EMBARASSING "RECOGNITION" PILING ON - O'BAHN EXTENSION NOMINATED FOR BRICKBAT AWARD
The Australian Civic Trust has nominated the O'Bahn extension project for a Brickbat Award. The controversial project, which continues to embarrass the South Australian Government, has been described as an “easily-avoidable disaster for the park lands”.
The Trust questioned both the rationale behind the project and the lack of meaningful community consultation: "With apparently limited benefits and significant drawbacks, this may not be the most cost-effective solution. Its overall priority in the transport network also appears problematic and the current outcry shows the community consultation phase as less than effective."
The Trust also made a special mention of the impact of the project on Rymill Park the concerns local residents have on the works, but most importantly recognised the unique status of the park lands and the unique planning leadership they afford the City of Adelaide:
"The project is causing concern to residents at Hackney and it cuts directly through Rymill Park, a much-loved and well-used section of Adelaide’s Park Lands – a precinct decreed as belonging to the people of Adelaide in 1837, a central element in Adelaide’s recognised international leadership in city planning that received Australia’s highest heritage honour: inclusion in the National Heritage List on 7 November 2008." - Australian Civic Trust, Incorporated.
The project, which is proving to be a public relations disaster for the Government, is going to come under more scrutiny, if APPA's plans to obtain exclusive footage of the park lands damage materialise. Keep tuned for more in the next edition(s).
On 21 September, State Parliament voted to hand over 2,957 square metres of Festival Plaza (part of the Adelaide Park Lands) to Sky City Casino, to build "a hotel and ancillary facilities".
The amount paid by the Casino is "commerial-in-confidence".
There was limited debate in Parliament. The Hon John Darley (of the Nick Xenophon team) asked some probing questions, and the Opposition's Andrew McLachlan strongly criticised the secrecy with which the Government had contracted our Park Lands away:
"This contract involves the alienation of Parklands and the spending of public money. There is no reason that the contract, once entered into, could not have been made public. All this is against the backdrop of the Gillman inquiry by the ICAC where maladministration was found and the Treasurer was chastised for his behaviour in relation to public servants. Further down North Terrace we have a hospital that remains empty and unused. I would not be surprised if these arrangements will eventually be subject to examination by inquiry agencies." - Hon Andrerw McLachlan, Liberal MLC
Despite Mr McLachlan's doubts, when the Bill was put to a vote, the Liberal Party caved in, perhaps not wanting to be perceived as "anti-development",. Despite being denied access to 500 pages of a dense legal contact until just hours before the Parliamentary vote, the Liberals opted to support the Government's Park Lands selloff. Only the Greens were on record as opposing this.
PARK LANDS PUBLIC ART CATALOGUE - ANOTHER APPA INITIATIVE
APPA’s push to learn more about and help preserve Public Art in the Park Lands is off to a good start, with a growing partnership established with the Adelaide College of the Arts, who have agreed to move the subject forward through a second-year elective component at degree level.
The issue was first raised in the June e‑Gazette article “Disappearing Art Works”. The plan now is to work with concerned bodies and art-lovers to support the creation and maintenance of a publicly available database of Art Work and Memorials in the Park Lands.
Through this mechanism we hope not only to preserve and enhance an important aspect of the Park Lands’ assets, but generate renewed interest in the enjoyment of public art and, through that, the Park Lands themselves.
The Adelaide College of the Arts (ACArts) has now proposed to adapt a second year subject within their Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Arts) programme specifically for this purpose. ACArts intend to offer an “Art in the Public Sphere” elective for 2nd year students. This elective will be customised to reflect APPA’s Parklands Public Art initiative. Students will be required to work together collectively, and with senior academics, resource persons and APPA.
Throughout this process we’ve benefited from expert advice from Janice Lally, currently Academic and Public Programs Curator, UWA Art Museums. Dr. Lally was the inaugural Manager of Art for Public Places in the SA Department for the Arts in the 1990s and was also the Curator for Public Art at the Adelaide City Council for several years. She continues to be a strong supporter of the APPA initiative. Martin Cook, Principal Park Lands Planner in Adelaide City Council (and also Executive Officer of the Adelaide Park Lands Authority) has also indicated his strong support.
LEFT
River Bank, Victoria Drive: “Fugue”
Shown here
by kind permission
of the sculptor
Greg Johns
The Minister for Motor Sport, Leon Bignell, has consulted the Adelaide City Council (as he is required, by law, to do) about the dates for constructing grandstands and other motor race paraphernalia in Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi (Park 16).
The Minister is not required to change his plans as a result of anything that the Council says, but the Council has once again meekly acquiesced to the Minister's regular plans for partial takeover of Victoria Park for 169 days over 2016-17,
The diagram shows how long each year the Park is compromised for the sake of just a four-day festival of fossil fuel engines. Does it really need to take this long? We think not. Perhaps you could make that point in a message to ministerleonbignell@sa.gov.au
Victoria Park / Pakapanthi (Park 16) for the people, not the cars
APPA'S INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH - NOW UNDERWAY
APPA has begun its planned international outreach to like-minded bodies in selected overseas cities with interest in urban Park Lands, as first mentioned in May’s e-Gazette.
The process has now been initiated in two complementary ways: (i) through outreach to selected cities, and (ii) by initiating APPA representative membership with the World Urban Parks organisation.
Outreach to selected Overseas Cities
We’ve begun by approaching Adelaide’s five “Sister Cities” (Austin, USA; Christchurch, New Zealand; Georgetown/Penang, Malaysia; Himeji, Japan; (Qingdao, PRC) and its two “Friendship Cities” (Chengdu, PRC; Dalian, PRC).
These cities already collaborate with Adelaide in the fields of trade, environment, culture, education and much else. We are confident that we have a common belief in the irreplaceable asset that open space close to our city centres provides, contributing not only environmentally, but also to the general social well-being of all of us.
Initially, we’ve sent letters to the respective Lord Mayor / Mayor of each city as, in many countries, it will be important to have official acknowledgement of and support to the linkages we plan to establish. We have also formally advised the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, as well as the secretariat of the Adelaide Park Lands Authority (APLA) about our initiative.
Our main objective in taking this initiative is enhanced international collaboration on urban and urban fringe Park Lands issues. Our intention is to find ways to progressively work together internationally, starting modestly but with the potential to grow, depending on the needs and the level of interest in each city.
Hagley Park, Central Christchurch, New Zealand, one of Adelaide’s Sister Cities With acknowledgements to Christchurch Daily Photo (http://www.christchurchdailyphoto.com)
World Urban Parks
APPA has also recently agreed to initiate representative membership of the World Urban Parks (WUP) organization, a worldwide body sharing knowledge and providing a collective voice for all people and organisations engaged in green cities, open space and recreation.
Examples of shared inputs via WUP might include possible APPA and joint multi-city presentations to workshops and conferences, including video-based conferences and seminars and perhaps, (where it can be integrated with private or business travel), joint participation in selected events.
Inputs invited
Readers of the e-Gazette and others who may be interested in this aspect of APPA’s outreach and partnership work, or who may have opportunities for informal engagement overseas through business or personal travel, or perhaps have contacts in cities overseas related to parks and environment, are invited to get in touch with APPA Committee members Mike Seager (seager10@hotmail.com) or Walter Dollman (wdollman@gmail.com), or contact APPA through the APPA Secretary (secretary@adelaide-parklands.asn.au).
ROBERT HANNAFORD PARK LANDS RAFFLE - TICKETS GOING FAST
Robert Hannaford is one of Australia's greatest living artists. He's being honoured, at present, with a major exhibition at the SA Art Gallery.
You can win an original Robert Hannaford oil painting "Cloud Study" by getting into the Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize raffle. Tickets (just $5 each, with a limit of 1,000) are being sold all over the world.
Don't delay because once all the tickets are gone, they're gone. The draw is on 3 November.
"Cloud Study" by Robert Hannaford. Yours for the price of a $5 raffle ticket???
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Recent highlights
From the top:
a) Warnpangga (Park 10) north of the Zoo, near the Doug Nicholls footbridge over the Torrens
b) Tuthangga (Park 17) after-school girls soccer near Beaumont Rd
c) Wikaparntu Wirra (Park 22) Saturday afternoon netball near Goodwood Rd d) Nantu Wama (Park 6) off Kingston Tce
e) Pityarilla (Park 19) barbecue near Marshmallow Playground off Glen Osmond Rd
The Park Lands 'photo of the day' series has been running since May 2014, and the collection of Park Lands photos now numbers over 900. 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'.
Time to get some Christmas Gifts!
Order now for pre-Christmas delivery:
http://www.cafepress.com.au/adelaideparklands
