Copy
e-Gazette No. 015 -   June, 2016.    If this email doesn't look right, then:
View this email in your browser

In this e-Gazette....

 

PRIVATISATION OF PARK LANDS - CITY COUNCIL ROLLS OVER, PLAYS DEAD

After 176 years of protecting the Adelaide Park Lands, the City Council has finally buckled under pressure from the greedy development lobby and a short-sighted State Government.

In a landmark vote on Tuesday 14 June, the City Council effectively gave a green light to privatisation on Park Lands, rejecting the suggestion there was anything improper about residential housing and commercial development on our world-unique heritage lands.

The old RAH site is listed as Park Lands.  Even though its grounds are not currently park lands that is still their legal status.  The law says so.   The land is therefore, in law, dedicated to "the public of South Australia".  That means it's NOT available for selloff by the Government and therefore should be off-limits to politicians and their developer mates.

The State Government proposes to get around the law with long-term leases so that private buildings, including 15-storey apartments can be built there for the benefit of those rich enough to afford them.

APPA would like to see the heritage-listed buildings on the old RAH site put to public use, perhaps as a High School, or Art Gallery.   If developers move in, to make a profit on public land, it's equivalent to theft: i.e. stealing YOUR land, stealing YOUR heritage, stealing from our children - to make a quick buck in the short term.
The good guys!

Adelaide City Councillors Phillip Martin, Sandy Wilkinson and Sue Clearihan - the only three Councillors who voted that Park Lands should be for community use, rather than private, commercial use.  

History will remember them as the few who stood up for the public, against money-hungry short-term interests. 

Cr Ann Moran, who was away for the vote, was also supportive.   See separate story below.

"Those parklands are there for all South Australians to enjoy, not just the select few who can afford to buy an apartment or run a business there.

"We know the Government's about to make an announcement, once it's made its announcement, that's it.

"You either stand up now and say it's not good enough to put residential apartments and commercial development on that site or you keep quiet."  - Cr Phil Martin

If you agree with Councillors Martin, Wilkinson & Clearihan, then take action!

THE BIGGEST HEIST SINCE SADDAM?

One of the biggest robberies in history was the withdrawal of more than $1 billion from the Central Bank of Iraq, by Saddam Hussein in 2003 the day before Allied forces bombed Baghdad.

In Adelaide, it's not cash that's being taken, but rather public land.   The Walker Corporation has conned our State Government into handing over priceless land near North Terrace.   The most amazing thing about this land grab is that we are not just letting the land go, we're actually paying Walker Corporation to take it from us!

Yes, $180 million of your money is being handed over to Lang Walker, the developer, so that he will be required to put a new car park underneath his 23-storey office tower, shops and restaurants.

How stupid are we?  About as stupid as the Government of Egypt would be, if it started selling off the Great Pyramid.

The uncritical Adelaide media, including the ABC, have simply swallowed Government propaganda about the marvellous things that supposedly will happen in the gaps between the new private buildings.  Supposedly high-quality public space (i.e. the Festival Plaza) will be "enlivened" because the Walker Corporation and Sky City casino will take away some of our public land, for private profit.  On that basis we can expect more and more of Adelaide Park Lands to be "enlivened" by selling off or leasing parts of them to commercial interests.
If this makes you see red, then take action!

WILL GOV'T PAY TO FIX UP RYMILL PARK MESS?

The disaster that used to be Rymill Park is supposedly going to get cleaned up one day.  Hopefully, if you can believe glossy Government brochures and artists' impressions, trees will spring up once the O-Bahn deep trench is covered.

But that assumes there's money left aside in the Government's budget for remediation works and tree planting. 

Just last month, the Government walked away from previous assurances to Hackney and College Park residents that there would be a footbridge over the busway extension on Hackney Rd.  Apparently there's no money in the budget to cover that. 

APPA wrote to Minister Mullighan on 29 May inquiring about the budget for remediation and re-instatement works in Rymill Park and Rundle Park.  We've had no reply yet.  Look for an update in next month's e-Gazette.

DISAPPEARING ART WORKS

We have many fine pieces of public art located within the Park Lands. These reflect many different periods, styles and subjects, from ornamental gates to statues, water fountains and of course Memorials to the fallen.

Sometimes these pieces stand out, sometimes they blend in. In almost all cases, this public art makes the surrounding Park Lands more attractive, adds extra interest and provides food for thought and reflection.

Many well-known art works have been removed in recent years. Some are “undergoing repairs”, either by Adelaide City Council, or, in the case of the Botanic Gardens, by the State Government.
Three examples of “missing” art, each absent for over two years now, include the statues of “Hebe” and “Diana”, which used to grace the main entrance walkway into the Botanic Garden from North Terrace. Although an assessment has been done, there is no indication of when they will be replaced.

Another is an original part-bronze water fountain by the well-known SA sculptor John Dowie. Entitled “Piccaninny” (above) this used to be located between the children’s playground and the Rymill lake kiosk.

Other pieces need urgent work – the twin “Molossian Hound” statues for example, also on the main entrance walkway to the Botanic Garden, are deteriorating rapidly. See the picture above.

In the case of some of these removed pieces the authorities are still “(exploring) alternative options for getting this work done” - even more than two years since removal.  We’re not sure if the delay is due to budgetary restrictions or lack of will – but it surely must be addressed.

The Adelaide Park Lands’ public art and memorials collections must be preserved, and, where necessary, renovated speedily. They form an important – some would say essential - part of the charm of our Park Lands.

APPA is planning to work with concerned bodies, institutions and art-lovers throughout Adelaide to support the creation and maintenance of a publicly available Database of Art Work and Memorials in the Park Lands.

If you'd like to contribute to this initiative as it develops, or perhaps have public space art expertise of any sort, please get in touch with Mike Seager or Walter Dollman, via secretary@adelaide-parklands.asn.au

1879 PARK LANDS DEBATE - NOT BEAUTIFUL ENOUGH?


Edmund Gouldsmith, (1852–1932) Adelaide from Montefiore Hill 1885.  Gift of the Council of the School of Mines 1891, to the Art Gallery of SA
.
Debate about losing parts of the Park Lands is nothing new.  On 27 June 1879, a public meeting was called to discuss Government plans to alienate parts of the Park Lands "near the Port-road where the Nairne Railway passes, and the other on Dequetteville-terrace, where the valve-house of the waterworks is situated"

As usual, those opposed to losing parts of the Park Lands were derided in the newspaper as "ill fudged and based upon an erroneous view of the facts".  The article criticised the City Council for failing to beautify the Park Lands sufficiently, with the accusation that the Park Lands were (in 1879) "far less serviceable even to the citizens than they should be."

The more things change......

See the full article here.

YES,  A NEW HIGH SCHOOL - BUT NOT AT PARK LANDS' EXPENSE

On 29 May, APPA wrote to State Education Minister Susan Close urging her to reconsider Government plans for a new seven-storey building in Frome Park, Tainmuntilla (Park 11).

We urged her to consider re-purposing these heritage-listed buildings on the old RAH site instead.

So far we have received only the customary formal acknowledgement of our letter.   Look for an update in next month's e-Gazette.  In the meantime, show your support by taking action.

THANKS COUNCILLOR ANN MORAN

Letter-to-the-editor "The Advertiser":

"CALVARY Hospital should be congratulated and thanked for purchasing land in the Adelaide square mile to build its new state-of-the-art hospital.

This stands in stark contrast to what the State Government has done by grabbing priceless but free riverbank Park Lands for its totally unnecessary RAH 2.


Add this to the Government’s peculiar decision to proceed with the expensive and unpopular O-Bahn extension project and it shows what the State Government thinks of our Park Lands and the public's views."

(Cr) ANNE MORAN, North Adelaide.
It's great to be able to give credit where credit is due.  Cr Moran was away from Adelaide when the Council unfortunately buckled to pressure from the State Government and the development lobby on 14 June.  (See the lead story above).  However, Cr Moran would have been a supporter of Cr Martin's motion. Before she went away, this simple pointed message of hers was published prominently in 'The Advertiser'.
 

PARK LANDS ART PRIZE - PLANNING FOR 2018

Congratulations to all those involved in the 2016 Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize, especially the winning entries.

APPA intends to repeat the biennial Art Prize in 2018 and planning will commence shortly to ensure the next event is even better than this year's.

The winner of this year's "People's Prize" as the most popular work in the Art Prize was Helen Sheriff's 'Regeneration" which was featured here in last month's e-Gazette.

You can look again at all the winners on the Park Lands Art Prize web site.

The project achieved its aim of raising awareness of the Adelaide Park Lands and the multiple ongoing threats that they face.

The final part of the Park Lands Art Prize will be the sale of a painting, donated by Robert Hannaford which was a generous gift, the proceeds of which are to be donated to APPA.  We are considering whether to offer the painting for sale, or auction, or as a raffle prize.   More information in next month's e-Gazette.
"Cloud Study" by Robert Hannaford, donated to underwrite the 2016 Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize.
The Art Gallery of South Australia next month commences a special exhibition of Robert Hannaford's works:  "50 Years of Figuration" from 2 July to 9 October. 

http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Exhibitions/ComingSoon/Robert_Hannaford

PHOTO OF THE DAY TURNS TWO

Recent highlights to celebrate the second anniversary of APPA's 'Photo of the Day'
From the top:
a)  Prince Alfred College home game, Tidlangga (Park 9) off Bundeys Rd
b)  Archery, Warnpangga (Park 10) off Bundeys Rd
c)  Cycling on Park Lands trail, Tuthangga (Park 17) near Beaumont Rd
d)  North Adelaide Golf Course, Pirltawardli (Park 1) off Strangways Tce
e)  Soccer, Walyu Yarta (Park 21) off Greenhill Rd

The Park Lands 'photo of the day' series has been running since May 2014, and the collection of Park Lands photos now numbers more than 760.  We maintain (and gradually grow) 37 separate albums for each one of our 30 Parks, six squares (and one album for 'Alienations').   To browse the photos follow the link below to 'Our photos on Flickr'.
 
APPA on Facebook
APPA on Facebook
@adelparklands
@adelparklands
APPA website
APPA website
Our photos on Flickr
Our photos on Flickr
Share
Tweet
Forward
Copyright © Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association, Inc. [2015] All rights reserved.


unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp