in condition since 2021.

“This entire matter has already dragged on for far too long,” he said.

Mr Le Pley’s company Sanur, the owners of 424-436 and 440 Hay Street, argued that the buildings could collapse at any time and demolition was “urgently necessary as a matter of public safety”.

“From the perspective of the applicant’s experts … the building should have collapsed long before now, but it has not and there is not a jot of recent evidence that it will do so in the short term,” Dr Willey said. He was scathing of evidence submitted by Sanur but saved his harshest criticism for BG&E structural engineer Donald MacMillan.

Dr Willey said Mr MacMillan had “cherrypicked reports”, had a “pedantic approach”, and had not been “completely forthright” with the SAT.

months.

The solstice swim was instigated in 2024, when Mel had an invigorating swim while undergoing cancer treatment. She died soon after that.

Mel was a nurse at Perth Children’s Hospital, where the Melissa Murdoch Burns Nursing Award recognises PCH nurses who reflect her values; compassion, excellence in patient care, and commitment to burns nursing.

Black hole at black spot

By BEN DICKINSON

Nedlands has asked Main Roads for an extension to a $1.55million Black Spot grant as it races to build a roundabout at a troubled intersection. Council staff have previously reported they will lose the grant if they do not finish the road safety upgrades on The Avenue, including a roundabout at its intersection with Birdwood Parade, by December 31.

“Any delay in approval would prevent us from being able to deliver this project before the end of the calendar year and result in a loss of $1.55million of external funding,” they reported to commissioners in August. But a Main Roads spokesperson told the POST the council

• Please turn to page 61

Delayed … Work is due to start next month on a roundabout at this crash-prone intersection.

By JEN REWELL

Lucky call … Bob Harper with the recovered iPhone. Photo: Paul McGovern ABOVE: Karin Hunt and Warren Hassell were in the last photo taken before the phone slipped into the sea for more than three

These historic Subiaco shops have survived multiple demolition attempts.

By JEN REWELL

• Please turn to page 61

THE listening

Age shall not Weiry them – brothers trek Kokoda

Three City Beach brothers; three motivational concepts.

Michael, Lawrence and James Weir recently walked the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea with three ideas in mind.

They wanted to better understand Australia’s history, particularly the campaign that ranks alongside Gallipoli as this nation’s most significant military venture.

They wanted to overcome the extreme physical and mental challenge of trekking 96km in eight days of hot, humid and

hilly conditions.

And they wanted to bond as brothers.

“The trek exceeded every expectation we had,” Lawrence said.

“It was an incredibly spiritual and emotional journey.

“There were times when our entire group was silent for minutes after hearing stories of the campaign. The weight of history was deeply felt.

“Physically and mentally, it was demanding but achievable, and the camaraderie of our group made it all the more meaningful.”

The brothers had created a shared memory that would last their lifetimes.

“We were also deeply moved by the warmth, resilience, and generosity of the Papuan people we met,” Lawrence said.

“It reinforced just how strong the bonds are between our two nations, forged in hardship and carried forward in friendship.”

• Send a picture and details of your POSTcard adventure to mailbox@ postnewspapers.com.au.

Crooks confound Cott contender

Elections for Cottesloe mayor are usually hardfought but well-mannered.

“Those opposing my election are far from subtle,” said Kevin Morgan, one of the two candidates for the job at this month’s elections.

“Ten night, of corflutes on the streets of Cottesloe was fine, one tampered with, a bit of fun by someone.

“On the 11th night, however, 19 from every corner of the town were either stolen or flattened.”

Since then, Mr Morgan’s colourful signs have been popping up again.

Votes will be counted on October 18.

Winter rains become a fish killer

Workers have cleared away 6000 dead fish and Swan River users have been told they can return to the water.

A sudden influx of fresh water, depriving parts of the river of oxygen, was identified as the cause of the kill last month.

It followed Perth’s wettest winter in 30 years.

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation

toll at 6000 fish.

“The full cost of the cleanup is yet to be assessed, and while similar events cannot be predicted, surveillance and reporting remain a priority,” a department spokesperson said.

There was no link found between algae and the fish deaths, as was first speculated.

Birdwatchers are celebrating the return of one of Perth’s most colourful visitors, with the first rainbow bee-eater of the season spotted at Herdsman Lake this week.

People are advised to contact FishWatch if they sh

The dazzling migratory bird, known for its emerald-green plumage and distinctive golden throat, typically arrives in the Perth region in early spring after spending the cooler months in northern Australia and South-East Asia.

Local birding groups have been eagerly awaiting their return and were excited to hear about the bird photographed this week. Rainbow bee-eaters are immune to bee stings, and dig underground nests in which to lay their eggs.

The bee-eaters are back in town!

Photo: Carole Anne Photography

Michael, left, Lawrence and James Weir bonded during their 96km trek along the Kokoda Track.

Some of the dead fish washed up on Mosman Park shores.

Rainbows return

Limb falls but trees ‘safe’

The scene in Dalkeith after a limb fell on the moving car.

By BEN DICKINSON

A stand of towering gum trees on the Sunset Hospital site in Dalkeith has been declared safe by an arborist, weeks after a falling limb crushed a moving car.

Samantha Warren, 22, was driving west on Birdwood Parade on September 24 when the giant limb crashed through the windscreen and roof of her Mazda hatchback.

Ms Warren was taken to hospital where she underwent emergency hand surgery, while her sister – who was sitting in the passenger seat –suffered minor injuries.

“They were screaming, trapped in the car and covered in blood and shattered glass,” said doctor Joe Cardaci, who was driving behind the Mazda.

“Fortunately they were not seriously injured and I was able to extract them from the car with the help of a neighbour.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Creative Industries, which manages the Sunset site, told the POST that an arborist was commissioned to inspect the trees after the incident.

“A detailed inspection of the tree in question, as well as four additional trees in the immediate vicinity,” the spokesperson said.

The canopy of the largest tree extends across the street.

The department spokesperson said the arborists’ report “has not identified any immediate risk to the public.”

“Pruning and risk management will continue,” they said.

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Mayor hints at beach cash

By BRET CHRISTIAN

Long-awaited state government help to fix Cottesloe’s crumbling beachfront was hinted at by outgoing mayor Lorraine Young, pictured, at her final council meeting.

“A partnership with state funding for the foreshore master plan is really close,” she told the meeting.

Despite booming tourist numbers for the beach, crumbling concrete pylon and ramps, hot black bitumen underfoot, rusty railings and

an unbuilt foreshore park, the decadeslong multi-million dollar upgrade has remained just a dream.

The state meanwhile has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into upgrades of Scarborough, Bunbury, Esperance and Geraldton.

It has become an issue in this month’s mayoral election, with one candidate, former mayor Kevin Morgan, saying the urgent foreshore problems

should be fixed by the council without further delay.

Mr Morgan said it was futile to hold off in the hope that the dilapidated beachfront would embarrass the state government into providing the funds when it had not done so for six years.

His opponent in the mayoral contest is deputy mayor Melissa Harkins (Letter, page 2).

Cottesloe, heavily promoted as a tourist destination by state tourism and airlines,

• Please turn to page 7

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Not dangerous … These trees have been given the all-clear by an arborist. Photo: Paul McGovern

Fish surprise celebrates Nobel triumph

By JACK MADDERN

WA’s only Nobel Prize recipient celebrated the 20th anniversary of the win by recreating a legacy that predates the award.

Before Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, who died last year, claimed the world’s most high-profile medicine award, they ritually went to the Old Swan Brewery on the Swan River to tune into that year’s Nobel Prize announcements and enjoy some fish and chips.

And it was at the brewery in 2005 that Professor Marshall got the call informing the pair that they had been awarded the Nobel Prize for their breakthrough research in treating stomach ulcers.

Friends and family surprised Prof. Marshall on Monday with a recreation at UWA of that same scene as they watched Shimon Sakaguchi, Fred Ramsdell, and Mary Brunkow win this year’s

Westcoast Community Centre Term 4, 2025

ARE YOU BORED SITTING AROUND THE HOUSE? WANT TO MEET NEW FRIENDS?

Come and have a look at what the WESTCOAST COMMUNITY CENTRE is up to! All are welcome! There is something for everyone!

• Join us for talks on Decluttering-Chaos to Calm, Advance care Planning, the POW Camps of our Southwest.

• Join us for a Busselton Jetty Dinner weekend, a Lunch at Sal’s, and a meal at Amarin Thai.

• We will be going to see Cinderella by the WA Ballet, Tivoli Lovely by WAAPA.

• For exercise we have our week day walkers and Chair Pilates and Yoga.

• We have mind exercises like Mah Jong, Pony Canasta, or Scrabble.

• Come along to enjoy for mornings playing games, find out what the new hit game called Rummikub.

Check our website www.westcoastcommunity.com.au For other activities and our next enrolment day is Tuesday October 14, 9.30am-11.00am.

Nobel Prize for their advancements in understanding the immune system.

Adrienne Marshall recounted her take on her husband as a “guinea-pig doctor” testing his medical advances on himself.

“He came home from work one day, his voice was all really raspy, and I said: ‘Are you getting sick?’ And he said: ‘No, unfortunately not’.”

Prof. Marshall’s routine for the next few weeks consisted of trying to make himself sick with gut bacteria and checking out the damage with an endoscopy – a procedure involving a long tube with a camera at the tip pushed down the throat.

“He came home from work again, barely able to speak because he was having endoscopies with no anaesthetic,” Mrs Marshall said.

“And he said: ‘Great news, I had another endoscopy and they suspect on the microscope I’m infected’.”

Prof. Marshall let the infection marinate for a few days before, at his wife’s request, testing and confirming that his treatment for helicobacter was effective.

and you know Barry, he’s quite impulsive,” Mrs Marshall said.

A microbiologist friend in New Zealand, Arthur Morris, was inspired by Prof. Marshall’s cavalier approach to science and attempted the same thing, only to end up infecting himself with a strain of bacteria that was resistant to treatment.

“He went on to develop ulcers

Basil’s number came up at Subi

By JOHN TOWNSEND

“Basil Fuller made a greater contribution to Subiaco Football Club over a longer period of time than anyone else.”

This stark praise of one of WA football’s most committed servants has been enshrined at Subiaco Oval as part of the sport’s history project at its long-time headquarters.

Basil died last year at 87, after a lifetime of support and almost seven decades in formal roles at the club.

His widow Jennifer, son Craig and other family members were on hand on Saturday when a plaque was unveiled near the site of the old Subiaco grandstand and offices.

“Football always came first,” Craig said. “It came before family, it came before business and there was only ever one football club – Subiaco.

“He didn’t garden or play

golf. Subiaco was his passion.”

Raised in Keightley Road before living in Cottesloe for most of his life, Basil never played football at Subiaco but did just about everything else at the club.

An exceptional organiser and persuader of players and sponsors to join and support the club, his most memorable role was in selling raffle tickets – hundreds of thousands of them over the years –though he was eventually banned from winning the prize himself.

Any Subiaco supporter of reasonable length would recall Basil winning, and often coming second as well, in the weekly match-day raffles.

“They ended up banning him,” Craig said. “Though he always said there was no surprise that he won so often given how many raffle tickets he bought over the years.”

The Fuller plaque, and one

tion,” Mrs Marshall said. From that point on, Prof. Marshall and Dr Warren would revolutionise the way the world treated stomach bacteria and gastric cancer. Their discovery saved millions of lives and helped drop Australian casualties of gastric cancer from a top-five killer to a top-20.

history alive by playing preseason matches at the ground where they were based until moving to Leederville Oval in 2004.

AFL matches were shifted to Perth Stadium in 2018 and while under-age state squads have used the ground in recent seasons, it has fallen into such disrepair that it is no longer fit for training.

“Mr Subiaco” Basil Fuller

Barry Marshall enjoys his fish and chips this week.

Robin Warren, left, and Barry Marshall won the 2005 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

PLC’s Y10 students reach for the skies

By JACK MADDERN

A group of Year 10 PLC students have scaled new heights after joining a new aviation program for women.

Ten students piloted gliders at Beverley Soaring Society, 130km east of Perth, as part of the school’s Quest program.

“Being able to take the controls, take off and land a glider myself, all before I can legally drive a car, was incredible,” student Abby Boelen said.

“The support we received from the Beverley Soaring Society really made me feel comfortable and encouraged me to literally push myself to

new heights.”

The students were treated to cockpit lessons in the sky twice a day, but were also trained in ground-crew duties, gaining an understanding of many career pathways in aviation.

Principal Cate Begbie joined the girls in the program and took to the skies herself.

“It was extraordinary to be part of the program and to see our girls develop real flying skills and passion from their very first glider flight,” she said.

“When students are given opportunities beyond the classroom, they don’t just gain skills, but the confidence to see themselves in industries they may never have

imagined – like aviation.”

More women are needed to help fill the global shortage of pilots, air traffic controllers, and maintainers, according to Ruth Harrison, the Australian National President of Women in Aviation International.

“At Women in Aviation Australia, we see every day how many girls simply don’t recognise aviation as a career option,” she said.

“Girls are just as interested in flying and understanding how aviation works, but they’re often put off when they don’t see people who look like them or when the culture feels unwelcoming or unaccommodating.”

Mayor hints at beach cash

• From page 5

has remained in limbo after frequent political attacks from the Labor side over past decades.

The long-planned upgrade also became a political football at the last two federal elections.

Cottesloe’s small ratepayer base cannot afford the $30million outlay.

Ms Young is standing for councillor after vacating her position as mayor.

She paid tribute to the “positive and respectful culture that we have developed” with the council and its administration.

Councillors often disagreed

but always with respect, she said.

“We now really do enjoy a strong reputation in local government and state government as a well-functioning council that is not something to be taken for granted,” she said.

“Our community is our greatest asset, and we have a very highly educated, very engaged community with a real passion for Cottesloe.”

She thanked her community and the POST, which she said reported on Cottesloe without fear or favour.

Ratepayer Phil Paterson paid tribute to Ms Young, councillors and new CEO

Mark Newman.

“It is an incredibly rare thing in this world to actually have people who volunteer their time act in a very cohesive manner and able to respect each other with different views,” he said.

“What we’ve done as a council and a community is just fantastic.”

Ms Harkins said the next council faced the challenge of finalising a planning strategy that will meet the balance between delivering state-mandated infill targets while “preserving the character of our residences and everything that we love about Cottesloe”.

PLC Principal Cate Begbie, above, and student Charlotte Kingdon, right, are in the cockpit of Beverley Soaring Societies’ glider aircraft, being taught how to fly.

Another win for heritage in Subiaco

The State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) has decided in favour of the City of Subiaco, affirming the City’s decision to refuse a demolition permit for the buildings at 424-428 Hay Street which, if approved, would have resulted in the loss of local heritage.

Mayor David McMullen welcomed the long-awaited SAT decision.

“The City refused the demolition permit back in October 2022; a decision which the SAT has now affirmed as ‘correct and preferable’, dismissing the application for review. The effect of this decision is that approval for

the demolition works is required under the City’s local planning scheme before a demolition permit can be issued.

“The City has been abundantly clear right from the beginning. This site has significant development potential, and we want to see a high-quality development that celebrates – rather than destroys –the heritage in the existing buildings. Our community values its local heritage; and developers who want to do business here have a responsibility not to ignore that.”

Read more about the decision at www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/news.

Craig Silvey to host Subi book launch

New Subi walking tours

Notice of Special Council Meeting

A quick monthly update from Mayor David McMullen

Just one more week to vote in the Local Government elections.

We’ve had a great Council the last few election cycles and your vote will ensure that the three available Councillor positions get filled with the best people for the coming term.

Ask the candidates about their professional background; their link with Subi; their understanding of local government and the role of a Councillor; and their knowledge of the City’s Council Plan and strategic pillars for the next 10 years.

Award-winning WA author Craig Silvey is set to pay Subiaco a visit as part of his Australian tour to celebrate the release of his latest book, ‘Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping’.

The event, which will take place on Saturday 8 November, is one of only two stops in Perth as part of the tour. The celebration will include stories, snacks, scavenger hunts and a few special surprises.

Tickets will go fast, to book your spot visit www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/events

City supports tennis club centenary

The City is proud to support the Onslow Park Tennis Club’s centenary celebrations, which kick off this month with a community open day and afternoon tea.

The open day on Saturday 18 October from 2pm to 5pm is free to attend, and will include an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia from the club’s 100-year history, as well as the chance to have a play.

This event, and a Gala Ball on Friday 7 November, are proudly supported by the City of Subiaco’s Community Development Grant program.

Visit www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/events for details on both events.

Local tour operator Oh Hey WA, with the support of See Subiaco, is set to launch a brand-new series of walking tours throughout Subiaco.

The series kicks off on Friday 17 October with the Subi Art Walk, with other highlights including a family-focused ‘Spookiaco’ Halloween tour, the Walk to UnWined which ends at the popular UnWined Subiaco food and wine festival, and the Murals, Music and Markets tours which feature the weekly Subi Night Market.

Mayor David McMullen said, “Subiaco is known for its walkability and village-like atmosphere so these tours are the ideal way to showcase our City’s rich offerings for all ages.”

Learn more and book your spots on the tours at www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/events.

Rate Notices for 2025/26

Residents who have signed up for eRates will have received their 2025/26 Rate Notices last week, and Rate Notices sent via post are on the way.

This year, Rate Notices will have a new payment reference (‘Ref’) number, which must be used for all payments.

Visit our website www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/rates for FAQs and more information on 2025/26 Rate Notices.

A Special Council Meeting will be held at 5.30pm on Tuesday 21 October to swear in newly elected members, and to host the election of the Deputy Mayor.

Please note the October Agenda Briefing Forum previously scheduled for this date has been cancelled. Read more via www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/public-notices.

Your ideas for International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD)

Each year, the City runs events and workshops in the first week of December to celebrate IDPwD. We’d love to hear your ideas for activities or workshops that are meaningful and accessible for everyone. Share your ideas via our short online survey at www.haveyoursay.subiaco.wa.gov.au.

Firebreak notice

In accordance with the Bush Fires Act 1954, residents within the City are required to keep their properties fire safe by keeping grass below 5cm in length, making sure trees and shrubs near structures are appropriately pruned, and roofs and gutters are free of flammable material.

For more advice on being fire safe as we head into summer, visit www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/news.

Keep it social

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @cityofsubi to stay up to date.

Mole tipped off cops

By BEN DICKINSON

Police planted an undercover informant inside Disrupt Burrup Hub ahead of a foiled protest outside the Woodside CEO’s house in City Beach, the environmental group says.

Officers were waiting for climate activists Jesse Noakes, Emily Davey, Gerard Mazza and Matilda Lane-Rose when they tried to splash paint on CEO Meg O’Neill’s house in August 2023.

Police have never revealed how they knew about the now-infamous protest, but Mr Noakes says he is confident they were tipped off by “an operative placed within the Disrupt Burrup campaign for the purpose of feeding information back to police”.

He said he later learned that police had obtained a copy of a highly confidential legal advice memo, shared only with a very small number of activists.

“The only way they could have

acquired that was if it was provided to them [by a member],” he said.

The informant claim was first reported by investigative journalist Marian Wilkinson in her Quarterly Essay, “Woodside vs The Plant: How a Company Captured a Country”.

Ms Wilkinson, a dual Walkley Award winner and Four Corners veteran, will speak about her investigation into the gas producer’s influence on the WA Government alongside Curtin MP Kate Chaney at an event at UWA next week.

Speaking to the POST, Ms Wilkinson said she thought the informant saga “really destabilised” Disrupt Burrup.

“It was sort of an emotional as well as a political blow,” she said.

Ms O’Neill, who was home at the time of the foiled protest, told Ms Wilkinson that the incident was “absolutely distressing for myself and my family

The 10-storey proposal for 48 Glyde Street.

members”.

Both major parties condemned the protest, and Premier Roger Cook wrote a letter to the ABC complaining that a Four Corners camera crew was present.

Ms Wilkinson told the POST that the depth of the relationship between major resource companies and the WA Government was “surprising” to outsiders.

“I think it’s a far too comfortable relationship,” she said.

“[There’s an] incredible prevalence that those companies have in every sort of cultural aspect in the west.”

Woodside sponsors the Fremantle Dockers, the WA Ballet and the WA Museum, and Surf Life Saving WA’s kids program, which is called the Woodside Nippers.

“You really get the sense that the current business leadership and political leadership of the state grew up with gas, grew up with all the iconography of com-

panies like Woodside … and I think that’s got into the political and economic psyche in Western Australia,” Ms Wilkinson said.

“What should be a worry is that it’s hard for new thinking about energy to really permeate in that culture.”

She said the pro-gas attitude was also evident in the state’s media, particularly The West Australian newspaper owned by Kerry Stokes, who also controls gas giant Beach Energy.

“I think there is a big problem about how climate change is covered there,” she said.

“It’s not given the seriousness I think it deserves, given what we know about the current climate science.”

Disrupt Burrup Hub protesters were branded

Mos Park tower soars over height

By JACK MADDERN

A 10-storey mixed-use development proposed in Mosman Park is four storeys above the area’s height limit.

Rhys Kelly’s Fabric Property wants to build the high-rise tower at 48 Glyde Street, close to a ninestorey tower approved in 2020.

Mosman Park mayor Paul Shaw confirmed that the council would have no say in the

Join me, Basil Zempilas your local Member for Churchlands, for a coffee!

eventual decision, despite it breaching local height rules, but said the development might not detract from the area.

“As much as it might grind my gears, the Development Assessment Panel is the decision-maker here,” he said.

“Other than two council members on the panel, we don’t have much of a role in developments being considered by the DAP.

“They have even taken it to

the point where they have said there is no role for the council to weigh in on the Responsible Authority Report.”

Mr Shaw said the development at 40 Glyde Street was an example of a well-designed project despite being three storeys above the height limit.

“Even though that is over the height of the standard controls for that zoning, I think that has been done very well, blending

a bit of height and density with the neighbouring suburb,” he said.

But he expressed doubt about any community benefits promised by the developers.

“It is a hard-to-define field where they could promise to upgrade the footpath outside their building, which is great, but really the biggest benefactor would be them,” he said.

• Please turn to page 61

Got something on your mind? Want to share a local issue or just have a friendly chat?

No speeches, no pressure — just a cuppa on me, a conversation, and a chance to connect.

Whether you have a question, an idea, or simply want to say hi, you’re warmly invited to drop by.

DATE: Friday 17 October, 8:30am - 9:30am

Walkley winner Marian Wilkinson.

• Please turn to page 61

‘Brain fade’ poisons diners

By BEN DICKINSON

A “catastrophic brain fade” by a bartender led to two girls and their mother ingesting mosquito repellent at a Nedlands restaurant, a lawyer told Perth Magistrates Court this week.

Miky’s Italian owner Michele Angiuli faced trial this week on five Food Act charges arising from the June 2024 incident at the Broadway restaurant.

Mt Claremont resident Michele Lemin and her daughters Hannah, 11, and Olivia, 12, were all briefly hospitalised after they were served toxic citronella oil instead of cranberry juice.

“My stomach was burning and I had a really bad headache,” Ms Lemin told the court.

“I felt drunk, I was so drowsy.

“While I was sitting there [at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital] I was just frantic because I didn’t know how my girls were.”

The family were celebrating the end of the school term on June 28 last year when the two girls each ordered cranberry juice.

Bartender Alessio Celoria poured two glasses, emptying a bottle of juice in the process.

The girls finished their glasses before their meal arrived and each ordered another.

Defence counsel Daniel Johnson told the court that rather than going to the fridge, Mr Celoria went to an adjoining “enclave area” close to where spirit bottles were kept, picked up a bottle of pink-coloured liquid, and poured it into two glasses.

The liquid was a similar colour to cranberry juice, but the bottle

Mosquito

was far bigger and was clearly labelled with poison warnings.

“It has a child safety opening lid on it,” Mr Johnson said.

“That should have at the very least tipped off Alessio. How could that ever have been guarded against by my client?”

Ms Lemin told the court she assumed her daughters were being petulant when one of them spit up the toxic liquid onto the table and told her it was “poison”.

“I said: ‘Don’t be silly, it’s cranberry juice’,” Ms Lemin told the court. “I drank some, and I immediately knew it wasn’t.”

Her husband, Marcus Lemin, raced to the bar to confront Mr Celoria.

“He was demanding to understand what our girls had been given to drink,” Ms Lemin said.

“[Mr Celoria] took the bottle out, looked at it and put it under the counter.”

Ms Lemin said when her husband demanded to see the bottle, Mr Celoria eventually produced it but would not let go to allow Mr Lemin to take a photo.

“My husband pulled the bottle

out of his hand,” Ms Lemin said. Mr Celoria was due to give evidence at the trial after the POST went to press.

The Lemin family drove to hospital where both girls were admitted.

The court heard an environmental health officer inspected the restaurant the day before the incident and found that chemicals were properly stored.

Mr Johnson said the bottle of citronella oil had been moved to the enclave area by a regular customer who was trying to be helpful by storing the bottle after it had been used to refill candles.

He said the “highly regrettable” act by the customer, who was also due to give evidence, was compounded by the bartender’s “catastrophic brain fade”.

It must be summer

The trial was due to end on Thursday.

The Cottesloe beach shark barrier that attracts so many swimmers to the beach each summer began re-installation this week. Craig Moss, owner of Eco Shark Barriers, who supervised the anchoring of the 340 metre barrier, said swimmers constantly thanked him for making them feel safe in the water.

Some babies at QEII?

By BEN DICKINSON

Health Department officials are investigating the viability of building a small maternity unit at QEII Medical Centre, for 100 high-risk births a year.

But the department says its plans to shift the state’s main women and babies hospital to Murdoch remain “unchanged”.

“The Department of Health is not investigating building a maternity hospital on the QEII site,” a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

“Ongoing work and consultation are under way to explore

the viability of a maternity unit at QEII for newborns known to require surgery within hours of birth.”

The Government had previously ruled out the prospect of a new maternity hospital in Nedlands, with then-Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson calling the risks “unmitigable”.

“It would have been a building site for 20 years,” she said.

Doctors and parents’ groups have lobbied the Government to build the hospital at QEII, arguing that the 20-minute journey from Murdoch to Perth Children’s Hospital poses a risk

to newborn babies who need urgent surgery.

King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco, currently the state’s biggest maternity hospital, is due to close when its $1.8billion replacement at Murdoch opens.

On Wednesday, Premier Roger Cook told media QEII was a “highly difficult and a complicated area to construct in”.

“We continue to look at whether we need a specialist neo-maternity service for those babies that will likely need surgery in the first few hours after birth,” he said.

repellent from this bottle was served to two girls who ordered cranberry juice.

Long wait for kids’ safety

By JEN REWELL

The money has been allocated but lights at a pedestrian crossing on Pearson Street, Churchlands, won’t be turned on until mid-2027 at the earliest.

The wait for the vital safety feature has vexed local MP and state opposition leader Basil Zempilas, who said it was “an unacceptable and disappointing delay”.

Road safety was one of the biggest concerns in the Churchlands community, he said.

The crossing near Churchlands Primary School is on a 70kmh four-lane road, with the limit reduced to 40kmh before and after school.

But the traffic warden is now

understandably frustrated,” Mr Zempilas said.

Shortages of crossing wardens were being felt across the state.

on leave, and there has been no replacement while he is away.

“The crossing has been unattended for four months and the school community is

Mr Zempilas has called for creative thinking from the state government to help solve the warden shortage (Share warden jobs, say locals, POST, September 13).

“As Perth’s population grows and the city expands, we need more school crossing wardens and are always looking for more,” said WA Police Minister Reece Whitby.

Wardens are required to be available twice a day, five days a week, to man their crossing.

Teacher accused of Rotto, Nedlands child assaults

By BEN DICKINSON

A man who says he was sexually abused by a primary school teacher on a trip to Rottnest Island in 1976 has given emotional testimony to a District Court trial.

Rodney Neville Watkins, 76, has denied allegations he abused four boys in his care between 1974 and 1983, while he was a teacher in Perth’s inner-northern suburbs.

One of his alleged victims, now in his 50s, told the trial on Tuesday that he was 10 when he was raped in a tent at Rottnest by his teacher, Robert Lefroy, and Mr Watkins, who was Mr Lefroy’s partner. “It was painful,” the man told the court.

Mr Lefroy, who also taught at Wembley Primary School, and Subiaco Primary School in the 1960s, died in 2018.

The man told the court on Tuesday that Mr Lefroy and Mr Watkins took off their bathers and

“encouraged” him to do the same while swimming near a group of other students in a bay on the northwest side of the island.

He said the two men forced him to touch them in a sexual manner in the surf, then raped him in his tent that night.

The man said he was no stranger to sexual abuse, having been repeatedly and violently abused by Mr Lefroy in his classroom.

Another alleged victim told the court Mr Watkins performed oral sex on him at Nedlands

Yacht Club when he was in Year 6 or 7.

The alleged victims also told the court they were invited around to the pair’s Mt Lawley home, where they were plied with cigarettes and alcohol before being abused.

Defence counsel Max Crispe suggested that Mr Watkins was never on Rottnest and that the men had reinvented “unremarkable” events.

The trial will continue next week.

Mr Whitby said part-time roles would not resolve the issue of unplanned absences due to illness or retirements.

The Children’s Crossing Unit had to manage those vacancies, often at short notice.

Rigorous integrity checks were required.

“It’s a paid position, so we encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a warden to apply via the WA Police website,” he said.

The rollout of 23 new signalised pedestrian crossings across WA, including 19 that will replace warden crossings, will free up wardens.

Four lanes are unsuitable for zebra crossings.

Funding for the Pearson Street signalised crossing was a $700,000 Labor pre-election promise in Churchlands by former Labor MP Christine Tonkin.

The seat was won this year by Mr Zempilas, who joined the Liberal Party last year and is now its WA leader.

School students and parents risk crossing busy Pearson Street in Churchlands. Photo: Jen Rewell

State opposition leader Basil Zempilas and his predecessor, Libby Mettam, have compaigned for a safer crossing.

Please email your letter to letters@postnewspapers.com.au, lodge online at postnewspapers.com.au or snail mail

Wait for it ... An artist’s rendering of the covered “terminal” (ticketing hall and waiting area) proposed for the Matilda Bay ferry facility.

Let the public see ferry-use projections

The Government is promoting the proposed ferry service between Applecross and Matilda Bay as a way to reduce traffic and improve access across the river.

Given this, why hasn’t the Government released data on expected use of the ferry service?

The Department of Transport is on record as saying that annual passenger trips have been modelled for a range of ferry service frequency options. This information should be made public.

Matilda Bay is valued highly by the community for recreational activities. The proposed

ferry terminal will negatively affect these activities.

If the Government is genuine about consulting the community, it should provide the facts, rather than expecting the community to trust that “if we build it, they will come”.

Leonie Browner Tyrell Street, Nedlands

‘Bloc’ campaign threatens debate and

transparency

action plan, incentives for private planting, and stronger

They want smarter growth, with independent design review ability standards, and heritage c and

destrian crossings near schools, smart traffic light sequencing, and expanded cycling routes.

ance, with public dashboards, quarterly financial updates in plain language, and digitised

cillors who challenge ideas, ask sions based on evidence – not collusion. Ratepayers deserve accountability and renewal, not

As of Tuesday this week, only lots. Local government decisions shape our daily lives, so please take the time to have your say.

The ‘bloc’ of Claremont councillors share this poster.

‘Inadequate’ response to shut bridge

By JEN REWELL

School buses won’t cut through the traffic snarls heading for the western suburbs, according to Greens MLC Brad Pettitt.

Three new school-time Transperth buses have been promised by the state Government to quell expected chaos when the Fremantle Traffic Bridge closes in early 2026.

Dr Pettitt said urgent investment in sustainable transport options was needed before the planned closure.

“The school bus routes are a good start, but they are nowhere near enough,” he said.

“This is like bringing a bucket to a flood – it simply won’t cut it.

“Right now, Fremantle is heading for a traffic nightmare,

and the Government is doing little to stop it.

“With less than four months until the planned closure, there has been no investment in infrastructure to give people better transport choices.”

The Government needed to invest in cycling and walking infrastructure.

“This looming crisis is also a huge opportunity to reshape Fremantle’s transport future into one that is more sustainable, accessible and less cardependent,” he said.

“If we don’t invest in better public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure now, Fremantle and the western suburbs will pay the price for years to come.”

Dr Pettitt’s ideas to help reduce congestion include incentives to run trucks to and from

Fremantle Port off-peak, and running more freight on rail.

School buses should be increased, ferries to and from Fremantle introduced, and train frequency increased.

“Bikes should be allowed on trains at all times, even if it is just between Fremantle and North Fremantle stations,” he said.

The new Principal Shared Path from the Fremantle Traffic Bridge to the CBD should be built this year as budgeted, and bike lanes or shared paths built where there were gaps.

He also suggested upgrading the bike path on the western side of Stirling Highway leading to the Canning Highway intersection and Stirling Bridge, and re-aligning the pedestrian crossing at North Fremantle train station.

Spiky gate case closed

The “gaudy obstruction” still in place after last week’s cessation of hostilities.

Dalkeith resident Barry Jones has reached detente with Nedlands council over a “gaudy obstruction” outside his riverfront home.

The council took action against Mr Jones in February over an elaborate wrought-iron fixture attached to his garden wall.

The fixture, described by Mr Jones at the time as “a bit of artwork that serves two purposes” it blocks access to a sliver of sheer clifftop which Mr Jones calls his “verge”.

“I don’t want anyone falling off and blaming me,” he told the POST in February.

By the Bay.

The 2025 Local Government Election is almost here!

If you’re enrolled to vote on Saturday, 18 October and haven’t received your voting pack, you can request a replacement at the Town of Mosman Park Administration Building (1 Memorial Drive) during business hours, 8.30am–4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Once your pack arrives, simply complete your ballot and return it via the reply-paid envelope or drop it at the Administration Building before 6pm on election day. Every vote counts - make sure your voice is heard.

Mosman Park | 08 9383 6600

The council took the unusual step of publishing a statement at the time accusing Mr Jones of having “a cavalier attitude to intrusions on the public space”, promising it would “request the gaudy obstruction be removed”. Mr Jones had clashed with former mayor Fiona Argyle over his plans to build a multimilliondollar spa complex on the site of the Tawarri Hot Springs.

The State Administrative Tribunal last week dismissed Mr Jones’ proceedings against the council after an unspecified agreement between the two parties.

mosmanpark.wa.gov.au Join us for a relaxed morning at Mosman Park Bowling Club with tea, coffee, treats, and great conversationfree for residents 55+ from Mosman Park, Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove.

Remembrance Day Service

On Tuesday, 11 November at 10.30am, the Mosman Park RSL Sub-Branch invites you to gather at Memorial Park, 1 Memorial Drive, for a special commemorative service. RSVP: mosman.secretary@sb.rslwa.org.au

Monday, 10 November 2025 | 10am–12pm Spaces are limited. RSVP: 9383 6600 or admin@mosmanpark.wa.gov.au

> mosmanpark.wa.gov.au/events

Rebuilding … The traffic bridge has lost two lanes and will soon be completely closed. Photo: Paul McGovern

City Beach burglars on the nose

Police Beat

With Ben Dickinson

Arrested candidate still eligible for election

A Mosman Park council candidate accused of performing a Nazi salute will spend election night behind bars after allegedly assaulting a police officer in Fremantle while out on bail.

But Samuel William Croll, 20, remains eligible for election despite Mosman Park mayor Paul Shaw having misgivings about the process.

Mr Croll was arrested in South Terrace on the night of October 3 and subsequently charged with assaulting a public officer, disorderly behaviour in public and disorderly behaviour in a police station.

Video of Mr Croll’s arrest shows two people being held on the ground by three officers.

Mr Croll was denied bail and is next due in court on October 28 – 10 days after the election.

He was already on bail while he faced charges of performing a Nazi gesture in June and conduct intended to racially harass.

Mr Croll will remain eligible for election though Mr Shaw said the case raised issues for the WA Electoral Commission.

He said a candidate would need to be convicted of an offence drawing a five-year jail term to be deemed ineligible.

“We have clarified with the electoral commission on a couple of occasions about eligibility requirements and have confirmed [Mr Croll] was and still is eligible,” Mr Shaw said.

“He hasn’t been found guilty of any offences, so there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, but I am not sure about the practical as-

pects of someone fulfilling a council position while on remand.

“It’s quite clearly an issue that the electoral commission has to consider, and there should be more legislation regarding eligibility to run for council elections and what to do in such situations.”

seen sprinting up Frinton Avenue around 12.15am. Police have asked anyone with information or CCTV to contact Wembley police station.

Jail for North Fremantle assault

A 28-year-old woman who robbed and assaulted a person in North Fremantle in February 2023 will serve 8½ months in prison after reoffending.

Sabrina Jane Anderson was initially spared jail over the violent incident, but tried to rob another person less than three months into her suspended prison sentence.

Prosecutor Saul Finberg told the District Court that

Anderson last November used a knife to threaten a 36-year-old woman and her mother in Armadale after trying to snatch the daughter’s bag.

“This would have been a frightening experience,” Mr Finberg told the court.

Anderson was arrested in February this year after failing to attend a drug rehabilitation program ordered as part of her original sentence.

Bellinge admits driving offences

Incarcerated obstetrician Rhys Bellinge has admitted he drove dangerously in the days leading up to a fatal crash in Dalkeith.

Bellinge appeared in Perth Magistrates Court via video link from Casuarina Prison on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to charges of danger-

She has spent the past 7½ months on remand in Melaleuca Prison, and last month pleaded guilty to two charges over the Armadale incident.

The guilty plea triggered a resentencing hearing over the North Fremantle robbery.

Judge Matthew Curwood ordered Anderson to spend one more month in prison, on top of the 7½ she has already served.

ous driving in Kings Park and driving at more than 45kmh over the limit in Subiaco.

Both offences were committed on February 9, six days before he crashed his Jaguar into an Uber in Dalkeith while drunk.

Uber passenger Elizabeth Pearce was killed, and driver Muhammad Usman was seriously injured.

Bellinge has already pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Ms Pearce and causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Usman.

Police added the Kings Park and Subiaco charges after combing through dashcam footage from Bellinge’s car.

They also charged him with reckless driving in Nedlands and Dalkeith on February 9, but those charges were dropped at Monday’s hearing.

Bellinge is due to be sentenced over the fatal crash on February 24 next year.

A City Beach intruder caught on security camera.

Mosman Park council candidate Samuel Croll was arrested in Fremantle on Friday night.

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The proposed Bunnings store in Jolimont will provide significant traffic challenges.

Just the beginning – how to plan a journey to Bunnings

Any motorist can tell you why the proposed multistorey Bunnings Super Store in Jolimont is on the wrong site in Hay Street.

Drive past and see how you would enter and exit. The major traffic entrance is on Hay Street with a large vegetated median strip separating the east and west traffic lanes.

East-bound traffic would enter normally but to go home would exit to the east and then U- turn homeward at the median strip at the junction of Hay and Tighe streets.

West-bound customers would have to U-turn at the median strip at the junction of Bishop and Hay streets to reach the entrance on Hay.

Confusing and difficult traffic

movement at peak traffic times could be congested, chaotic, or even dangerous especially where Tighe, Bishop, and Hay streets meet.

If a Bunnings Super Store is to be built here, its many customers travelling east or west should have direct entrance/exit  via a dedicated crossing through the median strip with traffic lights, like the entrance to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on Thomas Street.

This won’t happen because there are traffic lights already close by at Jersey Street (west) and Mouritzen Way (east).

The Bunnings proposal needs a sensible and serious review before it is too late. John Carroll Tighe Street, Jolimont

Pitfalls in mass immigration

Well done, Peter Strachan (No reason to continue large-scale immigration, Letters, October 4), for showing some commonsense. It is ridiculous to allow the mass immigration that is having a devastating effect on our hospitals, schools, property availability and affordability and, perhaps more importantly, our own Australian culture.

I believe Australia requires a period of consolidation to absorb the impact of this mass immigration, allowing sufficient time to provide adequate services and improved infrastructure for the current population.

Renters need to vote, too

As of Monday this week only

16.71% of Subiaco’s East ward electors have voted.

Unfortunately, the relative percentages of votes posted by owner-occupiers and residents who rent isn’t publicly available.

Renters may be less inclined to vote because landlords typically pay the rates on their homes. However, when rates rise, the added cost is easily passed on to tenants via a rent increase.

Renters enjoy the myriad community services councils provide to the same extent as

owner-occupiers.

The point, then, is that renters have the same vested interest as owner-occupiers in who represents them on council.

I encourage everyone to do their own research but the bottom line is that all should vote in this election, be they renters or owner-occupiers. It’s all about putting your opinion into action and thereby owning the future of the ward and the city we all live in.

Grant Pierce Barker Road, Subiaco (East ward)

It’s time for a reality check

In his bid to win the Cottesloe mayoral election, 12 years after stepping down last time, Kevin Morgan wants us to believe he’ll get the state or federal government to pump billions of dollars into digging a trench for the railway line and Curtin Avenue.

Yet he thinks his opponent,

Melissa Harkins, can’t get the state to invest in the $30million upgrade of the Cottesloe foreshore. He thinks we ratepayers should pay for a bandaid fix.

It’s time to get real. I know who I’m putting my money on! Cath Murphy Forrest Street, Cottesloe

If we continue with this ludicrous migration policy, particularly as it applies to countries where the culture, religion or general way of life is so very different from our own, there is a real danger our wonderful Australian way of life will be diluted and become the minority culture within Australia.

There are cities in the UK, such as Bradford, that are now overwhelmingly not English. Is this what we want here?

Before certain elements cry “racist” or other equally absurd claims, try using a little balance and commonsense.

I like the Australian way and I do not want to see it disappear in the name of multicultural inclusivity and wokery.

Let’s have a moratorium on immigration until existing newcomers have had time to fully integrate into the Australian culture, bringing some of their own cultures to enrich us further as the Italians did many years ago.

A moratorium would provide breathing space for infrastructure to catch up to an acceptable level.

The argument that bringing in skilled workers would ease the problem is a flawed concept because they very properly usually bring with them their families rather than just themselves.

John Allen Juniperbank Way, Subiaco

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Strongman wants to lead Neds

By BEN DICKINSON

Gym owner Chris Wilson believes he has the political muscle to fix Nedlands.

The 37-year-old entrepreneur, who opened a new Nedlands fitness studio last Saturday, is the first declared mayoral candidate following the council’s sacking in July.

“I want to be the voice for young families and small business,” he said.

“I think what we’ve lacked before is clear, transparent leadership.”

Democracy is due to return to Nedlands on March 28, when voters will choose a new council to replace commissioners David Caddy, Bianca Sandri and Cath Hart.

The ruling triumvirate was appointed by Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley after an acrimonious period under then-mayor Fiona Argyle led

to a string of councillor resignations.

Mr Wilson has no political experience to draw on in his bid to guide Nedlands through its challenging next chapter.

But he hopes his business success and local profile will appeal to voters.

“I think I’ve created a good platform and [demonstrated] good leadership within the community already,” he said.

“I’ve got three kids … my wife and I both have businesses in the area.

“I’m going to be in Nedlands for a long time.”

Mr Wilson, who lives near Steve’s Hotel, opened his first studio in the mock-Tudor building at 134 Stirling Highway in 2021.

At the time it was the most expensive gym in Perth, with a top-tier “platinum” membership billed at $579 a week – although group classes were much cheaper.

Mr Wilson said he was frus-

Tavern bid for Subi vodka bar

By LLOYD GORMAN

The family that runs an awardwinning Subiaco vodka distillery and brewery wants to open a pub upstairs.

Wolfsbane Distillery at 154 Hay Street, on the corner of Coghlan Road, was approved by Subiaco council in August 2022.

Ken and Noeleen Robinson carried out extensive renovations to the twostorey building, and their sons Gregor and Kendrick will manage the venue. They want to open a tavern on the

site to cater for residents and workers in the area.

MGA Town Planners said in a development application that the nearest watering holes were in West Perth or 850 metres to the west in Subiaco.

The Victoria Hotel at 225 Hay Street has been closed since 2020.

“The proposed change of use to Tavern will enable the Wolfsbane premises to function as a standard tavern premises, enabling the sale of its own brand of packaged liquor products,” MGA said.

Brewing and distilling equipment is on the ground floor of the property and the floor above it would have offices and “two patron areas”.

“No food preparation or food assembly is proposed to occur at the premises,” the DA said.

“It is intended that pastries and other food items that are able to be heated would be supplied by local bakeries/ restaurants in Subiaco.”

The tavern plans are on Subiaco council’s website and open for public comment until October 14.

trated by council red tape that made it “quite hard” for local businesses to get off the ground.

He had to advertise his first gym’s plans for public feedback, even though it was planned for an existing commercial building.

“We didn’t even do any building works … it was just moving our equipment straight in there,” he said.

He said he wanted to set up a Nedlands business hub and prioritise community events if elected mayor.

He also wants to address hooning on riverside roads, engage with developers to “give back green space”, and lobby for the Windsor Cinema to be added to the State Heritage Register.

His wife Rosanna’s company, Bodyscape Yoga, owns the heritage-listed former Nedlands Post Office building on the north side of the highway.

• Please turn to page 60

want to

Plenty on his plate … Gym owner Chris Wilson will run for mayor of Nedlands. Photo: Paul McGovern

Wolfsbane

open a tavern on the site of their Subiaco distillery.

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2

NORMANBY ROAD INGLEWOOD

SNEAK PREVIEW SAT 11TH OCTOBER - CONTACT AGENTS

THE FEATURES YOU WILL LOVE

Finely tuned to offer an exclusive level of luxury living, this inspired residence seamlessly fuses the experience of character living with one of the most forward-thinking designs on the market. The execution, finish, and functionality of this home are a testament to modern design. With three expansive bedrooms and an entertainment/kitchen space that is sure to enthuse, this residence offers an unparalleled living experience in one of Perth’s most dynamic postcodes.

HOME OPEN

Sunday 12th October 2:15pm - 2:45pm

167

DERBY ROAD SHENTON PARK 612m2 323

SNEAK PREVIEW SAT 11TH OCTOBER - CONTACT AGENTS

THE FEATURES YOU WILL LOVE

Defined by bold architecture, chic design, and an incredibly functional floorplan, this Shenton Park gem is the perfect match for the modern family. Asserting itself as a statement of enduring style and shape, this brilliant home encompasses all things luxury. Combining wide-open spaces, expansive bedrooms, and one of the most desired locations to market, this home sets the benchmark for outstanding contemporary inner-city living. Directly opposite Rosalie Park, this dynamic location ticks all the boxes!

HOME OPEN

Sunday 12th October 1:00pm - 1:30pm

DECLAN TURNER

M 0415 723 838

T (08) 6244 7860

declan@duetproperty.com.au

153 Broadway, Nedlands WA duetproperty.com.au

11

TARA VISTA WEST LEEDERVILLE

AUCTION ON SITE 10:30AM SATURDAY 1ST NOVEMBER

THE FEATURES YOU WILL LOVE

Grand proportions, unspoiled privacy, a north-facing floorplan, and an unparalleled location combine at 11 Tara Vista. Positioned in one of the tightest held enclaves the Perth market has to offer, this grand family home has everything you and the family need to enjoy a coveted lakeside locale. With lake views from the ground and upper floor, your entertaining terrace’s backdrop is irreplaceable.

HOME

OPEN

Saturday 11th October 10:00am - 10:30am Thursday 16th October 5:30pm - 6:00pm

LIVING CANVAS LAKESIDE

CRAIG GASPAR

M 0413 929 999

T (08) 6244 7860

craig@duetproperty.com.au

153 Broadway, Nedlands WA duetproperty.com.au

26

MCKENZIE

STREET

AUCTION ON SITE 1:30PM SATURDAY 1ST NOVEMBER

WEMBLEY 803m2 4221 670m2 311

THE FEATURES YOU WILL LOVE

Combining the warmth of old-world charm with unbridled potential, this residence makes for a savvy next step in your property journey! Commanding a generous 670m2 block in one of Wembley’s most cherished locations, this home offers the ultimate residence to live in whilst renovating and extending, or as an astute family home. With a functional existing floorplan and an unbeatable location south of Grantham Street, the home provides a brilliant foundation for your next stage of living.

HOME

OPEN

Saturday 11th October 1:00pm - 1:30pm Wednesday 15th October 5:00pm - 5:30pm

DECLAN TURNER

M 0415 723 838

T (08) 6244 7860

declan@duetproperty.com.au

153 Broadway, Nedlands WA duetproperty.com.au

The Mos Lane project lifts off

By JACK MADDERN

Work has begun on the fivestorey $140million Mos Lane apartment complex in the commercial heart of Mosman Park.

A supermarket, a cafe and a fish-and-chips shop were among the last surviving businesses in the Mosman Heights Shopping Centre that occupied the corner of Wellington and Manning streets since the 1970s.

Australian Development Capital bought the centre in 2018 and has been working since then on plans to redevelop the site.

Plans for a multistorey apartment complex were given final approval in 2023. over the objections of Mosman Park councillors and residents.

The former shopping centre was demolished in July and cleared for piling work to begin on an underground carpark.

The developer aims to complete work by June 2027 on a new shopping centre and 68 new apartments and townhouses.

“Mos Lane will be a landmark for Mosman Park, and we believe will set a new benchmark for mixed-use development in Perth,” ADC director Rod Hamersley said.

“We have procured an exceptional group of retailers, including the return of the majority of our previous tenants, and have a select number of commercial opportunities remaining, especially in the food and beverage

space, which we will secure in the coming months.”

However, parking and traffic congestion near the site have remained an unresolved problem for the Town.

Fencing erected around the site this year blocked access to parking bays used by many customers of the remaining Wellington Street businesses.

“It’s a substantial development to undertake, and that’s why we asked them for a construction management plan,”

Mayor Paul Shaw said.

He said that if residents had

Salt threat as lake turtles swept to ocean

By JEN REWELL

Long-necked turtles have been found suffering on Floreat Beach due to dehydration from salt exposure.

The turtles were found far from their freshwater homes after heavy rains swept them into the drains at Herdsman or Perry lakes.

The drains empty into the ocean via a pipe which ends at the beach.

Nothing to shell-abrate … This long-necked turtle was washed into the ocean through freshwater drains.

Reptile rescuer Tessa Esparon said she was called this week to rescue a turtle found “being thrown around in the hectic surf” north of the Floreat drain.

“The poor thing was exhausted

Heart health matters: Empowering you to take charge

by the time I picked it up and after popping it into some rainwater to help reduce its dehydration, I have dry-docked it and it’s had subcutaneous fluids,” she said.

She had booked it in for an X-ray to check its lungs for aspiration.

“We’ve had two adults in the last month, so somewhere in the drain system, adults are getting through,” she said.

Several hatchlings and another adult had been found on the beach in the past 12 months.

“Unfortunately, we assume there will be turtles who haven’t been found, and drowned from prolonged saltwater exposure,

or been predated,” she said.

Other locals have reported finding turtles on the beach and in the carpark.

One man said he had picked up a turtle and given it to a Town of Cambridge beach ranger who happened to pass by and said he would take the turtle to Perry Lakes.

Freshwater turtles cannot survive in salt water because the salt draws water from their body, leading to dehydration and death.

The salt draws water out via their mouth, eyes, and cloaca. A Water Corporation spokesperson said they were not

• Please turn to page 60

WHEN VENUE THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER, 2025

6pm – 7pm (refreshments from 5.30pm)

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Registration is essential. Scan the QR code or visit bit.ly/SubiCommunityCardiac

Join us for an engaging education event exploring heart health, with insights from three of Western Australia’s leading cardiologists. Whether you're managinga heart condition or interested in prevention, this is your chance to learn, ask questions, and connect with experts

TOPICS AND PRESENTERS

The role of wearable technology in modern cardiology – Dr Chloe Nettlefold

Proactive approaches to preventing heart disease – Dr Eric Yamen

Understanding chest pain: causes, risks, and when to seek help – Dr Michelle Ammerer

sjog.org.au/SubiacoCardiacCare

Work has started on the Mos Lane development on the site of the Mosman Park shopping centre.

Green makeover signals spring

By JANE WISHAW

Home gardeners might dream of planting 500 new shrubs for spring – that’s a pleasure that has led to greening a road next to Cottesloe Civic Centre.

The Overton Gardens median strip was a hive of activity this week, transformed by an eight-person team of mulchers and planters employed by the Town.

“All the natives are coastal plants suitable for the area,

including honey myrtle, Kalbarri carpet, native wisteria, scaevola, pig-face and snake-bush,” Natural Areas team leader Mieke Sharp said.

Mayor Lorraine Young said it was part of a wider planting program to green Cottesloe, and the Local Government Association was paying for the plants under its urban greening project.

“Areas for greening were selected based on aerial imaging showing signs of the heat island effect,” she said.

The Town would soon begin planting norfolk island pines to fill gaps along Broome and Marmion streets.

The program would increase canopy and shade, provide biodiversity and make Cottesloe more liveable and comfortable.

“The new planting around the existing trees looks incredible,” Overton Gardens resident Mark Cummins said.

“Already I’ve noticed more birds and bees among the garden and trees, which is such a delight to see.”

Hard at work ... Town of Cottesloe Natural Areas team members Eden, Mieke and Troy planting more than 500 shrubs down Overton Gardens. Photo: Jane Wishaw

Schools need consistency on phone bans

The POST’s front-page report Phony school phone ban (September 27) prompts me to write.

In 2020, then Premier Mark McGowan and then Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery announced a new “off and away all day” policy to ban students from using mobile phones during school hours in all public schools.

The aim was to restrict the use of mobile phones, smart watches, ear buds, tablets and headphones unless students are under instruction of a staff member.

Restrictions included, for children in Years K to 6, no phones during the school day. For Years 7 to 12, all phones should be turned off and kept out of sight, during school hours.

This policy is still in place, but individual school policies on how to comply vary wildly. Unless these devices are completely banned from school or ordered placed in a locker or bag, it is extremely difficult to prevent their misuse outside the classroom.

For example, under the policy, students are not allowed to use them in breaks or at recess. But there is not enough staff on yard duty at these times to monitor every student.

Smart watches are all supposed to be set to Airplane mode. But how can teachers

as they enter the room and throughout the lesson?

This quote in the POST article, from a teacher at a boys school, says it all: “They pretend they’re doing classwork while the ones at the back are all on their phones.”

I ask, if this teacher is not being outsmarted, but actually aware of those back-row misdemeanours, why is he or she allowing it and complaining about it, instead of following the school policy and being consistent?

A. Beresford Waterway Court, Churchlands

POST editorial standards

The POST’s policy is to produce accurate and fair reports, and to correct any verified errors at the earliest opportunity, preferably in the next edition. For details of the policy please visit the editorial standards page at postnewspapers.com.au/feedback-policy/

Under the radar, under the desk ... Stricter, consistent policing of restrictions is necessary in our schools.

Dismal voting – here’s why

There is a case for compulsory voting in local government elections.

A quick look at figures for postal votes received by Friday last week, with 15 days to go, show the dismal number of votes received.

Yes, there will be more postal votes, and there will be inperson voting at local government offices. But the school holidays and Perth Royal Show don’t help, with people travelling or otherwise altering their routines.

Many people already have voter fatigue after the federal and state elections earlier this year.

Busy people don’t check their letterboxes, which often are still stuffed with paper and advertising when candidates knock on doors or deliver flyers.

Many more are now out of the habit of posting letters – and per-

Woodside gets a lifetime extension

Federal Environment

Minister Murray Watt must not have had teenagers in his life; if he did, he wouldn’t have approved the North-West Shelf Gas project until 2070.

Anyone with teenagers knows they will ask for twice as much as they want in order to get what they actually want. “Can I stay at the party until 2am?” So you agree to midnight. “Can I have $100 to spend at the Royal Show?” So you give them $50. You get the idea?

So Mr Watt, and by extension the Australian people, have been played. Extended to 2070? The mining companies were probably

looking to 2050 to meet net zero. Fancy agreeing to something long after most of us will be dead.

The result will be ongoing, inexcusable cultural devastation, along with emissions causing untold damage through the increased number and severity of cyclones, wildfires and floods.

Not saying “No!” But to 2070?

Really?

Let’s not even mention the pathetic agreements in terms of financial returns for Australia. And all in the same time-frame as the Government announced a new target for 2035, because we were never making the rec-

haps can’t locate a red postbox or find a post office! Others leave ballot paper envelopes in their cars, or lose them somewhere. It is all too hard and people are even less inclined in the last week to take their voting papers in to their administration.  Please fill in your ballot papers, sign them and send them in. Better still, drop them off at the council offices in person. Postal delays are possible and votes received after next Saturday will not count. • In addition to compulsory voting, the current practice of voting every two years for half the council should be reviewed. Holding elections for the entire council every four years would be much cheaper for the ratepayers.

ommended 2030 targets. As I patiently sort my rubbish, my FOGO, my recycling for home and the tip and my 10c cans, make my soft plastic bricks and stop ordering online (well, that was equally because I was obsessed and needed intervention), I feel more and more that my efforts are a pathetic waste of my time. Every time we choose wealth over science the clock ticks down for our children and grandchildren. I know so many of us who feel the same. And many who have already given up.

Rebecca Coghlan  Bulimba Road, Nedlands

Jen Townsend Alexander Street, Wembley

Robots are coming for your grass

By JACK MADDERN

A Roomba for grass is the apt description for Peter Telford’s newest venture in automated lawnmowers.

He plans to set robots loose on the grounds of Claremont golf course in a revolutionary trend in auto mowers cutting professional sporting fields. Claremont golf course owner Nigel Williams said well-maintained grass was the lifeblood of any good golf course.

What convinced him to hand over his precious grass to an automated mower was the work ethic and silence.

The mowers can operate overnight and create very little sound as they carry out their duties.

After two hours on the job, they have a 30-minute recharge at a solar-powered station before they are ready to head out again.

The clippings from the machine’s five blades are left on the course to decompose.

The mowers have an initial $15,000 price tag but maintenance is limited to changing the blades once a week.

“Motors are very noisy, cutting during the day, and the guys start at four in the morning,” Mr Williams said.

“A ride-on mower is going to cost you $60,000, then you’ve got to fuel it every week, so that’s going to be another $500.

“I heard of these electric mowers but I didn’t know where I was going to get one from.

“I just thought it was all too

difficult but, one day, Peter rang me up and now here we are.”

Apart from sparing local residents early hours noise, the mowers will free up groundskeepers to take better care of the greens.

The mower will tend to all grassy surfaces, except the putting greens.

Mr Telford said the idea for an automatic mower came to him one Saturday at home, when he was getting ready for his 1½ hour stint to cut his lawn.

He thought there had to be a better way.

An online search soon revealed a flashy orange automatic mower that seemed to be the solution.

He now sells them and plans are under way to eventually use the mowers on Claremont Oval.

Mr Telford said they could dress the mowers with a custom Claremont Football Club paint job.

The 89-year-old Cottesloe pylon is crumbling away.

My family and I have lived in Cottesloe for over 20 years. I seek your support.

Swimmers warned to avoid crumbling pylon

By BRET CHRISTIAN

Cottesloe Beach’s historic pylon has crumbled further, leading to a warning to swimmers to steer clear and not to climb it.

Swimmers have reported that more of the top of the pylon has broken off on the western side, in addition to the big chunks that now lie on the seabed on the northern side.

The council has received a report on repairs that would be necessary to preserve the beach

symbol.

“The Town is currently in the process of working on the next steps required for repairs to the pylon to be considered,” a spokesperson said.

Splintered concrete and exposed rusting steel reinforcing rods are a big danger to swimmers making the traditional coming-of-age pylon climb and jump (Pylon jumpers warned off, POST, July 26).

The main base of the pylon was rebuilt and its concrete re-cast in

2018 at a cost of $145,000.

The council said at the time the top of the pylon still needed work.

A fatal shark attack at Cottesloe Beach in 1925 was the reason the pylon was built (Shark virtim honoured, POST, October 4).) It originally had a lighting mast on top and was used as the corner of the structure for a shark net in 1936.

The rest of the structure was swept away in the first winter storm, but the pylon has remained embedded in the reef ever since.

Re-Elect Brad Wylynko

Town of Cottesloe Councillor

Vote 1

WYLYNKO, Brad

For a vibrant and sustainable Cottesloe

MY VISION FOR OUR COMMUNITY

• Accountable and responsible governance, including responsible budgeting

• High quality core service from the Town

• Enhanced tree canopy and green spaces

• Universal access throughout Cottesloe, including the foreshore

• Continue to develop needed amenities, building on the success of the Skatepark, Anderson Pavillion, and the Dutch Inn playground

• Maintain the village character of the Napoleon Street shopping precinct

• Protect the foreshore and implement the Foreshore Masterplan

• Continued support for the Town’s many associations and clubs

• Enhanced youth and senior services

• Improved safety when crossing Curtin Avenue and the railway

EXPERIENCE

• Town of Cottesloe Councillor for the past 4 years

• Previously over 25 years as a commercial lawyer specialising in Environment and Planning law

• Former President and Chair of the YMCA of WA

• Former Honorary Consul for Canada in Western Australia

Authorised by Brad Wylynko, 13 Mann Street, Cottesloe, WA 6011

Nigel Williams, left, and Peter Telford expect robot lawnmowers will keep Claremont golf course in good shape. Photo: Paul McGovern

Road safety, from witch’s hats to mega road trains

A Road Safety Field Day is being held at UWA as part of an international Australasian Road Safety Conference.

The field day on October 20 is to raise awareness about the importance of road safety and opens the four-day conference, running from October 20 to 23.

UWA’s Road Safety Research Centre was established to conduct research into new and innovative approaches to road safety.

Seven centuries of convoy history

Convoys have been used to protect valuable cargo around the world whether in war or peace for centuries, from pirate ships to submarines.

The next Naval Historical Society presentation charts the implementation of the convoy system from medieval times in Europe during the reign of the so-called “bad” King John, through global trade expansion to the New World and Asia up to World War II.

In his talk The History of the Convoy System, Lieutenant Commander (Ret’d) Roger Jardine-Clarke will examine

the role of the convoy escort commander, a role little changed from sail to steam over 700 years.

Lt Cdr Jardine-Clarke started his career in the Royal Navy in 1963 as a cadet, retiring in 1983 to work in the defence, maritime and aerospace industry before arriving in Australia and setting up his own consultancy in 1998.

He will give his presentation to the Naval Historical Society at Claremont Tennis Club on Monday October 20 at 6pm.

To register attendance email or call secretary Meg Nicolson by October 15 on nhs.megnicolson@gmail.com or 0422 844 227.

For the field day, the centre will be joined by a range of government agencies such as Main Roads, WA Police, Department of Fire and Emergency Services and WA’s industry leaders for road transport equipment design and manufacturing, for combined interactive road safety awareness.

The Road Safety Research Centre’s driving simulator vehicle will be a popular opportunity for people to try this usually exclusive research tool, which can realistically replicate a range of driving Displays include the latest and most technologically advanced police highway patrol car and mobile drug and alcohol testing vehicle, a police helicopter used for safer road pursuits, and other equipment used by police in their efforts to reduce road trauma.

DFES will be showing their skill with a crash simulation and rescue demonstration.

Main Roads will exhibit a range of equipment used for improving heavy vehicle safety and increasing safety for road workers, such as a newly acquired automated cone truck which has a robotic arm to place and collect orange cones rather than expose workers to the risks of walking along roads.

And as a conference first, Bruce Rock Engineering and Howard Porter will have navigated the roads through Perth in the early hours of the morning to get a display of quad-trailer road trains at UWA. The road trains will allow people to appreciate the magnitude of quad-trailer road trains, and gain an understanding of the blind spots from the driver’s seat and its extensive stopping distance.

The field day is a free event open to anyone who wants to find out about the range of road safety innovations and approaches being taken to reduce road trauma.

The four-day Australasian Road Safety Conference is the world’s largest annual road safety conference, with more than 600 people coming to Perth for this event.

Emma Bladen emma@postnewspapers.com.au

Lieutenant Commander (Ret’d) Roger Jardine-Clarke covers the history of convoys.

Bruce Rock Engineering will drive this massive road train through the city streets to get to UWA for the Road Safety Field Day.

Family Fun at Bold Park

The local community is invited to step into nature at the Bold Park Open Day this month.

The free family-friendly event, co-hosted by the Friends of Bold Park Bushland, BirdLife WA and the Wildflower Society of WA, and supported by the Town of Cambridge, will be on Sunday October 19 from 10am to 2pm at the WA Ecology Centre on Perry Lakes Drive.

The Open Day is a chance to experience Bold Park’s unique natural environment while connecting with the many

local environmental groups in attendance. Families can see live reptiles, birds and insects up close, along with crafts to take home.

The day will feature guided walks, including an early birdwatching walk at 8.30am, wildflowers, Noongar Story Time, and a bush medicine workshop.

Kings Park horticulturalists will be on hand with gardening advice, and a coffee van will keep everyone refreshed.

For more information, and the full program, visit friendsofboldpark.com.au/openday.

Probus focus on gut health

The importance of good gut health is on the agenda for the next Cottesloe Ladies Probus Club meeting.

The meeting, at the Grove Public Library, is this Monday from 10.30am.

The special guest is Dr Peter Dingle, a former associate professor at the School of Environmental Science at Murdoch University. His research interests include environmental and nutritional toxicology and health. At the Probus meeting he will discuss reflux and other gut problems.

Baseball merger takes flight

Two clubs, UWA and Wembley Baseball, have merged to form the UWA Baseball and Softball Club, now known as UWA Magpies.

UWA Baseball and Softball Club was founded in 1947 and has successful seniors teams.

Wembley Magpies formed in 1950, originally to improve the batting techniques of local cricketers. Baseball grew quickly, encouraging junior teams to join. But the club frequently has had to share facilities with cricket and football.

“Wembley has always struggled for facilities and so UWA was happy for us to merge to make better use of their great facilities,” he said.

UWA Magpies now covers women’s and men’s softball and baseball for juniors and seniors with more than 150 current players and members.

The new club will have an Open Day on October 19 at UWA Sports Park in Mt Claremont from 2.30pm.

“We have invited a local dignitary to deliver the first pitch,” Simon said, “and we are calling for all past players and members to come down to the club to meet

FLOORSTOCK CLEARANCE

Members of the juniors, seniors, men’s and women’s baseball and softball teams come together as UWA Magpies.

7 Burwood Street, Nedlands

Harvey Road, Shenton Park

Rock up and sing your heart out

Local community choral venue Space2Sing is one of many venues around Australia hosting an event for World Singing Day next Saturday.

The 14th annual World Singing Day is a global singalong for musicians and nonmusicians alike, from shower singers to celebrities, gathering in their local communities to sing together without the pressure of performing.

Space2Sing, which also encourages non-singers to join in the fun of learning music together, will celebrate the annual international song fest at Lake Monger Recreation

Join local choirs and community members and raise your voice in a global song fest.

Club,144 Gregory Street, Wembley, between 1 and 3pm on October 18.

World Singing Day is for everyone – all ages, backgrounds and singing abilities. It is not a

competition, and no rehearsals are required. Anyone can join in the fun.

Everyone is invited to get along and join other choirs and community members to

All about weeds, and how to tackle them

As much as we try to rid our gardens of them, weeds are a highly dynamic component of WA plants. But they can also become widespread and beyond eradication.

Greg Keighery has had a long and distinguished botanical career in WA, and is one of the leading experts on WA weeds.

This Tuesday, he will be guest speaker at the Wildflower Society of WA meeting at The Palms Community Centre on Rokeby

Road, Subiaco.

Greg will discuss what is a weed and can any plant be a weed? He will talk about major environmental weeds, and future issues including new technologies that challenge biosecurity methods keeping new weeds out of WA.

The introduction of many thousands of non-native plant species into Australia for agriculture, horticulture and gardening since European settlement has altered

the land and allowed weeds to be established and spread. It is now estimated that there are about 26,000 exotic plant species in the country, close to equalling the total number of native species.

Doors open at 7.45 for 8pm start, with a $3 entry donation for a door prize.

Everyone is welcome to attend to learn about WA’s plant invaders, and the threats they pose to native bushland.

sing together. Participants are welcome to take nibbles but no BYO drinks apart from water. Entry is free.

For more information go to leadership@space2sing.com.

Fun is vital at

any age

Light exercise, a brief informal talk, conversation and refreshments will all be part of the fun at the Vitality Cafe next Friday, October 17. Vitality Cafe, supported by the Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, caters to the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of older adults.

The two-hour sessions take place once a month and offer attendees the chance for social connection and mental engagement.

The session next Friday will be from 11.30am to 1.30pm at John Leckie Pavilion, College Park in Nedlands.

The cost is $10 per person and a light lunch is provided.

To register go to trybooking. com and search “Vitality Cafe – October”.

For more information email secretary@rotaryfreshwaterbay. org.au.

A spring meadow of freesias is pretty and smells lovely, but freesias are considered an invasive weed.

ALBANY 869 Frenchman Bay Road, Big Grove

Irreplaceable Waterfront Property

Nestled in a little bay with easy water access for small boats from your own yard, this incredible property offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for true harbourside living.

• 6 acre private estate set amongst a grove of Karri trees, with sweeping harbour views

• Substantial split-level home with multiple living areas, balcony, external home office

• Garages, sheds, ramp to the water, established gardens, fruit trees, water tanks, bore

This captivating property is all about character, comfort and a connection to nature – a truly special home perfectly positioned within the most spectacular grounds including your own private lake as a centrepiece, with the extra advantage of beach access within easy walking distance.

• Large home with country-style kitchen, dining/living area, sunken lounge

• Delightful sunroom with lake views, striking architectural alfresco area, solar panels

• Lovely gardens, mature trees, multiple outdoor areas including gazebo

• Double garage, separate shed and workshop

• Zoned Rural, 600m to Griffiths Street beach

Supporting cancer research in style

The Friends of Cancer Council WA hosted their annual Fashion Runway Fundraiser last month showcased new Spring/Summer collections and raised $6800 in support of cancer research and support services.

Discover vintage store Lucy in Disguise on a textile retail trail of Subiaco’s recycling boutiques.

Follow the textile retail trail

The Western Metropolitan Regional Council makes it easy to shop sustainably in Subiaco.

Its Textile Retail Trail, which ends this Sunday, is a map of Subiaco’s best op shops, vintage stores and recycling boutiques.

It is a way to uncover new ways to relove, restyle, and reuse fashion, to rethink fashion wardrobes and reduce waste.

The Great Global Mend, this Saturday from 10.45am to 12.30pm at Subiaco Library, will teach people how to mend and restyle old clothes.

Participating shops and boutiques have trail maps available. They include Earthwise Community Op Shop, Good Sammy’s, Studio Thimbles, The Secret Closet and Lucy in Disguise.

Neds celebrates centenary

Nedlands Tennis Club celebrates its 100-year anniversary on opening day this Saturday.

The club started in 1925 with four gravel courts on the foreshore near Nedlands Yacht Club.

A billy boiled on an open fire was used to make tea which was served in a bush bough

shelter until the construction of a timber framed club house in 1931.

The club now has 19 grass courts and nine hard courts under lights in Bruce Street.

Social tennis will be played from 1-4.30pm on Saturday followed by the official season launch and 100-year celebrations.

Hosted at Royal Perth Golf Club, the parade featured stunning women’s and men’s collections from Stella Rose Fashions, M.J. Bale, and Green Duck Society, with models lighting up the runway in front of a full house of guests, and warmly MC’d by Sally Grice, president of Friends of Cancer Council WA.

Guest speaker Associate Professor Raelene Endersby captivated the audience with her presentation, The Power of Research: Changing the Story for Kids with Brain Cancer. Her world-renowned work underscores the vital importance of continued investment in research to improve outcomes for children and families facing this devastating disease. Cancer Council WA CEO Ashley Reid delivered an inspiring speech before taking to the runway himself to model the men’s collection. Ross Hunter, who energetically led the fundraising auction, also joined the runway as a model.

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Shot by Luke Williams

Volunteer models graced the catwalk wearing new season’s fashions from local boutiques as part of a fundraising lunch.

Summer safety

Summer is fast approaching and the Nippers are getting excited for the season at City of Perth SLSC, City Beach.

The Nippers (juniors) program is all about learning how to be safe in the surf and on the beach and learning valuable life saving skills while having fun.

City Beach is very much a family club with many adult members having started there as Nippers, now having their own children in their groups. Parents are encouraged to join in the morning activities

and learn the skills along with the children.

Sunday morning activities teach the children how to safely enjoy the beach, building confidence and team skills. It finishes with the popular and sociable sausage sizzle in the courtyard.

The Nipper season officially kicks off on Sunday October 19, with Swim Evaluations for U6–U13.

The first morning on the beach will be Sunday October 26. For information go to cityofperthslsc.com.au/ nippers.

Cambridge

Bowling

Monday September 29: 1st Dave Sladen and Gary Dare; second Ted Leahy and David Phillips; plate Phill Werrett and Steve Parsons tied with Frank Honey and Mark James.

Wednesday: 1st Derek Gadsden, Cherie Honey and Elizabeth Morrissey; 2nd Mary Ann Hart, Ann Strack and Pam Islip; 3rd Zoe Hewitt- Dutton, Rosemary Goddard, Elizabeth Arrow and Marilyn Boss.

Friday: Pauline Poynter and Yogi Shah came first followed by Gavin Arrow, Dinah Shah and Sandra Hogden.

Put your names down for the curry lunch on October 15. Bookings for Friday night meals can be done by phoning Ross at the club.

Dalkeith Nedlands

The weather was fine and sunny on Thursday October 2, and this attracted 46 players to do battle in Pennant Trials. Best performed were Andrew Foster, Alek Gryuta, David Henry and Michael Joyce with a 16-shot margin.

Second, with a 7-shot margin, were Brian Page, Brian Burton, Pat Clohessy and Les Pedder; and next were Martin Adams, Tom James and Bruce Fieggert +3.

Other winners were John Pole, Gordon Wilson, John Shaw and Tony Payne +2; Fran Farrell, Kerry Chernoff, Julia Wallis and Wendy O’Meehan +2. The remaining rink was a 17-shot draw between Ron Stapleton, John Bridge, Kent Warburton and Ross MacKenzie and Ric Camins, Neil Davis, Gof Bowles and John O’Meehan.

On Friday a visiting team from Singapore’s Tanglin Bowling Club joined 20 Dalkeith members in a friendly game of three bowl triples followed by a delightful meal and drinks. Although Saturday was wet and cold, with social bowls at home cancelled 32 players went to East Fremantle Bowling Club for pennant practice. While the results were mixed and conditions very difficult, the games were very worthwhile.

Hollywood Subiaco

On Thursday last week, Glen Morey and Mike Hatch won their 2-4-2 game from George Sterpini and Rob Campbell 16-9. Ryan Grice, with visiting Bill and Dot Leeson defeated Scott Smith, Dave Leeson and Mike Basford 16-10, and Paula Hatch, Richard Keeves, Mark Petterson and Milton Byass defeated Ron Savage, George Grice, Alan Evans and Wally Graham 10-9.

Saturday saw our first pennant practice match, against Lake Monger. Haydn Lowe, Chris Litchfield, David Allport and George Sterpini got to 11-7 before rain stopped play. Scott Smith, Mike Basford, Jim West and Glen Morey got to 4-6 before the rain. Billy Gerlach, Dot Leeson, Milton Byass and Mike Hatch were level pegging 7-7 when the rain came. Ron Palmer, Jannette Millsteed, Stewart Porter and Rob Campbell were 7-2, Mark Petterson, Colin Graves and Paul Scales were 1-8; Harry Donovan, Margaret McHugh and Usha Nigam were 7-11; and Ian Thomson, Rick Kenes and David Leeson were 4-8. All the games were stopped by the rain.

Classical Concert

Mosman Park

Practice for the pennant season started last week. The ladies had a trip to North Beach to practice on their synthetic green, which was a bit quicker than our own.

Wednesday saw the start of the Ladies 100Up competition. In open gender pennant practice on Thursday, the winners were Mark Bright, Mario Van Bemmel, Peter Jones and Ron Hassall. On Saturday, a stoic band of bowlers fronted for pennant practice but managed only 12 ends before giving in to the weather. The winners were Damian Adams, Bob Kershaw, John Pallett and Aidan O’Sullivan. Dinner is available on Monday evenings and bookings can be made at the office.

Subiaco Pétanque

Once again, the weather intervened last Saturday, causing competition in the President’s Cup to be abandoned. Only 50% of the scheduled games have been played since July, because of rain. This Sunday, the club will hold the Wright/ Gridley Doubles Trophy for men’s and ladies’ doubles. Visitors are welcome on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Consult our website, www.petanquesubiaco.com for details.

Race to the beach to join the Nippers for summer.

Sunday Scroungers saw Paula Hatch take the win from Milton Byass 15-11.

Urgency key for City West bridge

By Jack McGinn

A 112-year-old bridge supporting trains between Perth and City West stations requires urgent replacement at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, according to an advisory body report.

Concerns have been raised about the age, condition and longevity of the Sutherland Street Bridge.

It sits 3.7m above a busy West Perth intersection but has been struck by 11 vehicles over the past decade.

A 2023 structural assessment recommended immediate risk mitigation measures and a full replacement by 2028.

A Public Transport Authority proposal to Infrastructure WA this year has revealed the urgency and cost of the work.

“The deteriorating platform condition, including sagging and retaining wall movement, has been identified as requiring continuous monitoring and potential reconstruction,” IWA’s assessment said.

The cost and disruption caused by replacing the bridge and carrying out station upgrade works required to support six-car trains at City West station – estimated at $723million – was deemed unviable

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by the PTA, despite being IWA’s preferred option.

It instead settled on a $267million fix.

A 4.9-metre clearance would be introduced but platform upgrades and replacement works would be deferred.

The federal government would be approached to pay for half the project.

Both business cases assume closure of the Sutherland Street Bridge

from as soon as 2028, with replacement bus services operating around the disrupted train line.

The replacement Fremantle Traffic Bridge is forecast to cost $430million – split 50/50 between state and federal governments.

Infrastructure WA carries out independent assessment and analysis for major government projects with capital costs above $100million.

Subi gets its mojo back

By Claire Tyrrell

Subiaco is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for investors and owner-occupiers.

Commercial transaction activity in the past 12 months has been high, with more than $45million in sales across 14 properties on Rokeby Road.

The suburb’s high street is regaining its vibrancy eight years on from when Subiaco Oval was decommissioned as the city’s premier football venue.

Fewer planning constraints, ageing of previously entrenched landlords, and the lure of a relaxed corporate environment have led to increased investment in the area.

Gina to get $250m office

By Nadia Budihardjo

Gina Rinehart-led Hancock Prospecting has received approval to build a $250million business hub in West Perth, which will include accommodation for visiting executives and guests of the business.

The WA Planning Commission’s statutory planning committee unanimously approved Hancock’s application to demolish four office buildings at the corner of Outram and Ord streets, to make way for its 14-storey project.

Project Winnipeg comprises 10,138sq.m of office floor space, amenities and five single-bedroom dwellings.

Element advisory planner Dan Lees, on behalf of Hancock, said the residential component was designed to ensure accommodation was always available for guests of the business.

Member Megan Adair asked how the development would contribute to the goal in making West Perth a mixed-use area.

Hancock Prospecting plans to develop a business hub in West Perth. Image: Donaldson Boshard via SDAU

“You’re not actually providing any residential at all and the additional uses of pool and bar are private from what I understand, so no public will ever be able to access any of that,” she said.

Mr Lees said the development being used for residential was discretionary according to the local planning framework.

Ms Adair backed the proposal despite her questions.

Retail vacancy in Subiaco is down, from 11% in 2021 to 7% in June, data from commercial real estate agency RWC shows.

Subiaco retail vacancies were above 15% in 2018.

RWC WA senior commercial property adviser Michael Milne, who has brokered several recent deals in the area, has seen greater activity on Rokeby Road.

“In recent years there was quite a bit of vacancy due to performance as well as people maintaining rents that were too high,”

Mr Milne said.

“Some of the vacancy is caused by people moving from a higher rent ratio down at the bottom end of the street ... to the upper end of the street.

“The rents down the lower end are now approaching $800 or $1000 a metre.”

He said increased interest from owner-occupiers had resulted in a boost to vibrancy in the area.

“Owner-occupiers are prepared to recapitalise,

[to] spend money on buildings,” he said.

Mr Milne recently brokered the off-market transaction of 131 to 135 Rokeby Road, which sold to a Perth syndicate led by property advisory firm DMG Property for $5million.

Sterling Property, which has brokered more than $46million in sales in the past year, noted a shift towards private ownership.

Sterling’s Brian Neo said there was growing interest from private investors, including family offices, in Subiaco in recent months.

“We’re seeing a significant pivot from passive investment to strategic ownership,” he said.

“Private capital, particularly family offices, are choosing to secure their premises in walkable, amenity-rich locations like Subiaco.”

The Sutherland Street bridge in West Perth needs to replaced.

Michael Milne says conditions have improved for retailers on Subiaco’s high street. Photo: Michael O’Brien

Blunt at the sharp end of WA Opera

Verdi’s masterwork Il Trovatore is WA Opera’s last major production of the year and marks the grand finale of Jessica Blunt’s year as a Young Artist with the company.

Matthew Barclay is restaging Elke Neidhardt’s 1999 Spanish Civil War-set production, and Jessica said the WAO production was a tangled web of vengeance, rivalry and regret, and opera at its most dramatic.

Under the baton of WA Symphony Orchestra’s principal conductor, Asher Fisch, the opera, which is most famous for the Anvil Chorus, begins with Azucena’s revenge for the burning of her mother as a witch.

Her mother had been accused of bewitching Count di Luna’s (James Clayton) youngest child, who Azucena then plans to throw into the flames of her mother’s funeral pyre, accidentally throwing in her own child by mistake. She brings up the stolen child as her own, laying the

groundwork for a complex tragedy.

Jessica takes on the support role as Inez, confidante to Naomi Johns’s Leonora, who is love with a troubadour (Il trovatore).

Soprano Jessica said she studied and learned Leonora’s role as well.

“Being a Young Artist this year at WA Opera has been an amazing stepping stone for me and I make the most of every opportunity to add roles to my repertoire,” she said. She added: “I have just returned from Italy and

been immersed in the culture, food and wine, and experimenting with my conversational Italian – because speaking in operatic Italian doesn’t quite cut it.”

Jessica will also be performing Verdi classics at Garum restaurant this month as part of An Operatic Journey through

Trovatore at His Majesty’s Theatre from next Thursday to October 25.

I am 20, my boyfriend 21, and we have been dating for about a year and have casually discussed marrying once we finish university.

We hardly fight and we agree on most things, except he is positive he doesn’t want children and I am positive I would like to be a mother someday. He is wonderful with children, but says he wants to devote his life to his wife, a career, and travel, without worrying

about raising kids. Should I continue dating him, hoping his view on children will change as he gets older, or should we break up now, leaving us both heartbroken, before we get even more attached to each other?

Nadia

Nadia, almost a decade ago we received a similar problem from a woman who described her husband as a wonderful companion, but he didn’t

want any children. She had always known this, but now, after a few years of marriage, she couldn’t contain her growing resentment of him.

If you stay with your boyfriend, that is your future. In your mind you will shift the blame to him, or you will become “accidentally” pregnant.

You will do this not because you are a bad

person, but because that is how our minds work when we are thwarted in our basic desires.

If you wait until you and your boyfriend have intertwined your families, finances, emotions and careers, you may find yourself on the horns of a genuine dilemma.

If you end things with him now, you will be free to find the man who shares your dream of a life filled with children.

Wayne & Tamara • Need some advice? Write to writedirectanswers@gmail.com

Sarah McNeill

■ Jessica Blunt ends her year as WAO’s Young Artist in a support role in Il Trovatore, before graduating to lead roles next year.

SARAH McNEILL

■ Master chef Guy Grossi and head chef Paulo Apuzzo will create a Verdi-inspired feast at Garum.

Real-life rehearsal for new Yirra Yaakin play

When Claire Fermo hitched up a caravan and packed her ukulele she didn’t realise she was preparing for the lead role in the play Heart is a Wasteland.

In Yirra Yaakin’s premiere of John Harvey’s play, she is Raye, a country-folk singer, who plays Outback pubs along Australia’s vast desert highways.

A chance meeting with another wanderer, Dan, leads to a brief and turbulent love affair over a four-day road trip to Alice Springs.

country playing her uke.

“I always had the fantasy that I would be that cool person sitting around the fire playing and singing,” she admitted.

When COVID hit, instead of enduring long months of lockdown in Noosa, Claire, her partner and two children decided to hit the road and explore the country.

Of Wilman Noongar heritage, she grew up in Perth but had been living over east for 20 years after studying at NIDA. She worked with playwright David Williamson based in Queensland, and per-

Perth and Claire said: “My children – now aged 10 and 13, well travelled and smart – have settled here really well, and I am finding work that cements all my skills.”

John Harvey’s humorous and deeply heartfelt play combines an intimate portrait of two individuals grappling with their past and present, with original songs by Lydia Fairhall.

“The songs are cleverly crafted into the play to create a beautiful piece of storytelling,” Claire said. “They are strong, powerful country ballads which I give my own flavour and spark.”

with the songline and the story and following that, as you do when you listen to your favourite album.”

Heart is a Wasteland is co-directed and performed with Claire by Yirra Yaakin’s artistic director, Maitland Schnaars.

“There is a growing canon of plays written by Aboriginal playwrights, which I call ‘slices of life drama’,” Maitland said.

“The heart of these plays is not specifically about being Aboriginal, they are exploring universal themes, themes that are relevant to everyone.”

■ Heart is a Wasteland performs at Subiaco Arts Centre from next Friday to November 1.

Weird world of wrestling

Most sports dramas share a predictable trajectory: Adversity or sheer hard work leads to one thing –winning.

It’s a rare bird that’s interested in the opposite, what happens when the euphoric high of triumph turns into an existential crisis of defeat.

Darren Aronofsky touched on it in his superb, loosely biographical 2008 Mickey Rourke vehicle, The Wrestler, about the tough consequences of relying on brawn over brains.

Here, Benny Safdie, in his first directorial outing without his brother Josh (Uncut Gems), returns us to that weird world of

wrestling between 1997 and 2000, just as the even stranger, more brutal beast of mixed martial arts (MMA) was gaining momentum in Brazil and Japan.

The Smashing Machine is a dramatic adaptation of the 2002 documentary of the same name, in which wrestler-turnedHollywood-star Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as The Rock, plays MMA pioneer Mark Kerr.

It’s a role he was made for, not just in his alarmingly jacked physique, but in evoking Kerr’s softly spoken, vulnerable, meatball aura that also, inevitably, has a brutish side.

Kerr has an opioid addiction as the film starts and has never lost a fight. When a reporter asks him to consider what it might feel like to lose, he can’t

comprehend the question. Perhaps it plants a seed.

Either way, it isn’t long before he loses, and when his girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt) can’t wake him one day his best friend, fellow cauliflower-eared MMA fighter Mark Coleman (real-life fighter Ryan Bader), sends him to rehab.

The mental cogs turn. Does this make him a loser?

It’s not the first time Johnson and Blunt have shared the screen (Jungle

Cruise), but it’s the first time they’re flexed their dramatic muscles together and they’re a combustible match – Kerr’s control freak butting up against Dawn’s childish impetuousness. It’s a gritty, melancholy meditation on blood sports before they were monetised, the perils of making money from muscle, and the public’s bizarre thrill at watching beefcake beat one another to a pulp.  Safdie humanises the meat.

SARAH McNEILL

■ Claire Fermo is acting out her dream of travelling the country playing her guitar.

■ The unlikely pairing of Emily Blunt as girlfriend to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Mark Kerr results in a combustible drama.

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Art rules, everywhere you look

reception, with access to her purpose-built private studio.

On Sunday visit Subiaco’s heritage home Fairview for a garden party with owner Thomas Murrell. Fairview has more than 80 panes of stained glass, many

the gardens of the historic home Claremont gallerist and collector Olivier David will also open his architecturally designed home which also houses his gallery of contemporary art.

During the weekend

They have chosen to become specialist grape growers over 200ha of the vast grazing property.

The fruit from more than 30 varieties is sold to South Australian industry identities

grenache and mourvedre labels, as well as the five or six Swinney label releases per vintage.

The various Swinney vintages of syrah, $48, are some of Australia’s great and

best drinking values.

The latest Swinney Trophy winning grenaches, $48, are of equal quality and value and a marvellous introduction to the variety.

■ Siblings Janelle and Matt Swinney in bush vine grenache on their Frankland property.

Photo: Frances Andrijich.

■ Meet Claremont gallerist Olivier David.

Constantly changing river views

“The river is so alive,” they said.

Living on the riverfront has been a great privilege for the owners of this two-storey home near Minim Cove Park.

The expansive view across to East Fremantle is constantly changing.

“The view shifts with the seasons and light; there are misty mornings, golden afternoons, glassy sunsets and everything in between.

“We never tire of the view from the deck and big picture windows.”

The spectacular panorama captured the attention of potential buyers at a VIP opening recently.

In keeping with the champagne lifestyle on offer, agent Vivien Yap served champagne and canapes at the event.

“What’s on offer here is simple and rare, true absolute riverfront, an outlook that will never be built out, and a floorplan that turns that advantage into everyday living,” Ms Yap said.

There are large living areas on each level that take advantage of the view. The best place to soak up the panorama is the outdoor entertaining and pool area, which has a definite party vibe.

Things you will love

A cellar, sauna, heated travertine tiles and plenty of storage are on the long list of features.

Walk to river, park Expansive view Secure front gate CONTACT: Vivien Yap 0433 258 818.

■ “The connection to nature is visually stunning and provides a sense of peace and tranquility that is rare in our busy lives,” the owners said of their home in Minim Cove.

■ The sale of 16 Ozone Parade, Cottesloe, for $13million, was a touch below the street record of $13.5million.

Waved on to new owners

“The Wave House” at 16 Ozone Parade, Cottesloe, has sold for $13million. The striking house with a curved roof that wraps around one side was built in 2003 as a multi-generational abode.

Property records show the 675sq.m property is under offer but yet to settle. Agent Kyle Peters, of Abel Property, brokered the deal for the five-bedroom and five-bathroom house. The seller, Angus Caithness, is executive director of medicinal cannabis company Little Green Pharma.

■ Melbourne entrepreneur and doctor Rodney Aziz paid $8.75million for this Floreat property that has a medical centre and other tenants.

Med centre building sells for $8.75m Dr Rosanna Capolingua has offloaded a big commercial property in Floreat for $8.75million to a high-profile Melbourne doctor with more than 100 GP clinics. The prominent property on the corner of Cambridge and Birkdale streets has several tenants, including

Floreat Medical Centre, where Dr Capolingua works. The 1993sq.m property is now in the name of Aziz Family Investments No.2 Pty Ltd, and Dr Rodney Aziz is the sole director of the company. Dr Aziz is the owner of medical behemoth Family Doctor, which operates more than 100 clinics across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and regional areas. Dr Aziz said he rejected the “GP corporate” title in an article on medical website aus.doc. “I recognise some people may label me as that, but I don’t accept it,” he reportedly said.

Clifftop ‘yurt’ for sale on island

Get away or stay forever in Norfolk Island where a one-bedroom clifftop home is on the market from $990,000. Some people have never heard of Norfolk Island, according to agent Vaughan Nicol, of Island Realty, who moved there six years ago. “It is a piece of paradise in the South Pacific Ocean, two hours flying time from Sydney or Brisbane.” The home for sale in Martins Road was originally a yurt, imported from New Zealand. “The seller had it shipped over and a local builder put it together,” Mr Nicol said. There had been a lot of interest in the 3615sq.m property, especially from overseas. But there was a catch. “You need to be an Australian or New Zealand citizen to buy property here,” he said. For more details, phone 0408 267 393.

■ The purple kitchen will be a talking point if you buy this Nedlands house at auction this Saturday.

Purple patch in Nedlands

Diehard Dockers fans can show their loyalty by putting their hands

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$2.4million SHENTON PARK

39 Keightley Road East

White picket fences are the norm in the neighbourhood but this modern 3x2 stands out with its concrete and slatted fence.

AGENT: Craig Gaspar, DUET Property Group. ■

$3.7million MT CLAREMONT

21A Asquith Street

■ Escape the big smoke and buy this Norfolk Island holiday house priced around $1million.

up for this Nedlands house with a purple kitchen – a rarity in the western suburbs. The six-bedroom and three-bathroom home at 28 Hillway is due to be auctioned at 3.30pm this Saturday. It is essentially two houses in one, agent Emma Milner of Ray White said. A lockable internal staircase connects the two levels, making the house ideal for short stay accommodation. The other local auction scheduled for this Saturday is: WESTPERTH • 17/37 Mount Street, 1pm.

Dodgy rentals on the rise

A landlord tried to pass off a garage to desperate tenants as a two-bedroom unit. That’s one of the rising number of complaints to Consumer Protection about substandard rentals. Other

complaints were about mould, pests, leaking roofs and faulty airconditioning. Consumer Protection has received 77 complaints about substandard rental properties in the past 12 months, compared to 21 complaints in the previous year. Four of the 77 complaints were from the POST’s distribution area , compared to one previously. Consumer Protection Commissioner Trish Blake said some landlords were neglecting their duty to deliver clean, well-maintained and habitable homes. “It’s deeply concerning to hear of unfit and non-compliant structures, like sheds or garages, being advertised and leased as homes,” Ms Blake said. To lodge a complaint email consumer@lgirs. wa.gov.au, phone 1300 30 40 54 or contact the Consumer Protection website.

Distinctive Homes built this five-bedroom and two-bathroom house on a 506sq.m site about 60m from Deli Chicchi cafe.

AGENT: Mareena Weston, Haiven Property. ■

$4.3million CITY BEACH

5 Truro Place

A mini observatory in the main bedroom is among the features of this 6x3 that settled on September 30.

Trish Blake Scan to subscribe to the POST - it's free!

AGENT: Vangelis Katsaitis, Excellence Property Specialists.

$6.65million PEPPERMINT GROVE

33 Irvine Street

This 1910 Federation arts and crafts style house was given a contemporary makeover by the sellers.

AGENT: Mack Hall, Mack Hall Real Estate in association with Knight Frank.

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‘As new’, with views to match

What are your favourite streets in Cottesloe?

Nailsworth is on the list for agent Olivia Porteous because it is small, quiet and elevated.

There are only a handful of houses in the street near Cottesloe Tennis Club.

“It is a one-off street because it is away from the hustle and bustle but with exceptional views,” Ms Porteous said.

She said this 2020 home built by Riverstone Homes was one of the most elevated properties in the suburb, and was bound to attract buyers wanting a home that presents “as new”.

With escalating costs and timelines being drawn out, people were very nervous about building.

“There is such high demand for any home that is presenting as new,” she said.

As any agent who works in Cottesloe will tell you, demand well and truly

“The street is not on the rat race to the ocean because it is tucked away, but still just moments to the water.”

Cash is king in real estate – as fi buyers found when they were outbid at last weekend’s auction of a Mosman Park unit.

“A lot of the fi buyers were subject to finance or sale so they couldn’t bid under auction conditions,” agent Claire O’Meara said.

The triplex at 52B Glyde Street was knocked down to a final bid of $1.34million in front of a crowd of about 80.

The unit on a 270sq.m site went to a family of three.

exceeds supply.

“We see more demand for this suburb than for any other, from overseas buyers and eastern states buyers relocating,” Ms Porteous said.

The soft, muted tones on the exterior continue inside the home that spreads over three levels to take advantage of the sloping, 570sq.m site, with the entry, cellar, storage, lift and two-car garage on the ground floor.

The builder went all out with the 26sq.m main bedroom on the first floor, which has a big walk-in robe and luxurious ensuite, plus its own balcony and

The

retreat space with views of norfolk island pines and the ocean in the distance. The house has an

upside-down design, with the main living area and kitchen upstairs, to maximise the view.

Things you will love

Quiet, elevated street Lift Coastal palette

CONTACT: Olivia Porteous 0423 557 438.

Auction rules frustrate first-homers

Property records show the sellers paid $985,000 for the renovated 2x1 in 2023.

The location about 130m from Mosman Park Shopping Centre was a big drawcard.

Ms O’Meara, of Ray White, said young buyers at the auction wanted to take

advantage of the Federal Government’s changes to the first-home buyer scheme.

On October 1, the Government expanded the scheme to give all firsthome buyers the ability to

■ Get all your ducks in a row and have finance ready is the message from the agent who auctioned this Mosman Park triplex for $1.34million.

In other results:

■ COTTESLOE •6 Perth Street was snapped up before its auction for $2.31million. “Two buyers were fighting it out so we decided to knock it down before the auction,” agent Jody Fewster of Ray White said. The four-bedroom and two-bathroom house is on a 278sq.m site near the Napoleon Street shops. The 1997 home last changed hands in 2023, for $1.85million.

buy with a 5% deposit.

The number of places are now uncapped, income caps have been removed, and property price caps have been increased under all streams, the website says.

■ SWANBOURNE

•3B Cornwall Street was sold before its auction for $3.275million. Agent David Vitale of Boutique Property and Advisory said he had received multiple offers for the 4x3 near Maclagan Park. “It set a new record for the street,” Mr Vitale said. The previous highest price was $3.225million for the house next door at 3A.

■The alfresco area overlooking the pool has a wood-burning fireplace.

■ The waterfall island benchtop blends with the travertine tiles in the kitchen.

■ The sale of this Swanbourne home for $3.275million just pipped the previous record for the street.

■

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Strongman wants to lead Neds

• From page 20

“We saved that from development,” he said.

“The developers have come to us – they want that building.”

In his interview with the POST, Mr Wilson conceded he was not familiar with one of the most controversial issues Nedlands has grappled with – whether residents should need a permit to cut down mature trees on their own land.

“I haven’t looked into it much,” he said.

After researching the matter, he

said he supported “case-by-case flexibility” including allowing people to remove trees for “legitimate home improvements”.

“Developers should be held to higher standards, and every tree removed should mean two trees planted,” he said.

Mr Wilson said he would “definitely” have time to dedicate to the job of mayor, alongside his four businesses and three children.

“It’s not about finding time, it’s about making time,” he said.

“I think I have the right leadership skills.”

Residents face borer bills

A lack of available effective chemical treatments for eradication is noted in DPIRD’s response plan summary report.

DPIRD said the response has entered a new stage, supporting longer-term management of the pest by working alongside local government, industry, and the community.

“The Quarantine Area Notice remains in place and all operators handling wood, green waste, mulch and plant material must continue to follow the restrictions, regulations and requirements,” it said.

“Infested trees are assessed on

Salt threat to lake turtles swept to ocean

• From page 24

aware of instances of fauna passing through main drains to the beach.

“Grates are positioned at the inlet to main drains as a barrier to people, fauna and objects that may obstruct water flow,” the spokesperson said.

“We are treating the matter seriously and will be taking action to investigate further.”

A Town of Cambridge spokesperson said the council collected

and relocated turtles in response to requests received by the public.

“On average, the Town’s Rangers collect up to five turtles per year from Floreat Beach, usually relocating them to a nearby lake system, generally Galup,” the spokesperson said.

People who found wild turtles were encouraged to contact the Town.

Tessa said turtles found on the beach should be taken to a vet to check their wellbeing before being returned to the wild.

a case-by-case basis to determine whether treatment or removal is necessary.

“Infested wood must be chipped to a thickness of 2.5cm, collected, sealed, and transported to a disposal facility.

“There, it will undergo several months of direct sunlight and heat before the chippings can be safely used as mulch.”

Mr Crispin has already seen tree lopper services undercutting expert tree removal quotes, which he worried might prevent proper disposal of contaminated tree debris.

DPIRD said there has been no detected borer activity outside the quarantine area, which spans the Perth metropolitan area.

Large trees can cost $3000 to $7000 to remove while, in rare examples, the cost could reach $22,000, according to GoTreeQuotes. Stump removal, hazard pay, and urgency could also increase costs. The state government has supported a $150 tree replanting rebate for residents who have had a

from their property

instructions.

Subiaco wins epic heritage fight

• From page 3

“The impression I have of Mr MacMillan is that he is a witness desperate to find any and all reasons to demolish the building,” Dr Willey said.

“On his interpretation the building was in some survey readings, at the same time, moving both upwards and downwards.”

Dr Willey said some evidence, “somewhat astonishingly”, was not revealed, which was “surprising and unfortunate”, and he pointed out that the engineer had sworn an oath to “tell the whole truth”.

He asked: “How could such information not be relevant, especially if it pointed to a heightened, even imminent, risk of collapse?”

He added: “There is no evidence that the building is in any worse state than it was in 1989.”

Subiaco mayor David McMullen welcomed the decision but warned that Sanur had continued to seek demolition

Brass-framed stained glass decorates each of the seven recessed doorways. A blue cinema (photo page 3) is part of the heritage strip.

orders even when other SAT decisions had gone against it. Subiaco council has been fighting against the demolition since 2021, using its planning framework and building legislation against Sanur.

“While the decision is welcomed it comes as no surprise,”

“Bear in mind, this is not the first time the City has won against this party in SAT, or

There

forums and areas of planning and building compliance,” Mr McMullen said.

“All over Perth we have seen heritage bulldozed, and regretted later, but we have also seen what is possible with iconic modern developments that incorporate existing character and heritage.”

‘ ’

is no evidence that the building is in any worse state than it was in 1989

Mr McMullen said the fight had cost the council but the community understood the importance of celebrating and protecting heritage.

“The issues relating to these buildings have been going on for nearly five years, spanning various decision-making

Ferry fatal for disabled sailing

The report notes that the trees are foraging sites for endangered forest and red-tailed black cockatoos, but says the 1.3ha moderate-to-low quality foraging areas are unlikely to be used for nests.

Families of swans and ducks are also raised on the ferry terminal site.

Part of the foreshore would also be resumed for a bus roundabout, electrical charging infrastructure and extra parking.

Public comment on the report closes on Monday. It also identifies that 6300sq.m of river-bed vegetation and 33 existing boat moorings would be removed,

Mr White said Sailability was the only organisation providing a sailing opportunity for people with all kinds, and levels, of disability.

As well as producing worldclass paralympic sailors, every week it provided a “safe and familiar” environment for people with disability to get out on the water with volunteers.

He said the program could not be moved to another spot on the foreshore.

“That demonstrates the lack of bureaucrats’ understanding

Black spot

• From page 3

had six more months to finish the work.

“Black Spot projects are expected to be completed within one to two financial years following funding approval, in this case, 30 June 2026,” they said.

“Main Roads works closely with all funding recipients to support timely delivery wherever possible.”

The Nedlands project has been repeatedly delayed by staff turnover and administrative issues at the council.

The problematic stretch of The Avenue, part of a popular riverside circuit, saw 17 major crashes in a five-year period.

A council spokesperson said contractors were due to start work in early November but the City had applied for an extension of the deadline, if required.

Main Roads did not answer questions about the conflicting deadlines.

of sailing,” he said.

Matilda Bay’s quiet waters were protected from the wind, and a special floating pontoon with a hoist helped wheelchairbound sailors get into boats.

“That element is critical to the safety of this, so they can get on and off safely and with confidence,” he said.

“There isn’t the same sort of facility anywhere else.”

Sailability said it had had no contact with the Government despite official documents saying the Public Transport Authority had “commenced engagement and consultation with the proposal’s DMA’s, stakeholders and the wider community in May 2024”.

The proposed ferry terminal will include piled jetty structures, with fixed-deck jetties, gangways, floating pontoons and concrete walls.

The EPA report said pollutants from construction vessels (such as sewage, waste or fuel) “may lead to chemical toxins leaching into the waterways and being ingested by marine fauna leading to sickness or potential deaths”, and changes to “physicochemical, toxicological and/or water turbidity parameters” might render conditions

unliveable.

When the jetty piles were being driven, there would be cumulative exposure from up to 3000 pulses a day which could cause temporary hearing loss to aquatic animals within 2.5km of the piling locations.

A roundabout for a CAT bus would be installed on Hackett Drive.

“Some minor loss of usable foreshore and water use areas for passive recreation at Matilda Bay will be experienced once the ferries are operational,” the report said.

“However, the scale of usable area that will be lost is negligible relative to the remaining available areas of Matilda Bay for water-based activities and passive use of the foreshore.”

The Swan River foreshore masterplan was designed in the 1950s by acclaimed landscape architect John Oldham, who also landscaped the Pelican Point bird-watching sanctuary, the Narrows Bridge interchange and Parliament House.

The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage has called for public comment for up to 21 days as part of their assessment process.

The review heard from four structural engineers and a surveyor who Dr Willey said were all “suitably qualified” but whose “engineering evidence was sharply divided”.

He did say grouting that had previously been recommended to stabilise walls should be done immediately.

“I also find that it is prudent, indeed pressing, that remedial works are undertaken as quickly as is possible, or the building should otherwise be demolished,” Dr Willey said.

Mr McMullen said council staff would seek to work with Sanur to begin the grout work, and would focus on removing the hoarding and returning Hay

Street “to normal”.

The other member of the SAT, sessional member Helen Pedersen, agreed with Sanur’s arguments but as Dr Willey was the senior member, his decision took precedence.

Arguments over the cracking brickwork and the safety of the bullnose canopy have been affecting Hay Street’s shopfront since 2021.

Sanur bought the shops in December 1985 and undertook substantial renovation and repair work in 1986.

Plaster cracks and a lean on the front facade were noted in a Sanur engineer’s report in February 2021, which recommended demolition to “eliminate the ongoing risks of collapse”.

Sanur said a day later it would knock down the buildings and redevelop the site.

Hay Street was immediately closed – the footpath and the parking bays were cordoned off, and traffic was reduced to a single lane.

Subiaco council organised its own structural engineering advice to examine whether the heritage parts of the buildings could be preserved.

Tower soars over height

• From page 9

The 939sq.m block was sold for $2.6million in March.

Neighbour Kay Micke, who lives in a heritage-listed house, was disappointed with the proposal.

“I think it is very bolshie by the developers because they have not contacted us at all,” she said.

“They should comply with the rules, take four storeys off and reduce their plot ratio, which is over by approximately 45sq.m.

“I will be overshadowed and overlooked by their tower.

“My backyard will be com-

pletely shadowed from midday to sunset during winter and be on full display for anyone using their lifts.”

Ms Micke questioned where building workers would park.

Fabric Property did not respond to questions but addressed the height issue in their plans on the Mosman Park council website.

“The proposal achieves a balance between increased building height and a slender architectural profile, effectively minimising overshadowing,” it said.

The Town has invited feedback until October 16.

Mole tipped off cops

• From page 9

“thick as two planks of wood” on The West Australian’s front page in 2023.

The paper campaigned fiercely against the Federal Government’s “Nature Positive” laws, which were shelved.

Ms Wilkinson’s talk at UWA is being promoted by the

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Conservation Council, but Ms Wilkinson said she had insisted on paying her own way to WA and would not accept speaking fees.

She reported both sides of the debate.

Her talk is at UWA’s Octagon Theatre at 6.30pm on Tuesday, October 14.

Tickets are available at ticketswa.com.

• From page 1

Marsh the answer to two questions

Cmainstream media are arguing over which failed former Test opener should join the top order in the first Ashes Test in Perth next month.

There is less argument over who should sub in for injured captain Pat Cummins, with Steve Smith the prime and only candidate, even though Australia should have moved past him years ago on moral and succession grounds.

Why not respond to the two questions with the one answer?

Who was the Australian captain who scored an unbeaten century in his last outing?

Who was the Australian captain who scored a century in his last outing in a different format?

Who scored a match-winning century in the previous Ashes Test in Perth?

Who is averaging 96.75 in Test cricket in Perth in the past eight years?

Who has opened successfully in international ranks in recent times?

Who is leading a highly successful, cohesive and dynamic team?

Who is in the most clear-minded, relaxed and, not surprisingly, best form of his life?

looking for a player in outstanding form, with vast experience against strong international teams, especially the imminent visitors, armed with maturity and the mental and physical traits that allow him to focus and relax when required, he is sitting under their noses.

It would be unorthodox to parachute a captain into the Australian team – and this intensely conservative selection panel is anything but unorthodox – but how often has it been able to write a team list with a successful, experienced and thriving international captain waiting in the wings?

‘ I think he’s got a skill set that could be helpful ’

Mitch Marsh is the answer to all those questions, and Mitch Marsh should be the answer to Australia’s captaincy and top order quandaries on the eve of the biggest series in the game. Marsh has produced brilliant white-ball series against South Africa and New Zealand in the past month or so, during which he became just the fifth Australian to record centuries in all three international formats.

A century and 197 T20 runs came against New Zealand this week, following his recent return of 206 ODI runs, including another ton, against South Africa in far north Queensland in August.

If the national selectors are

Maybe selection chairman George Bailey has his eyes on Marsh, too.

“I don’t necessarily think his red-ball career is over,” Bailey said six months ago when there was plenty of noise about the 33-year-old Marsh’s Test days having come to an end.

“I still think there’s an incredibly exciting skill set there with the bat, the way he can rip a game open.

“If you look ahead to a team like England, and the way they play their cricket and the way they seem to be framing up their team, I think he’s got a skill set that could be helpful.”

Now that is not a guarantee, maybe little more than a prominent national figure playing a generous straight bat to an issue that doesn’t need extra oxygen, but it certainly leaves the door open for Marsh.

That was six months ago, as well.

Few other candidates have

since pressed their claims in convincing fashion, while Marsh has flourished beyond anything he has achieved previously. Sometimes the best selections are the obvious ones.

Mitch Marsh has rarely been an obvious selection, but he is not far from being the best one.

Short cuts replace time and effort

It may be a reflection of modern society but short cuts have become commonplace in elite sport.

Whether it is West Coast seeking – and receiving – numerous recruiting free kicks because of their recent selfinflicted mediocrity, the AFL doing away with the central bounce because not enough umpires are capable or interested in perfecting the traditional skill, or cricket introducing injury subs because they don’t like the occasional 11 v 10 contests that occur when a player breaks down during a match, the essence of sport is being eroded from within.

It is all about the search for instant success and a lack of interest in time and effort being the method for teams, organisations and individuals to overcome a lack of competitiveness.

drive a new level of excellence.

The extinction of the bounce is another symptom of the same disease.

One of the unique traits that make Australian football such a rare and special sport, the bounce has been abandoned because not enough umpires can do it well enough.

The Eagles have had a shocking half-decade full of wilful blindness, entrenched incompetence and evaporation of the ruthlessness that was once in their DNA.

Now extra draft picks are provided as a reward for their failure.

Comfortable participation appears more important than using the bitterness of defeat to

But what about those who can? Why should their excellence be compromised by their inept colleagues? Why should standards drop to the lowest common denominator, not rise to the heights of the best? The game is better with umpires bouncing

The ball rises to a greater height, provides a superior spectacle and gives better ruckmen more time to position themselves to take advantage of the contest.

It is a brilliant and spectacular part of football which will be poorer for its loss.

The move to experiment with injury subs in Sheffield Shield ranks is the thin end of a wedge that could lead to games being played by opposing squads, not teams, and the blight of interchange diminishing cricket’s purest form – the games played in the first-class arena.

Sun shines on season of possibilities

Nothing beats warm weather, spring swells and the familiar waves of Cottesloe lineups as medicine for the soul.

After months of grey skies, record rain and blustery surf, the combo of sunshine and rideable waves makes spring the season of possibilities.

It is Perth resurrected, a mask of hope where every wave feels like a promise of better times to come.

Not the power of a roaring winter swell, not the endless blue flat calm of summer, but something in between, some-

thing welcoming.

Spring surf in Cottesloe has its own rhythm, fun clean swells, the pleasant feel of sun on your shoulders while the cool water running down the back of your wetsuit keeps the senses sharp.

The Cottesloe coast has been alive with sun, surf and plenty of stoke for the past two weeks as the locals on the beachfront traded ugg boots, tracky dacks and hoodies for boardshorts and T-shirts.

From the walk, bike, skateboard and running-path it

surfing with cameron bedford-brown

at Cottesloe’s Cove.

looked like a scene from an old surf flick with boards scattered over the ocean like confetti. The contrast of sun and cool waves is surf magic, goosebumps in the lineup, as the resident shags sun themselves on the Cove rocks after an early morning feed.

School holidays added fuel to the fire, with groms, mums, dads and crusty old sea dogs all piling into the surf.

It had that old-school vibe, the kind that makes you remember why you fell in love with surfing in the first place.

Dad Sam Luttrell took this shot of his son Teddy enjoying the Spring surf

John townsend

Mitch Marsh is in career-best form after a brilliant unbeaten century against New Zealand this week.

Use this shape to make a drawing. The best two entries will win.

How to enter:

Do your best Doodlebug drawing in the box above, and fill in the entry form. Cut out the drawing and entry form and ask an adult to email it to sarah@postnewspapers.com.au, with “Doodlebug” in the subject heading. Or drop your entry off to our office at 276 Onslow Road, Shenton Park 6008, during normal business hours, or mail it to POST Kids at that address. For artists up to the age of 12. ENTRIES MUST ARRIVE BY NOON ON WEDNESDAY.

Name: .........................................................................Age ............................

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Vouchers will be mailed and valid for 4 weeks. Shop

Olivia Toffoli, Rashad Rabanie, Natasha Allen, Cece Keller, George Dodds, Lewis Garvey, Toby Kenwood, Julian Obreschkow, Teddy Rowe, Claire Thurlaway.

Many minds on holiday treats

The holiday has obviously been full of ice-creams and pizzas!

There were some delicious-looking ice-creams this week, such as Olivia’s colourful triple scoop, Claire’s double cone special and Cece’s big pink ice-cream truck.

One of our main winners has been holidaying with quokkas.

Annabelle Stacey, 12, from Woodlands has painted an excellent picture of quokkas on Rotto,

Tongue twister

One lucky young reader has the chance to win a signed copy of the book The Messy Bath Monster by Tina Wilson with music by Matt Ottley. To be in the running to win the book, email: sarah@postnewspapers.com.au with “Messy Bath Monster” in the subject heading. Include your name and age. The winner will be notified by email.

a clever recreation of the famous Instagram tourist selfies.

Our other main winner is Ava Vance, 10, from Nedlands, who is already thinking about the new school term with a great picture of a large pencil filling in maths equations. It took me a while to figure out, but her answers so far are correct!

Q. How do quokkas stay in shape?

A. They do hop yoga!

Q. Why did the journalist interview the ice-cream?

A. She was looking for a scoop!

Q. What do fairies use to clean their teeth?

A. Fairy floss!

Q. Why is Playschool dangerous?

A. There’s a bear in there!

Q. What goes in pink and comes out blue?

A. A swimmer on a cold day!

Which witch wished which wicked wish?

h ch h?

There were some other impressive ideas like Natasha’s massive lightning strike, Rashad’s busy street corner, done with excellent perspective, George’s adventurous pirate ship, and Julian’s accurate depiction of our very own doodlebug.

Knock, knock! Who’s there?

Alison.

Alison who?

Picture books set to sound

What if you could hear a picture? What if music could paint a story?

This month, awardwinning artist, author and composer Matt Ottley returns to The Literature Centre with The Sound of Picture Books performance, in which music, art and storytelling come together on stage.

Matt says he has never made much of a distinction between painting and writing music. He didn’t start studying music until he was 15, but as soon as he picked up the classical guitar he also began composing.

Since 2014 he has been setting music to children’s books – his own and those by his partner, artist Tina Wilson.

Tina’s latest story is the next

in her Monkey Adventures series inspired by her favourite soft toy, Monkey, which she has photographed all over the world.

The Messy Bath Monster sees Monkey embark on a deep-sea dive to find the monster that is making such a big mess in the bath.

The Sound of Picture Books

Alison to the radio! WANT

is part concert and part theatre, with a storyteller, projected illustrations and live music performed by members of Perth Symphony Orchestra. It performs at The Literature Centre at 10am on October 21 to 23. Book through events.humanitix.com/ sound-of-picture-books.

Annabelle Stacey (12)

Monkey embarks on an adventure to find a messy monster. Written and photographed by Tina Wilson and knitting by Joan Wilson.