Changing of the guard at MBG.
At our AGM on 28 October 2019, Chair Jane Mouritz and Secretary Barb Madden both stepped down as office bearers after 11 years in those roles, in fact ever since Jane and Jon Doust first mooted such a group in 2009. Moira Maley also resigned as our Treasurer for the past year. Both Moira and Barb have agreed to join the committee.
The new Chair is Sigrid Adams. Sigrid was born in Albany and has recently returned, from Fremantle, to live in Golf Links Road. She has extensive experience in retirement village management and engaging with developers and seniors, through her business Village Solutions. Sigrid is committed to connecting people with the place they live and believes all should feel valued and able to contribute to increasing the quality of life within the Middleton Beach precinct.
Chris Gunby will continue as vice chair, Pam Dolley is the new treasurer and Margaret Gorman and Rob Hensel will join Moira and Barb on the committee. The position of secretary is still vacant.
MBG projects in 2018
It was a busy year for us: two ‘Poppies in the Sand’ projects, the opening of the long awaited Middleton Beach entry statement in Eyre Park, and the launch of Murray Arnold’s ‘History of Middleton Beach’. In addition, we did our bit to encourage the best possible outcomes for several City of Albany projects, most notably the Design Guidelines for the Middleton Beach Activity Centre
Here are some photos to remind you of the ‘year that was’.
Poppies in the Sand. Anzac Day 2018
One hundred wooden crosses in memory of Albany’s WW1 casualties were planted in a sea of poppies. As always, it was MBG members Pat and Ron Kerruish and Nan and David Anderson who were the backbone of this wonderful community project. A special thanks to Ron for co-ordinating the making of the wooden crosses.
Entry Statement opening
It was a beautiful sunny winter morning to ‘open’ our entry statement at Eyre Park near the roundabout. Mayor Denis Wellington did the honours, with Elder Lester Coyne contributing a Noongar perspective to the area. Sue Codee’s sculpture depicting aspects of Middleton Beach was very well received by all ages, with the younger members of the audience also enjoying Jamie the Clown’s road safety messaging, sponsored by the Road Safety Commission. Our thanks to Sally Malone for managing the sculpture production and installation, and for the complementary plantings, and to MBG member Caroline Cameron for seeing the project through on MBG’s behalf.
A big thank you to Southern Ports for their substantial donation towards the project.
‘History of Middleton Beach’ launch
A large crowd of around 200 filled the Surf Club on November 1 for the launch of Murray’s book. Local historian Malcolm Traill gave the launching speech, and both he and Murray related some interesting and amusing stories about Middleton Beach in the early days. The Shantymen entertained the audience before and after the speeches, and images from the book scrolled through the TV monitors.
Book sales were encouragingly brisk – proceeds after production costs will be shared equally by MBG and Hawthorn House. The book can be purchased from Bay Merchants, Paperbark and the WA Museum bookshop.
Some images from “History of Middleton Beach’ below:
‘Poppies in the Sand’. Remembrance Day
November 11th saw our sixth and final installation. This time, it was ‘PEACE’, a simple, strong and hopeful message appreciated by the many community members and visitors who participated.
A closing ceremony was held to mark our final contribution to the four year commemoration. Peter Potter read ‘In Flanders Fields’, as he had at our opening ceremony in November 2014 marking The Departure; Hamish McGregor and Caitlin Smith from the Albany Light Opera Company also gave a reading, Eugene Eades s sang his own composition in memory of his father who served in WW2, and Kevin McCreton and his impromptu band played for us.
Well deserved presentations were made to the Kerruish & Anderson team who devised, co-ordinated and presented ‘Poppies in the Sand’ for six installations over 4 years – a superb effort.
Another successful ‘Poppies in the Sand’
The fourth MBG ‘Poppies in the Sand’ Anzac commemoration was another great success, thanks to all those community members who helped ‘plant’ and dismantle the 28,000 poppies comprising this year’s design of a 15 metre wide wreath. Thanks also to the roster volunteers who had to endure some ordinary weather, and a special mention of staff and students from the Australian Industry Trade College, Qld, who put in many hours over the four days and were clearly moved by their Albany Anzac experience, which they described as life changing. They were inspired by our poppy project and how it brought community together in so many dimensions. We hope to maintain the connection with the College for 2018.
The completed wreath of 28,000 poppies
Keeping our patch clean
City of Albany Keep Albany Beautiful Awards
It was a family affair with sisters and MBG supporters Rhonda Appleton, Deb Docking and Jennifer Wignall also acknowledged for their efforts in keeping Middleton Beach litter free.
We are now calling on volunteers to adopt a street or open area for the coming year, as your ‘patch’ to keep litter free. The response so far has been quite positive but we need more hands! If you can help, please contact MBG secretary Barb Madden on barbara2@iinet.net.au.
City responses to MBG requests
The City of Albany has responded promptly to several issues raised at our meeting on 28 October. See below:
Trees on Middleton Road and Eyre Park. MBG requested that Council consider continuing the avenue of trees on either side of Middleton Road as far as Garden Street, and refrain from further ad hoc tree plantings in Eyre Park honouring centenarians, with future commemorative trees to be planted in an avenue adjacent to Middleton Road in Eyre Park. The City responded that most parts of Middleton Road have verges too naroow to accommodate underground services and trees, and that creating an avenue in the suggested area would require narrowing the road, which is unlikely.
With regard to placement of commemorative trees in Eyre Park, we were advised that any new plantings would be along the paths, or plaques could be placed alongside existing trees in this area. The only new trees currently planned for Eyre Park will be associated with the new playground.
Eyre Park Playground renewal. This is planned to commence on 18 January but MBG requested that the start be delayed until the end of the Christmas school holidays, however the City responded that the dates are set and the aim is to complete the works in time for the April School holidays.
Sand softfall in playgrounds. MBG raised concerns about the potential for needle-stick injuries and increased dust and consequent pathway slipperiness associated with the new playground at Ellen Cove. We requested that more lawn and less sand be incorporated into the new Eyre Park playground. The City responded that all playgrounds will be replaced with sand softfall as they are renewed, as it is cheaper to install and maintain than rubber softfall. A sand sifter will clean the sand regularly and it is to be raked monthly. A street sweeper is now being used in front of Three Anchors.
Whilst MBG didnt achieve the responses we hoped for, we appreciate these explanations from the City, via Jacqui Purvis, Coordinator Developed Reserves.
The next MBG meeting will be held on Tuesday 19 January at 5pm, venue to be advised. The main business will be presentations from artists/sculptors shortlisted to prepare design concepts for the proposed Entry Statement in Eyre Park, on the corner of Adelaide Cres and Middleton Road. This is a joint MBG/City of Albany project, in response to strong community support for an Entry Statement for the area.
August Meeting
There was another good turnout at Three Anchors on 3rd August, for wide ranging and lively discussion on issues and projects relevant to ‘our patch’.
Tony Ward from the City’s Ranger Services will work with some MBG volunteers on a dog owner education program in an effort to make the Dog Beach cleaner and more pleasant for users.
Landcorp’s draft Preferred Concept Plan for the Middleton Beach Activity Centre (aka Esplanade site) was available for us to ponder – it should by now be available on Landcorp’s website.
Chris Gunby continues his fantastic war against weeds around Middleton Beach, most recently on COA land at the southern end of the golf course. Take a look at his report to the City on the voluntary work he has done over the past 12 months, and if you’d like to see the diagrams he refers to in his report, or you would like to give him a hand, he can be contacted on fishfinder50@hotmail.com
Chris has also provided a further update on our Entry Statement project, so that those who participated in the survey in particular are kept informed.
Entry Statement Update
Chris Gunby has provided the following progress notes on MBG’s entry statement project:
The Middleton Beach Group’s entry statement survey was provided to the City of Albany and discussed with representatives at a meeting on 27th March. The City of Albany was appreciative of the work undertaken by the Group, and advised the City intended to provide entry statements to a number of areas in the City, subject to budget considerations in July. Subject to Council approval, the Middleton Beach entry statement could be one of the first to be progressed. Once Council approval was provided professional design expertise will be sought and options for a sculptural feature developed, using community input provided by the entry statement survey. The Middleton Beach Group has offered some financial assistance to help design this feature.
The entry statement survey also provided 41 suggestions for projects that could be undertaken by the Middleton Beach Group to improve the area. Most of these are on reserves managed by the City of Albany, and so Jane Mouritz and Susanne Denning met with Mark Ford from the City to discuss the community suggestions in more detail. The City has advised some of the suggested projects, such as improved car parking in Eyre Park, will be undertaken by the City. Other projects, such as the planting of trees along Middleton Road, will require further consideration and planning, prior to budget considerations. Projects such as reducing drainage onto the beach are likely to be long term and involve other landowners and developers. A number of projects that could be undertaken by volunteers, such as the removal of typha and rubbish from the lake in Eyre Park, have already been started.
People interested in any project ideas are encouraged to attend Middleton Beach Group meetings or join the email contact list.
To see the full survey results, click on the ‘entry statement’ tag at at the top of this post and follow the links
ANZAC 2015 POPPIES TRIBUTE
MBG presented two main events for the Anzac 2015 commemorations.
‘Lest We Forget’ headstones once again looked imposing and impressive in the AEC foyer, and the Town Hall foyer. Both venues attracted high visitor numbers attending functions over the weekend..
‘Poppies in the Sand’ at Ellen Cove took the form of a map of Australia and New Zealand, filled with nearly all of our 30,000 plastic poppies, planted by the public. Amazing! We had learned from our November experience that the local community and visitors really wanted to be involved, so we took the risk of relying on them to come along and do the job, and it paid off. It was also a great community effort to get them all packed up and ready for next year. Ron Kerruish deserves congratulations for working out how to draw the map, with help from Patti. Additions were made by those who cared – Stewart Island, Rottnest, and King Island appeared! Thanks to Mayor Dennis Wellington who first suggested that we do the map.
Meanwhile, our chairman Jane Mouritz travelled to Melbourne with a few poppies to add to the huge display of 250,000 at Federation Square. Our headstones were certainly not needed to swell the numbers, though Jane says they would have looked stunning had we not decided that Albany was a more appropriate location.
So, it’s two down and four to go – three more Anzac Days then the culmination of the WW1 Commemorations on November 11, 2018.
The beginning. Photo: B Madden
Photo: B Madden
Photo: John Forbes http://www.johnforbes.photo
Packing up. Photo: B Madden
Nearly there. Photo: B Madden
Lest We Forget
Installation at AEC. Photo: B Madden
ENTRY STATEMENT SURVEY
Many thanks to Chris Gunby for his analysis of the recent survey undertaken by MBG to gather views of local rsidents and businesses about an entry statement for the area. Read Chris’s report summary below:
“A survey of Middleton Beach residents and commercial enterprises was undertaken and confirmed overwhelming support for an entry statemen to the area. The preferred location was in Eyre Park at the junction of Middleton Beach Rd and Adelaide Crescent. The proposed use of former town jetty pylons was supported, but there was a desire to see a high quality and professional feature, that considered other materials and had a design relevant to the character of the area. A variety of other projects were suggested to enhance Middleton Beach”
The full survey results are attached.20 March 15 MB Entry Statement survey results final version
MEETING on MARCH 3rd 2015
The next meeting of the Middleton Beach Group will be held in the Three Anchors meeting room on Tuesday March 3rd from 5pm.
If you would like to bring a cuppa to the meeting, order and pay beforehand and the Three Anchors staff will bring it to the meeting room (which they provide free of charge).
Agenda
– Group response to Landcorp Community Consultation for Esplanade site
– Update on community survey re Entry Statemen; suitability of jetty timber for sculpture
– Briefing on process for possible Artificial Reef project. Julie-Ann Gray, City of Albany
– Poppies in the Sand for Anzac Day at Middleton Beach
` Lest We Forget for Anzac Day in Albany
– Lest We Forget headstones traveling to Melbourne for Anzac Centenary commemorations (Thank you to Great Southern Fuels for $250 fuel voucher)
– Southern Ports Community Consultation – first meeting report
– other items
Hope to see you there!
middletonbeachgroup.com 