Vale David Hutchison 1927-2017

Fremantle has sadly lost one of its preeminent historians. David Hutchison passed away a couple of days ago.

Garry Gillard (on his Fremantle Stuff web page)  describes David’s  book Fremantle Walks as the most accessible and popular local history publication. He goes on to reproduce Prof Bob Reece’s citation for David Hutchison’s Life Membership of the Fremantle History Society which is worth repeating here:

David is one of those rare people we can call a true authority on Fremantle and its history. As someone once said to him, ‘David, you have forgotten more history than I will ever know!’ From the time of his appointment as Senior Curator in History at the Western Australian Museum in 1970 with oversight of what was then the Fremantle History Museum at Finnerty St., David immersed himself in the town’s past. His later activism on behalf of the History Society, his prolific research and writings and his celebrated Fremantle Walks, all contributed towards making him a local ‘identity’. His 1986 book, Fremantle Walks, published by Fremantle Press, brought his extensive local knowledge together in a highly readable format for the benefit of visitors to the city. Closely associated with a movement in the early 1990s to set up a ‘clearing house’ for Fremantle research, David became a member of the History Society and served on the Committee from 1999 until 2004. One of his major contributions was his submission on behalf of the Society to the Fremantle Prison Heritage Precinct Master Plan. Perhaps his most solid and enduring achievement, however, was his establishment in May 1996 of Fremantle Studies Day, which in turn stimulated the appearance in 1999 of the journal Fremantle Studies, to which he became a frequent contributor. He brought a scholarly standard to the work of the Society, at the same time preaching the down-to-earth virtues of community history. Bob Reece.

I’ll miss seeing David walking the streets of Fremantle, almost always with library books in hand, passionate about history, Fremantle and especially Fremantle history.

Looking back at Freo in 2017

The City of Freo has put together this nice little video of the year that was.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and great break.

 

 

 

‘He’s a legend’: The humble 80-year-old keeping a Fremantle beach rubbish free; WA Today

A little good news…

http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/im-not-doing-anything-special-80yo-freo-legend-goes-viral-for-beach-cleanups-20171220-h081bx.html

December 20 2017 – 4:25PM

The humble 80-year-old keeping a Fremantle beach rubbish free

• Hannah Barry

George Psanoudakis spends every morning, without fail, walking up and down South Beach in Fremantle.

The 80-year-old takes off at 5.30am with his bathers, a towel, and a rubbish bag.

George on one of his South Beach walks. Photo: Hannah Barry

For three years now, George has spent every morning in both summer and winter walking between the groynes and cleaning up any rubbish left behind.

And for almost three years, his efforts went quietly noticed by the people of Fremantle.

On Monday morning, George was surprised to find someone had definitely been watching him on his morning South Beach walks.

“I walk from groyne to groyne and I just pick it up and I put it in a bag,” he said.

“I go every morning for a walk and a swim and someone must have seen me.

“All of a sudden I got this letter from the mayor, and it said thank you for doing that.

“I don’t understand – I’m not doing anything special.”

But Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt disagreed.

The mayor sent George a letter last week, which has since gone viral in local Fremantle community groups.

“It has come to our attention that you have been voluntarily cleaning up South Beach every morning filling bags with litter that others have carelessly left behind,” Mr Pettitt wrote.

“Your tireless endeavours not only help care for our environment but all beach goers to enjoy the benefits of your valued efforts by providing a clean and beautiful beach for all.

“So on behalf of my fellow councillors I wish to offer you our sincere thanks for your hardworking and invaluable service [for] our community.”

When George’s son Baziz posted a photo of the letter on social media thanking the community for making his dad feel happy, George was overwhelmed by the amount of people who recognised him from his early morning beach walks.

“I see your father often! He’s a South Beach legend!” one local wrote.

“He’s a legend – I see him there every morning,” another said.

But George still insists he wasn’t doing anything special.

“I wish I could tell everyone there are a couple of young women who do it too, and I just started copying them!” he laughed.

From the Freo Council Chambers December 2017

Free Freo Parking in time for last minute Christmas Shopping

My favourite new Freo parking station not only has lots of free spots it is also first hour free.

Enter from Point Street.

 

A look back at 2017, through stories and pictures by Broadsheet Editor Max Veenhuyzen

Australia says yes to same-sex marriage.

Photography: Danica Zuks

1/4

Richard Walley, Mama Kin, John Butler

Published on 20 December 2017

by Max Veenhuyzen 

https://www.broadsheet.com.au/perth/city-file/article/year-life-broadsheet-editor-perth

Getting the news first. Being granted audiences with inspiring people. Eating and drinking very delicious things. These are just some of the perks of having the title “Editor, Broadsheet Perth” embossed on your business card.

Traditionally, December is prime time for year-that-was wraps from media types. “It’s been a big 12 months” is a common refrain, but – more than most – 2017 felt like a real watershed.

The biggest news, I think it’s safe to say, was Australia voting yes to same-sex marriage in November and parliament passing the same-sex marriage act in December. In this era of Trump, narrow-mindedness and barely concealed hate, this story was a rousing reminder of the power of the human spirit. It was a privilege to be able to publish an op-ed from journalist and long-time LGBTIQ activist Paul Van Lieshout and photographer Danika Zuks’s shots from the same-sex-survey results announcement at the Northbridge piazza. I was moved by both, and I can only imagine what the news meant for the city’s LGBTIQ community.

I was similarly moved by the city of Fremantle’s gutsy decision to replace its traditional Australia Day celebrations with the inaugural One Day in Fremantle, a “culturally inclusive” alternative to January 26. Being able to run an op-ed from Indigenous-rights campaigner Richard Walley OAM was another highlight of my working year. Like Walley, I believe future generations will look back at the city of Freo’s courageous move as another landmark moment. It’s a joy to be able to get behind such an important cause.

Food and drink remains the cornerstone of Broadsheet’s Perth coverage. News of Restaurant Amuse’s closure was one of the site’s biggest stories. While the restaurant continues to be missed, its legacy lives on via alum that include David Pynt of Singaporean modern barbeque restaurant Burnt Ends – currently ranked at number 53 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list – and Paul Iskov of native-food pop-up Fervor.

We were similarly saddened to announce that North Perth’s beloved Italian deli Di Chiera Brothers was calling time on its 64-year career. Greenhouse’s closure was another of the year’s lowlights. Although founders Joost Bakker, Matt Stone and Paul Aron were no longer involved with the project at the time of the announcement, the news was an opportunity for the trio to reflect on the project’s groundbreaking sustainability efforts. Also from the department of green thinking and cooking: encouraging news that chef Melissa Palinkas is taking steps to ban plastic

South Beach candlelight carols event cancelled due to bad weather

 

 

Due to unseasonal bad weather we’ve had to make the difficult decision to cancel this year’s City of Fremantle Candlelight Carols.

 

The popular family event was due to be held on Sunday 17 December at Wilson Park, opposite South Beach.

 

The forecast of  thunderstorms, high winds and low temperatures makes it impossible to ensure the comfort and safety of people attending, which is our number one priority with any event.

 

City staff will be on site redirecting those who are not aware of the cancellation.

 

We’re just as disappointed as all the families out there will be, but we’ll be back in 2018.

 

For a range of other events and activities over the Christmas period visit www.fremantlestory.com.au/your-story/event-festivals/special-events.html

 

We hope you have a great festive season.

Last Meeting of the Council…

While the last of the Ashes at the WACA is generating much reflection, here in Freo it is the last of the council meetings in the current Kings Square that is having us reflect on the end of an era

Tonight the City of Fremantle will hold its last council meeting at the William Street administration building before it is demolished and redeveloped as part of the $270m Kings Square Renewal Project.

From January 2018, all council and committee meetings will be held at the North Fremantle Community Hall while the City’s administration, offices and library will temporarily relocate to the former Fremantle Dockers building at Fremantle Oval.

I’m sure the last meeting at the 50-year-old council chambers will bring back many memories. As a council we’ve had a lot of memorable moments here, like the huge crowd in the public gallery when we approved the Esplanade Youth Plaza, signing off on Kings Square and approving Amendment 49 to pave the way for a more vibrant inner city. But I’m also really excited by what lies ahead because our new building will be a great addition to the rejuvenation of the Fremantle CBD.

The City will remain at Fremantle Oval until the civic administration building is completed, which is expected to be late 2019.

For more information and FAQs about the relocation visit: www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/themove

 

Recommendation on South Terrace upgrade before council tomorrow night

For a while there speed humps were the number one debated issue in Freo so for those interested the issue will be considered by Council at the council meeting on Wednesday 13 December. The report is available on the council agenda page.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the consultation process for the South Terrace pedestrian safety and streetscape improvements.

Read on for more information about the consultation outcomes.

We received 117 responses to the survey that gave us some valuable feedback on the proposed traffic treatment and streetscape improvements to South Terrace, between Sydney Street and Little Lefroy Lane.

This is what you told us:

• 72.6% of people support the proposed changes, with 53.8% indicating they ‘strongly support’ the changes and a further 18.8% supportive of ‘most changes’.
• The proposal to improve the streetscape was the most supported change, with over 90% of respondents answering positively to the proposed new paving, street furniture, trees and planting.
• The proposal to reduce the carriageway to a trafficable width of 7 metres is the least supported change. While 58.2 % of people support narrowing the road to make it easier for people to cross the street safely, 22.2 % felt this would create more dangerous conditions for cyclists.
• The need for South Terrace to be calmed from South Street to Douro Road was mentioned by numerous people, along with the need to protect the interests of people living in the side streets. A plan for the area bounded by South Street, Douro Road, Marine Terrace and Hampton Road was suggested, following concerns that the proposed treatment at Little Lefroy and South Terrace will create traffic problems elsewhere.
• The need for a cycle lane on South Terrace between South Street and Douro Road was frequently mentioned, along with a desire to see similar treatments implemented at other nodes in this section.

You can read the community engagement report here.

 

Council will make a decision on the design to be built when they meet on Wednesday 13 December 2108 at 6.00 pm.

 

The report to council recommends:

• The road be narrowed to make it safer for people to cross the street and encourage drivers to slow down in this section.
• The temporary speed bumps be replaced with a raised platform to slow drivers down.
• The road be surfaced with red asphalt and stencil markings to slow drivers down.
• The footpath be widened, new paving, street furniture, paving and trees be added to improve the street.
• The amount of alfresco space be increased.

You can read the report to council in the agenda for 13 December here.

Archaeological dig set to unearth Freo’s first church

An archaeological dig planned for Fremantle’s historic Kings Square early next year will shed new light into what life was like in Fremantle during the late 1800s.

The dig, taking place across four zones in Kings Square from 15-21 January 2018, will look for evidence of the 1840s-built predecessor to the current St John’s Church which used to stand in the centre of the square.

The archaeologists expect to unearth the foundations of the first church, which was demolished in 1882, as well as other historical material such as glass bottles, clay pipes; and fragments of ceramic bowls and plates from this period.

The City hopes to be able to showcase the findings as it upgrades public spaces as part of the Kings Square Renewal project, which began earlier this year.

“Kings Square has a lot of stories to tell and we’re really looking forward to seeing what will be uncovered, particularly given an earlier dig in June 1986 identified the foundations of the first church,” said Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt.

“As well as the church foundations, we hope to find artefacts in public spaces outside the former Myer building which were once the sites of buildings spanning the early-mid 20th century.

“We want to incorporate the findings into the upcoming Kings Square public space upgrades. To do this we’re looking at opportunities to include ground viewing areas to provide visitors to Kings Square with a real window into the past,” Mayor Pettitt said.

Archae-aus, a cultural heritage management consultancy based in North Fremantle, has been appointed by the City of Fremantle to undertake the investigations as part of the broader redevelopment of Kings Square.

Community invited to become archaeologists for a day

Archae-aus and the Museum of Moving Objects will be conducting public archaeology engagement programs and workshops in Kings Square alongside the excavations.

Archae-aus Executive Archaeologist Fiona Hook said the public will be invited to come and discover first-hand what it’s like to be an archaeologist.

“It’s a very exciting project and we want the whole community to share in the thrill of discovery,” said Ms Hook.

“Not only will the public be able to view the excavations as we uncover Fremantle’s history, but people of all ages can also participate in hands-on activities and events including lunchbox excavations, historical object drawing and sustainability workshops, as well as free on-site talks.”

For public safety and to protect the contents of the dig sites, areas of Kings Square will be fenced off during the archaeological investigations. (Map attached)

For more information and links to book workshops and activities through Archae-aus visit https://mysay.fremantle.wa.gov.au/kings-square-dig