POST Newspapers 9 August 2025 by POST Newspapers

COUPLE RENOVATE HOUSE, REFUSE TO LEAVE

$2m squatters

By LLOYD GORMAN

A young couple with a baby are squatting in a $2million Shenton Park house and refusing to leave despite the owner’s requests.

Schoolteacher Jeremy Hubbard and his wife Rachel Savage have renovated the house at 28 Keightley Road after moving in two years ago.

They told the POST they had been renting the house from its owner but Marilyn Watson’s family denied that and said they were squatting in the house without permission.

“We are renting” a woman told the POST during a brief exchange at the house last November.

But Ms Watson’s nephew, Greg Preston, said this week that was not true.

“Marilyn is annoyed and does not want them there,” Mr Preston told the POST.

“She hasn’t authorised anybody to live there at any time and she certainly would never sign a lease for anybody to live there.”

During one of his meetings with his aunt Mr Preston found a card that had been posted by Ms Savage to Marilyn in Mandurah in 2022, with a return address in Austin Street.

“I would like to buy your house in Shenton Park (28 Keightley Rd),” she wrote. “I think it would be a beautiful home and I would be honoured to acquire and care for it”.

Ms Watson, 81, is frail and lives alone in Mandurah where

Neds regime flags double rate rise

By BEN DICKINSON

Nedlands residents could be hit with a 7.8% rate rise as its new regime proposes doubling last years rate increase.

The three governmentappointed commissioners now running the council are scrambling to plug a $4.6million budget black hole.

Bitter differences over rate rises were the catalyst for the breakdown in councillor relationships that led to the council being sacked last month.

Big spending cuts and a $2million draw-down of reserve accounts are also on the cards as the troubled council struggles with rising costs.

The 7.8% rise, nearly four times CPI, “could be justiﬁed

on the basis that post COVID-19 there were a number of years with no increase in rates” read a staff report to commissioners this week.

Employee costs are expected to balloon by $4.3million, materials and contracts by $2.2million, while $2.9million is budgeted to ﬁx legacy issues with Nedlands’ IT system.

“The City is entering a challenging period,” ﬁnance staff reported.

Former WA Auditor General Colin Murphy has been recruited to lead the effort to repair Nedlands’ ﬁnances after it was the only metropolitan council to receive a disclaimer of audit opinion from the Auditor General’ ofﬁce last year.

Auditor General Caroline

Spencer called the ﬁnding at the time “the most serious audit outcome” and “a major failure of ﬁnancial management”.

Mr Murphy replaced previous audit committee chair Richard Burnell, who was dumped by the commissioners just three weeks after he was appointed by the now-sacked council.

Mr Murphy’s appointment was quickly followed by news that Nedlands would receive a qualiﬁed opinion in its most recent audit – an improvement on a disclaimer, but still short of a clean audit.

Mr Murphy used his ﬁrst public meeting on Wednesday to query a report that claimed all outstanding issues from the previous audit had been resolved.

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she moved after the Keightley Road house was damaged in the 2010 hailstorm.

“Marilyn’s family home was Colin Street, Nedlands and she went from there to Keightley Road,” Mr Preston said.

“She lived a fairly spartan existence but all the furniture in that house was ﬁne antiques and quality period pieces, including from her mother’s house, my grandmother, in Peppermint Grove, after she died in 1981.

“She started ﬁxing it up and did a lot of work herself and she was always sanding, or painting and climbing up on beams and ﬁxing the roof and that kind of thing.

“I used to visit her when I was a kid and I remember it clearly.

“But the house was damaged

in the March 2010 hailstorm and by that time it was too much for her and she eventually got sick of it and packed the car and went to Mandurah, where she has been ever since.”

Mr Preston reconnected with his aunt this year and said he had met her four times.

“She didn’t know people were living in her house and she was annoyed about it,” he said.

“She has always lived alone and she doesn’t want anybody else in any of her properties at any time.

“The reason she hasn’t been able to do anything is because she’s an elderly lady, she’s got a crook hip, she’s frail and she no longer drives.

“Things can get a bit much for her.”

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‘Caddy wrong choice’

By BEN DICKINSON

Former Nedlands mayor Cilla de Lacy has blasted the state government’s choice of ex-planning boss David Caddy as the council’s chief commissioner.

Ms de Lacy, the predecessor of sacked mayor Fiona Argyle, spent much of her 16-month tenure as mayor grappling with public anger over a wave of highrise developments enabled by the WA Planning Commission headed by Mr Caddy.

“If David Caddy was a true leader, given there’s a perception of conﬂict of interest, he should have said no to the state government,” Ms de Lacy told the POST.

“I’ve had a number of ratepayers contacting me who say ‘I can’t believe he’s been appointed commissioner’.”

In a newspaper letter last week, Ms de Lacy argued Mr Caddy’s appointment was “opening old wounds” given his key role in approving Local Planning Scheme 3 (LPS3), which drastically increased height limits along Stirling Highway, Broadway and Hampden Road.

“The City had to grapple with a planning scheme described by some architects and urban designers as ‘blunt’ and ‘brutal’,” she wrote.

“That history is still relevant

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POST reporter Lloyd Gorman delivers a letter to the occupants at the Shenton Park house, accompanied by the owner’s nephew, Greg Preston. Photo: Paul McGovern

Big Brother is watching you

Most local government councillors are merely politicians on training wheels and I therefore welcome, although reluctantly with a few reservations, the State Government strengthening its intervention powers.

Councillors come from all walks of life with good intentions of representing their local community.

But each councillor (or council faction) has their own personal views on a range of matters and issues.

Important agenda items become “bogged-down” in debates as individual councillors become dogmatic in expressing their views. Debate is vital, but it must be healthy and respectful. In too many cases it descends into personal slanging matches.

As a result many agenda items are delayed or put into the toohard basket. It becomes a form of paralysis by analysis.

All councils are now on notice that the Government will be observing their behaviour and actions a lot more closely at meetings.

Bruce Strang Tighe Street, Jolimont

take A-Class lightly

I agree with Tracy McLaren and Denise Murray (Is A-Class excision still necessary? Letters, August 2) – it is extremely important to protect A-Class reserves, especially in cities. They are essential for our mental and physical health, as a vital corridor for endangered wildlife, and to support air quality. It is a debt owed to future generations.

Any proposal to change the A-Class status of a reserve should require extensive consultation with wildlife experts, environmentalists, demographers, mental health professionals and concerned members of the public. It should never be undertaken lightly by the government of the day.

Local government elections will be held statewide in October, and the local government Code of Conduct requires that elected members must be “ethical, accountable and representative”.

Cottesloe could well do with contenders who are committed to those principles.

Only about 30% of eligible electors vote in council elections. It is not unusual for some candidates to be elected unopposed and for others to be successful due to the campaigning of minority groups with vested interests.

One example during the 2021 elections was when councillors whose terms were expiring and were seeking re-election took the unprecedented step in an election caretaker period of proposing and supporting a major development – the demolition and rebuilding of the Anderson football pavilion.

That decision was made in secret, without canvassing the community until after the event concerning support, costs, speciﬁcations and location (council minutes September 2021).

Section 3.73 of the Local

Government Act implemented in 2024 “prohibits local government from doing, or deciding to do, any ‘signiﬁcant acts’ during a caretaker period”, underlining the importance of ethical governance.

Insiders within the local football club and primary schools lobbied members on their contact lists and the resulting abundance of votes contributed to the re-election of the councillors involved. Nominees with no afﬁliation or access to those databases had virtually zero chance of success.

Secret decision-making continues to be a concern, as does perceived bias. The LG Act speciﬁes that there must be no conﬂict between the public interests of the community and the personal interests of council members and their associates.

To reduce the inﬂuence of minority groups, to ensure the community is properly represented, and to protect Cottesloe’s identity and environment, electors need to be astute and many more need to vote.

Jack Walsh Grant Street, Cottesloe

The state Government, through Local Government Minister Rita Safﬁoti, should expedite elections for the seats of the Nedlands councillors who resigned, leading to the current crisis. Local government needs democratically elected councillors and mayors.

I suppose replacing the mayor with a chief commissioner who had the experience of being a previously sacked councillor at least brings “lived experience” to help him.

The 1205 Magna Carta and US Bill of Rights limited the power of executive government over local peoples’ rights.

We in Australia need a Bill of Rights and Citizens Initiated Referendums (CIR) at all levels of government.

CIR and recall referendum powers, not the minister using her executive powers to arbitrarily over-ride the popularly elected Nedlands mayor.

Giving people the power to hold referendums about important assets such as the Swanbourne children’s hospice might help and encourage rational debate and ﬁnd win-win solutions for the beneﬁt of all.

Peter Weygers Richardson Avenue, Claremont

Anne Martis Minora Road, Dalkeith

Icy water closes Christ Church pool

By JACK MADDERN and JEN RE WELL

The popular Christ Church Grammar School 50m swimming pool has gone cold.

Principal Alan Jones said issues with the pool’s geothermal heating system were caused by a drop in the pressure of the Yarragadee aquifer.

The pool was closed in June, and remains closed while the problem is investigated.

The 25m heated pool next door is open, but it is booked out by regular users.

“Please note that the Water Polo pool is at capacity during community hours and is unable to accommodate additional swimmers at this time,” swimmers were told.

The 50m pool is usually awash with early morning and afterschool swim club members doing laps.

The pool draws a community of swimmers from all over the metro area.

Hot water – about 42C – is drawn from the Yarragadee aquifer, from about 750m underground.

A heat-exchange system warms the pool before the

aquifer water is pumped back to strata about 550m deep.

UWA ecohydrologist Sally Thompson said too much water was being drawn from aquifers for water supplies, which caused the remaining water to lose pressure.

“If you pump water out of an artesian aquifer the water level doesn’t change, but the pressure goes down in it – like letting gas out of the gas cylinder,” she said.

“I expect this is what CCGS is experiencing – that the

pressure is now too low for the deep aquifer to be artesian at the school grounds.”

The system cost $600,000 to install in 2002, three times the cost of a gas-ﬁred heater.

The water sits in an ancient steep-sided Swan River valley, where a geological quirk means the aquifer is insulated with a quilt of shale rock.

The hot water has been used by locals for many years as a conveniently warm bath opportunity.

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Flange rage as lube runs dry

By LLOYD GORMAN

Flange lubrication has failed to relieve the headache of rail screech faced by people living near Daglish train station.

More than eight months after the opening of the Morley Ellenbrook line last December, Stubbs Terrace residents and their neighbours are still being tormented by “piercingly high” and “painful” noise from the turnback at the local station.

The Daglish turnback was built in 2006 for trains carrying passengers to weekend AFL games and major events at Subiaco Oval.

undergound aquifer.

Cambridge dumps e-scooters

By JEN REWELL

Electric scooters have made a quiet exit from City Beach’s foreshore after a 15-month trial.

The purple hire e-scooters supplied by Beam Mobility have been collected after Cambridge council decided not to renew the contract.

There were no recorded injuries or damage during the

Residents say the siding is now being used more than 1000 times a week by trains turning back for the Ellenbrook line.

Cambridge trial, and only one warning was given by Beam for improper parking.

A parliament inquiry into the safety of e-rideables was launched in mid-June, after the death of a pedestrian in the CBD.

The scope of the inquiry includes the regulatory framework governing “for hire” devices.

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“The sound of the rail wheel squeal was particularly bad again last week,” said Stubbs Terrace resident and Daglish Train Station Residents Group spokesman Warwick Harry.

‘It is piercingly high, repeated throughout the day but also unpredictable so leaves people bracing ahead of the noise every time we hear a train prepare to enter or leave the turnback.

“The lubrication system which the PTA is relying on to reduce noise has been very hit and miss since PTA started applying it in March.

“It works for a period, reducing the squeal somewhat, then its effectiveness reduces signiﬁcantly.

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Going deeper … Contractors drilled down into the Yarragadee aquifer in 2003 to set up a geothermal heat exchange for the Claremont swimming pool.

Cold plunge … The 50m pool is closed due to a water pressure problem with the

Flashback ... Daglish residents were unhappy in 2006 when the turnback was proposed.

CARDS

Malcolm MacLean gets his fill of the POST before tuning up for opening night of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Malcolm in the middle … of the pipes and drums

Wembley Downs bagpiper Malcolm MacLean was one of 11 West Australians selected to play amid the massed pipes and drums on opening night of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The famous event at historic Edinburgh Castle celebrated its 75th anniversary last Friday in front of 9000 local and international visitors.

A sudden storm forced the Tattoo to be cancelled on Monday – the first time in its long history that the weather has got the better of the show – but the bags

were soon full of hot air and the drums beating once again.

Malcolm began playing the bagpipes in 1976 after growing up watching the Tattoo on TV with his Scottish-born grandfather.

He is a member of the Perth Highland Pipe Band based at Perry Lakes.

Alisdair McLaren, PLC’s head of pipe band music, will play the lone piper solo on the Tattoo’s last night, on August 23.

A wet week in Shenton Park

Shenton Park resident Helen Leeder popped down to Rosalie Park last Sunday morning to inspect the level of flooding the previous night’s downpour had created.

As she thought might be the case, large sections of the grassed playing fields were water-logged but she was not expecting to see sports being played on the sodden turf.

The grounds had been closed after heavy rain at the end of July but now seemed to be fair game.

“To my surprise the signs banning activity had vanished; and in spite of near-constant rain and hail that morning, lacrosse was preparing to play adjacent to Derby made to open up the park. Meanwhile, over at Lake Jualbup thousands of litres of what is believed to

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

Traps for unwary drivers loom throughout the western suburbs. This truck, above left, was not the first one to be wedged in the sloping carpark in Crossways shopping centre in Subiaco. And a driver who attempted to brave flooded Claremont subway last Saturday was soon marooned wheels-deep in a puddle.

Cars parked in View Street were targeted by Subiaco rangers.

Atom bomb survivors find peaceful home

By JEN REWELL

Seeds from a tree that survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb have found their forever home after an 11-year saga.

Four ginkgo biloba saplings were planted in North Fremantle this week, fulﬁlling a long-held goal for local Mayors for Peace supporters.

The Deputy Consul-General of Japan, Daisuke Hasegawa, was on hand to help with the planting on the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing on August 6, 1945, that hastened the end of World War II.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are never forgotten and to convey their lessons to future generations and the world at large,” Mr Hasegawa said.

“This act of devastation destroyed approximately 77,000 buildings and claimed the lives of over 140,000 men, women and children.”

The seeds from the tree were gifted to Fremantle in 2014 as part of the Mayors for Peace initiative, an international organisation that calls for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Fremantle, as the perfect spot for the trees.

“These trees need to be here for a really long time,” she told students from the nearby primary school.

“They need to be loved and looked after by the community.”

Hasegawa said.

“I sincerely hope that fostering a deeper understanding of other countries, cultures and histories will contribute to the creation of a peaceful international society.”

Ginkgo biloba is the oldest tree species on earth, and has remained relatively unchanged for 200 million years.

After a technical germination process involving cold storage and soaking, the seedlings were nurtured into saplings by a local nursery, which were then planted in a Peace Grove in Beaconsﬁeld in 2020.

Two years later, all four trees were sawn in half by a vandal.

After ﬁve more years of protected growth, the time was right to plant them out.

Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the City’s parks team had searched for a long time before deciding upon Gordon Dedman Reserve, in North

Not to be beaten, the Fremantle parks team rescued the stumps and supervised a regrowth plan in a nursery.

The popular park has a playground, skatepark and community garden and is adjacent to the revamped North Freo Bowlo.

Mr Hasegawa said it was increasingly important for countries like Japan and Australia, which shared common values, to strengthen their collaboration towards peace.

“People-to-people connections are the bedrock of peace,” Mr

Bike crash sparks roadworks warning

By JACK MADDERN

A veteran cyclist will require months of rehabilitation after crashing in Dalkeith roadworks.

The cyclist, who requested his name not to be published, has 24 years of cycling experience and is no stranger to dangerous road conditions.

But he underestimated the danger posed by roadworks along Victoria Avenue.

“I knew there were roadworks and there was a transition from new bitumen to the old bitumen, so I was aware, but I was not prepared for how brutal it was,” he said.

He was cycling at 30kmh in the bike lane when he crashed at the point where new bitumen was at a different level to the old road.

“My left foot came off the pedal and my leg hyper-extended,” he said.

“Ripped all the hamstring off the bone and tore the medial ligament on the inside of the knee.

“I had surgery on Friday and now a fairly long rehab ahead of me, six weeks for the knee and 12 for the hamstring.

“I’m tracking in the right direction.”

The cyclist has seen a large range of roads during a career in professional cycling competitions.

One of his most gruelling was a 10-day tour across Indonesia starting in Jakarta and ending in Denpasar.

“Many near-death experiences on this tour, and you have to be careful to avoid all the hazards,” he said.

“There are potholes, chickens, and goats all over the roads, so you’re racing in a very unsanitised environment and need a heightened sense of awareness.”

He was unscathed on that tour and others like it.

So he considered it an irony that his worst injuries came in the supposedly safe bike lane on Victoria Avenue.

“You kind of think that environment would be one of the safest environments,” he said.

“This is not an isolated thing; in cycling circles, roadworks and transitions are always something to be super aware of.

“There are quite a lot of incidents of near crashes that are going unreported most of the time.”

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Some individual trees are dated at 3500 years old. They take 20 to 35 years to mature. Male trees have pollenproducing floral spikes, and female trees bear foul-smelling ovules (ﬂesh-covered seeds) that cause dermatitis when touched and are poisonous unless thoroughly cooked.

Planting for peace … Amelie Kramer, 11, Cooper Moignard, 12, Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge and Deputy Consul-General of Japan Daisuke Hasegawa plant the long-awaited ginkgo biloba. Photo: Paul McGovern

Ginkgo biloba trees are famous for their bright yellow autumn leaves.

roadworks.

Going twice, sold!

By BRET CHRISTIAN

When the POST crossed paths recently with Claremont resident John Garland, a veteran rural real estate agent, he volunteered this startling information:

He has sold 3000 farms, still works seven days a week non-stop, and is aged 89.

“I keep on going to Karrakatta but they won’t take me in,” he said.

“When they ﬁnally dig a hole they’ll have to provide a special spot for my work phone.”

John sold his ﬁrst rural property in 1952, having absorbed the ropes and the language from his parents’ various farms, before they moved to Perth, where he was a Hale School boy.

He left school at 14 to work as a roustabout in Elders stock sale yards, becoming fascinated with the auctioneers’ chant and skill, gaining a licence at 16.

elled long distances to buy their Holden cars and farm machinery from him. His staff grew to 19.

After selling up the business he decided to take on Elders and Wesfarmers in the rural real estate market, renting a tiny Perth ofﬁce in between those of the two dominant giants in 1965.

An $18million sale of Yathroo in Dandaragan, gigantic in the day, set him and Pat on their feet. The company that became John Garland International was on its way.

Never had a holiday in my life ‘ ’

One day he was approached by a group of ﬁve farmers, who asked him to take over the shell of a ﬂoundering General Motors dealership in Kondinin, which also sold tractors and farm machinery.

John got his big break when he invited surrounding farmers to bring to a huge auction all their redundant farm implements he had noticed lying around in paddocks and sheds.

“Auctioneering was all I really knew,” he said.

His wife, Pat, was the bookkeeper, and the dealership had one employee, a mechanic.

“We didn’t have two bob in those days,” John said.

The sale was a runaway success.

Everything sold and John’s reputation exploded.

Farmers from far and wide assumed he was the biggest dealer around. They trav-

“Back then there were 40,000 farms in WA. Now there are 2000, plus 160,000 hobby farms,” he said.

Pat died after 64 years of marriage. John’s working life that he enjoys so much has marched on.

“I’ve never had a holiday in my life,” he said.

But his international interests and many business trips have provided added interest.

One memorable 1980s London trip for the Paris-based FIABCI (International Real Estate Federation) involved developer Alan Bond, who John had recruited as a keynote speaker.

The audience of thousands from around the world stood and applauded Bond’s videos and thrilling tales of the America’s Cup, which his crew had just won.

That was until the irrepressible salesman ﬁlled the giant screens with advertisements for his real estate projects in WA, including high-rise in Bunbury.

“I don’t know what Alan was thinking,” John said.

“The 300 Australians present all cringed with embarrassment.”

John was inducted into the Real Estate Intitute’s Rural Hall of Fame last month.

Green scorecard wanted

A Cottesloe ratepayer wants a measuring stick to gauge the performance of each councillor when it comes to increasing the tree canopy.

“Cottesloe’s tree canopy coverage is pretty abysmal,” Peter Rattigan told councillors at a recent meeting (Cott’s tree cover still shrinking, POST, July 19).

year, and should be subject to key performance indicators the same as their CEO.

He said the mayor and councillors received total payments of $207,000 from ratepayers each

Responsibility for the target to double tree canopy to 30% in the next 15 years should be sheeted home to each individual councillor, he said “If it doesn’t improve, future generations should be able to look back and see who to blame for it,” he said.

VICIOUS DOG ATTACK

A 12 year old Kelpie was the victim of an unprovoked & savage attack by a large American Stafforshire Terrier on North Fremantle walking track near Cyprus Lane on June 28 at 10.15am. The AmStaff owner & accompanying female teenager fled the scene leaving the traumatised kelpie with terrible injuries & his elderly female owner extremely distressed & with a $2500 vet bill.

Description of Offenders Dog

American Staffordshire Terrier with large white head, white neck & brown body. See similar image on right. Although the owner had the dog on a lead, he was unable to control him.

Dog Owner

Middle aged, medium height & build, dark thinning hair, olive complexion. May live in North Fremantle or Mosman Park.

Teenage Girl Accompanying Dog Owner

Approx. 15 years old, fair skin, wavy long light brown hair. She was carrying a small fluffy white dog in her arms.

Selling farms by the thousands … John Garland’s enthusiasm for the deal has not waned as he turns 90 next year..

Where will customers park?

By JACK MADDERN

Mosman Park businesses have braced for a hit after the Town reduced parking as part of plans to green and revitalise the Glyde Street area.

Residents pleaded with the council to retain 10 parking bays but were unsuccessful at last week’s meeting. They said the area’s parking was already at capacity, and the parking studies used to inform council were outdated

by years.

Speakers also expressed frustration at the lack of communication over the ﬁnal Glyde Street masterplan.

“I am so disheartened and upset that the Town did not see ﬁt to actually discuss and seek feedback from the businesses on the street prior to briefing the designer,” Remede owner Nicki Newton said.

“I was made aware of last week’s meeting by community members and not the Town,

and only after it had taken place.

“Not one person has taken the time to call into our business and ask us.”

But mayor Paul Shaw questioned Ms Newton’s claims and said Remede had received two letters about the masterplan.

“I’m a little confused about how Remede didn’t understand that we were taking this community consultation,” he said.

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‘Caddy wrong choice’

and still raw for some Nedlands ratepayers.”

The biggest public outcry came over Melbourne developer Tim Gurner’s proposed 24-storey, triple tower development on the Chellingworth Motors site opposite the Windsor Cinema, approved by a joint development assessment panel in 2023.

“Despite advice from the State Design Review Panel that the design was not ﬁt for purpose, the development was approved,” Ms de Lacy wrote.

“Yet there are no signs of it being constructed.”

Mr Caddy rejected Ms de Lacy’s criticism, arguing the sudden rush of developments was the council’s fault.

“The City of Nedlands did not review its scheme for 33 years,” he said.

“During this time the scheme

should have been reviewed six times with each review looking at an incremental increase in density.

“The outcome is that LPS3 is the embodiment of the density that would have been achieved incrementally over six scheme reviews during the 33-year period.”

Mr Caddy said Planning Minister Rita Safﬁoti “made it clear” to the council, under former mayor Max Hipkins, that they were expected to draw up design guidelines for

the Stirling Highway corridor.

“Whilst this work was commenced, it was not ﬁnalised,” he said.

“With respect to the former Chellingworth Motors site, I am on the record in [the POST] as having said … that I did not agree with the JDAP decision.”

Speaking at his ﬁrst public council meeting last week, Mr Caddy told residents he would not be doing the bidding of the state government.

“While we have been appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the minister, we do not work for the state, hence we are not compelled to follow instruction from the minister or the department,” he said.

“We will be guided at all times by what we determine is in the public interest, rather than pursuing the agendas of individuals or interest groups.”

Plan to save Loreto trees

By BEN DICKINSON

A park full of century-old trees at the former Loreto Primary School site could be handed over to Nedlands council through a deal with its aged-care developer owner.

Hall & Prior bought the sprawling Loreto site from Loreto Ministries last year with plans to create “an integrated health and aged care precinct”.

Neighbours have worried about what will become of Barry Park, an unspoiled 6000sq.m corner of the Loreto site on Webster Street with a stand of towering native trees.

“The park and the old convent are what’s worth saving,” Nedlands resident Eric Pegrum told the POST last year.

Nedlands staff reported to the City’s commissioners at the council meeting on Wednesday that they had “identiﬁed an opportunity to work with the proponent to optimise a development outcome that achieves commercial outcomes … and possible community purpose type uses”.

“This includes the possibility for the City to work with the applicant to design part of the site for

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CATCH READY

Glyde Street business owners Nicki Newton and Kathy Johnston are affected by masterplans in their area. Photo: Paul McGovern

Cilla de LacyDavid Caddy

• From page 1

Hard times unseat Christian’s landmark

“When I started, the world was my oyster, but now it’s hard times, shipping costs are just so high it becomes unviable.

“It’s sad to see these brickand-mortar type of shops closing more and more often.

“My husband and I are locals and have lived here for a long time and bring something energetic and delicious with an international kind of offering to the area.

“But it’s run its course.”

Problems did not stop with just global supply chains, he said.

Generational changes have led to master craft skills being lost, and mass-produced furniture has reduced innovation.

This has made it even more difficult for Mr Lyon, who

Supply chain issues have forced Christian Lyon to close his Peppermint Grove business, Editeur. Photo: Paul McGovern. INSET: He will sell the heritage-listed property, seen here under an earlier owner.

sources individual pieces from around the world for his clients.

“Artesian and handmade pieces, which are what we celebrate, are becoming harder to source, rendering it almost impossible now,” he said.

Closing up shop did not mean he was done with the interior design world.

He plans to work more closely with clients and invest his time into his passion for designing reﬁned furniture.

Editeur has been based in the heritage-listed Stirling

Highway building since 2013.

Built in the 1930s, the art deco building served as the Shire’s original civic chambers before being converted into an electricity substation and then Bants’ furniture store.

Mr Lyons intends to sell the property and is hoping something energetic can ﬁll the space.

“The building is a piece of local history and a bit of a landmark,” he said.

“It’s been a tightly held property that hopefully ﬁnds a good owner.”

Bob Hawke heads across the road

By LLOYD GORMAN

A $15million expansion of cramped Bob Hawke College was announced this week –just two days after POST questions about it went unanswered by the Department of Education.

Education Minister Sabine Winton said on Wednesday the former Freemasons Hall opposite the school on Hay Street would be used for classrooms to teach an additional 180 students.

The public high school is already at bursting point only ﬁve years after it opened with 2000 students squeezed onto its compact site of less than 2ha.

The state government pressed ahead with the constrained design on a small footprint despite early warnings the school would soon hit capacity.

The school has little outdoor space and uses neighbouring Subiaco Oval and a site earmarked for Subiaco council for sporting facilities.

Stage 1 cost $70.6million and opened in February 2020 while the $56million second phase opened two years ago.

Stage 3 has never been revealed by the Department of Education, nor discussed with parents at the school.

The POST asked the Education Department about two contracts awarded last week to two ﬁrms that had been involved in the

planning and building of both stages.

The department missed the POST deadline and said on Wednesday it would try to answer questions by close of business that day.

Ms Winton released her statement at 10.30 that morning.

“Bob Hawke College provides a modern and comfortable learning environment for students, and I am pleased that this expansion will help accommodate more students in the inner-city,” she said.

The Freemasons Hall has been used as WA Football’s headquarters and for private ofﬁces.

Nedlands MP Jonathan Huston, who has been critical of the Government’s attitude towards schools in the western suburbs, said: “I thank the minister for the innovative approach to handling the expansion of the Bob Hawke College campus.

“It will be much appreciated by the school community.”

Freemasons Hall in Subiaco will house 180 students from neighbouring Bob Hawke College. Photo: Paul McGovern

Red tape pretext alarms local mayors

By JACK MADDERN

Local mayors have sounded an alarm about John Carey’s planning reforms that they claimed could further alienate local communities.

The Planning Minister last month announced changes that he claimed would reduce red tape by making WA’s planning system more contemporary and uniform.

Local mayors are wary of the changes as they confront a system in which council input was often ignored.

Mr Carey promoted the reforms and conﬁrmed local government decisions would be bypassed when necessary, when he spoke at the Sydney Institute last week.

Art show boost for bowls club

By SARAH McNEILL

Like other bowling and sports clubs, Dalkeith Nedlands Bowling Club is determined to expand its membership and embrace the community with new and diverse ideas.

The club held its inaugural art exhibition, Art on the Greenlast Friday, an event which club president David Steinberg said marked the club’s evolution from a traditional sporting venue to a vibrant community hub.

His wife, Jan Steinberg, an award-winning watercolourist, brought together local professional artists, club members and artists from Tresillian for the weekend exhibition.

“Local government decision making has been applying the handbrake on important projects and critically needed housing in Western Australia,” he said.

Mosman Park mayor Paul Shaw denied Mr Carey’s claim.

“Councils aren’t standing on the hose,” he said.

“So much power in relation to planning decisions in WA has been taken out of our hands, I’m not sure what further red tape can be removed.”

Cambridge mayor Gary Mack said, “We need a seat at the table, and at the moment, we don’t even have a voice.”

Controversial multistorey apartment developments have drawn the ire of local communities across Cottesloe, Cambridge and Mosman Park.

Two 15 and 17-storey towers approved on Station Street in Cottesloe were called excessively high by the Town.

“I’m almost sick of having to say this sort of thing, because it appears that every single application that goes to the WA Planning Commission through the SDAU process is approved, which is regrettable,” Cottesloe mayor Lorraine Young said in June.

The Moslane apartment complex development in Mosman Park provoked community backlash and Town disapproval this year.

“Although we accept this being approved, this was not a recommended approval from this council,” Mosman Park mayor Paul Shaw said in June.

Four apartment complexes opposed by residents and

Lorraine YoungJohn Carey

Cambridge council have been approved in the Town this year.

“This decision signals a clear trend of developments being approved despite not aligning with the Town’s planning frameworks or community needs,” a council spokesperson said in May.

“Having a third party approve the decision and the actual mop up of it all, dust, access and comply with regulations falls upon us and we don’t get any money

“We were thrilled with the response,” Mrs Steinberg said. “We had 18 artists showing 111 paintings and we sold 22. We had so much interest from artists that we will deﬁnitely hold it again next year.

“One artist asked if he could hold his own exhibition here, so we’re delighted that it all looked so professional.”

Mr Steinberg said 220 people came to the opening night of Art on the Green and only 60 of those were related

for any of this,” Mr Mack said.

He said it was not NIMBYism to contest development plans that fell short of established local or state planning instruments.

Easing the housing shortage was not being solved by approving $2million to $3million apartments, he said.

The state’s planning reforms have now been opened up for public consultation until October 3.

Mr Mack said the ideal outcome would be for the WAPC to attach greater weight to local and state planning instruments that they are able to ignore.

“We are in a bind,” he said,

“They say we must have detailed frameworks, have all these planning documents, then have a body that doesn’t need to comply with those.”

Renting out rooms?

Western suburb residents who want to rent out rooms in their homes short-term while living there are exempt from requiring development approval from their

This is the effect of sweeping new laws passed by state parliament, directing local councils to change their planning scheme “as

The rules break down Airbnbstyle accommodation into two types, hosted and unhosted. Unhosted is where the premises are leased short-term without the

householder in residence.

No permit is required for temporary accommodation provided the premises are not let for a total of more than three months out of 12, but the owners must register with the state government to allow bookings to be taken.

In the metro area, development approval from the local council is needed if unhosted short-term rentals are in use for more than 90 nights a year.

Peppermint Grove was recently the latest western suburb council to vote to advertise the required changes in time for them to start on January 1 next year.

to the club.

“It is exactly what we wanted – to expand our reach into the community,” he said.

“The exhibition represented more than just an art show. It was a celebration of community, creativity, and the future of the Dalkeith Bowling Club as a welcoming space for people of all ages and interests.

“We have such a great location and we want to put the club on the map.”

The club recently introduced Padel – paddle tennis –with three new courts and plans for more, to attract younger players.

Plans are in place to add a coffee shop and a children’s play area.

“There are a lot of young families moving into Dalkeith and we want to include them,” Mr Steinberg said.

“We are on an adventure into the future,” said Mrs Steinberg.

Nedlands MLA Jonathan Huston bought a work of art by Denise Rowe at the Dalkeith Nedlands Bowling Club’s inaugural Art on the Green exhibition.

Please email your letter to letters@postnewspapers.com.au, lodge online at postnewspapers.com.au or snail mail to: The Editor, 276 Onslow Rd, Shenton Park 6008. All letters must include writer’s full name, address and daytime phone no. for veriﬁcation. Boring letters or those over 300 words will be cut. Deadline: Noon Wednesdays.

Restoration would enliven our future

If the Quinlivan family, owners of the Ocean Beach Hotel, are looking to leave a legacy, there would be no better project than restoration of the original hotel building.

Stan Quinlivan, who controls Cottesloe’s Ocean Beach Hotel, says cost increases mean he has not made up his mind about proceeding with his “family legacy development” to demolish the original hotel to make way for three towers of up to 12 storeys.

Ocean Beach Hotel heritage –will it be lost forever?

I read with interest Jen Rewell’s article Grab this chance to restore OBH glory (POST,

The grandiose redevelopment plans, originally estimated at $200million, now many times that and dependent on ﬁnding a suitable builder, would be ephemeral and eventually demolished when their use-by date was reached.

A restored building, with heritage protection, would live forever.

There are many examples to show what can be done, with commercial success, including the Melbourne and Royal hotels in Perth.

With transfer of development rights to the balance of the site, there could be compensation for the costs of restoration.

• More letters pages 20, 34

ABOVE: The “bones” of the original Federation-era hotel are still visible in this recent aerial photo. BELOW: Ominously light-hearted addition to a re-developers rendering in 2022.

As a Cottesloe resident, I personally believe the Ocean Beach Hotel is a vital part of our state and local heritage, and should be retained for generations to

Designed by notable WA hotel architect Louis Bowser Cumpston and constructed by Chapman & Firth for rhe prominent Swanbourne Syndicate, it cost £6000 (about $1.3million today) and was ofﬁcially opened on Friday, January 3, 1908, by WA’s first Premier, Sir John

In 1886 Sir John, then Commissioner of Crown Lands, had initiated the subdivision that created Cottesloe (named at his request by Governor Sir Frederick Napier Broome). This created the important “halfway” point of Cottesloe between Fremantle and Perth city.

With the gold rush driving growth and investment, the hotel was a true recognition of the need for investing in health, recharge, and relaxation by the beautiful Cottesloe coastline, for many future WA generations.

The OBH interiors were crafted by William James Zimpel, a renowned Perth furniture manufacturer, merchant and

local Cottesloe councillor.

Mr Zimpel is also famous for building Pine Lodge in Cottesloe and was a supporter of planting the iconic norfolk Island pines.

Bunning Brothers, founders of the timber empire, were reported to have installed the stunning wooden ornate furnishings in both OBH bars.

Given this rich history, I was greatly surprised to read in the 2023 OBH development approval that the then chair of the WA Heritage Council, John Cowdell AM, had in September 2020 written on behalf of the heritage council that “the Ocean Beach Hotel does not have sufﬁcient cultural heritage signiﬁcance at state level for inclusion in the State Register of Heritage Places”.

From those areas in the hotel today open to the public, one can still see much of the original internal jarrah woodwork, a grand staircase, ornate plaster ceilings, wooden bars and ﬂooring. While the sweeping sea view veranda and original guest rooms are hidden by a 1930s art deco concrete facade, the core heritage fabric endures. It surprises me that this true heritage gem, not just for Cottesloe but for all of WA, may be lost forever.

Jeffrey Irvine Napier Street, Cottesloe

Max Hipkins Minora Road, Dalkeith

Federation icon ... The OBH in the 1920s, unchanged since its opening in 1908. The facade was later encased in concrete art deco curves.

DANDARAGAN, WA

JUMBO BLUEBERRIES

BIG ON TASTE, NATURALLY SWEET JUMBO BLUEBERRIES

Plump and juicy, with just the right balance of sweetness and tang, these blueberries are locally grown in Dandaragan,WA. Blueberries are one of nature’s true superfoods packed with antioxidants, vitamins, nutrients and ﬁbre. Sweeten up ordinary moments with blueberries in your mufﬁns, pancakes, morning granola, smoothies or simply enjoy eating them straight of out the punnet!

Sky show

Local weather so far this month has run the gamut from torrential rain to hail to fog. Local photographer Clive Addison enjoys the more colourful sideshow of winter, as revealed by his photo of this perfect semi-circular rainbow off Cottesloe beach. Rainbows can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind the observer at a low altitude angle.

“A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets, resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky,” asserts AI.

Aerators in splashdown

Paddle aerators like those in use at Lake Jualbup are set to be installed in Jolimont despite doubts about their effectiveness.

Subiaco council announced it would put two paddle wheel aerators in Mable Talbot lake.

Two of the solar-powered units were installed at Lake Jualbup during the summer to improve the Shenton Park lake’s water quality and prevent outbreaks of avian botulism.

But former Subiaco councillor and Save Our Jewel member

Hugh Richardson, who has an engineering background in the study of droplets, said there was no proof they actually aerated the lake.

One of the two aerators has struggled to work at all but would be repaired soon, Subiaco said.

None of Jualbup’s water jets – installed several years ago to also help oxygenate the lake –have been switched on since heavy rainfall in recent months helped ﬁll the lake.

Subiaco paid $30,300 for the four aerators.

Subiaco chemicals keep borer at bay

By LLOYD GORMAN

Subiaco has been able to save more trees than it has lost in the battle with the deadly polyphagous shot-hole borer.

Thousands of trees have been lost across Perth since the beetle was ﬁrst detected three years ago, but only 51 trees have been infected in Subiaco.

Eighteen of those were cut down but the others remain thanks to what the City called active management, including treatments and targeted pruning.

Subiaco began chemical trials last October.

Department of Primary Industries and Development recommended removing infected trees but Subiaco found that insecticide Bifenthrin had positive results in stopping the beetle.

Trials of preventative treat-

being carried out on erythrina trees on Munsie and Willcock avenues in Subiaco Common.

Bioprime Trace is being applied as a soil drench for affected trees while trees in poor condition are being injected in the stem by Glutathione.

The proactive measures aim to prevent further infestations.

The national borer management group decided last month it was no longer possible to eradicate the borer and that it should be managed.

“For a local government that is home to some of Perth’s best green, leafy, suburbs, it will surprise no one to learn that the City of Subiaco is disappointed in the decision to abandon eradication in favour of the so-called ‘management’ phase of the State Government’s PSHB response,” mayor David McMullen said.

• Please turn to page 68

Chemical trials have helped save from the shot-hole borer these street trees in Munsie Avenue, Daglish. Photo: Paul McGovern

Family hails rare disease breakthrough

By JACK MADDERN

Breakthrough research into genetic neurological disorders previously thought to be untreatable has secured a grant to keep progress going.

The Perron Institute’s Dr Andrew Chi Pang Tai is spearheading Australia’s efforts in developing a treatment for three of the rarest genetic disorders.

His promising work in this ﬁeld was recognised recently with another Telethon grant.

For the Blackman family in West Leederville, the news is a welcome development for their eldest son Finn, 10, who is living with Angelman syndrome.

It’s not tested for at birth, so when Finn wasn’t meeting his developmental milestones at two, his parents, Kane and

Cambridge fill-in awarded gong

By JEN REWELL

The man who led Cambridge council through perilous times has been recognised with the WA Local Government Association’s eminent service award.

Kelton Hincks, pictured, took on the temporary role of CEO at Cambridge three times, including an 11-month stint in 2022 and from last August until new CEO Lisa Clack was appointed. He has since left to become Canning’s projects director.

The award acknowledged Mr Hinck’s contribution to local government in WA over three decades.

He began his career as an irrigation maintainer at Melville.

“It was such an honour to be recognised at the recent local government awards among some signiﬁcant industry leaders, whom I look up to and respect,”

Mr Hincks said.

“A big thank you to [Cambridge mayor] Gary Mack for his support and to all the great people I have worked with throughout my career who have helped me along the way.”

Mr Mack praised his former staffer.

“Kelton is an exceptional leader whose vision and dedica-

tion have transformed our community’s infrastructure and services,” he said.

Stirling CEO Stevan Rodic also received an eminent service award, as did Doubleview ward councillor Stephanie Proud, who has been a councillor since 2007.

Doubleview councillor Elizabeth Re was awarded the Evelyn Parker women of excellence award.

Claremont won the RoadWise Recognised Awards, which awards “points and ribbons” to highlight road safety and the “adoption of a holistic approach to road safety”.

Sarah Blackman, sought expert advice.

“It’s a lifelong disability that requires signiﬁcant care indeﬁnitely,” Mr Blackman said.

“Our life was immediately changed. Overnight, we had to become experts in a rare disease that even our doctors had never heard of.”

Research suggests the rarity of Angelman syndrome is one in 15,000 births nationwide.

Dr Tai estimates that in WA alone, about 100 children have either Angelman syndrome or one of the other rare genetic disorders affecting Chromosome 15, PWS and DUP15q.

“There are no effective treatments that target these currently incurable genetic neurological diseases,” he said.

He hopes his research can change this, with a promising drug development offering a potential treatment in the research pipeline.

In the past 1½ years, his research has already identiﬁed two ways to potentially normalise the levels of a problematic protein mainly responsible for these disorders.

Dr Tai said the new Telethon grant was critical for furthering the ability to test his potential treatments, which may even prove to be applicable for other diseases.

“I hope I can provide effective and safe strategies for the affected kids with Chr15 imprinting disorders,” he said.

There’s a personal stake in the success of his research – to help his close friend’s son, who also has Angelman syndrome.

Many parents, children and advocacy groups are pinning

their hopes for a treatment on his shoulders.

Kane Blackman said: “We hope it leads to improvements in the quality of life for people living with Angel syndrome and their families.

“And we hope it can change the lives of thousands of individuals around the world.”

Finn is able to be just like any other cheeky 10-year-old boy, playing with his six-yearold brother James, swimming and pestering his parents for lollies.

His condition just adds some extra challenges to overcome.

Angelman syndrome is known to cause frequent seizures, speech impairment, physical and intellectual disability and impair gross motor skills.

Some people with the disorder may struggle to hold a pencil, run or even walk.

Finn Blackman undergoes physical therapy and receives multidisciplinary support to help him with his challenges.

Sunday Art Auction

Andrew Chi Pang Ti is researching genetic disorders.

Kane and Sarah Blackman with their children Finn, 10, and James, 6. Photo: Jack Maddern

Robert Juniper

David Boyd

Challen

William Boissevain

Jeffrey Smart

Arthur Murch

Henryk Szydlowski

Parents’ care home to become Airbnb

By LLOYD GORMAN

A Subiaco property once used as a Ronald McDonald House for families of sick kids could become an Airbnb for a dozen paying guests.

A development application to convert 15 Hamilton Street to short-term rental accommodation for up to 12 guests was advertised by Subiaco council for public feedback.

The property opposite the former Princess Margaret Hospital has six ensuite bedrooms with a basic kitchen and living area, shared laundry and courtyard, and one parking spot each.

The units formed part of a larger accommodation block for the Home Away From Home charity which also

Don’t think about writing books off

By JACK MADDERN

The chapter is yet to close on second-hand books and the bookshop market.

Shenton Park’s Paraquad Industries sell and are soon to recycle second-hand books in enormous quantity.

Bookshops say that, despite everything going digital, they are keeping up with the times.

Paraquad get roughly three tonnes of book donations each week, and send to landﬁll a further three tonnes beyond saving.

“We’re dealing with such volumes now that we’re barely scratching what’s coming in,”

Paraquad manager Richard Horne said.

A new book-cutting machine could solve some of their headaches by processing the unsalvageable into recyclable material.

It would process them to separate their spines, glossy covers, pictures, glue and staples before they can be recycled.

Mr Horne expects it could save about 150 tonnes a year from landﬁll and trim Paraquad’s enormous stockpile.

“We’re going to save signiﬁcant tonnage a year from landﬁll,”

Mr Horne said. “Then we’re providing jobs (for people with disabilities) and we’re ethically disposing.”

At the back of Paraquad’s Shenton Park headquarters is a warehouse filled to the brim with more than 50 tonnes of books. More fill the rooms of their offices and book bazaar.

“We’ve probably got enough now to keep the book bazaar open for the next 50 years,” Mr Horne said.

He said that eventually they could offer their recyclability services to other op-shops such as Vinnies or Good Sammy. Subiaco Bookshop owner Leigh Mann says people always want to buy books.

She opened her shop 34 years ago with her mum and has been there since.

included neighbouring 16-20 York Street.

PMH closed in 2018 and Ronald McDonald House relocated to a site in Monash Avenue, Nedlands near the new Perth Children’s Hospital.

The York Street site was bought by George O’Neill’s Fresh Start Clinic as a short-term lodge for up to 18 patients going through detox.

The Hamilton Street application is for a total of 12 guests, two per unit, who must stay a minimum of three nights and a maximum of 30.

Properties with six or fewer guests do not need permission to operate.

Two applications to allow 10 guests at No.6 Redfern Street and eight at 19 Darbon

Crescent were rejected recently because of the impact on neighbours.

The Hamilton Street property has been used for short stay accommodation since October 2024.

The Hamilton Street application signed by owner James Symons included the house’s rules against noise between 10pm and 8am and said a breach could lead to “immediate removal”.

“Permission for [STRA] has been sought and permitted by neighbouring properties,” it said.

Contact details for the Airbnb property manager have been shared with Russell Hudson, the Fresh Start facilities manager at York Street and 11 Hamilton Street.

“There’s something irreplaceable about the tactile experience of holding a book, browsing shelves and receiving personal recommendations from someone

Now’s your chance to make Mosman Park more green by selecting a free street tree for your verge.

We’ll help you choose the perfect tree from a carefully selected list of species that suit your space, enhance your streetscape, boost local biodiversity, and thrive in our neighbourhood.

Already have a tree on your verge? No problem, Town staff can assess the area and let you know if there’s room for another one.

The Town will take care of planting and lifelong maintenance. All we ask is that you give your new to help it settle in.

Let’s grow a greener Mosman Park one tree at a time.

Memorial Drive, Mosman Park | 08 9383 6600 admin@mosmanpark.wa.gov.au mosmanpark.wa.gov.au

Books they no longer sell are donated to aged care homes and community organisations. Both bookshops say there has been a strong resurgence in ﬁction, crime and thriller genres.

2025–26 Annual Rates Notices were issued on 4 August 2025. If you have not received your notice, please contact us on 9383 6600 or email at admin@mosmanpark.wa.gov.au.

For ratepayers registered for eRates, your notice was sent via email at 4pm on 1 August 2025. If it hasn’t appeared in your inbox, please remember to check your junk or spam folder.

> mosmanpark.wa.gov.au

> mosmanpark.wa.gov.au/council

Council news Draft Local Planning Strategy Workshops Saturday 16 August | 1 - 3.30pm Sunday 17 August | 9.30am - 12pm Town of Mosman Park Administration building

Citizenship Ceremony Friday 19 September | 5 - 8pm Town of Mosman Park Administration building Local Planning Policy No 39 – Sustainable Development is now open for public review and comment! > yoursay.mosmanpark.wa.gov.au/lpp39

Local Planning Policy No 40 now open for public review and comment!

> yoursay.mosmanpark.wa.gov.au/lpp40

on in Mosman Park Scan the QR code to check out more events!

Richard Horne in ParaQuad Industries warehouse filled to the brim with books. Photo: Jack Maddern

The former Ronald McDonald House could become an Airbnb property. Photo: Lloyd Gorman

From zoo to you by gopher

By JACK MADDERN

Claremont locals popping down to their local pet shop may have a new mode of transport, and it’s not a bus, train, plane or car; it’s a mobility scooter.

When Zoo Products’ owner, Hugh Brown, saw that his customers were struggling to get to his shop, he decided to bring the shop to them.

He bought a twoseater gopher he dubs the Zoomobile, fully accessible for use on pathways, crossing roads and in the halls of the Claremont Quarter shopping centre, to pick up his customers and ferry them to his pet supplies shop in Times Square.

to soon begin construction a few doors down has only added to his concerns for the shop’s accessibility.

“How can I ﬁnd a way for our customers to reach this awkward location?” he said.

Then, while in a shopping centre, he saw a lady on a mobility scooter and had a eureka moment.

It’s crazy enough people actually take notice ‘ ’

“My wife said ‘Hugh, you’re a crazy bastard’, and it is absolutely crazy, but I think it’s crazy enough people might actually take notice of it,” he said.

“People have noticed and been asking for pictures and stopping me in the street to take photos with their kids or grandkids.”

Mr Brown’s shop has been in Claremont for 30 years but St Quentin Avenue, frequently used by his customers, was turned into a one-way street when Claremont Quarter was developed.

A 19-storey high-rise expected

Mr Brown and his travelling customer service have been venturing across Stirling Highway for the past few weeks, picking up customers a kilometre or so away to get them their pet product needs.

“Gotham has the Batmobile and now Claremont has the Zoomobile,” he said.

“I go on Stirling Highway and cross over the road, and drivers in their cars, their eyes are coming out of their bloody windows, thinking what the hell is that.”

Mr Brown says all he had to do was buy the scooter and get the green light from council.

Customers and locals can ring the store for a pickup, and Mr Brown or a team member will get them.

“What Hugh has done goes beyond advertising,” UWA Business School lecturer Nicole Yang said.

“It reﬂects creativity and a genuine care for customers and the community.”

She said it was an important part for any brand to make them feel more authentic and customers feel more forgiving of business missteps.

An example is artists transforming plain walls into murals for the 2022 No More Blank Walls project in Mt Lawley.

“Quirky or crazy marketing works because it breaks the script,” UWA business honours student Melvin Wong said.

“In today’s digital world, it’s common for someone to snap a

quick photo or video and share it on social media, tagging friends or posting it to their story.”

He also warned that craziness had a limit and could backﬁre if it went too far.

Anytime Fitness Marrickville produced a provocative advertisement with a staff member pretending to chloroform a passerby and drag them into the gym as part of a joke video.

“The backlash was swift, and the gym’s reputation took a hit,” Mr Wong said.

ing or overpass at the Blue Boathouse, and a solution to the trafﬁc congestion and lack of parking around the QEII precinct.”

She said that if elected lord mayor she would focus on Hampden Road and work with Nedlands council on issues such as lighting, bike charging stations and parklets. The next council elections are on Saturday October 18. Nominations for councillor and mayor positions open on August 28 and close on September 4.

Hugh Brown with his Zoomobile. Photo: Jack Maddern

8:00am - MORNING RITUALS 12:00pm - EVERYDAY CONVENIENCE

Start the day with coffee and leafy views, or stroll to a boutique café nearby.

Grab your groceries nearby, then browse Hampden Road or Claremont Quarter.

9:00am - SOAK IN NATURE2:00pm - AFTERNOON RESET

Ease into the morning in nature — from riverside runs to strolls through nearby green spaces.

Settle in by the rooftop pool or on a picnic rug next door at the Rose Gardens.

10:00am - WELLNESS WITHIN7:00pm - EVENING UNWIND

Head back home to work out in the gym, then restore with a session in the infrared sauna.

STEVE

Evenings mean entertaining at home, relaxing in the residents’ lounge, or dining out nearby.

Please

Triumph of politics over community opinion

The appointment of the principal architect of community angst in the western suburbs, to chair commissioners for Nedlands as de facto (if unelected) mayor, may be personally satisfying. Politics overwhelms representation of residents and voters.

Political party policies are prepared by that minuscule number of card-carrying members who believe they know what is best for us – not the folk reluctantly voting for one or other of the major parties receiving the greatest electoral funding.

Orderly planning – with extensive community consultation –established Subiaco’s Local Planning Scheme 5. Public servants in “Planning” sat on it for 18 months, allowing the ideologues to take Texta Colour pens to maps of the western Suburbs, uprating land

Middle of the path?

Tiles bearing name plaques and hand impressions have lined this section of the Cottesloe beachside path since 2006, but are fated to be removed as part of the path-widening process.

So we are to lose yet another piece of historical interest in Cottesloe (Family memories face the chop, POST, August 2).

Why can’t the extra metre of path be built on the other side of the tiles and leave the plaques running down the centre as a feature? Or must we end up with another piece of ugly, bland concrete?

Lorraine Smith Gibney Street, Cottesloe

for density, seemingly at the behest of developers.

Electors’ amenity and interests fell into the WA Planning Commission’s circular ﬁling cabinet, disembowelling orderly planning with legislation. Instead of exploiting lazy, state-owned land –railway verges and air-space – for inﬁll, Planning took to former A-Class reserves such as Subiaco Oval/Kitchener Park and Allen Park, and re-rated private properties to meet political ideology.

David Caddy

Expansion of the QEII Medical Centre site was predicated on providing light-rail access, a necessary condition dropped almost immediately after approval-toproceed commitment.

KEMH’s transfer to that site has been shelved, and staff and patient access is awful. Both major parties have demonstrated failure to represent their electors in assessing consequences of their “planning”. Cost-overruns are a clear guide to how effective that planning has been.

Local Government Minister Rita Safﬁoti’s PR machine has worked overtime: “Look over there. Nothing happening here.”

Showing Nedlands electors there is more than one way to become mayor is an exquisite reprisal to those who failed to recognise a right to rule.

Hugh Richardson Hilda Street, Shenton Park

What are train passengers looking at, really?

Sorry, G. Gmeinder (Don’t sink our lovely railway, Letters, August 2), sinking the Fremantle to Perth line is a brilliant idea and absolutely essential to the orderly and sympathetic growth of the western suburbs as a whole.

Far from being a “scenic journey”, the railway’s chief purpose is to carry peak-hour commuters to and from workplaces, major population hubs and sporting events.

I catch the train regularly and I don’t see people gazing out the window at the scenery –the overwhelming majority are staring at their mobile phones.

Far from destroying a green belt, putting the railway underground would open up the entire length of the railway reserve to far more opportunities for both greenery and residential development. It would mean sustainable residential inﬁll could be built where it should be built – along the main commuter corridor, negating the need for more cars. It would be a boon for the shopping precincts right along the railway, bringing jobs and affordable lifestyle opportunities for generations to come. There’s nothing aesthetically pleasing, as far as I can see,

about rail yards, dinging crossing bells and rusting footbridges along the coastline. It would also create room for an extension of the cycle path, rather than necessitating more clearing of native vegetation. Sinking the railway would make the coast far more accessible for people who actually live in the area, create opportunities for green and residential inﬁll that it currently restrains and go a long way towards solving the road congestion that is a blight on the neighbourhood. Robert Taylor Glanville Street, Mosman Park

WHO CAN SAVE ALLEN PARK?

Members of the Legislative Council can!

Currently before WA Parliament is an excision proposal (02/2025) to remove Class A protection from more land in Allen Park Swanbourne.

This will bring the total removed from Class A reserves in Allen Park to almost 10,000 square metres (over 2 acres).

The State Government will turn the land over to the Health Department which will allow it to:

•expand medical facilities in the parklands; •prevent public access to the main walkway through Allen Park to the coast; •give control of the land to a private company via a lease or licence.

ASSURANCES that the land will remain parkland and open to the public ARE MEANINGLESS once the Class A protection is removed. Development of a parkland at this location – including play areas and wheelchair accessible pathways –is possible whilst still retaining Class A reserve status.

The City of Nedlands’ approved parkland development for the targeted area is currently on hold awaiting completion of the adjacent hospice. Local and state governments, bush-care groups and private donors have collaborated to develop creative play areas on public land. Russell Brown Adventure Park in Mosman Park, Cottesloe Nature Discovery Space, Synergy Parkland and Rio Tinto Naturescape at Kings Park are all examples of such partnerships. Not one of these entities has demanded excision as a pre-requisite for development of these parklands. Why is excision so keenly sought for this location if not to use the land for purposes other than parkland post-excision?

~ UPPER HOUSE MPs ~

Only YOU can stand up to the government and SAVE Allen Park’s 124-year-old protected reserves to:

ENSURE unconditional public access for each and every member of the community for all time PREVENT building expansion in our parklands PRESERVE WA’s natural heritage

MAINTAIN the connectivity of the Whadjuk Bush to Beach Trail from Kings Park to Allen Park

The last sitting day for tabled paper Proposal 02/2025 - excision of land from Allen Park’s Class A reserves is September 10

WE CALL ON LIBERAL, GREENS, NATIONAL, ONE NATION, ANIMAL JUSTICE, AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIANS AND LEGALISE CANNABIS MEMBERS IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO VOTE AGAINST EXCISION AND SAVE WA PARKLANDS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

If you’re interested in preserving WA’s parklands, please contact Legislative Council MPs urgently (parliament.wa.gov.au) FOAP website: friendsofallenparkswanbourne.com

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Locked up for lateness

A woman accused of inciting her dog to attack a man in Swanbourne is behind bars after showing up late to her trial.

North Fremantle woman Brianee Jean Tullock, 33, was to face trial in Perth Magistrates Court last Thursday over the incident outside the Kirkwood Deli on October 1, 2023.

She was on bail after pleading not guilty to charges of urging or setting a dog to attack or chase a person, endangering life, health or safety, and assault with intent to prevent arrest.

A magistrate issued a

Grab for power

A man stole two powerbanks from a mobile phone repair kiosk in Subiaco last month.

Police say he walked into the Station Street shopping centre about 1.05pm on Monday, July 28 and distracted a staff member at the mobile kiosk before grabbing two electronic powerbanks and running away.

He is described as 25 to 30 years old, of slim build, with a dark beard and moustache.

He was wearing a darkcoloured baseball cap, a

bench warrant after Ms Tullock failed to show up when the trial was due to begin at 10am. She arrived at court later that morning and was sent to arrests court, where she had to wait for most of the day.

“Are you serious?” she said from the gallery when the court rose for lunch without hearing her matter.

On Friday she was back in court, and was refused bail.

She is due back in court via video link on September 15, when a new trial date will be set.

Police Beat

With Ben Dickinson

Kings Park car chase

A man in a BMW convertible was arrested after allegedly leading police on a chase across Perth in the early hours of Wednesday morning last week.

Ofﬁcers tried to stop the blue convertible on Thomas Street, outside Kings Park, around 2.15am, but police say the driver sped off towards the Mitchell Freeway.

Cash offered to bounty hunters

Frustrated local victims of crime have offered cash bountiesforinformationon unsolved matters.

City Beach man Mark has offered a $2500 reward for information on an aggressive cyclist who punched his Tesla’s side mirrorwhile“goingofflike a pork chop”.

AndMosmanParkwoman Loz has put up $1000 for information on the man whose american staffordshire terrier attacked her kelpie last month.

•Have you been a victim of crime? Please send details to the POST at ben@postnewspapers.com.au or call Ben on 9381 3088.

“It will be further alleged the BMW was driven recklessly and at excessive speeds along the Mitchell Freeway and Reid Highway towards Dayton,” a police spokesperson said.

Police managed to box in the BMW on Yule Road in Middle Swan, where they arrested 25-year-old driver Ali Rahimi.

Mr Rahimi appeared in Perth Magistrates Court later on Wednesday.

He was granted bail with a $1000 personal undertaking, among other conditions.

He was not required to enter a plea on his four charges, which include possessing cannabis and cocaine, along with two driving charges relating to the pursuit.

someone identifying this person to the police.

Mark gave police video footage from the Tesla’s 14 different cameras.

“They did facial recognition and got a couple of hits, but never turned out to be the right man,” he said.

“It’s $2600 to ﬁx the mirror, so I’m happy to put a $2500 reward down for

A man facing child porn charges after being arrested in Crawley last week has been remanded in custody pending a second court appearance next Thursday.

Police arrested Charles Stuart Spargo, 41, as he was leaving Royal Perth Yacht Club on the evening of Wednesday July 30, and allege they found child exploitation material on his phone.

The next day, police prosecutor Pat Prest told Perth Magistrates Court that a “cursory review” of the phone had uncovered sexually explicit images of children.

“(He) has admitted to a long history of accessing

“He’s a danger to the public and needs to be caught up with.”

The dog attack on Loz and her kelpie Clancy resulted in a vet bill of $2500. There has been no progress in identifying the dog owner. He was described as middle-aged with thinning hair while the dog was described as white from the head to neck with a brown body.

They were accompanied by a teenage girl holding a white ﬂuffy dog.

“My whole thing is I just want that dog off the streets because he will attack again and it might be a child next time,” Loz said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Fremantle council on 1300 360 366.

Man denied bail on child porn charges

and downloading extreme pornography, including child exploitation material,” Sergeant Prest told the court.

Mr Spargo, who had spent the night in a police cell, stared at the ﬂoor inside the dock for most of the hearing. His duty lawyer applied for bail, telling magistrate Belinda Coleman that Mr Spargo, who works for a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, was the sole provider for his wife and two-year-old son.

“He could do that work without accessing a computer,” the lawyer said.

She said he had “fully cooperated” with police and provided them the PIN for his phone.

“He may need to continue to work to be able to afford a lawyer through the (District Court) process,” she said.

Ms Coleman said she wanted to review the results of a more thorough police scan of Mr Spargo’s devices before making a decision on bail.

“There may well be extensive materials on the devices, I’m not sure,” she said.

“I’m going to want to seek some further information from the prosecution about that.”

Mr Spargo will remain behind bars until his next hearing on August 14, when Ms Coleman will rule on bail.

Mark is oﬀering $2500 for anyone who can identify this man.

WINTER SALE

Hello possum, you’re

long way from home

By JEN REWELL

A western ringtail possum is critically ill after being dumped in Kings Park, hundreds of kilometres from its natural habitat..

WA Wildlife Hospital is treating the possum after it was found showing signs of a neurological condition, including seizures.

“She’s now under the dedicated care of Dr Sophie, receiving IV ﬂuids, sedation and supportive medications as we do everything we can to stabilise her,” a spokesperson said.

“This possum’s condition remains critical, but we’re giving her every chance.”

It is not the ﬁrst time a western ringtail possum has been found in Kings Park.

“They occasionally hitchhike on vehicles and are sometimes deliberately released here by travellers unaware of the consequences,” the spokesperson said.

“These animals must be returned to their original habitat to have a real chance of survival.”

The western ringtail possum is recognised as a threatened species under state and commonwealth legislation, and is critically endangered.

Its natural range is in WA’s South-West, concentrated around Geographe Bay’s peppermint tree woodlands, between the capes, and in state forest near Manjimup.

Ringtail possums have a slender prehensile tail which is as long as, or longer, than the rest

of its body, with a white tip and short fur.

The species usually has dark fur and small rounded ears.

It may be confused with a common brushtail possum, which is bigger and usually has silver-grey fur with a pale belly and a brushy tail.

Anyone who ﬁnds a possum “hitchhiker” after travelling is asked to contact the Wildcare Helpline on 9474 9055.

Right angle for Jolimont school

Jolimont Primary School’s drab quadrangle is set to get a complete makeover 10 years after it was ﬁrst identiﬁed as tired and outdated.

The tender for the upgrade went out recently.

It incorporates earthworks, retaining walls, irrigation systems, soft landscaping, furniture, timber decking, shade sails and furniture.

Work is expected to ﬁnish by the start of the 2026 school year.

“We’re excited about the incredible progress of the Joligreen Project,” school principal Barbara Ifﬂa said.

“This bold initiative is set to transform Jolimont Primary’s internal courtyard into a lively, versatile space ﬁlled

‘TIRED AND OUTDATED’

with greenery, pathways, and seating.

“With a focus on sustainability and student wellbeing, the Joligreen Project will help cool surrounding classrooms, provide a peaceful, shaded retreat, and create a rich, sensory environment that encourages learning, play, and connection.”

The school and P&C have been working together since 2015 on the long-term vision for the shabby site.

Ms Ifﬂa said students were closely involved with the project and last year every student took part in a design

consultation process, created their own concepts and shared their ideas with landscape architects.

“Their input shaped the vision, with key suggestions including shaded seating areas, native trees and shrubs to attract birdlife, winding paths, and features to ensure disability accessibility for all,” she said.

The school community raised more than $20,000 this year towards the cost of the project, including plant and cake sales to voters at

the recent federal and state elections when the school was used as a ballot centre (Jolimont goes green on polling day, POST, March 8).

Work on the quadrangle is due to take place over the Christmas break.

The next stage of fundraising initiatives will begin with purchasing personalised bricks, mature trees and sponsoring seating, Ms Ifﬂa said.

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RIGHT: This sickly western ringtail possum was found in Kings Park by a member of the public.

A makeover will transform the quadrangle at Jolimont Primary School.

John Hughes

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Let’s hear it for Oryx

The builder has delivered the ﬁve-level “Melvista” agedcare facility for Oryx, despite the 600-plus local residents’ objections to the bulk, height, plot ratio, minimal setbacks, lack of green spaces and “shovel ready” delays.

Two years at an estimated $45million.

The locals will miss the 50-plus workers a day walking up and down Melvista Avenue from 6.15am (weekends included), other SUVs occupying child-care parking spaces, loud music, the smokos, the food rubbish, the heavy trucks, cranes, cement mixers and regular road closures, the broken reticulation, damaged roads and kerbs.

Please email your letter to letters@postnewspapers.com.au, lodge online at postnewspapers.com.au or snail mail to: The Editor, 276 Onslow

All letters must include writer’s full name, address and daytime phone no. for veriﬁcation. Boring letters or those over 300 words will be cut. Deadline: Noon

I enjoy reading the POST each week, mainly to keep up to date with the latest goingson in our councils, but also to read with fascination the passion western suburbanites have with trees.

Neighbours hope Oryx is able to treat its new clients with better integrity and transparency, both so far absent in their communications despite rumours it is “open for business”.

This is the price residents pay for “inappropriate development”, with no reduction in rates for loss of amenity.

S.J. Stevens Melvista Avenue, Nedlands

Suburban unity beats views from the railway divide

G. Gmeinder (Don’t sink our lovely railway, Letters, August 2) laments about train travellers losing precious views if the Perth to Fremantle rail line is sunk, as recently called for by new Cottesloe MLA Sandra Brewer. They need not however lose views of Leighton beach if the line is only sunk north of there, through Cottesloe only insofar as needed to be rid of the Eric Street bridge and three boomgated rail crossings.

They will lose views of “pleasant green neighbourhoods” through which the line is sunk, but these leafy, family friendly houses have to be demolished to make way for blocks of ﬂats to meet inﬁll

targets, unless saved by sinking a realigned Curtin Avenue with the rail line so all the new dwellings can instead be built on land freed up between old Curtin Avenue and Stirling Highway, Brixton and Railway streets.

This freed-up land would connect all of Cottesloe and Mosman Park, east to west.

Some could be developed to help defray costs, some for playing ﬁelds for North Cottesloe and Cottesloe primary schools.

Beneﬁts far outweigh unpleasantries from a tunnel in Cottesloe similar to Subiaco’s, and much better than fewer crossings, replaced with underpasses prone to ﬂooding and trains past houses

at rooftop level.

Why, then, was this idea, to sink the rail and road, recently removed by Cottesloe council from long being in its community plan for the future, even though this was one of the most popular outcomes sought in the feedback it got from the community for this plan?

Kevin

Morgan

Pearse Street, Cottesloe

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/

I don’t think I’ve read a single issue without at least one letter or article about trees, the latest being the front page story by Jen Rewell (Doomed tuart saves private trees, August 2) in which senior SAT member Stephen Willey chastises Cambridge council for allowing a large, spreading tuart tree on a private block in City Beach to be cut down to allow for a fairly typical, large City Beach two-storey residence with swimming pool.

According to Dr Willey, “It is beyond argument ... that the tuart tree was, and remains, a signiﬁcant tree”.

The POST caption states that the tree once “towered over the suburb”. I don’t know what qualiﬁes Dr Willey to be so forthright in his assessment of this tree, and I’m not sure if it really did tower over City Beach,

so I did some research into what makes a tree “signiﬁcant” in WA. I found that some of the key attributes are aesthetic value, rarity, old age, commemorative value, association with public ﬁgures or cultural heritage.

The WA National Trust keeps a Register of Signiﬁcant Trees. That list includes well-known trees such as the Gloucester Tree at Pemberton (karri), numerous port jackson and moreton bay ﬁgs in the metro area (sadly being attacked by the shothole borer), many norfolk island pines and a number of tuarts including a group of 36 at the Jurien Bay cemetery.

Did anyone think to nominate the doomed, perhaps infamous, tuart tree in City Beach to be nominated for inclusion in the register?

Did it warrant nomination?

I have my doubts.

John Clarke Crosby Street, Floreat

JoJo’s jetty obvious place for ferry

We were shocked to read that our state Government proposes to locate a ferry terminal in the middle of Matilda Bay, ignoring the unanimous advice of all riverusing groups and individuals including UWA. JoJo’s jetty at the end of Broadway is the obvious agreed best location from every point

Delivering

of view and even has already a continuous bus service (97) connecting with UWA and Matilda Bay. If you want to see the peace and beauty of this wonderful place preserved make your views known to Minister. Safﬁoti@dpc.wa.gov.au. Allison and Allan Chapple Nicholson Road, Subiaco

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The spindly remains of the controversial City Beach tuart, now slated for final removal.

The Oryx aged-care facility in Melvista Avenue, Nedlands, apparently finished and ready for its first occupants. Photo: S. Stevens

Photo: Paul McGovern

Hale musicians strike a chord

Four Hale School students will be the only West Australians in the national final of a music competition in Melbourne on August 30.

To help fund the boys’ travel and accommodation, Musica Viva will hold a fundraising concert at 2pm on Sunday August 24 at Christ Church, Claremont.

The Hale Bravura String Quartet comprises Year 9 music scholarship students who will perform in the Strike A Chord final at Melbourne Recital Centre.

The boys began playing together in Year 7 and are among 12 ﬁnalists from across the nation.

Violinists Joshua Woods and Seth Cheah, viola player Zachary Madan and Jordan Scott on cello will play Schubert’s Death and the Maiden.

The ﬁnal will be broadcast from the Melbourne Recital Centre and West Australians can watch it live online.

To purchase tickets for the fundraising recital, or to register to watch the Strike a Chord ﬁnal online, go to musicaviva. com.au.

‘Snot

scary’ stories to take off in Subiaco

WA author Kylie Howarth is set to launch her latest graphic novel, Kev & Trev: Snot Scary Jungle Stories, at Subiaco Library on Saturday August 16, from 10.30am to noon.

The graphic novel is suitable for early readers and includes plenty of adventures with hairy spiders, poisonous frogs and cheeky monkeys.

Kids aged seven years and up are invited to the book launch, which will include a reading from the book, snacks, a scavenger hunt, games and crafts.

Kylie recently won the WA Premier’s Book Award Writer’s Fellowship and has been shortlisted for the Children’s Book

Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards, and other national and state awards.

She designs and writes her books with dyslexic children in mind. She has spoken in public about dyslexia and said: “I carefully space words, letters and lines to allow maximum readability.

“One of my main characters mixes up words and letters when reading.

“Many kids will relate to their reading struggle and (I hope) feel understood as they see themselves represented on the page.”

To book a free ticket to the book launch, visit subiaco. wa.gov.au/events.

U3A Cambridge to go nuclear

Two presentations at the University of the Third Age (U3A) Cambridge branch on Thursday, August 14, will be about nuclear power.

Metallurgist Tim O’Brien will argue that renewable energy is expensive and nuclear energy is not, and outline how a nuclear power plant works.

Dave Howcroft will give a talk titled Major Industrial Accidents in Operation and Design, with examples of how the major nu-

clear accidents at Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl were preventable.

The meeting is at 1.30pm at Ocean Gardens Retirement Village, Kalinda Drive, City Beach. Admission is $3.

For details phone Jim Barns on 94486432 or email jnjbarns@ bigpond.com.

The Ocean Gardens Seaview Restaurant is open for lunch before the U3A meeting. To book phone Michelina on 0407 516 001 or 9285 3017.

Kylie Howarth

Hale School’s Bravura String Quartet musicians are from left Joshua Woods, Jordan Scott, Seth Cheah, Zachary Madan.

Duck out for a winter walk

It’s good weather for ducks and a goodly number of them are enjoying the winter rain at Herdsman Lake.

There are grey teal, musk ducks, wood ducks, paciﬁc black, pink-eared and blue-billed ducks on the water and enjoying the conditions.

You could spot a group of rare freckled ducks, or the solo wandering whistling-duck that has ventured farther south than its usual habitat and has been sojourning at the lake for a few weeks.

Some of the ducks have been busy and the ﬁrst ﬂuffy ducklings are starting to hatch.

To ﬁnd out more about the birds at Herdsman Lake, members of the public are invited to a walk hosted by the Gould League next Saturday, August 16. It will be led by experts from Birdlife WA, who will give a short talk beforehand.

Bring binoculars if you have them and wear shoes suitable for the wet, muddy paths. Binoculars will be available to borrow for those who don’t own a pair.

The two-hour walk begins at 8am, at the Herdsman Lake

Discovery Centre, which is accessed from the corner of Flynn and Selby Streets, Wembley. Bookings are essential by going to gouldleague.com.au and clicking on Monthly Morning Birdwalk.

How cycling changed the world

When the idea of two-wheeled travel was raised in the early 1800s it was met with disbelief and fascination.

The social history of cycling will be the topic of a talk to be given at the U3A Western Suburbs branch this Monday, August 11.

At 2.30pm Alan Naber will discuss the enormous impact cycling had on society, including in Australia, Britain, Europe and the US.

Alan will follow a talk by

Museum marks 80 years since Pacific war ended

The Army Museum of WA will commemorate the 80-year anniversary of Victory in the Paciﬁc Day with an exhibition and book sale.

A museum volunteer said the Japanese attack on the US Navy base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on December 7 1941 sparked a dramatic turn of events in World War II.

It brought the US into the conﬂict across the Paciﬁc, and the Australian government also declared war on Japan, moving troops from the Middle East and

the Mediterranean closer to home to protect Australia and its neighbours.

The bombing of Pearl Harbour was the start of four years of ﬁghting which saw the fall of Singapore in February 1942, the horrors of the Thai-Burma railway, the Sandakan death march and the battles of Kokoda and Milne Bay.

It ended only after the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945.

Australian Prime Minister Ben

Chifley announced on August 15 that the Japanese government had accepted the terms of surrender imposed by the Allied nations, ending fighting in the Pacific three months after Nazi Germany had similarly surrendered in Europe.

The Army Museum of WA’s exhibition of photographs, uniforms, artifacts and story-boards about West Australians who served in the war will be launched next Friday, August 15, with a sale of second-hand and rare military books.

Denise Beer at 1pm, about Irish migration.

Denise will discuss why, when and from where the Irish left their native land for destinations around the world.

The U3A western suburbs branch meets at the Grove Library community precinct. Visitors are welcome. A $3 entry charge includes light refreshments.

For more information phone Sath on 0413 212 513 or email sath.moodley@gmail.com.

The museum is in the former artillery barracks on Burt Street, Fremantle. The exhibition will continue

until August 30. For more information visit armymuseumwa.com.au or phone 9430 2535.

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Grey teal ducks enjoying the wintry conditions at Herdsman Lake.

Photo: Beth Walker

It is 80 years since the Japanese government surrendered in World War II, ending fighting in the Pacific.

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How to not catch a nasty travel bug

A renowned expert in infectious diseases will give a presentation in Floreat on August 21 on how not to catch a travel bug.

Professor Nick Beeching will be guest speaker at the next meeting of the Wembley Downs Probus Club.

Nick Beeching

Prof. Beeching is a former president of the British Infection Society and director of the Royal College of Physicians of London.

He migrated to Australia from Liverpool where he held the position of Emeritus Professor of Infectious Diseases at Liverpool University.

His light-hearted talk is

entitled Travellers’ Tales – What to Catch and Where to Catch It, which covers how best to avoid the worst of the diseases that roam the globe.

It will be pitched for a non-medical audience, illustrated, and offer practical advice.

Attendees will be invited to ask questions.

The meeting will be at the Cambridge Bowling Club, 39 Chandler Avenue West, Floreat, at 9.30 for a 10am start and the $5 entry fee includes morning tea. Register by phoning Bob Bredemeyer on 0417 093696, Rod Cohen on 0481 361415, or email Bredemeyer@gmail.com.

Can you give a hand at the Charlies gift shop?

The Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Auxiliary shop, known as Charlies Gifts and More, has been operating for 50 years with mostly volunteer helpers.

The shop is in E Block, near the newsagency and post ofﬁce, and in 50 years has raised more

provided a gift to every patient in hospital on Christmas Day.

“We are always looking for volunteers in the shop,” he said.

“The shift is for four hours morning or afternoon.

“Some experience in handling cash via a simple cash register would be great but training will be available.”

From little grants, big trees grow

Community land care and bush care groups are invited to apply now for a grant to help fund tree-planting

Healthy Cities Landcare Grants of between $5000 and $25,000 are available for nont, community environmental groups. Applications must be in by August 22.

Last year the program funded the planting of 106,500 native trees, shrubs and ground covers across Australia, including at Lake Claremont.

Friends of Lake Claremont received a Healthy Cities Landcare grant to revegetate land stripped bare by the removal of moreton bay ﬁg trees infested with polyphagous shot

Landcare Australia is a national not-for-proﬁt organisation that began 35 years ago. For more information search “2025 healthy cities landcare grants” online, or go to landcareaustralia.org.au.

Tony Barr revegetating land at Lake Claremont after mature trees were lost to the shot hole borer. Landcare is offering community groups grants to plant trees.

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HOME OPEN TIMES

12.00 – 12.45pm, Sat 9 August

5.00 – 5.30pm, Thur 14 August 11.00 – 11.45am, Sat 16 August

OLIVIA RUELLO 0412 220 225

olivia@wallacerealestate.com.au

JUSTIN WALLACE 0406 755 845

justin@wallacerealestate.com.au

Sing out in the language of music

The Perth International Voice Choir is recruiting, and singers of all abilities and backgrounds are welcome, with no audition required.

The choir describes itself as a vibrant, multicultural group performing music from around the world in different languages.

Don’t be shy. The Perth International Voice Choir is recruiting new members who love to sing. The choir performs music from around the world, in various languages.

It is led by choir director Evgenia Moore who brings more than 30 years of experience to the role.

“Our rehearsals are full of energy, fun and friendship,” she said.

“Whether you’re a seasoned performer or just love singing in the shower– come and say hi.”

The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7.15pm in the Music Art Academy Studio at 74 Waratah Avenue, Dalkeith.

For more information phone Evgenia on 0449 192 165.

Scientist to address a burning issue

Do prescribed burns truly reduce the risk of bushﬁre in WA? Or are they a waste of public money?

This Tuesday, August 12, the Wildﬂower Society of WA Perth branch will host guest speaker Peta Kelsey to talk about WA’s prescribed burning program.

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions in WA spends millions of dollars a year on its prescribed burns program.

But critics question the program’s effectiveness, and say it harms our ecology, our health, and the climate.

Peta is a physicist and mathematician who has spent her career in geophysics and mathematical modelling for government departments and Curtin University.

She retired from the Department of Environmental Regulation in 2023 and has turned her attention to the DBCA prescribed burning program.

Nominate a high achieving woman

Nominations are now open for the biannual 2025 Soroptimist International Award for Achievement.

The award recognises a West Australian woman who has made a signiﬁcant contribution in her ﬁeld and to the community. Nominees do not have to be a member of Soroptimist International.

The winning recipient will receive a grant of up to $10,000 to undertake a project over two years of beneﬁt to women and girls.

The project must align with the Soroptimist International vision and objectives.

She will also discuss the impact of prescribed burns on WA’s biodiversity, and on carbon emissions and air quality.

The meeting will be at The Palms

She will discuss how it operates, its objectives, and its outcomes, whether broad-scale burns truly reduce bushﬁre risk, or if they’re a waste of public money.

Community Centre, corner of Nicholson and Rokeby roads. Doors open at 7.45 for an 8pm start. The $3 entry includes a chance to win the door prize. All are welcome. For more information email the Wildﬂower Society of WA Perth Branch at perth.branch@wildﬂowersocietywa. org.au.

Historic Elegance Meets Modern Renewal

19 Glyde Street, East Fremantle

These relate to education, the elimination of violence, economic empowerment, environmental sustainability, disaster relief, health care and food security.

Soroptimist International works to help women and girls achieve their potential and have an equal voice in creating strong, peaceful communities around the world.

Nominations must be in by September 30. For more information go to soroptimistwa.org.au and click on “Soroptimist Award”.

The historic stone exterior is a delightful nod to century-old charm within: beautiful period archways, intricate ceiling roses. The original dwelling encompasses four generous bedrooms including one with

A leafy streetscape lined with character homes is the perfect setting for this elegant 1900s residence –

Dobro 0409 229 115

ABOVE: Bush stripped bare by fire. ABOVE RIGHT: Jarrah-marri forest regenerating after fire in D’Entrecasteaux National Park. Photo: Graham Zemunik

We’re proud to have successfully sold two remarkable Subiaco residences122 Heytesbury Road and 94 Hensman Road. Both properties were rich in character and charm, each offering something truly special. With strong buyer interest, we achieved outstanding results for both vendors, reﬂecting the continued demand for quality heritage homes in this tightly held suburb.

Sound like an expert with Glenn’s sports books

A generous donation of sports books made by former ABC sports commentator Glenn Mitchell will feature at this year’s Save The Children Book Sale at the University of Western Australia.

His donation amounts to more than 1000 titles about sports, some of them autographed.

Glenn told book sale volunteers his collection was a source for many of the stories he told as part of his commentary.

Former sports commentators, husband and wife Glenn Mitchell and Karen Tigue. Glenn has donated more than 1000 sports books to the Save the Children

He needed a vast knowledge of cricket especially, because a lot of downtime had to be ﬁlled with entertaining anecdotes about the game.

Glenn was a sports commentator at the ABC for more than 20 years, and known as “The Oracle” due to his vast knowledge.

Books in his collection will be available to buy during the two-day Flash Sale in Hackett Cafe next Saturday, August 16, from 9am to 4pm, and Sunday from 9am to 2pm.

After that they will be with the main book sale in the Winthrop Hall undercroft at UWA.

The Save the Children winter

book sale will include ﬁction for adults and children, and one of the biggest ranges of non-ﬁction books Perth has ever seen.

There will also be graphic novels and comics, sheet music, CDs and DVDs.

The sale starts on Friday, from 3pm to 9pm. After that it will open at 9am each day, closing at 5pm Saturday and Sunday, 6pm on Monday, and 7pm on Tuesday, to end on Wednesday August 20 at 3pm.

For more information search “Save the children winter book sale 2025”.

Volunteers are needed each day, and to help set up on August 14. Email sonia.holmes@savethe-

You just might spot a purple backed fairy wren, or redtailed black cockatoos while walking in Kings Park in September.

The Everlasting Kings Park Festival from September 12 to 29 celebrates WA’s famous ﬂora and the pressing need for their conservation.

So much to explore and celebrate in Kings Park

September 7 at 10.30am.

The Rich Bushland Resources walk will be Tuesday September 9 at 10am.

While Kings Park staff offer workshops, displays, talks, and family activities, the Kings Park Volunteer Guides will run free daily Discover Kings Park walks, plus seasonal walks to the end of October, and themed walks.

Topics include bush survival, bush tucker and beautiful birds and ﬂowers.

See the Diverse Divas of the Sandplains on Sunday

Don’t miss Awesome Orchids on Friday September 12 at 9.30am, or Brilliant Banksias on Thursday September 18 at 11am.

Book in for Finding Our Fabulous Feathered Friends on Friday September 19, Tuesday September 30 and Saturday October 18.

For more information go to kingsparkguides.com.au or follow Kings Park volunteer guides on Eventbrite.com.au.

Fund book sale.

Stunning native plants in flower at K ings Park include beaufortia, above, and a flat wattle.

Photos: Georgie Wilson

35 Alwoodley Terrace, Dunsborough

$1,890,000 21178m2 4 2

double garage, and workshop, this home delivers everything you need—and more—to live the laid-back Dunsborough dream. Opportunities like this are rare.

9 Alwoodley Terrace, Dunsborough 22 1104m²

Discover a rare blend of charm, space and potential in this beautifully positioned 2 bed 2 bath cottage, nestled in one of Dunsborough’s favourite spots

Framed by tranquil bushland on two sides and set on a sprawling 1104m² block, it offers a peaceful escape with incredible versatility

Ideal for buyers seeking a lock-and-leave holiday retreat, downsizers, or investors looking for a dual-living setup. With its cozy yet functional layout, it provides immediate comfort while also holding fantastic potential to retain the existing residence as ancillary accommodation and build your dream home alongside

This is more than a property—it’s a lifestyle Opportunities like this are rare in the Southwest. Secure your slice of Dunsborough today

Offers presented by5pm 13.08.2025 (Unless sold prior)

Units 1, 4 & 6 / 13 Burler Drive, Vasse

Establish your business in this modern, Reid Henderson designed development in the heart of Vasse’s light

nk between Busselton, Dunsborough, Cowaramup and the Margaret River region

Constructed of tilt panels, each unit features easy access via 4 5m x 4 5m remote control doors, private bathrooms & kitchenette, and an abundance of exclusive use parking

Unit 1 449m² + 36m² mezzanine $1,400,000 + GST

Unit 6 179m² + 40m² mezzanine $649,000 + GST Set within a thoughtfully designed complex with wide drive-through access and striking street appeal, these units are perfect for businesses wanting to make a statement A rare opportunity to secure a modern, high impact commercial space in a rapidly growing region Completion is expected to be late 2026

$649,000 - $1,400,000 + GST

Designed by Giles Honen, this solar passive home was created to celebrate connection with nature. High ceilings, carefully positioned windows and seamless indoor/outdoor flow make the most of natural light and seasonal comfort.

www.garlandinternational.com.au

This unique property features:

· Multiple indoor/outdoor living zones

· North facing terrace with pizza oven

· 8 rows of Shiraz wine grapes (20 vines per row)

· Underfloor heating to kitchen and study

· Table grapes on two pergolas

· Master suite/private guest wing

· Additional Studio/5th bedroom

· Almond, macadamia, fig, avocado & mango trees

· 12 olive trees · Citrus & stone fruit trees

This charming property offers:

· Private entrance bridge over a winter stream

· Parkland cleared paddocks with mature Jarrah & Marri trees

· 4 bay farm shed & workshop for projects, hobbies or future plans Welcome

Nestled between Gidgegannup and the historic Chidlow community, this property offers the ideal weekend getaway or a canvas to build your area lifestyle.

· Adjoins the pristine John Forrest National Park - great for walking

· 6 fenced paddocks with functional sheep & cattle yards

· A dam, bore, rainwater tanks & windmill supply

· Established fruit trees

Rid your home of everyday plastics

There’s a new, free collection point to leave plastic household goods. Ask the onsite staff which plastics can, and can’t, be recycled.

Historic charm of Darling Scarp

Mention the Swan Valley and the gentle slopes of vineyards, wine tasting and al fresco dining come to mind.

But the area’s European history dates back to the Swan River Colony’s earliest days, as the Rev. Rob Healy will explain at the Probus Club of Subiaco meeting on Monday, August 11.

He will explore the European history of the Swan Valley, including the ﬁrst attempts to grow grapes and the churches built along the Darling Scarp. Rob is an Anglican minister who has served two historic churches in the Swan Valley – All Saints at Henley Brook and St Mary’s Middle Swan. He is a former high school

history and geography teacher and has a passion for sharing stories and insights into our shared history.

His talk will be at St Edmund’s Anglican Church Hall, 54 Pangbourne Street,

Wembley, at 11am, after the business meeting at 10am.

Entry $5 includes morning tea and a door prize ticket.

To register, email Kerry on kerryeivers@yahoo.com.au or

The West Metropolitan Recycling Centre has started a new, free collection point to recycle damaged or replaced plastic household items that would otherwise end up in landﬁll.

Plastic items accepted include chopping boards, lunch boxes, Tupperware containers, laundry baskets, bins, crates, buckets and DVD cases.

Plastic items not accepted include “very rigid plastics” such as CD cases, mixed plastics such as children’s toys, silicone and soft plastics such as plastic bags.

said: “While we want to encourage everyone to move away from plastics in the ﬁrst place, it’s also important that residents have access to a responsible method of disposal for items they already have.

“We are very pleased to launch this new collection to facilitate plastic recycling in our local community and support residents in transitioning to a lowerplastic lifestyle.”

Move away from plastics ‘ ’

The WMRC is urging members of the public to turn the tide on plastic consumption by replacing plastic items with plastic-free alternatives such as stainless-steel water bottles and food containers, bamboo chopping boards, and wicker or cloth baskets.

The WMRC said the Claw Environmental plastic recycling company in Welshpool turned unwanted plastic into pellets which local manufacturers processed into new bins, crates, and reticulation parts.

Claw already recycled plastic lids and plant pots left at the recycling centre.

WMRC CEO Stuart Devenish

A spokeswoman for the WMRC said recent data showed only 13 to 16 per cent of plastics are recycled in Australia.

The rest ended up in landﬁll and could take hundreds of years to break down – which then contaminated land, air and water with microplastic particles.

The WMRC is at 60 Lemnos Street, Shenton Park. Enter off Brockway Road.

It is open Monday to Friday 7.30am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 4pm, and 7.30am to 2pm on all public holidays except Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

For more information phone 9384 6711 or go to wmrc.wa.gov. au and click on “recycling and disposal”, or ask a WMRC staff member on site.

The All Saints Anglican Church at Henley Brook, above, is one of the oldest churches in WA.

Teachers wanted for van life in WA

Are you a retired teacher looking for volunteer work which comes with adventure?

Revise WA is calling for new tutors to provide short-term assistance to children in remote and regional parts of the state.

Revise stands for the Retired Educator Volunteers for Isolated Students Education, and Revise WA tutors work with parents who supervise their children’s distance education under the School of the Air (SOTA) program.

Tutors travel to regional and remote locations to give

parents a welcome break from teaching for between two and six weeks.

They also offer advice to parents, to increase their conﬁdence and skills in managing their children’s education.

A spokeswoman said Revise WA reimbursed tutors’ travel costs, and families could provide meals and accommodation if required.

“Many tutors take their own caravans,” she said.

She urged retired teachers to get in touch: “There could be a whole new retired life of

Renovating or repairing your home?

Each week, the POST lists tradespeople who provide every kind of household service, from unblocking drains to unravelling the mysteries of your new television.They’ll do your books, clean or paint your house, landscape the garden, do handyman repairs or build an entire house.

Readers tell us they’ve carried out major extensions and renovations just by using the POST Trades & Services directory near the back pages of every edition. To advertise, email robyn@postnewspapers.com.au

So support POST advertisers - they make your free local paper possible.

Footballer to talk about men’s mental health

Former West Coast Eagle Brayden Ainsworth will talk at Claremont Football Club this weekend, Friday, August 8 at 6pm, about his mental health and history of anorexia.

Brayden, aged 26, is from Esperance and was drafted at the age of 18, playing for the Eagles from 2018-2021.

“I was stoked to be drafted, it was all that I ever wanted,” he said.

“When I was dropped at the end of 2021, it felt like my world had ended and everything started to go downhill.”

He was admitted to hospital the next year with anorexia nervosa and deteriorating mental health.

Today, he works to serve others.

He is the director of the Happiness Co, a not-for-proﬁt mental health organisation that aims to help people believe in themselves and ﬁnd sustained happiness.

Happiness Co and the Esus Centre in Subiaco have partnered to present at the event,

Redefining Strength: Men’s Mental Health.

“We grow up thinking strength is about how much you can lift, never how much you carry in silence,” Brayden said.

“For too long, I thought opening up made me weak. It turns out it was the strongest thing I’ve ever done. I was terriﬁed to say anything.

“The shame, fear of being judged, kept me silent for years but silence nearly broke me. Speaking up saved me.

“The moment I spoke out, I felt free, like I’d ﬁnally put down the weight I’d been carrying for far too long.”

The response had been overwhelmingly supportive.

“To me, strength isn’t just muscle,” he said.

“It’s knowing your mind, your heart, your values and using that to build yourself and lift others up too.”

Tickets are $20 and can be booked by going to humanitix. com and searching “redeﬁning strength”.

The life of a crime scribe

Former crime reporter Cyril Ayris will be guest speaker at an Australian Independent Retirees meeting next Friday, August 15.

Cyril was a newspaper journalist for 36 years, 25 of them on the crime beat.

adventure waiting for you in the Outback.”

Volunteers do not need to be currently registered teachers, but do need a Working with Children check, and a National Police Clearance.

Revise WA has been supporting the education of children and their families in remote and regional parts of WA for 33 years.

For more information go to revisewa.com.au or contact the Revise WA coordinator on 0427 931 077.

Cambridge

Frank Honey and Gavin Arrow took top honours last Friday, August 1. Second were Paula Poynter and Dina Shah. There was no play on Monday, Wednesday or Saturday because of the bad weather, and the greens were under water. Book now for a curry meal after bowls on August 20. Contact Cambridge Bowling Club on 9387 3018, email cambridgebowlsclub@bigpond.com or look for us on Facebook.

Dalkeith Nedlands

A total of 41 players took part in sets play in ﬁne weather on Thursday July 31. Two teams won both sets with a 12-shot margin, with the winner decided on a countback. The winning team were Ron Stapleton, Brian Burton and Ian Freedman. Runners-up were Michael Joyce, Celia Bakker and David Wood. Third were Alan Rowe, Pat

He has covered assignments in widely scattered locations including the Sahara Desert, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Central Borneo, Nepal and Japan.

He has written 21 books and has just published his autobiography.

At the AIR meeting he will chat about his experiences at home and abroad.

The meeting on Friday will be at 10am at Cambridge Bowling Club, in Chandler Avenue, Floreat.

Clohessy, Martin Adams and Roger Gray 2 sets +10. Other winners were Heather Hince, Brian Page and Marion Macaulay 2 sets +9; Ric Camins, Rod Tilt, Chris Biris and Bruce Fiegert 2 sets +5; Ross MacKenzie, John Shaw and Tony Payne 1 set +1. Heavy rain and strong winds meant bowls had to be cancelled on Saturday.

The Hollywood ladies’ teams played against Perth and Tattersalls Club in the Innaloo Winter Bowls Program on a bitterly cold Tuesday July 29. Betsy Tapley, Anne Ormsby, Nada Bonny and Margaret McHugh lost 12-24. Usha Nigam, Jeannine Millsteed, Lesley

It is free for AIR members and $5 for visitors which includes morning tea and a ticket for the door prize.

For more information phone David Brooke on 9368 6275 or email dfbrooke@bigpond.com or Margaret Walsh at marghw@ outlook.com.

went to Ian Thomas and Chris Hughes.

Bowling

Langley, and Thera Howat lost 11-22.

Thursday July 31 was fine and in three bowl triples Mark Wilde, Craig Hirsch and Wally Graham prevailed over Ron Palmer, Allan Evans and Jim West 21-11. Mike Baford, David Allport and Milton Byass scored two on the last end for the win 8-6 over Mick Canci, John Horsfall and Glen Morey.

Saturday was once again a wash-out, as was Sunday Scroungers.

Wet and windy weather meant only Friday pairs were played last week. The winners were Cameron Hoffman and Mark Robertson, and runnersup Lisa Featherby and Cathie Smith. The plate

The Monday night dinners are proving popular and the wine and cheese night was a success. Members wanting to play pennants are urged to get their names in before team allocation. Mahjong is played on Thursday mornings at 9am. All that is required is social membership of the bowling club.

Play was not possible last Saturday, August 2, after heavy rain turned the pistes into pools of water. The club will hold another round of the President’s Cup this Saturday, weather permitting. It will also host training sessions for women who will compete soon in international tournaments. Visitors are welcome on Saturdays and Wednesdays. For more information go to petanquesubiaco.com.

Mosman Park

Subiaco Pétanque

Hollywood Subiaco

Revise volunteer teacher Chris Cairns with Matilda, Alice and Gordon Homewood at Wondinong Station.

Cyril Ayris, above, and his autobiography Chameleon: Reporter At Large.

41 Chicago Way, Dunsborough

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2/17 North Street, Dunsborough

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4 Clamp Circuit, Dunsborough

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Spacious. Immaculate. Seriously Impressive. This superbly presented home delivers space, style, and functionality. Showcasing three light-ﬁlled living areas and quality ﬁnishes throughout. Neat yard and covered alfresco for entertaining.

Rare land, coveted location. Vacant site just steps from the sparkling waters of Geographe Bay presents an exceptional chance to build in the heart of Old Dunsborough. This partially fenced, survey-strata block oﬀers potential for ocean views.

Located in the ultra family-friendly Cape Rise Estate, this

UEM looks for Subi Oval tower builder

By Claire Tyrrell

Building giant Multiplex is negotiating with UEM Sunrise to build its $450million triple tower project in Subiaco, with the Malaysian company marking a major milestone in its ﬁrst Perth development.

Several UEM executives travelled from Kuala Lumpur to mark the launch of the display suite for the proposed 342-dwelling project.

The project sits on DevelopmentWA’s Subiaco East precinct, formerly Subiaco Oval, and has drawn criticism from parts of the community.

It comprises a 36-storey and 26-storey building on Lot 1 of the site and an 11-storey tower on Lot 2.

The Lot 2 tower will have 41 of its 97 units

allocated to affordable housing in a bid to fulﬁl DevelopmentWA’s 12 per cent social and affordable housing requirement.

UEM Sunrise’s Haﬁzuddin Sulaiman said the company was pushing ahead with plans to start construction in 2026.

He acknowledged the difficulties associated with securing builders for large scale apartment projects in the current environment, but said he was determined to source an external builder rather than build in-house.

“This is something that we are committed to deliver,” Mr Sulaiman said.

“As a lot of people would know, there’s not a lot of builders that typically do high rise here in Perth.

“One of the things that we [want] to put in action

is partner [with] builders who also have a pipeline here in Perth.

“We hope that we have [a] partner builder that will also embark on that investment together with us.”

Mr Sulaiman said it was not UEM Sunrise’s model to build internally.

“We have never built in-house,” he said.

“I think the baseline is to work with somebody like Multiplex to come and work with us, [preferably] builders who are already

in this space.”

Business News understands that UEM is in talks with Multiplex to build the Subiaco project, dubbed One Oval, but nothing is set in stone.

Subiaco mayor David McMullen said the City’s approach to residential development was “to put density where density is due”.

“For us, that means density around train stations and around shared infrastructure,” he said.

Sutton takes control of Regent Motors

By Mark Pownall

Automotive industry leader Tyson Sutton has taken full control of Regent Motors, one of the biggest car retailing groups in the country.

Regent Motors sells 30,000 vehicles a year, turning over a conservatively reported $1.2billion, and was majority owned by the family of Andre Van Helvoort who co-founded the business in 1962.

Mr Sutton, estimated to be worth $195million last year, has been in the driv-

ing seat at Regent Motors for decades.

He became a director of company in 2007, led the growth of the business and became a major shareholder around 2013.

Regent has about 20 dealerships under various brands around the state, as well as an online sales business, making it one of the signiﬁcant players in the state alongside Eagers Automotive, Tony White Group and Autoleague.

Regent dealerships include Scarboro Toyota, Galleria Toyota, Range

Ford, Westcoast BMW and the majority shareholding in Auto Classic.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission records show that

the companies associated with the Van Helvoort’s family ofﬁce Wirrimbirra Investment Group ceased to own shares in Regent Motors this week.

ASIC records also show Mr Sutton’s interest took full control of Ukemi Investments, the company that controls the property assets underlying the car dealerships, thought to be worth hundreds of millions.

The price Mr Sutton paid for Regent has not been disclosed.

Panel approves West Perth self-storage

By Nadia Budihardjo

A self-storage facility on a West Perth site owned by the family of Kreepy Krauly founder Terry Jackson has been approved.

National storage operator StoreLocal proposed a seven-storey self-storage facility, comprising 526 units, at 20 Sutherland Street opposite City West, owned by Offa Pty Ltd.

A render of the proposed self-storage facility.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission documents show Offa is owned by the late Terry Jackson’s children Andrew Jackson and Sarah Davis.

The 4300sq.m vacant block has been in the hands of the Jackson family for 37 years and is well known for a billboard that features Kreepy Krauly advertising.

The Metro Inner Development Assessment Panel unanimously approved the $27million application this week.

The approved selfstorage facility will be accessible for users 24/7.

StoreLocal, led by Brisbane-based chief executive Hans Pearson, already operates four facilities in WA, and 40 across Australia.

TBB Planning principal Jarrod Rodd, said the City of Perth’s aspiration to signiﬁcantly grow its residential density created a substantial demand for local storage facilities.

“The majority of that growth will be achieved through apartments and when people move into

apartments, they’ll quickly realise they don’t have a lot of space to store the stuff that they don’t use on a regular basis,” he said at the meeting.

“That generates quite a signiﬁcant demand for self-storage facilities like this one.

“People want selfstorage facilities that are reasonably close to their local area … so these facilities are important in attracting and growing a residential population of a CBD area.”

Mr Ross said the site was challenging because of the surrounding context and constraints, being close to major transport routes and having an unusual shape.

DAP members discussed the trafﬁc conditions of the site and deleted a condition that required vehicle movements to be limited to and from Sutherland Street.

DAP deputy presiding member Clayton Higham acknowledged the difficulties but said a storage facility was the perfect use for the site.

“I can’t imagine any other use on this site, particularly not residential,” he said.

UEM’s Hafizuddin Sulaiman with models of the Subiaco Oval towers. Photo: Michael O’Brien

Regent is a major shareholder in dealer Auto Classic.

Sarah McNeill sarah@postnewspapers.com.au

Bidding on a wartime mystery

galleries hanging

Camelot Arts Club is holding its inaugural Camelot Art Exhibition

French ﬁlmmaking veteran Pascal Bonitzer takes a true-life art-world story and weaves into it a ﬁctional comedy-drama. It is a brisk entertainment about that rarest of occurrences, unearthing a longlost treasure.

In 2005, Christie’s auction house announced that Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele’s lost masterpiece, Sonnenblumen, a sunﬂower homage to Vincent van Gogh long thought to have been destroyed, had been rediscovered and restituted to the heirs of the collector whose masterpieces the Nazis had seized during World War II.

In his ninth ﬁlm as writer-director, Bonitzer (who

A man I worked with two years ago called me a week ago and told me he still thinks about me all the time. He knew I was married and so he never did anything about it.

I have been married to a wonderful man for 13 years and have two children. We have never cheated, and he has dealt with my spending habits. The other man has a girlfriend now, and I have not spoken to him again since last Saturday.

I know I am not happy and don’t think I can stay with my husband. I love him but am not in love with him. I think a

wrote the screenplay for Catherine Breillat’s superb Last Summer) styles The Stolen Painting into an engaging comedy, a culture clash amid the broader context of righting some of the wrongs inﬂicted by the Nazis.

It centres on Andre (Alex Lutz), a conceited Paris auctioneer who forms a testy relationship with his new intern, Aurore (Louise Chevillotte), herself an intriguing, compulsive liar. When a call comes through from an Alsace lawyer (Nora Hamzawi) representing young nightshift worker Martin (Arcadi Radeff) it’s regarding a painting that landed in his possession in an unusual way.

Andre is sure the photo he is given is of a copy of the long-lost Schiele.

However, within moments of arriving with his expert valuer Bertina

(Last Summer’s Lea Drucker), they’re convinced it’s the real thing.

What follows is an absorbing glance into the high-stakes, sometimes devious workings of international auction houses, the occasionally complicated terrain of restitution, and the thrill of making a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.

Bonitzer invests his characters with amusing speciﬁcities; Aurore is a wild card who proves she may just have landed in the perfect job for her unique skill-set, while the director withholds the nature of Bertina and Andre’s relationship just long enough to keep audiences on their toes.

Meanwhile, Radeff’s working class Martin provides an appealing moral compass.

It’s a tautly executed lark.

The free exhibition shines a spotlight on a diverse and vibrant collection of visual artworks, ranging from abstract landscapes and aerial perspectives to striking origami-inspired pieces inspired by the theme The Vistas of Mosman Park. Local artists include Annabelle Brockman, Tania Rodwell, Melanie Gray, Lecia Hill, AnneMarie D’Arcy, Phillipa Clarke and Peter Wales. It is open this Saturday and Sunday, August 9 and 10, in Camelot’s art deco theatre, 10am to 4pm daily.

Known for her striking use of colour and playful yet thoughtprovoking aesthetic, local artist Maxxi Minaxi May repurposes surplus objects, turning them into treasured abstract sculptures.

With her collaborative installation Re-Play currently on at Art Gallery of WA, Lawrence Wilson Gallery at UWA has invited Minaxi to discuss her ideas, her practice and her work in Deconstructing Beauty next Saturday, August 16, at 2pm.

Fuz Carforio presents Vanishing:The Fight for Survival, for one week only, August 11 to 17, at the Terrace Greenhouse, 223 South Terrace, South Fremantle. Fuz is internationally recognised for his African wildlife

portraits and has been voted South Africa’s best wildlife painter. His paintings are often mistaken for photographs because every whisker and strand of fur has been exquisitely detailed. Fuz is a passionate supporter of wildlife conservation so he is donating 50% of all sales to the Painted Dog Conservation Inc.

The opening night event on Tuesday, August 12, will include passionate “wildlife warriors” and a rafﬂe to win one of Fuz’s original paintings. Limited tickets are available from stickytickets. com.au/a2b7t.

Have a ball at Freo arts centre

Anyone who has a dog will likely know how many tennis balls end up in the garden, in the dog box, the dog bed or lost and found in parks.

heartfelt admission from another helped me see this, although I am not sure why he would call after all this time, and then not call or email again.

Pattie

Pattie, one phone call is basically nothing, yet one phone call from one man and you are ready to leave your husband.

Who knows what triggered the call. He

may have been drunk or lonely or feeling amorous. You praise your husband for dealing with your spending habits, and that is a red ﬂag. Have you reached the end of the line with using money to buy moments of happiness?

You say you don’t love your husband anymore, but we are wondering if you ever loved him. There is only one thing to do. Look in your heart and ﬁgure out how you went from accepting a marriage proposal to being willing to abandon a marriage after a single phone call.

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

Artist David Shrigley lives in Brighton in southern England and says the inspiration for his latest installation, Tennis Ball Exchange, was his dog.

“My dog likes tennis balls,” he said. “ I throw them and she chases them. Her interest is more about exchange than possession.”

David is internationally acclaimed for his darkly comic style to highlight the absurdities of everyday life.

Now his tennis ball installation is on show at Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre.

This week 10,000 new ﬂuorescent yellow tennis balls lined the gallery walls, carefully spaced and sitting in a neat grid pattern on almost 1km of

pattern change.

shelving.

Already the perfect symmetry has been broken as visitors are invited to replace each new ball with one of their own.

Curator Abigail Moncrieff saw the installation in Melbourne and collaborated with the National Gallery of Victoria to bring it to WFAC.

“As time goes on, it all becomes less perfect and wears the mark of the community and becomes more interesting,” she said.

The balls that are exchanged can be different colours, scuffed, chewed, or graffitied. One ball placed in the first hour of the installation bears the Palestinian flag.

“Messages can be personal or political,” Abigail said, “and while the installation retains its form, it becomes more interactive, more fun and more joyful.” ■ Tennis Ball Exchange is at WFAC until September 7. See the Kids page for details of the family fun day.

SARAH McNEILL

■ Valuer Bettina (Léa Drucker) and auctioneer Andre (Alex Lutz) are convinced they’ve found a long-lost masterpiece.

The Stolen Painting

(Le Tableau Vole) (M)

■ Exchange a pristine tennis ball for an old one to see the

Join the world of high refashion

SARAH McNEILL

What if you had a pair of jeans that were a bit too tight and instead of chucking them out or letting them out, you had them refashioned into a uniquely styled, totally original pair of pants?

That is what Mosman Park fashionista Cheryl Centen is doing through her new company, Cirqular.

Cheryl has spent more than a decade in luxury fashion and is responding to the dire state of worldwide fashion waste and the worsening emissions and toxic waste that fast fashion produces.

The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world after oil, with 92million tonnes of waste annually. According to Clean Up Australia, Australia is now the second highest consumer of textiles after the US, with each Australian consigning an average 23kg of clothing to landﬁll each year.

Cheryl began as a luxury fashion buyer for David Jones before moving to London to work for European Fashion Weeks and The OutNet, an online luxury fashion store, and then Gucci in Germany.

Cheryl said, “I’ve seen the volume and the overproduction. And there is so much pressure for ‘newness’ and so much pressure to sell more, faster.

“I began to wonder how we could do better.”

She returned home to Perth to rethink and reimagine her relationship to fashion.

“A recent survey revealed that only 6% of Australians upcycle or repair garments,” she said.

“In WA that ﬁgure was the lowest in the country, at 3%.”

Recalling a time at uni when she dressed from op-shops and refashioned garments that she sold on

“I saw so much excess,”

eBay, Cheryl decided to try to shift the focus on fashion to one of reusing, recycling and creative transformation.

Cirqular offers a repair and restyling service for a wardrobe revival.

Cheryl’s own 15-piece capsule collection, Drop 0, consists of restyled jackets, shirts and jeans reworked from luxury surplus fabrics and wardrobe icons.

It includes a silk dress that she turned into a skirt and top. “A beautiful silk dress might only be worn a couple of times, but turning it into two pieces doubles the cost per wear,” she said.

“This is about re-educa-

Try your luck with this impromptu show

tion. Most of us only wear about 40% of our wardrobe and then go and buy something new. Less is more. And a classic jacket restyled and tailored to ﬁt is priceless.”

Cirqular will offer complimentary 15-minute consultations for the next month to advise people on restyling items of clothing.

Every piece is redesigned in Cheryl’s Mosman Park studio, using local tailors and seamstresses to craft unique pieces.

“It’s about a more thoughtful way forward,” she said.

Find Cirqular at cirqular. online.

Between regimes and violent expulsions

Australia we have the privilege of peace and a chance to consider lives different from our own,” said journalistturned-author Mohammed Massoud Morsi.

Accepting the 2025 Dorothy Hewett Award he said: “Now, with current events around the world, I think this is a wake-up call for all of us to understand the stories of those of us who yearn for justice.”

Run by UWA

Publishing, the award of $10,000 and a publishing contract with UWAP, is for his unpublished ﬁction manuscript The Hair of the Pigeon.

The judges, Tony Hughes-d’Aeth, Caitlin Maling, James Jiang and Kate Pickard, said

of Morsi’s manuscript about childhood friends who grow into adulthood during the Arab Spring:

Fitzgerald, Beyonce to Bill Withers, Lana Del Rey to Adele.

Catherine will draw rafﬂe tickets and the winners get to choose the songs.

Venues and producers are getting increasingly nervous about Perth’s wellknown but nerve-racking tendency to book at the last minute, and often don’t

independent artist, with no management, no label and no ﬁnancial backing, the cancellation of events reﬂects how tough things have become,.”

■ Catherine will perform Jukebox Rafﬂe at The Rechabite at 7pm this Saturday, August 9. Be impulsive and get along at the last minute!

“The fatality of these days, between regimes and in the shadow of violent expulsions, plays out with the precision of a primal

scene. This gripping novel speaks powerfully to the moment we are in.”

Egyptian-born Morsi grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark and now lives in Perth. As a photojournalist and reporter he writes in the three languages of his

heritage but says he found that journalism “made people yesterday’s news” so he turned to writing novels instead.

The Hair of the Pigeon is his fourth novel and will be published early next year.

■ Cheryl Centen of Mosman Park aims to help solve the problem of fashion waste by offering an upcycling and redesign service.

■ Pictured in Gaza, Perth author Mohammed Massoud Morsi writes about growing up in war-torn zones.

■ Cheryl’s capsule collection, Drop 0 reworks classic garments.

$2.95million NEDLANDS

2C Loch Street

Commercial cleaning company Brightwater Group bought this 611sq.m property on the corner of Carrington Street.

AGENTS: Brian Neo and Jack Bradshaw, Sterling Property.

$5million CITY BEACH

5 Dilali Road

Panoramic ocean views and a big landholding of 1136sq.m brought out the buyers for this six-bedroom and four-bathroom home.

Decades of design and building experience went into this cutting-edge house with curved windows overlooking the trees in Kings Park and creating a retreat-like feel.

The bold design intrigues passers-by because it is so different from other homes in the neighbourhood where character houses are the norm.

Builder Carl Morrone constructed the three-level house on the corner of Heytesbury Road for his own family, and to showcase the work of in-house designers, tradies, supervisors and other staff at Transform WA.

“We wanted to create something that would stand out and represent what we do as a highend builder of unique homes,” Carl said.

He chose a prominent site with three street frontages for the house, which has a pool, roof terrace, lift, spiral staircase, underﬂoor heating, cellar and three kitchens.

Plenty of thought went into the ﬂoorplan, which has an upsidedown design to take advantage of the leafy view.

The heart of the home is the main living area on the middle level where the curved windows look out to Kings Park.

Insulated walls and doubleglazed windows minimise the traffic noise from Thomas Street.

“Practicality has been considered at every turn,” Carl said.

Examples are a makeup desk in the main bedroom, bin chutes in the kitchen and air-conditioning in the garage in case it was used for other purposes.

Children have the run of the ground ﬂoor which has two minor bedrooms, a drop zone for school bags, pool, alfresco area and sunken lounge.

A glass-enclosed spiral staircase leads to the party space – the roof terrace on the third ﬂoor.

There is enough room for up 70

Kings Park.

people on the terrace, which has a kitchenette with a dishwasher.

If you are interested in building with Transform WA phone Carl Morrone on 0419 011 990.

AGENT: Vangelis Katsaitis, Excellence Property Specialists.

$7.25million COTTESLOE

116 Broome Street

A Cottesloe resident is the new owner of Gina Rinehart’s Spanish Missionstyle house which

AGENT:

12 Keane Street

The head of a manufacturing company that supplies the mining sector bought this new home on a 743sq.m site.

AGENT: Vivien Yap, Ray

■ The bold exterior with a slatted screen, curved window and breeze blocks attracts plenty of attention from passers-by.

■ A party for 70 people has been held on the roof terrace that looks out to

■ The sunken lounge opens to a curved

Copper-clad hideout sells for $4million Houses rarely change hands in Prevelly, where there are only 156 private dwellings according to the latest census data (2021). REIWA figures show there were seven sales in the 2024 financial year, up from two the year before. One of the recent sales was Ron Roozen’s copper-clad house at 4 Chapel Place When Ron built it in 2000, he had no idea it would garner so much attention and publicity. “It has been in so many magazines, websites and three TV programs from around the world,” Ron, an artist and surfer, said. Terrazzo and blackbutt floors plus windows of different shapes and sizes are among the many features of the house which sold for $3.975million.The buyer is Stratton Investment Managements Pty Ltd, and the directors are Susan and John Stratton

History going back to 1903

If the walls could talk at Fremantle’s Quartermaine Building there would be stories of John Butler’s jigs and puppet shows by the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. There would also be memories of the solicitors, bankers, wine merchants, sock manufacturers, travel agents and Rosella company staff who worked in the 1903

building at 3-5 Henry Street. wrecking ball almost demolished the historic building in the 1970s until Fremantle council stepped in to save it. It was then sold at auction to the late Dr Charles Murphy, who was Cottesloe mayor from 1987-1994. The Murphy family sold off one half of the building, No.5, in 1985, and the other half is now for sale for the first time in 40 years. Among the quirky features is a vault: “It would make an elaborate pantry or cellar,” agent Kat Goddard, of Ray White Dethtridge Groves, said. The 304sq.m green-titled property, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, has a Level 1B heritage listing. Offers close on August 27. Phone 0408 791 299.

Boreham St auction drew big crowd Champagne and flowers on the table set a celebratory tone at last

weekend’s auction of 36 Boreham Street, Cottesloe. Three bidders put their hands up for the renovated three-bedroom and two-bathroom house, which sold under the hammer for $2.8million. Agent Jody

Fewster, of Ray White Cottesloe Mosman Park, said about 40 groups attended the auction of the 663sq.m property near Stirling Highway. In other results, a five-bedroom and two-bathroom penthouse at 25/3 Fairlight Street, Mosman Park, was passed in for $1.5million. Two apartments had been combined into one, but the large size was not enough to get buyers over the line. “The right buyer will come along,” agent Claire O’Meara, of Ray White Dalkeith Claremont, said. The third-floor apartment is the only penthouse in the Three Fairlight complex. Landgate records show it is in the name of A1 Finance Providers Pty Ltd.

■ Artist and surfer Ron Roozen’s Prevelly house settled recently for $3.975million.

Auctioneer Patrick Derrig, right, looks for bids from the crowd at the auction of a Cottesloe house that sold for $2.8million.

Sputnik in the living room

Offers by August 18

The magic of a house is that it reﬂects the person who inhabits it, according to furniture and fashion entrepreneur Emmanuel do Bayser.

You can tell a lot about the owners of this Perry Lakes home by looking at the Sputnik-inspired light-ﬁtting in the living area they call The Great Room.

The design-aware couple commissioned international company Yellow Goat Designs (YGD) to create the one-off pendant light, which is a talking point when people come over.

Hotels, airports, museums and shopping centres around the world have YGD designs which are rarely seen in the western suburbs.

“The light is a real feature of The Great Room which is our favourite part of the house,” the owners said.

“It is great for entertaining, and we love sitting in front of the ﬁreplace in the cooler months.”

Other design features range from glazed black tiling that ﬂows from the outside to the inside, and an irregular-shaped bookshelf in the living area.

For the bathrooms, the owners chose tiles used by Frank Lloyd Wright when he renovated Tokyo’s famous Imperial Hotel. Black accents throughout the home are softened

couple who are passionate about design.

■ The owners of this Perry Lakes home wanted something unique for their living area so they commissioned Yellow Goat Designs to create a space-inspired light fitting.

by timber cabinets, fullheight American oak doors and polished concrete ﬂoors.

The 2015 Webb & BrownNeaves house was designed to take advantage of its 600sq.m corner site.

“We bought the block because it was the largest in the estate and there was no neighbour on one side,” the owners said.

“We wanted a singlestorey house with plenty of northern light and no internal steps.”

Clerestory and other windows ensure the house is well-lit throughout the year.

The owners said one of the best things about living in the estate was being able to walk to Perry Lakes and

CITY BEACH

21 Branksome Gardens

Offers by August 20

Branksome Gardens in south City Beach topped the list for Perth’s most expensive street in 2022, according to economist Nerida Conisbee.

And this three-level house is on one of the highest and biggest blocks in the highly sought-after northern pocket,

“Most of the blocks in the groyne and cafe precinct are around 500 to 600sq.m but this one is 900sq.m,” agent Scott Swingler said.

The upside-down design, with the living area on the top ﬂoor, captures ocean views from many rooms.

“The vibe from the main bedroom is like living in a treehouse with views down the beach track,” he said.

Bold Park.

“It is a great community where locals gather for musical and other events,” they said.

Single storey Outlook to garden 12m solar-heated pool CONTACT: John Hunter 0427 654 352. Things you will love

24 Grey Street

Offers by August 25

In 1850, convicts began building Faversham House for John Henry Monger senior, and three generations of his family lived in the grand private residence. Monger was also the namesake for the Wembley lake recently renamed Galup.

The family donated Faversham House to the federal government and the Red Cross when World War II broke out, and the heritage-listed property has been in private hands since the 1990s.

It is now a guest house operated by owners Emerson Munro and Kimberley Anning. With 15 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, there is plenty of room to spread out.

The 1.72ha property is priced at around $2.5million.

■ Scott Swingler

■ The pool mural is among the many artistic elements in the home built by a

■ Glazed black bricks at the front flow through to the interior.

WESTSITE

Whitelaw Ceilings

•Floor sanding and ﬁnishing

•Timber ﬂoor repair and restoration

•Decking repair and restoration

•Bespoke custom ﬁnishes 0484 061 513

E: info@turnbullﬂooring.com.au

W: www.turnbullﬂooring.com.au

GARDENING

SERVICING ALL WESTERN SUBURBS AREAS ALL ELECTRICAL WORK LED LIGHTING, POWER POINTS, SWITCHBOARD UPGRADES, SMOKE ALARMS,

Subiaco chemicals keep borer at bay

• From page 14

“From a financial perspective, we are very concerned that the costs and impacts of ongoing PSHB management will be borne by our City, and private landowners.”

There was limited funding available for replacing trees but no money for management and treatment.

“More funding is urgently needed,” Mr McMullen said.

“Otherwise, we will see a signiﬁcant burden passed onto local governments, as well as private landholders – who will not all have the resources, expertise or the means to undertake sufﬁcient corrective actions.”

Where will customers park?

• From page 7

“They were sent at least two letters informing them of the process.

He said Subiaco would continue to work with other councils and DPIRD about the “efﬁcacy of trial treatments” and the expansion of trial sites and methods.

Crash sparks warning on roadworks

• From page 5

He wanted future roadworks to pay more regard to ensuring cyclist safety, including suitable signage.

“I don’t think it’s intentional disregard, but on Victoria Avenue, to not take that into consideration where high cycling volumes are is a gross oversight,” he said.

Responsibility for the roadworks is shared by contractors and the City of Nedlands.

Nedlands representatives visited the site on Tuesday and conﬁrmed that signs were in place to warn of rough surfaces.

“The signs are directed at all road users, including pedestrians, and are similar to those used at other roadwork projects,” a City spokesperson said.

“We have no other reports of accidents.”

“Feedback for the plans has been quite detailed, a lot of it came from businesses in Glyde Street, and a substantial number of other businesses seem to be heavily engaged.

“We deﬁnitely want to keep engaging with the business community.”

Remede said they did not receive any letters from the Town asking them to consult during the draft master plan phase.

Ms Newton said the changes would deny her patients access to their healthcare needs.

“By reducing parking availability, these patients will not be able to receive the specialist care that they need, thereby limiting our ability to do business on a daily basis,” she said.

“I am in favour of urban greening, but not at the expense of functionality for residents and business owners who live and breathe Glyde Street.

“Without the businesses, there is no community, just a group of apartments and dwellings.”

Glyde Street Coffee Co. owner Kadek Parmimi echoed similar worries about her customers being able to access her cafe.

She was also frustrated with the lack of communication from the Town over the changes listed.

A lack of disabled parking and the strain future housing developments might have on the local area were also raised.

The masterplan was passed 5-1.

“Glyde Street in its current form prioritises cars and parking over people, greenery, walking and riding. We want to ﬂip that,” Mr Shaw said.

“Taking away 10 parking spots at the maximum is 5% of the council-provided parking spots.

“We don’t want to do that, needless to say, but we really need better amenities and really need trees.”

He said more work could be put into trafﬁc and parking surveys.

It had been a long process with consultation for the draft master plan opened to the public in February.

Addressing the current lack of disability parking would be something the council would consider.

The plans were mostly conﬁrmed but were still amenable to future changes.

Work is expected to take four to six years, starting with the shortterm priorities listed in zone 1 of the plan to begin this year.

The council has allocated $500,000 for the work this year.

This follows other budgetary changes, such as a $420,000 rise in Town employee costs.

Icy water closes Christ Church pool

• From page 3

Convicts drilled a deep bore by hand (which took several years) and the water was piped to Sunset Home for Men in Birdwood Parade.

A crack in the water pipe in 1920 led to the creation of a hot pool beside the river near Tawarri.

Nude midnight frolics in the hot pool were common, and the Perth Mirror Newspaper reports about hot gossip and “canoodling” there in 1933.

Two young men were arrested for “bathing in the nude” in the company of two “girl companions who wore only one minute garment each”.

The men were ﬁned £4 and £5, and the girls were ﬁned £1 each.

“It was a common sight to see a yacht pulling in and its crew having a short dip in the pool, before sailing homeward with the freshening breeze,” another report said.

The hot pool was ﬁlled in in the 1950s.

The aquifer was tapped for the CCGS pool and Claremont Aquatic Centre in the early 2000s, using a 33cm drill bit that did the job in about 12 weeks.

The Yarragadee stores about 1000 cubic kilometres of water and runs under the Swan Coastal Plain from Geraldton to the south coast.

It is the oldest and deepest of WA’s aquifer layers. It is replenished mostly by rainfall, and testing has found some stored water to be 30,000 years old.

Prof. Thompson said removing water from the aquifer had

a substantial impact.

“It’s a lot more expensive to pump water from nearly 1km below the land surface than to just tap it off at the surface – so this affects the viability of these geothermal schemes or other uses for that water,” she said.

Underground water sources drying up around Perth would lead to a host of problems above ground.

Neds regime flags double rate rise

“That’s in conﬂict with a later conﬁdential item,” he said, before the meeting went behind closed doors to discuss it.

Several items rated “high risk” from previous internal audit have also not been addressed, according to a public report.

Some were intended to address fraud risks, including implementing background checks on staff and suppliers, and maintaining a register of employee’s secondary employment.

The 2025-26 budget was supposed to be adopted in June, but a mass exodus of staff during the turbulent period before the council’s dismissal has led to a delay.

Chief commissioner David Caddy, who was appointed to replace sacked mayor Fiona

Argyle, told the ABC last week that five of 12 positions in the city’s finance team were unfilled.

“Two of those are very highlevel vacancies,” he said.

“It’s simply a matter of not being able to get the work done.”

Chief finance officer John Vojkovich, who started at Nedlands in April, is acting as director of corporate services following the departure of Amanda Alderson, who served just 10 months in the job.

The draft budget has not yet been made public, but staff reported that employee costs had already been cut by $500,000 and capital works projects by $800,000 compared to a previous version, resulting in a $4.6million deﬁcit.

The council had advertised a 4.8% rate rise but later sought legal advice about hiking that another

$2m squatters won’t leave

• From page 1

WA law allows squatters to apply for legal title of a property through adverse possession. Legal ownership reverts to squatters who have occupied a property continuously for 12 years without permission of the owners, and treated the place as their own.

Mr Preston accompanied POST reporter Lloyd Gorman several times to confront the occupants.

They went to the property last month as Ms Savage arrived with her child and asked her about the house.

She rushed inside, closed the door and did not respond to questions.

Mr Preston and Mr Gorman went to the house twice last week and have left notes and contact details.

Ms Savage’s car was parked at the front and a small dog was barking inside.

When no one answered, Mr Gorman left his business card and a note asking them to contact the POST. They did not respond.

Mr Preston became aware of

the status of Marilyn’s Shenton Park property after the POST published a report last year seeking information as to her whereabouts.

That report included a photograph of her at school at PLC in the 1950s (Do you know Marilyn? POST, December 7).

Several old friends called to share their concerns about her, while the POST report also reached her family.

“My father in Wembley Downs contacted me and sent me a copy of the article and said your auntie is missing,” Mr Preston said.

“I said she might be in trouble and that I’d better try to ﬁnd her.”

Mr Preston’s mother Janice is Marilyn’s eldest sister and one of four Watson girls alive today. Finding the sisters proved to be a difﬁcult task.

They live far apart – including two in NSW – and have not had direct contact with each other for years.

After much persevering and extensive searching, Mr Preston conﬁrmed his aunt now lives in Mandurah in another property she owned.

Flange

rage as lube runs dry

“The lubrication can be quite effective but not for all trains and not for all times and weather conditions.

“It requires constant adjustment and cannot be relied upon.

“This single mitigation is not sufﬁcient to address the 2000% increase in usage of the turnback since the opening of the Ellenbrook line in December 2024.”

Mr Warwick said the screeching sound was different to the noise from regular trains on the Perth to Fremantle line, a sound he said residents were comfortable with.

Large numbers of trains use the turnback – which is currently undergoing a $3million upgrade – from 4.30am until 11.35pm on weekdays and park there overnight with lights and engines on.

“It is our view that the PTA is causing noise pollution under the Environmental Protection Act,” Mr Harry said.

Residents say the government has reneged on assurances in parliament and to the POST that the community would be consulted about other uses of the siding.

“We ask the PTA to undertake a thorough investigation of the potential for noise-wall infrastructure similar to that in place between Swanbourne and

3% to raise an extra $1million.

A ﬁght last year over a proposed 9.5% rate rise precipitated the relationship breakdown among councillors that ultimately led to their dismissal last month.

Ms Argyle used her casting vote to slash the proposed rise to 3.6%, resulting in deep cuts to environmental conservation works and senior services.

“We’re having to raid years of reserves,” then-councillor Hengameh Amiry said at the time.

“If we carry on like this I don’t think we’ll have any money in the reserve in three years’ time.”

After this week’s conﬁdential discussion, commissioners Caddy, Bianca Sandri and Cath Hart voted to instruct CEO Keri Shannon to provide them with a list of all new staff and contractors, and all capital projects in order of priority.

Claremont stations, to reduce the impact of rail wheel squeal and protect homes from the intrusive and constant sound of parked trains, and lights at night.”

The group is also asking rail bosses to do further noise and vibration testing, using LAFmax, a method they say the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation conﬁrmed is best practice for measuring wheel squeal.

“This monitoring period should occur before further lubrication is applied so as to get a baseline with the lower level of lubrication once it is wearing off,” he said.

“We also request that vibration is also reported on.

“Vibration has been omitted from previous reports but is a serious impact on our homes.”

Transport Minister Rita Safﬁoti said the issue had been raised with her and steps had been taken to address the situation.

“I gave direction to the Public Transport Authority to work with those residents on solutions to reduce the noise from the Daglish turnback,” she said.

“The [PTA] has been working with those residents and has implemented a number of measures to reduce the noise levels, while also undertaking ongoing noise monitoring.

Cambridge dumps e-scooters

It will look at where they should be used, classiﬁcation of devices, illegal modiﬁcations, injuries, insurance claims and the opportunities created for urban mobility and active transport.

There were 169 submissions to the inquiry, including a 15page report from Beam Mobility and a 178-page submission from Main Roads.

Other respondents included the Over 55 Cycling Club, the Electric Sports Racing Association, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and a mechanical engineering professor who provided a presentation on the stopping distance of an e-scooter.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ submission focused on the dangers of ﬁres caused by rechargeable

lithium ion batteries.

The submission period has been reopened until August 22 to allow comments on e-bikes.

The hire scooters caused controversy in Cambridge during the trial period, even though there were no accidents reported.

There were 3140 trips taken in the 12 months from April 2024, with an average time of 15.5 minutes and distance of 2.8km.

People riding the West Coast Highway cyclepaths between City Beach and Scarborough provided about half the trips.

Councillor Jane Cutler said the hire system allowed people to “dip their toe in” to try escooters and was accessible to everyone.

“It simply recognises that it’s the way people are going, and we should not put unnecessary barriers in their way to participate,” she said. • From page 3

Plan to save Loreto trees

• From page 7

public open space and for this area to be ceded ‘free of cost’ or at part cost to the City for community use.”

Nedlands Tree Canopy Advocates member Bronwen Tyson urged the commissioners to talk to Hall & Prior.

“I can think of no good reason why any plans wouldn’t take into account the existing mature grown trees,” she told Wednesday’s meeting.

“When I consider the possible residents coming to live in the aged care, which I think is a good use of the building, I can imagine that it would be a very valuable contribution to their

Have your say in

well-being.”

The three commissioners voted without discussion to authorise CEO Keri Shannon and Planning and Development director Bruce Thompson to engage in “preliminary discussions” with Hall & Prior.

Any development will have to preserve the 1930s Loreto Convent building, which was added to the State Heritage Register last year.

The adjoining park is named for Mary Gonzaga Barry, an Irish Catholic nun who set up her order’s ﬁrst Loreto schools in Australia.

The POST targets 112,000 local people each week.

WA on verge of another magnificent seven, or eight, or …

WA have supplied plenty of outstanding cricketers to national teams since then, but they have never been able to do what happened last month when six locals batted in the top seven positions in the Twenty20 whitewash in the West Indies.

The early 1980s was a golden period of WA football, and last week’s tribute to spectacular Claremont forward Warren Ralph triggered fond memories for many readers. It was also a great era for WA cricket, with a feat occurring in 1981-82 that was long thought to be impossible to replicate.

Don’t rule it out this summer, though.

That summer of 1981-82 was notable for seven West Australians – openers Graeme Wood and Bruce Laird, dashing batsman Kim Hughes, wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, off-spinner Bruce Yardley and pacemen Dennis Lillee and Terry Alderman –playing Test cricket together.

And swing bowler Mick Malone was a regular in that season’s one-day matches to take to eight the number of WA players representing their country that golden summer.

That Test septet featured in eight of the nine matches that season with Alderman the only player to miss one.

The high point, surely, was Boxing Day when Hughes scored an unbeaten century on a nearly impossible MCG pitch before Lillee ignited remarkable celebrations by bowling West Indies champion Viv Richards with the last ball of the day.

The third match saw Mitch Marsh lead the way before Josh Inglis, Cam Green and Tim David, who blazed a century off 37 deliveries, formed the top order.

And Cooper Connolly and Aaron Hardie were employed, or rather underemployed, in the middle order in a couple of the games.

Starting tomorrow, Australia will host South Africa in six T20s and ODIs in Darwin and northern Queensland, with paceman Lance Morris included in the 50-over squad.

Morris is almost certain to play at least one of the one-dayers, meaning that seven WA cricketers will be involved in international action in the winter.

That’s not the end of the quest, either.

Corey Rocchiccioli is not only the natural successor to recordbreaking off-spinner Nathan Lyon, with whom he shares similar traits in technique and temperament, but could replace his mentor before the summer is out.

Morris is so important to Australian cricket that he is only rarely allowed to play but he may find his long wait for a Test call-up is finally rewarded, given that five arduous Ashes matches in 49 days could stretch Australia’s ageing pace attack.

Fellow quick Jhye Richardson

Connell carves a life in the waves

Patrick Connell has been carving up the waves since the ﬁery, free-spirited days of the early 1980s, cementing himself as a legend in the City Beach surf scene.

A lifelong local, Patrick’s life is a vibrant mix of waves, family, and adventure.

“I

He’s a proud husband and father to three exceptionally talented children – a doctor, an engineer and a Moulin Rouge dancer.

Now 63, Patrick is still ripping, proving age is just a number. He claimed the WA Over-60s state title in 2024 and shows no signs of slowing down.

He can’t remember how many state titles he has won since he was 18 but guesses it’s about six.

His journey began at age 10, riding foamies just a stone’s throw from his childhood home in City Beach.

“Back in the 70s pro surﬁng was still in its formative years and wasn’t really considered a sport,” Patrick said.

“My dad didn’t like surﬁng at

is injury-prone but a matchwinner when ﬁt; his Test credentials have been franked during previous outings and he only needs to conﬁrm his availability to go close to a recall.

Australia’s biggest issue is the vacuum in the batting order driven by Marnus Labuschagne’s decline, Usman Khawaja’s decay and Sam Konstas’s clear unsuitability at the level.

That means that when the Ashes campaign begins in November there could be opportunities for players who have helped WA to a Shefﬁeld Shield hat-trick this decade.

Proliﬁc run-scorer Cam Bancroft is a possible candidate, though

his cards appeared to have been marked by the NSW maﬁa, but his regular opening partner Sam Whiteman cannot be ruled out.

Given that the Australian selectors were burned badly in promoting Konstas well before he had proved himself capable, or even learned the lessons required to succeed at elite level, why wouldn’t they go the other way and choose a player who has been building steadily towards a Test cap?

Whiteman made his debut 14 years ago, has played 113

Like many seasoned surfers, Patrick faced his share of setbacks, including a hip replacement, and said it takes commitment to get back into top form.

“It certainly knocks you around,” he said.

“I don’t have super strong legs and I’m more of a paddler.”

He squeezes in surf sessions after work these days, often heading to his local break or jumping in the family tinny to chase waves off Rottnest.

“You just don’t want to look and just get out there because the local waves are not going to be good,” he said.

“We have a little tinny and we go to Rottnest all the time and surf Strickland’s almost every weekend.

“It’s pretty cool, surf Strikos

is still ripping at 63.

Travel has also been a huge part of Patrick’s surf life.

From the reefs of the Maldives to the beach breaks of France and Spain, and up the rugged coast to Gnaraloo, he’s shared waves and made memories with his family every step of the way.

“I just love being in the ocean and the travel,” he said.

“Surﬁng is a great sport you can share with your family and teaching the boys when they were kids and now surfing with them as adults is a joy.”

Patrick didn’t defend his state title this year, due to work commitments.

“Sometimes you have to take a break but I think I’ll be back to surf again in the over-65s.” he said.

matches for WA and assorted other teams, scored 16 centuries and proved himself in a tough cauldron.

Green is almost certain to start the Ashes campaign in November, while Inglis and Marsh have been part of recent Test teams and will knock on the door this summer.

The identity of Australia’s ﬁrst XI remains unclear three months before the Ashes gets under way, but 11 West Australians are in the frame. It is another golden age.

Sandover winners need $2 bill of health

I have a crumpled $2 bill in my box of boyhood treasures that John Parkinson gave me.

It was the ﬁrst money I ever earned and came from providing “Buzz” with the most unskilled labour for about ﬁve hours one Saturday morning.

Buzz played golf at Cottesloe and when I was about 12, I took my father’s advice to ride the kilometre or two to the course and try to get a gig as a caddy.

It was an experience you could not buy. And would not be able to sell.

I don’t recall how I was allocated to Buzz, but I do remember he played that morning with Alan Maller, the prominent businessman and real estate agent who owned Dulcify, the Melbourne Cup favourite that broke down during the 1979 race and was executed on the course.

There were two things I learned from that day at

John “Buzz” Parkinson

Cottesloe. The ﬁrst was that the English language was richer, broader and contained more colourful words than I had ever encountered in my sheltered western suburb existence.

And that lugging a 20kg golf bag up and down six kilometres of ever-steepening hills, mostly with it balanced precariously on my straining shoulders as I channelled Sisyphus up-hill and Tantalus down, had a very dim future.

My career as a caddy lasted only a few weeks and I was happy to move on to the junior sport that would soon lead, in meandering fashion, to the calling of a lifetime.

Buzz was a decent golfer but an outstanding Claremont footballer who won the 1964 premiership and 1967 Sandover Medal during his stellar career.

He is also one of three Sandover medallists facing signiﬁcant health challenges.

Like Buzz, who had a series of strokes recently, Ian Miller (1972) and Bryan Cousins (1983) have some tough days ahead of them as they battle pressing health issues.

All three had brilliant WAFL careers, transferred their talents to the VFL with great success, and eventually returned to Perth to take prominent roles in WA football circles.

And just as they found during their glory days, they are strong and popular characters who have plenty of supporters hoping they can kick another goal or two.

John townsend

THE Sporting

surfing with cameron bedford-brown

just love being in the ocean” … Pat Connell

Magnificent seven …West Australians Bruce Yardley, back left, Graeme Wood, Kim Hughes, Bruce Laird, front left, Dennis Lillee, Terry Alderman and Rod Marsh were part of the first Test against Pakistan at the WACA Ground in 1981-82.

Q. Why did the elephant sit on the marshmallow?

A. So it wouldn’t fall into the hot chocolate!

Use this shape to make a drawing. The best two entries will win.

�

Creatures feature

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

Address

Suburb

Phone number:

What have you drawn?:

Postcode

Vouchers will be mailed and valid for 4 weeks. These Doodlebug contestants have won.

Lucy Corrigan, Lara Dunne, Maxine Kennedy, Max Groom, Grace Grifﬁths, Vivienne West, Ilyssa Teh, Cameron Tozer, Portia Momen, Victoria Thompson.

�A veritable zoo landed on my desk this week. There were herds of elephants of all colours and sizes, including Cameron’s blue one with a wooden leg. There was Victoria’s unicorn doing push-ups, Maxine’s cats on a spa bus (lucky them!), hopping kangaroos, lots of underwater creatures, battling dinosaurs and sun-baking lizards and snakes.

Our two main winners this week have done really fun and

Tongue twister

Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread

This Saturday morning, head down to Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre to forage for tennis balls.

In celebration of David Shrigley’s Tennis Ball Exchange installation, the arts centre is holding the Great Tennis Ball Hunt between 10am and noon.

Find a ball in the grounds of the arts centre, decorate it, and it can become part of the artwork by swapping it with one of the thousands of new tennis balls that line the shelves of the exhibition.

The first 3000 people to swap their ball will also receive a commemorative pin badge in artist David’s distinctive handwriting.

The free family entertainment will include children’s entertainment, totem tennis and more.

Take a ball from home or find one during the hunt to add to the Tennis Ball Exchange where old, used or decorated balls are being exchanged with a new one, so that gradually all the perfect rows of new balls will be replaced with misshapen and discoloured or decorated balls. At the end of the installation the tennis balls will be sent to a company for recycling, or given to dog shelters.

The Art Gallery of WA also wants you to come and play with art in artist Maxxi Minaxi May’s interactive exhibition, Re-Play. Maxxi is known for her use of vibrant colours and her love of repurposing old toys and other objects into playful sculptural pieces, so that ordinary unwanted pieces become something of value. She

Playing with art

colourful creatures.

Sofia Puig Araya, 9, from West Perth, is in party mode with a gloriously colourful picture of an end-of-year Doodle party. Her party animals include an octopus, pig, starfish, worms and an assortment of the weird and wonderful. It’s going to be a great party!

Our other winner is Madeleine Trieu, 9, from Nedlands, who has drawn a fun picture of an echidna and a kangaroo shopping in a “hopping centre”. Perhaps they are shopping for Sofia’s party!

Brilliant work, everyone.

Q. What kind of cat works for the Red Cross?

A. A ﬁrst-aid Kit!

Q. Why does a mother kangaroo hate the rain?

A. Because on those days the kids have to play inside!

Q. What do you call a sleeping dinosaur?

A. A dino-snore!

Q. What do you do with a blue elephant?

A. Try to cheer it up!

Q. What do you call a kangaroo that asks for a second serve of soup?

A. A more-soupial!

invites families to come and play and create, turning an exhibition into one that is tactile, fun and full of your own imagination.

Re-Play is a free exhibition open daily until next February.

Each day between 3 and 4pm is Quiet Hour, for slow play and soft listening; a quiet space for whispering together and enjoying a lower sensory environment.

Shop 4/531 Hay St Subiaco 9381 3100

Madeleine Trieu (9)

Sofi a Puig Araya (9)

OPENING NEXT WEEKEND.

Inspired by City Beach’s iconic Games Village homes, Humphrey Homes’ latest project reimagines mid-century modern architecture with a contemporary edge. Opening next weekend, this single-level home is deﬁned by clean horizontal lines, low-slung forms and seamless indoor-outdoor living. Deceptively unassuming from the street, it opens up to a generous light-ﬁlled home that includes a self-contained apartment and separate studio. Complementing the home’s rich timbers, expansive glass and feature stonework is an exhibition from Linton & Kay galleries.

For more details visit humphreyhomes.com.au. Please note, no children permitted inside.

“Humphrey Homes delivered not just a house, but a sanctuary that perfectly suits our family’s lifestyle. We would not hesitate to work with them again and wholeheartedly recommend them to others who value excellence, transparency, reliability, and a truly client-centric approach.”

- Angela and Amit, City Beach