OPINION
Behind the name Recently a visitor to the Old Lilydale Court House commented on how he loved reading Sandy Ross’ publication What’s Behind the Name? The history of 50 street names of Lilydale. It reminded me of how difficult it is now to get a park, street or place named as there are so many protocols and organisations which have to be consulted – not just the local council. In 1892, our councillors had no such restraints. With the growth of towns throughout Lillydale Shire, the time came when the road to Mr Jones house was no longer appropriate, particularly if he had died or moved on. Council’s solution was to appoint a subcommittee to look at the issue and report back to the council meeting of Saturday, December 17, 1892. The committee’s recommendations were that the south-western riding (Ringwood, Croydon, Mooroolbark and the Dandenongs) should use the names of United Kingdom cities; Eastern Riding (Wandin, Seville and Silvan) the names of foreign cities and the Northwestern Riding (Lilydale, Coldstream, Yering and Gruyere) use Christian names. It was agreed the councillors should be given the list of roads and the proposed names as they could perhaps improve on them. Cr John Kerr argued if the name was a respectable one it should remain. However if it was unnamed
Looking
back Sue Thompson
Lilydale and District Historical Society president or had a ridiculous name, he said it should have a new name. Wanting to think about it, councillors deferred the item to the next meeting where each riding reported on progress being made. A month is a long time in local politics and the councillors had a change of heart. Eastern Riding’s Cr Smith demonstrated how confusing naming roads after foreign cities would be: “Supposing a man was travelling on the main road at Seville and wished to get to South Wandin. He would certainly be perplexed if, after making inquiries, he was told to go on to Constantinople, and then turn to the right and go to Sebastapool, and then to the left to St Petersburg, and then to Timbuctoo. Turn sharp to the right and you will come to the school. That is South Wandin. Or, again, a man comes
to a junction of three roads and spies a fingerpost. He expects to get information from this, and approaches it and sees – To Potsdam, to Amsterdam, to Rotterdam. In fact the man sees so many dams that he gets away as quickly as possible.” (Lilydale Express February 3,1893) Instead, Cr Smith believed it would be better to use the names of pioneers of the district and if there were not enough, then use the names of the best men of the colony. The council agreed and referred the matter back to the sub-committee and agreed that the councillors of each riding draw up a list of names. By March 1893, real progress had been made with the Eastern Riding industriously naming its roads, many after the district’s pioneers. North-western Riding was slow to act but it also named many of its roads after local pioneers. South-western Riding preferred English cities so today we have Colchester, Hull and Sheffield roads to name but a few. If anyone would like to buy a copy of What’s Behind a Name? call into the Old Lilydale Court House, 61 Castella Street, order it on-line from our shop at lilydalehistorical.com.au. Cost $7 plus postage. For more information about our society, email us at info@lilydalehistorical or call Sue Thompson on 0475 219 884.
CARTOON
Fine but not best
Bigbug Starring Elsa Zylberstein, Stephane De Groodt and François Levantal Rated MA15+ 3/5 Bigbug is a silly and sweet but overlong science fiction comedy by French auteur Jean-Pierre Jeunet. In 2050, a computerised home and its robot housekeepers lock their owner Alice (Elsa Zylberstein) and her friends inside during an AI uprising. The visuals have a vibrant retrofuturistic quality (the CGI is somewhat poor, but this adds to the charm). The human characters have enjoyable friction and sexual tension, but the robot housekeepers’ efforts to understand and protect them – through humour, philosophy and affection – form the film’s intriguing, endearing heart. Claude Perron plays the earnest, glitching maid Monique with gusto, and François Levantal is genuinely intimidating as the stern, grinning face of the AI revolution (and his design evokes both Robocop and Yul Brynner’s gunslinger android in the 1973 Westworld film). Unfortunately, Bigbug’s appeal is stretched thin; not everyone will tolerate nearly two hours of bickering suburbanites and will-they, won’t-they dynamics, nor the sitcommy vibe. The plot is also patchy: there is rarely a sense of danger beyond the AI’s embarrassing punishments, two divorced characters get back together in an undeveloped and unearned reunion, and the AI is defeated by two Deus Ex Machinas (resolutions that come out of nowhere), which stretches credibility even for a goofy comedy. I also can’t tell if the film is too randy – using a deactivated air conditioner to contrive the characters out of their clothes – or typically French. Bigbug is a horny, corny and decently enjoyable sci-fi comedy available for streaming on Netflix, but I would recommend Jeunet’s Amelie, The City of Lost Children, the underrated Alien Resurrection and especially his pitch-black postapocalyptic comedy Delicatessen over this. - Seth Lukas Hynes
Highlights for the upcoming Melbourne Writers Festival The Melbourne Writers Festival will take place on September 8-11. The theme this year is “ambition”, showcasing “a thrilling exploration of ambition – denied, thwarted and achieved”. The event features more than 270 of the world’s most exciting storytellers, with 75 free and paid sessions hosted by State Library Victoria. There is a 20% discount for those early birds who book their tickets before August 8 (some exclusions apply). The following are some highlights from this year’s program. Readers are encouraged to find further details on the official website (https://mwf.com.au/). For biography lovers, the new book Bob Hawke: Demons and Destiny will be revealed, and two renowned biographers will explain the art, ethics and remarkable subjects of their craft. Several memoirs will also be introduced, including but not limited to The Boy in the Dress, Growing Up in Country Australia, After the Tampa, and Unknown: A refugee’s story. mailcommunity.com.au
PASSION FOR PROSE WITH CHRISTINE SUN On science, Dr Norman Swan will present his new book So You Want to Live Younger Longer? Various sessions will highlight the ancient science, sophisticated astronomical expertise and incredible feats of innovation achieved by Australia’s First Peoples. Another focus is on some of the surprising experiments that have shaped our world and its future. Specifically on climate change, the new book Crimes Against Nature will be intro-
duced, and several acclaimed authors will shed light on their exploration of fear, loss and hope in climate fiction. Meanwhile, there will be dialogues on climate fatalism vs denialism, and on the power of the people – the struggles, successes and ambitions of collective action. Regarding the media, there will be discussions on the future of ABC, the ethics and politics of public debate, the values underpinning news coverage, the challenges facing press freedom and investigative journalism, how to report trauma and elevate the voices of those affected by conflict and tragedy, and how to prevent the proliferation of fake news and disinformation. Particularly notable are three sessions on international affairs, with Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko addressing how Russia’s invasion of his country is reshaping the world, New Yorker writer Joshua Yaffa discussing “Truth, Ambition and Compromise in Putin’s Russia”, and Hong Kong journalist Lou-
isa Lim and Chinese novelist Murong Xuecun presenting “Dispatches from Hong Kong and Wuhan”. The Festival will feature a diverse range of First Nation writers and writers of colour, with discussions on indigenous feminism, the challenges of living in and between different worlds, the complications of race, language and political upheaval, how to forge new paths in predominantly white professions, and all that is and could exist in different versions of Australia. And, finally, to celebrate the writing and reading of fiction, there will be author talks and workshops on all sorts of topics and themes. With the 2022 Miles Franklin-winner Jennifer Down speaking at the Opening Night and Robert Dessoix, recent recipient of the Australian Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature, addressing the Closing Night, the Melbourne Writers Festival is surely a splendid event. This reviewer will see you there. Tuesday, 2 August, 2022
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