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.