Wheely Tall Tales

A piss poor photo of the Sea World Eye (and Development Application) taken from Sea World Drive on the Spit at Main Beach [30/01/07]

The new, 60 metre high Sea World Eye was allowed to operate over the past summer because it had a temporary, two month permit from the Gold Coast City Council. The permit was negotiated by Cr Susie Douglas (who represents Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, Benowa and Bundall) according to a spokesman from, you guessed it, the Gold Coast City Council.

Sea World have recently lodged an application with the Gold Coast City Council to make the Sea World Eye a permanent structure at the "fun" park.

Earlier this month a spokesman from the Gold Coast City Council said that Council Officers were looking at the impact assessment and a that decision woud be made shortly.

A spokesperson from The Save Our Spit group said that Council approval of the Sea World Eye would set a dangerous precedent for height levels on The Spit because it is too high and in the wrong place.

"There will be virtually no basis to object to a structure of similar height within Sea World.. and by extension, north, east and south if we allow the Gold Coast City Council to approve the Eye as a permanent structure on The Spit," the spokesperson said.

The Sea World Eye has 42 air-conditioned gondolas (each hold up to 6 people) and offers views of the scenic Gold Coast area and the Broadwater. It's the first time an attraction of this size will appear in Australia. Similar wheels exist in London, Manchester, Seville and Niagara Falls.

The Save Our Spit group suggest placing an objection to Mr Ted Shepherd, Chair, GCCC Planning Committee. Email
eshepherd@goldcoast.qld.gov.au

Heritage Listed Drain Doomed!

An application has been submitted to the Queensland Heritage Council for excavation and disturbance (including removal of the in-situ culvert) to the heritage listed Wheat Creek Culvert in Adelaide Street.

The entry on the Queensland Heritage Register states that the Wheat Creek Culvert is: "One of the earliest surviving examples of a civil engineering project that was administered by the then newly formed Brisbane Municipal Council."

At a presentation given at the Queensland Museum earlier this month, Historian Dr Thom Blake and Archaeologist Dr Richard Robins discussed some of their recent Brisbane projects, including an investigation into the Wheat Creek Culvert. The culvert has been uncovered during excavations in Adelaide Street as part of work on the Inner Northern Busway.

Dr Blake said that the Wheat Creek Culvert was built in the 1860s. Constructed with porphery, it is 1-1/2 metres high and still in use today.

A branch culvert was also uncovered during the construction of Queens Plaza.

You can view the application at the EPA Customer Service Centre, and make submissions to the Queensland Heritage Council until 9 March, 2007 - sure - like you give a rats - right!

Portrait Of Our Jack Wins Packing Room Prize

A portrait of Australian film legend, and former Brisbaneite Jack Thompson (by Danelle Bergstrom) has won this year's Packing Room Prize. It should be on the NSW Art Gallery website if you'd like to have a look.

Last May, Jack was in town for a special screening of 'Sunday Too Far Away'. In the amiable surrounds of West End's Ahimsa House, a packed audience watched this visually beautiful Australian classic, which is set on an outback sheep station in 1955. We also enjoyed Thompson's speech about the making of the film, and his opinions regarding the current state of the Australian Film Industry.

Given our present industrial relations climate, it was particularly apt to watch 'Sunday Too Far Away', which depicts the life of gun shearer, Foley (played by a very spunky Thompson) and events surrounding the shearers' strike of that time. The film takes its name from the lament of the shearer's wife: Friday night too tired, Saturday too drunk, and Sunday too far away.

Following the screening, the very charming and approachable Thompson gave a brief talk about the making of the film, which was released in 1975 and forms part of the Australian film renaissance of the early to mid-1970s. Having worked on a sheep station in western NSW, Thomson said he was aware of the world scriptwriter John Dingwall was writing about. “There isn't an improvised line in the entire script.” he said. In fact there were a lot of scenes that didn't appear, as it was the producer's opinion they weren't needed. “They were deemed to take away from the heroic central figure,” said Thompson, alluding to the deference to Hollywood. In spite of this, 'Sunday Too Far Away' is internationally recognised as “an extraordinary expression of working life. It also quite properly documents the era. I loved doing it,” he said. A number of people who worked on the film, including the Director Ken Hannam have since passed. “My brother once said to me, The trouble with getting old Jack is that you know a lot of dead people,” said Thompson.

Before mingling with the crowd, and getting mellow with some bluesy harp, Thompson fielded questions from the crowd about the state of the Australian Film Industry, which he says is in a “Sad state of crisis.” On the topic of film culture, he stated that “If you abandon everything to the criteria of private enterprise. That's the end of it... This is not America this is not Britain, this is not somewhere else, it is this ever changing society in which we live and unless our paradigms are represented on the screen, unless that is available we simply become servants of the greater whole.”

On the diminished opportunities available to Australian filmmakers, Thompson said, “The criteria has been relegated to the short film festivals, five minutes of a say, when you're the best of that five minutes of a say, you know what your big prize is? You get to work in America!! And our voice is reduced to five half hour episodes a week of television, which is where I started before there was a film industry.” On models of funding, or lack thereof, Mr Thompson said that there has been “A deliberate attempt to make the voice of the culture unheard.” Mr Thompson believes there are ways to counter this but “You have to have the will of the administration to support and education system, a health system, and a belief in our cultural worth. It doesn't exist in the current administration,” he said. Ending on a positive note, he said, “We have created a film culture in Australia, no matter how deprived, it will go on, saying what we need to say one way or another, about who we are. There are ways we can make that certain these things are funded, in the same way as other fundamental needs. Because it's a fundamental need in our society, that we have this voice.”

Brisbane Protests Dick Cheney Visit

The Brisbane Stop the War Brisbane Collective held a small and peaceful protest against US Vice President Dick Cheney's visit to Australia outside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade offices in Ann Street today [22/02/07].

Dick Cheney has been instrumental in championing the escalation of both the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions. God only knows what he's doing in Australia this week. I suppose those down and dirty "journalists" at 'The Australian' will tell us.

UPDATE:

A press release from the Sydney Stop The War Coalition states that they are concerned that Sydney is being shut down as US Vice-President Dick Cheney* arrives in Sydney this evening.

NSW police today advised the Stop the War Coalition that it is opposing a protest and march from going ahead saying that it will cause "unacceptable traffic disruption". Police are considering going to court to seek an injunction to stop the protest.

Stop the War Coalition, in negotiations with the police, offered to alter the rally route to assist with police logistics, however this was rejected.

Sydney will be closed off to protests and traffic. Army Black Hawk helicopters are buzzing through the city and the NSW government is permitting armed US bodyguards to roam the streets.

Todays protests are aimed at highlighting the majority of Australians opposition to the war in Iraq, and to demand that David Hicks be released from Guantanamo Bay. Tonight's Sydney protest is at 5.30pm at Town Hall. The protest tomorrow, Friday, begins at 8am, corner of Essex and George Streets, the Rocks, near the Shangli-La Hotel where Cheney will address the Australian American Leadership Dialogue at 9.30am.

Is Torture Justifiable?

Recently there has been much "debate" about the acceptability of torture in the "war on terror". Incredibly, some Australian academics (including a Professor of Law!) and politicians have actually said that in some cases, they think torture is justifiable.

Most Australians are of the view that information extracted under duress is unreliable, and that a society's acceptance of torture is a sign we are well on the way to chaos and moral depravity.

Thankfully there are intellectually honest academics like Dr Richard Matthews out there who bravely counter the position that in some cases, torture is justifiable. Last week Dr Matthews spoke on "Neither Excusing, Permitting Nor Justifying Torture" as part of the QUT Faculty of Law’s Free Public Lecture Series.

Dr Matthews said that excusing torture is nonsense.

He said that the argument that torture is a lesser evil amidst the uncertainty and fog of war, fails to acknowledge that many innocent people will suffer before any ones that matter are found.

He went on to explain that torture is premeditated and prepared long in advance if a state wants to torture effectively. "Torture is a skill," he said, later adding that you have to provide victims so that would be torturers, interrogators and medical staff can train with live people. Chilling, when you think of the apparatus behind the US's secretive program of "extraordinary rendition".

Dr Matthews also discussed the destructive psychological impacts of torture on families, communities and sovereign nations. Put this way, the unlawful detention and torture of David Hicks, who has been held in Guantanamo Bay for five years (two in solitary confinement), is an attack on the sovereignty and human rights of all Australian citizens, and makes us all vulnerable.

Dr. Matthews is a philosopher and ethicist based at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. His forthcoming book, 'The Absolute Violation: Why Torture Must be Forbidden' defends the absolute prohibition against torture, and responds to recent claims by some commentators that, in an age of global terrorism, torture is justifiable and necessary in some cases.

Dr Matthews will be presenting his lecture again at the following event hosted by Amnesty International:

The Indefensibility of Torture: A Public Lecture with Dr Richard Matthews

Time: 6:00pm, Thursday 22 February

Place: Studio Theatre, Metro Arts, 109 Edward St, City

Cost: Entry by donation

For more information contact Sasha Jesperson at sjesperson@amnesty.org.au or on 3210 5204.

So What Happened To That Story About Sylvester Stallone And THAT
Aussie Customs Drama?

Because yesterday [18/02/07] the "media" made some reference to "body building supplements", or similar. So what was the problem?

Work has commenced on the restoration of Brisbane's first water storage facility, the old service reservoirs, located behind the old Windmill on Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill. Deputy Mayor David Hinchcliffe said that the current refurbishment of the reservoirs' rooves was facilitated by a Council requirement that developers contribute to infrastructure.

"As part of developments in the CBD, developers have been contributing to water infrastructure," he said. A portion of that money is being used to fix the old, tin rooves. "There is a proposal, which hasn't yet been endorsed by the Council, to store water back in the old reservoirs, but that would be dependent on the project going ahead. It's a very expensive project. The important thing was to fix the rooves so they don't fall in," he said.

According to the '1997 Spring Hill Heritage Tour', “Prominent contractor Henry Holmes built the first reservoir in 1871. It was completed and filled for the first time on 24 February 1871. This rectangular structure measured 60 by 30 feet (18 by 9 metres) and took 10 hours each night to refill.” The water was reticulated from the Enoggera Dam until the mid 1880s when Gold Creek Dam was built. The reservoirs were reconnected in the early 1900s following a “need for more elevated storage tanks” and finally decommissioned in 1962.

Brisbane's Pedestrians and Cyclists Dicing With Death

Insufficient pedestrian and cycling access has made walking and cycling throughout Brisbane's CBD and inner city increasingly hazardous. Treacherous crossings, unacceptable traffic light sequences, road markings and inappropriate speed limits make it dangerous to walk or cycle around Brisbane's CBD and beyond.

Last October, cyclist Rowan Barber was hit by a truck as he rode along Wickham Street in Fortitude Valley. “A large truck passed me on my right hand side then subsequently turned left as if I was not there. The net result, was I was drawn into the dual rear wheels (bicycle and all) and then run over from head to toe.” Mr Barber's lower leg was crushed and he suffered bruising. “I had a brand of tyre impressed on my chest,” he said. “My surgeon (also a victim of a truck splattering) said I will ride a bicycle again.”

A local merchant at the intersection of Wickham Terrace, Leichhardt and North Streets, Spring Hill said “every other day there's a near miss”, as cars turning right from the Terrace into Leichhardt Street force pedestrians to race across Leichhardt Street. “Drivers often swear at pedestrians and I've witnessed a guy kicking a car door he was so angry at nearly being hit,” he said. “A lady was hit here yesterday, I called the ambulance and they treated her at the scene.”

Last Friday evening, a woman was hit while crossing on George Street by a car turning from Ann Street. The car grazed her hip knocking her to the ground where she landed hard on her hand. She was taken by ambulance to the Royal Brisbane Hospital as her blood pressure was dangerously high. Her companion said, “Funnily enough, before the accident, as we waited on the kerb, another couple of pedestrians crossed before the walk sign appeared. I said that they probably shouldn't do that, it's not very safe.”

According to Dr Matthew Burke, Research Fellow at the Urban Research Program, Griffith University, large volumes of traffic movement are not unusual for cities, but other cities throughout the world “manage and humanize” traffic movement. “We haven't got anywhere near that,” he said. Dr Burke identified particular trouble spots for Brisbane pedestrians at North Quay, George and Roma Streets. The area outside Roma Street Station is particularly dangerous for pedestrians, with many deaths and serious injuries occurring there. “You cannot work out what you're meant to do,” he said. Brisbane's jaywalking epidemic is a direct result of our inadequate pedestrian infrastructure.

Lowering traffic speed in line with national levels through urban corridors could be one way of improving pedestrian safety in Brisbane's CBD. Dr Burke says a speed limit to 40 or 50 kph moves just as many cars through as 60 kph. On an world scale, 60 kph is an excessively high travel speed that causes “a thunderous cacophony of traffic” and has a adverse effect on pedestrian safety.

Dr Burke also cites the example of Melbourne, where two-thirds of inner-city lane ways are closed off to cars at certain times throughout the day. Pedestrians account for more retail spending than people in cars. “Look at the Queen Street Mall,” he said. “It's visited by 100,000 people per day.” Dr Burke recommends improved signaling to increase crossing times, more appropriate sequencing of lights and moving back the line at which a vehicle should stop at a crossing.

Whether or not the tunnels go ahead in Brisbane, surely the more important issue is alternative forms of transport to the ubiquitous motor car? According to the spokesperson for Communities Against the Tunnels, Mr Tristan Peach, “Walking and cycling is 2.44% of the total transport budget for the greater Brisbane region.”

A spokesperson from Queensland Transport said, “In 2005 there were 37 pedestrian fatalities in Queensland. The BCC City Centre Draft Master Plan addresses pedestrian safety strategies and additionally Queensland Transport and Main Roads have worked collaboratively on innovative Pedestrian safety and accessibility audit tools.” Cyclist safety is also being addressed by Queensland Transport which has developed the Queensland Cycle Strategy to promote safe cycling throughout the state.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman confirmed that safety issues have been addressed in Council's Brisbane Active Transport Strategy: Walking and Cycling Plan 2005-2010 – a five year strategy that sets out ways to deliver safer walking and cycling infrastructure throughout Brisbane. “We need new infrastructure to support Brisbane's rapidly expanding population,” he said. “This strategy will help us plan active and healthy infrastructure that offers people safer Active Transport options for staying fit and getting to and from work or school.”

“Changes to the CBD through projects such as the Inner Northern Busway and re-design of King George Square provide opportunities to improve pedestrian and cyclist movements in these areas,” he said. One of these projects will involve the construction of the CBD Bicycle Centre, which will be equipped with showers and bike storage facilities for cyclists travelling to and from the city.

Welcome news for the Lycra-clad office-coffee-racers, but according to a member of Communities Against The Tunnels, “Pedestrians have become second class citizens, whose needs are retrofitted as an afterthought, once the demands of the motorist have been satisfied.”

Brisbane Protests For David Hicks In Reddacliff Place

A small group of Brisbane activists held a second successful and peaceful protest in Brisbane's newest public square, Reddacliff Square this evening [6/02/07].

The activists were protesting the detention of Australian citizen David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay. Although not permitted to have a loud speaker, or obstruct the braille mark, they had a stall and a couple of protesters held placards and distributed leaflets to passersby in the close of business rush-hour.

Apparently, the Brisbane City Council didn't want the protestors to be there at all but compromised. Free speech may have been compromised but at least it isn't dead.

*UPDATE* Another rally calling for the release of David Hicks and the closure of Guantanamo Bay will be held in Reddacliff Square (adjacent to the Brisbane Square building at the top of the Queen Street Mall) at 5 pm on Friday 16 February.

Rudd Calls For Hicks To Be Tried In Australia

Federal Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd MP has called for David Hicks to be brought home to Australia to face a fair trial under Australian law. Labor also believes there needs to be an independent mental health assessment undertaken of David Hicks.

"The new US Military Commission rules announced in January do not constitute a fair trial," he said. "They permit hearsay evidence. They permit evidence obtained by coercion. They do not guarantee the right of the accused to hear all the evidence. They do not allow for trial by a jury of his peers – the jury is comprised of military officers."

"The Howard Government has sat mute about this military commission process, a process that no other Western country, including the United States, considers acceptable for its citizens."

Mr Rudd refuted the Attorney-General's claims that David Hicks’ situation is different from that of British citizens who were returned to Britain from Guantanamo Bay. "The truth is that both David Hicks and the two British citizens were mentioned as eligible to be charged in the same US Presidential decree. The British Government then took the issue up with the US authorities, leading to its citizens’ return. The Australian Government took no such action," he said.

Labor believes that the Howard Government's claims that an Australian trial in not an option for David Hicks is a political, not a legal view. "Labor has been advised that neither the Attorney-General’s Department, nor the Director of Public Prosecutions, has seen the evidence against David Hicks. So, without access to either the charges or the evidence, the Howard Government has no basis to claim Australian justice is not available for David Hicks," said Mr Rudd.

PM's 'I could free Hicks but won't' stand will outrage Australians - Brown

Prime Minister Howard's claim to party colleagues that he could secure the release of David Hicks any time but won't, will outrage many Australians including Liberal voters, Greens Leader Bob Brown said today [7/02/07].

"The Prime Minister is admitting subservience to Washington. He is saying Australian law is second-rate compared to American law. And he is saying that Hicks' Australian citizenship is worthless.

"The Prime Minister's inaction will offend more and more Australians and this will grow, not diminish, if Hicks goes to a Military Commission trial," Senator Brown said.

Council Needs To Consider Climate Change

Community Action for Sustainable Transport (CAST) say Brisbane City Council should put their money where their mouth is when it comes to climate change.

Council’s 2006-2007 budget allocates only $412,000 to Greenhouse Gas Reduction (strategy 9.6.3) while allocating $503 million into planning for increased car use (page 102).

Per kilometre, a person travelling in a car burns more than three times the fuel as someone in a bus and 42 times more fuel than a train passenger. (Australian Greenhouse Office 2002, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2000 with Methodology Supplements 1990, 1995 and 2002).

“If Council are serious about reducing greenhouse emissions then they must massively increase funding to their Greenhouse strategy and stop funding projects that will increase emissions”, said CAST spokesperson Tristan Peach.

The group are particularly concerned about Council’s Transport policy.

“Council are planning to massively increase greenhouse emissions from Brisbane’s transport system over the next 20 years”, said Mr Peach.

The Airport Link Environmental Impact Statement illustrated that Council are planning to increase the number of car trips from 3.6 million per day in 2004 to 5.2 million in 2026 (table 7-1 traffic and transport technical report). Vehicle kilomotres travelled in cars will increase to 55 million on an average weekday in 2012, 66 million in 2022 and 71 million in 2026 (table 9-8)

At the same time Council have abandoned the targets for increased public transport use in the Transport Plan for Brisbane, and are only planning to increase public transport use from 7.5% of all trips in 2004 to 11.1% in 2026 (table 7-1 Airport Link traffic and transport technical report).

“Increasing public transport use by 0.16% each year over the next twenty years is simply not enough, and what are Council’s plans for walking and cycling, the most greenhouse friendly transport modes?” asked Mr Peach.

The idea that we can plan for increasing amounts of car use and let technology fix the problems has been refuted by Council’s own State of the Environment Report which states:

‘…relying on introduction of new technology into the vehicle fleet is not sufficient, given that uptake rates are slow and that these technologies often work efficiently only in well-maintained vehicles.’ (Air section – page 33)

Consultation undertaken after the establishment of Council’s climate change taskforce in late 2006 shows that the community know the best ways to reduce transport emissions:

‘Most suggestions promoted embracing transport options other than private motor vehicles. Suggestions included:

Reducing the cost of public transport for users,
Increasing frequency, destinations, and connectivity of buses,
Restricting car parking in the CBD and introducing a CBD congestion tax,
Extending CityCat services, and
Improving connectivity and safety of pathways and bikeways.
(http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:BASE:1735908314:pc=PC_2450)

The road resurfacing for Spring Hill is racing along, with the Gregory Terrace end of Union Street to be next.

Aussie Journalist Speaks Out At Customs House

Looking dapper in a cream suit, award winning and internationally renowned Australian journalist John Pilger spoke with elegant and measured candour about freedom, imperialism, dissent and truth at Customs House on Monday evening.

The audience gave their undivided attention to a man who has sought the truth, and inspired others to do so, for about thirty years. Pilger addressed the standing-room-only audience for half an hour, then provided topical and erudite responses to their questions, which ranged from his thoughts on Hugo Chavez and Venezuela, to the journalists he respects. The journalists on SBS's 'Dateline' and the brave US Journalist Dahr Jamail (who reports "un-embedded" from Iraq) have his utmost admiration. He probably didn't have time to mention 'The Independent'.

Pilger spoke at length about Australia. Referring to the United States, he said, "Everything they do over there (the US) is copied here. That's the most depressing thing about coming back to Australia, to find that the political class copies as precisely as they used to when I was growing up under Menzies... John Howard even wears a little flag in his lapel. I mean being here on Australia Day is really a disconcerting experience - everyone walking around with flags."

Pilger was "appalled" by the the Big Day Out Australian flag debacle, when the annual music festival's organiser Ken West politely asked for no thugs wrapped in flags, and was labeled a traitor. "The wonderful thing is that if you look at pictures of the big day out there's hardly anyone in a flag. They're just there."

Australians love to break records and Pilger made room for a nod to one of our best. Of course you can't be a visiting expat journalist on the antipodean book launch circuit without commenting on our media savvy Prime Minister. Pilger made a special mention of a speech John Howard gave on 23 February 2003. "In the space of 40 minutes Howard managed to tell something like 32 untruths about what was about to happen in Iraq. One of the most scandalous speeches made by any leader of a democratic society. It may just beat Blair's record, and believe me he's the world champion," he said.

Pilger also acknowledged Brisbane's suffocating monomedia culture. "You have a national press and a capital city media that's owned and controlled by Rupert Murdoch, which influences so much of the rest of the media," he said. He then went on to praise local ABC radio identity Steve Austin, who, if memory serves me correctly, once gave a lecture to a group of UQ journalism students and encouraged them to read the works of P.J. O'Rourke - but that's another story.

As for the recent decision to charge Senior Sergeant Hurley with the manslaughter and assault of Mulrunji Doomadgee, and the Queensland Police Union's threat to march on Parliament, Pilger said, "When the police union marches for the law to be upheld and for society to pursue justice, then we'll take them seriously."

He went on to say, "It's terribly important that this has happened...the agonising process that we've had to go through for this man to be charged, really tells us something of the past. We've had the Royal Commission into deaths in custody, and not a single charge or prosecution came out of that, and yet the evidence was damning." He especially referred to his long-standing interest in finding justice for the family of Eddie Murray of Wee-Waa, another shameful death in custody gone unprosecuted.

The first we knew that John Pilger was going to be here was on 4ZzZ about a week ago. They said he was brought to us by 'Avid Reader'. Keen to attend, I sent an e-mail to the 'Avid Reader'. Unfortunately they still haven't responded. Luckily tickets were obtained from the 'American Bookstore' a bit later.

John Pilger's latest book, 'Freedom Next Time' looks at the countries of Afghanistan, Iraq and South Africa, Diego Garcia and Palestine and their struggles for freedom. The title refers to the endless quest for freedom, even after the 'West' has imported "freedom".

US Grasping at Straws on Hicks

"The US is grasping at straws with the latest charges against David Hicks," said Australian Greens spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert today [3/2/07].

"They are clearly struggling to justify incarcerating Hicks for the last 5 years. These trumped up charges against David Hicks are plainly ridiculous."

"The charges are so ludicrous that they will have to be contested, and with challenges to the validity of the new commission clearly inevitable this farce could easily go on for at least another 2-5 years," said Senator Siewert.

"The Prime Minister would be doing the US a favour by bringing Mr Hicks home - saving them the embarrassment of this sham court case," she said.

"These trumped up charges highlight how ridiculous this whole process has been, and will further inflame community feeling over the appalling treatment of an Australian citizen," said Senator Siewert.

"Mr Howard can expect a strong electoral backlash if he fails to act on this injustice and bring David Hicks home," she concluded.

Join the Amnesty flotilla to Guantanamo Bay: http://amnesty.textdriven.com/guantanamo/home/

US Geologist Faces Pine Gap Charge

US Geologist and activist Edward Cranswick will stand trial in the Alice Springs Magistrates Court on Monday, 5 February for protesting Against the US run Spy Base 'Pine Gap', outside Alice Springs.

Cranswick and five others were arrested for blockading the entrance to the spy base, during anti-war demonstrations in October 2006.

Cranswick worked for the US government for 22 years – he studied earthquakes and nuclear explosions for the US Geological Survey (USGS) – but after 9/11, he decided he could no longer work for President George Bush.

"Pine Gap is one of the most critical components of the US space-based war machine that threatens the well-being of the planet." said Cranswick.

"As a former US government employee I feel responsible for working to change the course of the rogue state that the US has become – the largest terrorist organisation in the world."

"I also wish to show my support for the Christian activists that broke into Pine Gap in December 2005 and are facing prison terms of up to 7 years" he said

Cranswick faces charges of failing to cease to loiter and obstructing traffic. He has entered no plea and will represent himself in court.

Mystery On Boundary Street

A former CWA property on Boundary Street, Spring Hill has been extensively refurbished and appears to be operational again. 'The Lodge', the red-brick six story building at 393 Boundary Street, Spring Hill, which provided accommodation for many international students, was sold in 2005 for an undisclosed sum. At the time, the then CWA Queensland Branch President said they were forced to sell the property because of the prohibitive cost of compliance with government regulations, said to be "millions".

The other Spring Hill CWA building - Ruth Fairfax House at 83 Gregory Terrace - was demolished last year and is currently being redeveloped as a six story residential complex.

The Department of Housing's 2006 Annual Report states that during the last year, the Department of Housing purchased, and substantially completed the upgrade of the former CWA Building at 593 Boundary Street, Spring Hill to use as a hostel providing 70 units of accommodation. The report does not mention the price of the purchase or the cost of the refurbishment.

Recently I put the following questions to the Department of Housing and to the Honourable Robert Schwarten MP - Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology:

1. Has this facility opened yet, and if so, when was it opened?
2. Who will be able to use this facility?
3. What was the cost of the refurbishment?
4. Is this facility linked to the accommodation provided at the Department of Housing's Lady Bowen complex?

No responses have been forthcoming and the fact is people have moved in, but the other questions remain an unanswered mystery.

Another Office Block For Wandoo Street

The little old house on Wandoo Street which was recently demolished

Parolin Constructions Ltd have lodged a Development Application with Brisbane City Council to build a four storey office building in Wandoo Street, New Farm.

The old house (which stood on the now vacant Wandoo Street block) sold at auction last October for $1.71 million.

A Development Application has been lodged with Brisbane City Council to extend and alter the house at 160-162 James Street, New Farm. Alterations are proposed for the facade and the extension will involve raising the building.

The Development Application includes a report prepared by Norris Clarke & O'Brien Pty Ltd which states:

"The subject site has been identified in the BCC Heritage Register Planning Scheme Policy as a Heritage Place, although in June 2006, BCC provided verbal confirmation that this was an erroneous listing and that the site has no cultural significance."

A Park For The People?

With Souths Leagues Club set to move to Logan at the end of next year, the Brisbane City Council is one step closer to taking full control of Davies Park after over 100 years. The park's other major stakeholder - the Green Flea Markets - are finding it increasingly difficult to operate in the park. Since December the popular markets have had to contend with space limitations, when large sections of the park were fenced off so the DPI and Council could conduct research on trees infected with the Phellinus Noxius fungus.

Davies Park operates under a perpetual trust, which stipulates that it must be used for sport and recreation. "Some time in the future, in consultation with the community, Council will determine how the greenspace in the park should be used, particularly when the new land as shown in the local plan is purchased," said Councillor Helen Abrahams.

According to Jason Hilder, spokesperson for the Davies Park Protection Group, "Council informs us publicly that they have no development plans for the park. However when questioned about the surveyor's pegs in the ground near the trees, we are informed that it is part of a 're-development plan'. When questioned about what this plan entails, we are told that it will be made public later this year. So basically we are going around in circles with them. We have heard from unofficial sources that a plan is already in place and just awaiting rubber-stamping before community consultation."

Indeed Council have previously presented their proposed plans for Davies Park to the community. Then, a Council planning officer apparently said that in a few years West End won't be an affordable place to live for those on a low income.

And the departure of Souths means the future of yet another unique venue for live music in Brisbane is in doubt.

Under the enthusiastic management of Tony Mockeridge, Souths has hosted countless international acts and music clinics at the Davies Park clubhouse over the years, and many Australian and local acts have been nurtured within its walls.

Mockeridge, a veteran of the Brisbane music scene with 20 years local and international experience as a sound engineer and producer, says that if it wasn't for Souths, these artists probably wouldn't have a place to perform. "It's cultural genocide," says Mockeridge, lamenting the ever-diminishing number of laidback venues for up and coming Brisbane musicians. He compares the situation today to that of the of unrestricted development of the Bjelke Petersen era,

This writer fondly remembers seeing the James Muller Trio play at Souths last May. The venue holds up to 400 people and has a wonderful outlook over the playing field and glimpses of the Brisbane River from the shady deck.

Souths would like to retain the clubhouse and keep the venue operating when Souths move out but Mockeridge says this will be unlikely.

Cr Abrahams said that the new residential buildings around the park will prevent any outdoor music events and will therefore reduce the ability of the club to expand.

Astor Terrace Private Hotel Facing Demolition

Portal Developments Pty Ltd have lodged a Development Application with Brisbane City Council to demolish the New Northern Private Hotel at 52 Astor Terrace, Spring Hill.

The registered boarding house, which has provided low cost accommodation in Spring Hill for many years, is to be replaced by a nine-storey hotel and restaurant.

Deputy Mayor David Hinchcliffe said, "It's very sad they are going to have to close. They are citing maintenance costs, yet Council has provided rate discounts and grants in the past, but it seems they are no longer able to make the finances stack up."

La Boite Loses A Bit Of Its Charm

Evans Harch have lodged a Development Application with Brisbane City Council to demolish the house adjacent to the former La Boite Theatre in Petrie Terrace. The house was used as a rehearsal space, and would be remembered by many Brisbane thespians.

In 2004 an approval for a lot reconfiguration was granted, which created a new lot for the house to allow the former La Boite theatre (which is heritage listed) to be independently developed.

In 2005, an application for a material change of use was approved, which permitted the refurbishment of the La Boite theatre into an office building.

The current Development Application to demolish the house reveals that the current owners are experiencing difficulty leasing the former theatre because of limited parking.

The La Boite was built in 1972, to the design of Architect Blair Wilson, who won the Industry Clay Brick Award for creative use of the distinctive dark bricks. It was the first purpose designed theatre-in-the-round in Queensland. Many Brisbaneites, who grew up in Brisbane, were lucky enough to have seen some of Gail Wiltshire's brilliant productions such as 'The Magic Fairground', with popular Brisbane thespians Bob Blanch and Madonna Stinson, at La Boite.

What's happening with 38 Rogers Street?

Keep posted - we'll see if we can find out!

Merthyr Cafe To Get One Of Those Pokey Out Awnings

G W Clegg & Company have lodged a Development Application (on behalf of Mr Matthew Franich) to refurbish the Merthyr Cafe at 170 Merthyr Road, New Farm.

The application seeks a development permit for a material change of use for a restaurant, shop, office and house, and preliminary approval for building works for the partial demolition and extension to an existing commercial character building.

The development, which involves partial demolition of internal alls and total demolition of an outdoor garage, toilets and storage area to the rear of the site, will create three carparks. The existing roofline and Merthyr Road awning will be retained, while the Hawthorne Street awning line will be retained and partially extended (yes, one of those pergola roofs a.k.a. pokey out awning - that's why there's no photo - they're bloody everywhere so you'll know what I mean).

Whether the Merthyr Cafe will continue to operate from the premises once the refurbishment is completed remains a mystery. Mr Graham Clegg from G W Clegg & Company said, "I am unable to answer your question at this point in time as approval of the Development Application has not yet been issued."

 

An "inside out house" perfect for the current economic climate!

 

Yep, the commercial property market is real tight! There are no commercial sites for sale or lease at all in Spring Hill, like this one in Leichhardt Street which is across the road from where the Duchess used to live.

Received in mailbox this afternoon [6/2/07]

This is worse than the Mormons. Gee when they actually come knocking door to door looking for real estate, you know the market is pretty slow. At least you know when to be out this week!

January/February 2007 Development News

50 Kinross Street - after and before! The effort someone put into the delightful garden at the side of the house is also just a memory.

363 Gregory Terrace before it was demolished

The Churches of Christ have lodged a Development Application with Brisbane City Council to build a 3 storey, multi-unit dwelling on their property at 363 Gregory Terrace.

The house formerly located 363 Gregory Terrace was demolished in July 2005, and the adjoining house at 50 Kinross Street was relocated.

Just around the corner, a Development Application relating to a house with frontages to Eaton Lane and Park and Kinross Streets has been lodged with Brisbane City Council. The applicant seeks to raise and extend the house. The application states that this will involve a partial demolition to a section off the rear verandah, and will change an 'infill' area under the house into a garage. The Development Application includes an extensive submission against the proposal.

In 2005 the Brisbane City Council revised the historical areas throughout Brisbane to be protected by Demolition Control Precincts. This has led to demolitions and removals of properties throughout Brisbane's CBD and inner suburbs. For example, prior to last July, most of Spring Hill was classified as a Demolition Control Precinct. Now only small portions of this historical suburb are protected. In the last year, houses have either fallen down, burned down or been demolished in Berry Street, Royal Avenue and Rogers Street (one of Spring Hill's oldest houses, built in the 1870s).

Tam Dang Planning P/L have lodged a Development Application with Brisbane City Council to transform the Commonwealth Bank building at 109 Leichhardt Street into a 5-storey multi-unit dwelling and restaurant. Wonder if they'll give 'Alexander's' at the Metropolitan Motor Inn, who claim to have the best steaks in the world, a run for their money?

A little further down the hill, Wolter Consulting Group have lodged a Development Application with Brisbane City Council to build an 8-storey commercial office building with basement carpark, on the site of the Henry Neylan cottage at 440 Upper Edward Street. The Development Application says, "The intent of the application is to insert a 'cutting edge' and high quality designed office building into the streetscape."

The former Henry Neylan cottage and warehouse (along with two strata title carparks in Astor Terrace Carpark) in Upper Edward Street, Spring Hill were passed in at an auction in the middle of last year at $800,000 (the Auctioneer indicated that was below reserve). It was on the market for a few months after the auction, but it may now have been sold, or is perhaps part of a joint venture.

Henry Neylan was at one-time the Mayor of South Brisbane and moved to Spring Hill over one-hundred years ago. Henry Neylan plumbers recently moved to Northgate. The historic cottage and warehouse is a Spring Hill landmark, yet it is is not listed as a Heritage Place under the City Plan 2000, and is no longer included within a Demolition Control Precinct.

The cottage and warehouse are classified MP2 and HC1 under the Petrie Terrace and Spring Hill Local Plan. According to the Brisbane City Council, MP2 means that the property is “appropriate for uses such as Centre Activities (eg. Office, shop, restaurant, multi-unit dwelling)”. A HC1 precinct is “suited to higher intensity residential and non-residential uses because of its close proximity to the city centre, central station and bus routes.”

Oh well, I guess another one bites the dust!

These two, 1870s -1880s vintage, gable-roofed houses on the lower southeast side of Thornbury Street are on the market again.

This property at the end of Gloucester Street is up for lease. It is currently being re-developed by Stuart Crompton Projects Pty Ltd.

Old SGIO Building For Lease

As Suncorp have moved into the new Brisbane Square building with the Brisbane City Council, the old SGIO building on the corner of Albert and Turbot Streets needs new tenants. Last year the fountain was "renovated" (although it's still empty) and it appears they are going to whack some render on the old building to give it a more "modern" look.

Water Street Development Application

268a Water Street, Spring Hill

A Development Application has been lodged with the Brisbane City Council for a material change of use to the property located at 268a Water Street. The application seeks approval to transform this former office building into a three bedroom dwelling.

Malleys Ltd erected the building in the early 1930s and it then became an important part of Brisbane's home furnishing and household good's precinct.

If the application is approved, the building's facade, with its classical detailing, will remain.

At Home With The Law

Last Friday evening historian and Director of Newstead House, Mr David Gibson presented an engaging talk - At Home With The Law - at the Banco Court, in the Supreme Court Complex.

Mr Gibson explored the Brisbane homes of six colonial judges: Newstead House (Police Magistrate Captain Wickham and later Attorney-General Ratcliffe Pring) Eulalia (The Hon. Mr Justice Real), Valda (The Hon. Mr Justice Virgil Power), Merthyr (Sir Samuel Griffith), Kedron Lodge (The Hon. Mr Justice Lutwyche), Oakwal (Sir James Cockle) and St John's Wood (The Hon. Mr Justice Harding).

Mr Gibson took us on a journey back to the olden days when Kedron Brook actually sparkled, Judges walked to Court and grand houses had delightful gardens and were often the focus point of a district, rather than a place around which to subdivide and develop!

Of the six houses, only Newstead House, St John's Wood, Oakwal, Kedron Lodge and Eulalia remain in their original locations. Valda was moved from East Brisbane to Pullenvale and Merthyr was demolished.

Co-incidentally, I was lucky enough to recently acquire possession of a series of old National Trust Journals and in the February 1992 edition, Maureen Guyomar writes about Valda, and the discovery of the original stenciled panels along the long entrance hall.

Ms Guyomar recounts:

"Virgil Power's house was one of the earlier houses in the suburb and would have shared the riverside with Shaftson House upstream and the Reverend Mowbray's house on the site of Mowbray Park. Shaftson House also contains wall paintings but on a grander scale. The painting of water birds and rushes at Valda may be related to the riverside setting or to the nearby marsh. Not only has the suburb that remains lost out with the removal of the house, but the history of the house becomes mere anecdote on a new site at Pullenvale."

From the February 1992 edition of the National Trust Journal

Mr Gibson indicated that a book was forthcoming, and plans are afoot for a future presentation about the homes of other Brisbane judges.

I'm looking forward to hearing about Jesmond Cottage - the home of Spring Hill hero Sir Charles Lilley - Premier of Queensland from 1868-1870 and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He is best remembered for his 1870 Act which introduced free primary education in Queensland. The St. Andrew's War Memorial Hospital Administration Building on Wickham Terrace was constructed in the 1930s and was built around Jesmond Cottage.

A rear view of Jesmond Cottage from Bradley Street, and the front of St Andrews from Wickham Terrace.

I also understand that The Hon. Mr Charles Mein (appointed in 1885) has Spring Hill connections - vis a vis Mein Street - and am keen to discover more about him!

Excavating Brisbane's Past

Historian Dr Thom Blake and Archaeologist Dr Richard Robins discussed some of their recent Brisbane projects during a presentation at the Queensland Museum on Wednesday [7/02/07].

One of their digs revealed the remnants of the old convict prison at Petrie Barracks, including the sandstone footings that outlined the cell blocks. Each cell, built to accommodate two prisoners, was 6 ft by 8ft-6, and had no window. Dr Blake said that before commencing the dig, they were advised that the site was uncontaminated, yet their excavation uncovered a petrol tank!

But don't go snooping around up there looking for some historical foundations - they're long gone. Dr Blake said that if the Government sold the Petrie Barracks site today, the historic prison foundations may have been protected. Apparently the prison will be re-interpreted in the new development, with the footprint of the buildings to be seen in the new building.

Perhaps they could call the proposed barracks development, which was approved by the Brisbane City Council last November, and is set to incorporate a five cinema complex, a supermarket and four stories of office accommodation, "The Patrick Logan Complex", or "The Convict Centre", or something like that!

Anyway, the next area of investigation was the old airport at Eagle Farm, which was the site of the old female prison/factory. Trenches were dug with an excavator after referring to the original 1840s plans of the buildings,

Dr Blake said that the excavator started digging the first trench at 8.15 am and by 9.05 am, they had discovered some old bricks. (Incidentally, Dr Blake reckons a good excavator, with a basic knowledge of what they're looking for, is worth their weight in gold). A cross section of the trench revealed a layer of bitumen - the remains of the World War Two runway. Quite a number of 1940s vintage shoes were discovered, which Dr Robins said possibly originated from the time the runway was being constructed. Hmmmm 1940s Brisbane Murder Mystery Anyone? Aboriginal artefacts, pottery, porcelain and a large number glass objects were also uncovered.

The most recent project was associated with the work on the Inner Northern Busway. Excavation in Adelaide Street revealed the Wheat Creek Culvert, one of the first major projects built by the new Brisbane City Council in the 1860s. The culvert, constructed with porphery, is 1-1/2 metres high and is still in use today.

Another find was a little building with disinfecting rooms and a bathroom, under where the old Roma Street Police once stood (at the junction of Albert, Turbot and Roma Streets), which was built during the bubonic plague (1899/1900). More porphery drains from the 1890s era were discovered in Albert Street and Adelaide Streets.

Later, some bricks and reinforced concrete were discovered, along with pipes and a PMG cable. Dr Blake said at this stage, he remembered a photo in a book of a control room in the Roma Street Police Station - you guessed it - THE BUNKER THAT EVERYONE'S BEEN GOING ON ABOUT SINCE "CRIKEY!" REPORTED ITS DISCOVERY BACK IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR!

A few days later, more excavation revealed a more substantial concrete wall and the paintings of the aircraft. That was when Dr Blake asked about the historical plans for the old Roma Street Police Station. He didn't think these would be available because things got built in a hurry during World War Two. Yet miraculously, the Department of Works had a plan which showed exactly how the base of the building was adapted into a Command Centre (incorporating a room for the Minister and the Police Commissioner, a control room messages room and switch room). Evidently internal defense was a State Government matter while external defense was a Commonwealth matter.

At this stage of the presentation, I wondered why Dr Blake or one of those engineering types from the Inner Northern Busway hadn't referred to this historical map at an earlier stage of the Inner Northern Busway's evolution. But I had to keep concentrating because Mr Williams and his cadet were scribbling furiously and I didn't want to miss anything either.

Along with the paintings of aircraft, it was revealed that the bunker had escape hatches, designed so that if one part of the building was bombed, you could make your way out by removing the bricks piece by piece. The painted sections of the concrete wall have been salvaged and placed into storage with the Queensland Museum.

Dr Blake and Dr Robins fielded a series of questions about matters of archeology, history and heritage from the audience. This discussion elicited some fascinating information about Brisbane's historical netherworld. Apparently an old water cistern was uncovered during renovations of McWhinney's cottage*, Birley Street, Spring Hill a couple of years ago. An audience member who is an expert in refurbishing these historical cisterns - a Victorian household water facility approximately two metres in diameter - said this kind of structure was quite common in South Brisbane.

Other ideas included improving the accessibility of Brisbane's archived records and artefacts, which are currently kept different places. Dr Blake also stressed the value of physically visiting a historical site. For example, exploring the tangible remains of the old convict prison at Petrie Barracks helped illustrate what the attitudes to prisoners were in an 1860s Brisbane prison. "Going to a site to see archaeological remains raises questions you've never thought of before", he said.

One audience member asked about the Petrie Bight Gas Works and whether the entity developing the site had informed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before commencing excavation, the answer vaguely touched on problems within the EPA and the speed of development. Also, it seems wooden aboriginal artefacts were found when the present day Southbank site was being excavated for EXPO 88.

Dr Blake and Dr Robins' lecture, Convicts, Culverts, and Catalinas: Recent archaeological projects in the inner-city, is part of the Queensland Connections series of lectures held at the Queensland Museum every month.

McWhinney's Cottage, Birley Street, Spring Hill, prior to renovation in 2004

* Birley Street runs from Wickham Terrace to Leichhardt Street, part of a small valley formerly known as Hanly's Hollow. The land upon which 39 Birley Street is located was originally granted to Patrick Byrne and later sold to Thomas McWhinney (a plasterer), after whom the historic McWhinney's cottage is named. In the mid-1890s Birley Street was extended through to Wickham Terrace and thereafter, around 1900, some of the land was transferred from Mary Ann McWhinney to the prolific Brisbane architect, Richard Gailey. He developed the blocks and constructed four timber houses for rental purposes. Birley Street had a high turnover of tenants over the years including a "wheel tapper" (presumably a kind of mechanic of horse-drawn vehicles), stonemason, butcher, printer, grocer, storeman and of course "Mrs Spry".