Category: Crag Archives

Some 50 residents joined in Castlecrag’s first Annual Poetry Day on Remembrance Day, 11 November 2007, outside Sally’s Bookshop. Many had penned works reflecting Castlecrag’s community, environment, history or future. Poets ranged in age from 9 to 90 and all delighted in the informal fun of a lazy Sunday afternoon. Audience adulation was encouraged where any poem mentioned a possum, brushtail or ringtail. Judges’ criteria were relevance to Castlecrag, technical qualities, flow and use of imagery.

Eventual winner of the children’s section was bright-eyed Sophie Alais with ‘Gnomies, The Storm’and‘I wonder’, closely followed by Tom Hayward’s ‘The misty, misty Crag’ and limerick ‘Possum’. Best non-resident poem was from Eve McGlashen whose ‘Lorikeets of Castlecrag’ knew ‘we need the promise of a rainbow in our lives‘, a sentiment emphasised by Gaye James’ ‘For Shannon’, mourning her son’s death at 23 in 2000.

The fur really flew in the hotly contested possum section with Rob Sheldon’s ‘Crag Drummer’waking him with a ‘crash upon the flat tin roof’ as he departs to forage, while the family Hayward’s eight verses described ‘nine possums sitting like Christmas tree ornaments,/ under a Southern Cross’. Elizabeth Lander juxtaposed the human and possum sleep patterns in the arboreal highways and Toni Foster portrayed possum as the ‘sentinel of the night’ that keeps ‘the evening secrets of Castlecrag…people who visit others’.

Narrative poems were very popular. Librettist Vicki Freame rewrote the song ‘I’ve Been Everywhere’ to ‘The Crag is where it’s at, man’, explaining to a New York visitor the curious sets of names of ‘Crag’ streets, plants, animals and even shops. Therese Hayward mused on a detour around the Sailors Bay ‘winding green track’and Marie Bassett’s ‘All The World’s a Stage’ wittily brought Shakespeare’s seven ages of man to 2007. But the winner of the ‘Poet Lorikeet’ garland was Dorothy Fraser’s ‘Aussie Journey’, 14 Homeric stanzas relating the family’s emigration from Scotland in 1975 to be greeted by graffiti ‘Shame Fraser Shame’!

Our thanks to all for a great afternoon and what will surely become an annual event. Thanks also to Sally’s Bookshop, to Bai Yok for lending chairs, and to Castlecrag Cellars for prizes.

Note: The Poet Lorikeet’s first official poem, ‘The Haven’s Carols’, is displayed at The Griffin Centre noticeboard plus photos from Christmas Eve and the productionWhen Camels Could Fly.

Bruce Wilson

The death of Cissie Godfrey at the age of 104 on 16 July 2007 marked the passing of one of the last characters of the early Castlecrag community.

Born Sarah (Cis) Leveson to Polish parents in Glasgow, Scotland, she married Tom Godfrey, an engineer and they immediately emigrated to Sydney. Living in the Griffin house at 136 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag from 1931 to 1939, they became actively involved in the local community.

Cissie and Tom hosted music evenings at their house every Monday. Cissie remembered that these evenings usually ended in discussion, and that Marion Griffin would often raise arguments about mathematics and music. Walter and Marion never failed to turn up on Monday nights.

In her later years Cissie often discussed Castlecrag and had a remarkable memory for conversations, events and life in Castlecrag, even recalling conversations of 70 years ago. The years did not dim her memory of Walter and Marion Griffin. Or of personalities such as Betty Roland, author and playwright and her partner, Guido Barachi, a well known socialist; Guy Manton, Professor of Greek; writer Bernard Hesling, and his wife, Flo; lawyer and politician, Edward St.John; architect, Hugh Burhich; sculptors Bim Hilder and Anita Date; artists Lorna and Edmund Harvey; and bushwalkers Anice and Frank Duncan. The Godfreys shared the Griffins’ love of the bush and were avid bush walkers.

When the Godfreys moved to Avalon during the war she maintained her links to Castlecrag and enjoyed her role as keeper of a part of Australian history. She visitedBeyond Architecture, the Powerhouse Museum exhibition curated by Anne Watson in 1998, and made a cameo appearance in Bronwyn Mason’s ABC/Film Australia documentary, City of Dreams: the Collaboration of Marion Mahony and Walter Burley Griffin (2000).

To her friends Cis Godfrey was special, not because she lived to be 104 but because she defied convention. She was fun, gentle, kind, forgiving, a great confidante. She had a robust sense of humour which could be at times quite outrageous. She meant many things to many people.

Courtesy WB Griffin Society newsletter

The journalist and television producer John Crew will be most remembered by Castlecrag residents as its serving representative on Willoughby Council during the heady days of the anti-expressway campaign in the 1970s.

After arriving in Castlecrag in 1956 John and his wife Laura immediately fell in love with the place and stayed until his retirement in 1986. The family was raised here, vegetables were grown in the back yard and everyone enjoyed the rock, the bush and Middle Harbour. They only moved from Castlecrag after they had found an equally magnificent spot on the south coast, in Bermagui, for their retirement. There they stayed fit and well until John had an unfortunate fall while getting onto his pushbike on 27 December 2007 that resulted in a slow bleed on the brain. This caused him to fall into a coma that night, from which he didn’t recover, dying three days later.

In the 1970s John was incensed by the state government’s renewed attempts to push forward with the opening of the proposed expressway corridor across the Castlecrag peninsula. John joined the committee formed by the Progress Association in early 1974 to lobby against the challenge of the Warringah Expressway and soon assumed a prominent role in its affairs. With his journalist background he was cajoled into standing for local council on an environmental platform and he was elected to represent the Middle Harbour Ward in September 1974. His period on Council coincided with a period of community activism stimulated by the expressway threat. Following the election of the Wran Government in May 1976 and its decision to fulfil its election pledge to abandon the Warringah Expressway extension to Seaforth, John announced that he would not contest the 1977 Council elections. He remained active in the anti-expressway committee, however, and played a key role in the decision of the Wran Government to launch the Commission of Inquiry into the Warringah Transport Corridor headed by Mr DS Kirby.

John Crew held strong environmental and social justice principles and here in Castlecrag he made a significant contribution to protect and preserve the natural suburb we all love. He was a much loved husband, father and community member. He is survived by his wife Laura and children Mark, Ross, Christopher and Lara, and six grandchildren. A precis of John Crew’s life can be found in the obituaries of the Sydney Morning Herald dated 9 January 2008.

[On the Internet, get: http://newsstore.smh.com.au/apps/newsSearch.ac?/
then type in Search Items ‘John Crew’ and selected the appropriate time frame back to 9 January 2008 and click the ‘search’ button. A payment is required for accessing the archives.]

Mark Crew

You may be aware our suburb of Castlecrag has a Community Centre down the driveway on the corner of The Postern and The Rampart.

This centre is utilised primarily by the Kindergarten Union (KU) kindergarten during the day from Mondays to Fridays during the school terms. It also houses a sub-branch of the Willoughby City Library which operates on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings – details of the operating hours are indicated on the notice board at the top of the driveway entrance to the centre. There is a small car park available for visitors to the centre.

At present the centre is used for a variety of local resident interest group meetings, including the Castlecrag Conservation Society and the Castlecrag Progress Association. It is also used as a voting booth for elections.

The centre is also available for use by local residents for private functions including children’s’ birthday parties and larger family and community gatherings for weekend day and evening functions. It serves sometimes as a back up for The Haven shows if weather is inclement.

Hire of the hall currently costs $50 for a child’s party and $100 for an evening function. A cleaning bond may be payable as well. For adults wishing to use the hall where alcohol may be served, additional insurance may be necessary at the hirer’s expense. Some restrictions apply for the use of the hall – these include hours of availability, the use of alcohol on the premises, security and insurance.

A small kitchen is situated in the Community Centre. The centre has a wide range of facilities including air-conditioning, reheating of food in a reasonable sized kitchen, refrigeration, tables, chairs and an outside children’s’ playground with climbing equipment.

If you are interested in booking the centre, further details can be obtained by contacting the booking officer, Warwick Hutchinson on 99584230.

Warwick Hutchinson

As advised in The Crag No 165 (p5), the October general meeting of the Progress Association celebrated 60 years of activities at the Castlecrag Community Centre. Residents and former residents recalled community efforts to build the centre and its use over the years.

Barry Duncan, son of Frank and Anice, recalled his father’s key role in the establishment of the Centre as the driving force behind the cooperative society established to manage its construction and operation. The community raised funds for the Centre and put in long and arduous work for its construction. Barry expressed pleasure at visiting Castlecrag again and meeting many people he knew when he was a child, and hoped that the Centre would continue to be put to good use. Adrienne Kabos advised the meeting that a transcript is available on the Walter Burley Griffin Society website of an interview by Sue Randle of Frank Duncan and Edgar Deans, videoed 19 years ago, where they described establishing the Community Centre and community life in the Crag at that time.

Elizabeth Lander lauded the vision and efforts of earlier residents who in 1943 at a time of crisis during World War II proposed and built our Community Centre. It was a remarkable achievement by a small community and Elizabeth expressed special thanks to the Deans family, early friends and colleagues of the Griffins. Lindy Batterham spoke of her mother, Joyce, who played a key role with Frank Duncan in establishing the Centre and many other aspects of community life. The Helene France School of Ballet which Lindy and other aspiring balletomanes attended was one of the many activities held at the Centre. While the kindergarten operated during the day, it routinely cleared furniture away to facilitate use of the Centre for a wide range of activities.

Jonathon Mason spoke with emotion about the building blocks made by his father, Jim Mason, in 1947 for the kindergarten and still in daily use. One of his earliest memories was playing with the blocks at home when they were being made. Jim Mason also made and installed a gym—‘Jimmy’s Jungle’—that has now been removed. Jon noted that in the late 1940s residents walked everywhere: security was no problem because everybody, including the shopkeepers, knew everybody. There were many extra curricular activities such as music, painting, scouts, etc and there was a genuine community spirit.

Neil Buhrich spoke of his parents, Hugh and Eva, refugees from Germany who bought land in Castlecrag in 1941 but could not own it due to their status, so almost from birth Neil has owned land in the suburb. He spent most of his childhood exploring the bush with other children, sailing on Middle Harbour being popular. Discussion groups were held fortnightly in various houses, needing preparation and thoughtful input. Eva was very strongly involved in the anti-expressway effort. John Gibson told the meeting that when he and Joan built their house in The Rampart in 1953 the young population and the Community Centre were among the key attractions. Their house was ideally sited with the kindergarten at one end of their street and the Infants’ School at the other.

John Kabos brought things to the present day describing the work of the Community Centre 530A Management Committee, resurrected in the mid 1980s. The Centre was in a run-down condition; the fence at the rear of the playground was dangerous and needed reconstruction. A Plan of Management was prepared by an architect and approved by Willoughby City Council. All its objectives have now been achieved including disabled access, the storeroom, the extension to the library, the new deck and resumption of land which had been alienated at the eastern end of the playground. Several speakers, including Dorothy Fraser and Lindy Batterham, urged stronger community support for the library to ensure its survival.

Editors

Valda Wilson of Raeburn Avenue has been awarded the prestigious Rockend National Opera Studio London Scholarship and will take up the award next month. The scholarship, valued at $82,000, will enable Valda to study at the National Opera Studio in London for 10 months.

Proud parents Bruce and Karen travelled to Melbourne in May to hear Valda perform with five other finalists at a public recital at Federation Hall in Melbourne. The Chair Adjudicator, Robert Allman, noted that: ‘Valda Wilson’s win was based not just on her outstanding performance, but also on the workshop which showed her versatility and ability to take direction.’

Valda’s inspiration for music was generated here in Castlecrag where she gained support and guidance from Christine Corrigan, her long-time piano and music theory teacher, Rodna Fitzsimons, who her taught her piano and singing at the Castlecrag Infants’ School, and the flautist Judy Huxtable. Nancy Fleming of the Sydney Opera Society also provided support and guidance over the years, while the Haven Carols and ‘Opera at the Haven’ offered opportunities to develop her skills.

Valda is a graduate of the Diploma of Opera at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she studied under Stephen Yalouris. She made numerous performances with the Conservatorium Opera School and with various Sydney amateur musical societies. Over the past three years Valda has performed in concerts throughout NSW and presented live recitals on radio 2MBS-FM as part of the Young Performers program. During 2008 she has been performing as Rosina in Opera Australia Schools’ Company production of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia.

North Shore Times, 30 May 2008; http://valdawilson.com.au

Bruce Wilson

Willoughby District Historical Society

Are you interested in our local History? The Willoughby District Historical Society is seeking new members. The WDHS operates a museum in Boronia, 58 Johnson Street Chatswood, a federation style brick cottage built in 1912 and bequeathed to the Society as a Museum in 1988 by Mrs. Sonya Narelle Kirkham. It presents a fine collection of household items from the Inter-War era, material on Willoughby’s industrial history, photographs and graphic material, including plans and advertisements for sub-divisions planned by Walter Burley Griffin. The kitchen, which has been restored to its 1930s glory by Society volunteers, was officially opened by the Mayor of Willoughby, Pat Reilly, on 22 May. The museum is open 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month from 10am–4pm and the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month 1.30pm–4pm; school tours and other groups are welcome by appointment. Admission is by donation.

The Society holds general meetings at 2pm on the first Monday of the month (except January) at the Dougherty Centre, 7 Victor Street Chatswood. These are addressed by guest speakers who cover an interesting range of historical subjects and afternoon tea is served. Visitors are most welcome. The WDHS has a weekend tour scheduled to Orange and Millthorpe on 1-2 November to meet with the historical societies in those centres and explore the historical sites.

For information about the Society and membership, phone 9410 3203 during Museum opening hours, or call Mary Thom on 9419 5851 or Betty Doggett on 9417 4192. For information on the Orange-Millthorpe tour you can also contact Bob McKillop at 9958 4516.

Castlecrag residents will be aware of the large area of land between Eastern Valley Way and Alpha Road with a prominent ‘For Sale’ sign. This is former Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) land that was reserved for the Warringah Expressway corridor under the County of Cumberland Planning Scheme in 1951. The corridor was subsequently abandoned by the NSW Government in 1977 and the land was rezoned primarily for residential (low density housing) and open space purposes.

In 1999-2000 Willoughby Council joined with the RTA and the Department of Urban Affairs & Planning to produce a land planning strategy for the surplus corridor land in the Willoughby Council area. The land Willoughby bounded by Eastern Valley Way, Windsor Road, Mowbray Place, Remuera Street and Alpha Road, Willoughby was known as Precinct 2 in the strategy, which was completed by JBA Urban Planning Consultants Pty Ltd in June 2000. The land use in Precinct 2 had been a mixture of low density residential housing and public open space. The outcome of the strategy was to allow medium density residential (110 dwellings) and public open space (1.5 hectares).

In 2002 Landcom was appointed to co-ordinate the development of the Precinct 2 housing and new public park. The Master Plan for the precinct involved extensive community consultation, which resulted in the proposed new dwellings being reduced in number to 80 townhouses. Landcom subsequently withdrew from further involvement in the scheme, resulting in the site being offered for sale to a new developer. At its meeting on 23 June 2008, Council delegated authority to the Mayor and General Manager to finalise a Deed of Covenant to bind the new owner of the land (now known as Willoughby Market Garden) to complete the existing Masterplan and development approvals.

As reported in past issues of The Crag, the area has a long history as the site of extensive Chinese market gardens. I was therefore interested to come across a report in the Daily Telegraph of Friday, 12 September 1913 with the heading ‘Opium Den Discovery at Willoughby’. While the article reflects social mores and attitudes of that era, I thought that readers might be interested in some extracts from the piece as follows:

The Chief Secretary has received a report from Supt. Goulder in regard to an opium den in Willoughby. Publicity was recently directed to this place owing to a quarrel between a habitual opium smoker and the Chinese who kept it. According to the information now in the possession of the Chief Secretary, the opium smoking took place in a cottage on the outskirts of Willoughby, towards Middle Harbour, about 2½ miles from Chatswood station.

“Until recently,” says Inspector Goulder in his report, “the locality consisted almost entirely of gardens worked by Chinese, but the bulk of the land has been sub-divided for residential purposes. The cottage referred to has been in the occupation of a Chinese for a number of years and a white woman about 40 years of age who has lived with the Chinese for many years. The front part of the cottage was tenanted by another Chinese of advanced year, and for a number of months another white woman has been living there. This latter stated her age to be 31 years, and that she had been living with Chinese for about 18 years.”

The report goes on to point out that the Chatswood police appeared to have suspected that opium-smoking was carried on at this place, which they searched for opium on several occasions. In March 1911, the police detected a number of Chinese smoking opium, and four of them were successfully prosecuted. The report claims that there was no doubt that the older Chinese men had been visited for some months by a number of white women and men from various parts of the metropolitan district, and the cottage was no doubt an opium shop for the sale of opium.

Bob McKillop

Pam’s Café

The Crag welcomes the new owners of Pam’s Café, Lisa and Cornel Chow, to our community. Lisa and Cornel formerly operated a café business in Smith Street in the East Chatswood industrial area, which they sold three years ago to take a break and be full-time parents to their three children. They have lived in Middle Cove for 18 years and love the area because of its strong sense of community. In their new venture at Castlecrag they hope to build on the friendships they have established in the area and foster new ones. Patrons at the café will notice that it is business at usual at Pam’s with the same staff still providing efficient and friendly service.

Big Morning Tea

The Castlecrag ladies committee for the ‘Big Morning Tea’ held on 22 May wish to thank the Castlecrag community for their most generous support in our fundraising efforts for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The tea was a great success, with over $1500 raised for the foundation. We thank all the wonderful Castlecrag friends and neighbours who came to the event with all the cakes and biscuits – we appreciate your support, time and company!
The committee – Jill Moffatt, Diedre Phoon, Gloreen Goldin and Jennifer Kos – also extend their thanks to the following Castlecrag businesses for their most generous support in our fundraising efforts : LJ Hooker, Richardson & Wrench, Dr R Barratt, Castlecrag Post Office, Swimaster Pool Shop, TravelPlan, Castlecrag Meats, Ganache Patisserie, Sydney Butcher Boys, Gourmet Source, Burley’s Restaurant, Clipso, Vald’arno and Martha’s Restaurant.

Jennifer Kos

Honours for Castlecrag residents

Congratulations to Professor Geoffrey Duggin who was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to renal medicine and toxicology in the Queen’s Birthday Honours this year. Professor Duggin was honoured for his medical work as a clinician and researcher, and for more than 30 years of work for professional associations. He founded the toxicology unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 1980 and headed the unit until 2007. He also worked as a senior renal physician at RPA Hospital for more than 30 years.
We also report that Harold Spies has been inducted into the Allen Strom Hall of Fame where his name will be inscribed on a shield and on permanent display. The award was established by the Nature Conservation Council (NCC) in memory of the late Al len Strom’s untiring dedication to conservation and education in New South Wales. Nominees for this award need to have made a constant and invaluable contribution to the environment over a number of years and to have displayed qualities of integrity, reliability and commitment. Harold has been actively involved in conservation matters in Castlecrag and Willoughby for over 25 years, as a member and President of the Castlecrag Conservation Society (CCS), a member of the Willoughby Environmental Protection Association (WEPA) and until last year a member of WEPA’s Sugarloaf Bush Regeneration Team; in addition he has been a tireless campaigner in many local environmental issues.

Sally’s Bookshop

As residents will be aware, Sally’s Bookshop closed on 30 June. The Castlecrag community is the poorer that our little shopping centre was unable to sustain a viable book-selling business Sally has moved to a new home at Taree where her mother is busy implementing plans for her new life! I am sure all Castlecrag residents will join the Progress Association in wishing Sally all the best in her future adventures.

Chamber of Commerce

Further to our report in the April issue of The Crag, the committee of the Northbridge & Castlecrag Chamber of Commerce is proceeding with incorporation of the new organisation. The purpose of the Chamber is to promote the local business districts of Northbridge and Castlecrag and to champion the interest of its members to key stakeholders, particularly local government. A contact database of 141 business in Northbridge and 53 in Castlecrag has been drawn up and membership promotional material is being developed for distribution to these organisations. Further information about the Chamber can be obtained from Marko Delatovic at the Northbridge Golf Club, phone 9958 6900.

Climate Change forum

On 29 May Gladys Berejiklian MP arranged a public forum at the Dougherty Community Centre at which Ms Louise Wilson, a local resident, writer and lecturer at UTS, presented an information session on ‘Sustainability and Culture Change’ covering such topics as the science, the evidence, and the impact of climate change. Louise had been trained by former US Vice President, Al Gore as a ‘climate change messenger’. The presentation was followed by questions from the audience and discussion on various related matters.

Kidz Club

Building on the success of the January Children’s Holiday Club held at St John’s Church under the auspices of the Anglican Parish of East Willoughby (St James, Castlecrag and St Johns, East Willoughby), the July Club held on 10 and 11 July was attended by an increased number of children (44 on one day and 39 on the other). Pastoral Assistant Richard Sercombe and volunteers from both churches plan to hold another club in January 2009.

Advance Australia…Where? is the title of the book published last Spring by Australia’s most highly respected social researcher Hugh Mackay. He has forensically analysed ABS data and other quantitative and qualitative research to ask important questions: What will the next generation of children be like? Are we re-engaging with government policies, not just daily politics? Why are houses getting bigger while households get smaller?

Despite unprecedented prosperity, Hugh’s research has identified widespread anxiety and depression, record levels of debt, and yearning for more meaning in our lives as key issues for Australians. Join in the discussion on these issues with Hugh, who will be our Guest Speaker at the next Community Meeting on Tuesday 26 August at 7.30pm.

The forthcoming local government election is an important event that will shape the future directions of our city. In this issue we are providing profiles of the candidates who had announced their intention to stand for election by 1 August as your guide to who is standing and what they stand for. Please put the ‘Meet Your Council Candidates’ evening in your diary. It will be held will held on Wednesday 3 September at Willoughby Public School at 7pm (for 7.30), before the Election Day 13 September. Come along to hear all candidates’ proposals for how they intend to contribute to local council activities in Castlecrag, and the wider Willoughby City environs.

‘Your blood’s worth bottling!’ Special thanks are extended to those Crag residents I met donating blood at the Plaza last month. The Red Cross constantly needs more blood, and not just the ‘blue’ variety. Its next collection there will be in October, so keep a lookout for notices or phone 131495.

In the February issue of The Crag I spoke of building a ‘2020 vision’ for our community to replace myopic near-term goals. Your CPA always tries to forge past short term ‘kerb and gutter’ issues, and ask readers what sort of community and suburb you would like to grow here together. It was therefore pleasing to see that our new Prime Minister has also adopted the ‘Australia 2020’ concept to initiate long term strategizing at a national level (see www.australia2020.gov.au). Participants in the 2020 Summit report that it was an uplifting experience and we hope that their combined knowledge, experience and visions for the future will help delineate key national issues and positive future directions to enrich debate then action on national and global issues.

We must not sit back, however, and expect this type of ‘top-down’ planning is all that is required. Each small community needs to do its own ‘bottom-up’ planning. For instance, where do you want this little peninsular of 1100 households to be in 2020? The next 12 years do not affect the age group that presently guides your Progress Association as much as it does those in their 20s, 30s and 40s who are possibly new to Castlecrag and may have been attracted here by the local ‘vibe’ as well as the geographical beauty, all of which have been developed and protected by older and past generations. You are often working long hours, raising young families, and paying off homes. Nevertheless the ‘investment’ of a few hours per month in an organization like the Progress Association is actually an investment in your household (and house value).

Provide us with your ideas and feedback at info@castlecrag.org.au, write an article or ‘Letter’ to The Crag, and come along to the General Meetings of the Progress Association and other community events to exchange views with others.

Bruce Wilson