Category: Crag Archives

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

Toad, Ratty, Badger and Mr Mole with their friends and enemies came to life at the Haven Amphitheatre in March for eight performances of the classic Kenneth Grahame adventure story for families. Once again the Haven Management Committee has had a successful collaboration with Julie Mackay and the RAW-EM theatre company,(our last being A Mid Summers Nights Dream at the same time last year). This time the weather was much kinder and we only lost one performance due to rain.

Wind in the Willows has been our most successful production in reticent times and some of the comments the show received are:

‘The Haven Amphitheatre is an experience in itself. Even the drive down by the mandatory shuttle-bus was informative with the Haven bus driver telling some thing of the heritage of the area and the venue….

The show was introduced by the out internationally acclaimed violinist Alla Sharova (a temporary resident in Castlecrag) who generously gave a few impromptu lessons to the young audience in the front row. Alla then went on to carry the evening musically. Brett Neville gave us the legally blind and befuddled Badger, Michael Terry was a dastardly, wily chief Weasel while Olivia Solomon’s, as with Pearson and Macaulay, amply pulled off multi-able roles, including Chief Stoat and the ditzy, impressionable gaoler Phoebe. But there was no denying the star turn, the stylishly-named Blair Cutting, who, while sounding like a matinee idol, looked every bit a toad and relished every line.’ (Australian Stage Online)

There were many other comments from appreciative audience members, including emails and phone calls.

As to what’s next?

In September we will be playing our part in Willoughby council’s Spring Festival and towards the end of November The Haven will presenting a production of the Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Images from Wind in the Willows

Much has happened at the Griffin-designed Willoughby Incinerator in Small Street since we reported the decision of Willoughby City Council in August 2006 to undertake a full restoration of the building. As of March 2008, the initial demolition and removal of previous additions had been completed, together with the preliminary testing of all structures.

Testing found that the chloride level in most of the concrete is at a level high enough to cause corrosion of the reinforcement. Cracking is present in the entire height of the chimney, which is in a very poor state, while much of the floor is also in poor condition.

The consultants have assessed several options for the future use of the building, including as a regional gallery. Unfortunately the incinerator site is not well located to capitalise on visitation, public transport and car parking. The building itself is quite small; there is no access for loading bays and no space for storage. In addition, the heritage listing of the building carries a number of restrictions that may prevent the necessary alterations to make it effective as a regional gallery. The strict climate control systems necessary for such use would also add considerably to the cost.

Accordingly the consultants have recommended that the Willoughby Incinerator be developed as a cafe, exhibition/meeting rooms and artist studios. Council has endorsed the report’s advice on the use of the building.

Work will now commence on the repair and restoration of the structure prior to the final fit-out for use. In addition, the proposed use of the building as a public venue will require installation of a lift near the north western corner (estimated cost $250,000). A public art component will be incorporated in the lift over-run pit and it is proposed that an artist of note be commissioned to prepare this component.

The technical problems now identified and additional works have resulted in an increase in the cost of repair and restoration works. The total cost of the restoration project (including the lift) is now estimated at $1.87 million. The additional funds ($670,000) will be funded from Council’s Asset Improvement Reserve.

The Incinerator when completed will be a remarkable building which will provide a valuable addition to Council’s community facilities.

The restoration work has taken considerably longer than expected but the end result will be a great example of reuse of a heritage building. The additional restoration cost including the provision of a lift for people with disabilities is vital to ensure that the building meets the needs of all of our community.

Editor

Wanda Spathopoulos, The Crag – Castlecrag 1924-1936. Blackheath, Brandl & Schlesinger, 2007. Paperback, 407 pages, 42 b&w photos. RRP 39.95.

Edgar Herbert, who had spent six years in the United States where he studied physical education, found himself in the same compartment as Walter Burley Griffin on an overnight train journey from Sydney to Melbourne in 1920. Their conversation deeply impressed the educationalist and, following their move from Melbourne to Sydney in late 1922, Edgar and Grace Herbert brought their young family to live at Castlecrag in 1924, initially living in the Griffin-designed King O’Malley house (now the Private Hospital site). In early 1927 the family moved to a weekender shack on Torquay Point where there was ‘no water, no electricity, no sewage, no ice, no bread or milk, and no mail’. There they remained until 1938, but the house that Walter Burley Griffin designed for them would never be completed.

Wanda Spathopoulos’ book, which comprises memoirs of her childhood in Castlecrag supplemented by subsequent research into the period, provides a valuable record of the Castlecrag community in its founding years. Every member of each household during this 14 year period is covered it seems. Walter and Marion Griffin play dominant roles of course, but the real heroes to emerge from the tale are Edgar and Grace Herbert. Like the Griffins, they were driven by a deep commitment to humanity and a desire to help others. Like the Griffins, economic times did not smile on Edgar Herbert and he and his family lived in poverty for much of their time in Castlecrag; but his spirit and strong moral values never wavered. Wanda has done us all a service in documenting much of the Herbert family’s life in this book, from Edgar’s chance meeting with Griffin in 1920 through to the frustrations of his latter years when the Sydney YMCA thwarted his plans for advancement in order to keep the local physical education college going.

Perhaps the most important and fascinating feature of this book is the insight it provides into the magical environment and culture in which the children of the early Castlecrag grew up. I suspect it was not Wanda’s main intention, but she has conveyed much of the feeling of freedom, exploration and interaction with nature that the Castlecrag peninsula offered its children—it was an idyllic childhood that people who grew up in Castlecrag into the 1950s and early 1960s continue to look back on with nostalgia, but sadly appears to have been lost in the world of mass consumerism, electronic entertainment and organised events that now dominate family life.

For the Herbert girls in particular, Marion Mahony Griffin became a powerful influence on their childhood. In her grand work, Magic of America, Marion states: ‘All my life the time I have spent with children, always borrowed since I had none of my own, has been spent in making them “naughty”. To me it was an obvious perversion of nature to try to instil moral notions into little children and a very apparent imposition on the part of grown-ups to make life easier for themselves at no matter what cost of loss of character to the young.’ Then of Castlecrag, she states: ‘In this bush a child could roam at will. Children should no more be brought up in houses than colts and calves.’ (Part III, p. 124)

The Herbert girls, Irven and Wanda, spent long hours with Marion and followed her rules on the freedoms they were allowed, particularly never disturbing the work of the architectural staff. Wanda, the younger, initially found Marion distant and overbearing, but these memoirs are a testament to the influence Marion had over her. To Wanda, ‘Marion was dynamic; Marion was magic’. [From speech at book launch] As soon as she was able, Wanda went overseas in search of the Greek gods that Marion had introduced her to, married a Greek and lived there for much of her adult life.

Of Walter Burley Griffin we learn rather less. Most of the characters in this story have a deep admiration for Walter’s architecture and the philosophy that lay behind it, but the man himself remains a distant and shadowy figure.

This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of the history and character of the Castlecrag of the 1920s and 1930s and is recommended reading for all local residents. It should, however, be seen as a memoir, albeit supported by a considerable amount of follow-up research, and many of the facts and interpretations will be open to contrary views. The book would have benefited by a more rigorous edit, for there is much that is peripheral to the central story in its 407 pages. And while several of the intertwined chapters on the author’s life in Greece provide a useful platform from which to appreciate the Griffins’ design concepts for Castlecrag, this reviewer failed to see the purpose of the majority and found them distracting.

Bob McKillop

‘Advance Castlecrag, Where’ and ‘Towards 2020’ were two themes in this column last Spring. Your Progress Association always tries to forge past ’kerb and gutter’ issues, and ask readers what sort of community and suburb you would like to grow here together.

Now Prime Minister Rudd has also adopted the ‘Australia 2020’ concept to initiate long term strategizing at a national level. All the best wishes to participants; may their combined knowledge, experience and visions for the future help resolve key national issues and positive future directions to enrich debate and action on national and global issues.

However this type of ‘top-down’ planning is not enough. Each small community needs to do its own ‘bottom-up’ planning. Where do you want this little peninsular of 1100 households to be in 2020? The next 12 years do not affect the age group of our current Committee as much as they do those in their 20s, 30s and 40s, possibly new to Castlecrag, attracted by the local ‘vibe’ as well as the geographical beauty, all of which has been developed and protected by older and past generations. You are often working long hours, raising young families, paying off homes. Nevertheless the ‘investment’ of a few hours per month in an organization like the CPA is actually an investment in your household (and house value).

• Join the Castlecrag Progress Association now. It’s the best $10 investment you can make to play an active part in your suburb and community.
• Nominate your peer leaders (or yourself) for the Executive Committee. All positions are available: the president, two vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer and committee members. The Progress Association needs a mix of energy, enthusiasm, and experience across all age-groups and backgrounds.
• Mark your diaries for Sunday 4 May, 12 noon, for the Annual General Meeting (it’s quite short) and a picnic lunch, at The Community Centre, The Postern. Bring a plate and a friend (see page x).

I also dwell on energy management, which is likely to be a key issue over the next decade. Under current best estimates of oil resources, it appears that each oil-producing nation will increasingly use its own oil ‘at home’ to build and diversify that nation’s economy. So, net oil importers (like Australia) will increasingly compete for the remaining dwindling export oil. In the last 6 years, oil prices have gone from $20 to over $100 per barrel.

Unless this issue is tackled nationally, Canberra’s ’2020 Vision’ may become a hallucination. So what about some ‘bottom-up’ leadership from we locals? Let’s reduce our overall energy usage, especially oil and coal sourced. Why not use the car less, and buy the most fuel-efficient car next time? Let’s make use of Sydney’s 325 days with sunshine in them; use the clothesline, not the tumble-dryer (the worst CO2 offender in the house). New improvements in solar hot water and photovoltaic cells mean that these are increasingly affordable with residents banding together.

Bruce Wilson

The purpose of the Castlecrag Community Fair is to bring the various elements of our community – particularly our residents and business owners – together in a manner that generates ongoing benefits for all. It is also an opportunity to promote the special features of our suburb to the wider community.

This year the Progress Association made a conscious effort to link the Fair activities in The Postern and its car parks with the shopping centre by locating stalls along the Edinburgh Road footpaths. The community stallholders were most enthusiastic in their response, both in terms of the interaction with visitors and the funds raised.

The response from our business houses was more mixed. Some reported good trade on the day, while others felt that it was below their expectations. The Progress Association has received a complaint that stalls selling coffee and food were in competition with established businesses, and this has been taken on board for the planning of future fairs.

As indicated in the lead article, the Castlecrag walks conducted during the Fair also provided a good medium for promoting our suburb to visitors. We expect that many of those living in suburbs near Castlecrag will be making more visits here as a result of this exposure. Indeed, it was heartening to hear several speakers at the Northbridge meeting on the Plaza (see article from The Crag) comment that they now go to Castlecrag to experience a friendly village atmosphere.

Our Treasurer, Diana Jones, has undertaken a detailed analysis of the financial aspects of the Fair. On the income side, direct sponsorship and donations from local businesses amounted to $3425. Stall fees amounted to $3575 and the income from the raffle and the jumping castle was $1731, making the total income $8731.
Total expenditure was $9270.60 as of 26 June, the major items being the hire of the stalls, chairs, etc ($3745.68) and the printing and delivery of flyers to promote the event ($2967.92). Thus there was an overall loss of $539.

While aiming to break-even, the Progress Association considers this a satisfactory result, as some unplanned costs were incurred when some expected services failed to arrive alternative arrangements had to be made. Our Trash & Treasure stall made $1650 on the day and it has $5300 in its accumulated funds from previous Community Fairs. We will be approaching members for ideas on suitable projects to which such funds can be directed over the coming months.

In the euphoria of the day, several local business people said they would like to see the Community Fair held on an annual basis. Organising the fair is an extremely demanding task and for this reason we have only tackled it every second year.

This year we were fortunate to have Simone Selby come forward with the offer to organise the Fair. Simone did a fantastic job and the Progress Association has formally expressed its gratitude to Simone for the effort she put into making the Fair such a success. We have also formally expressed our thanks to Kathy Burgess, who once again stepped forward to organise the Trash & Treasure stall.

2007 Red Shield Appeal

Our Castlecrag Red Shield Appeal coordinator, Diana Jones, reports that residents contributed nearly $6000 to her team of collectors on Sunday 20 May. The Salvation Army expresses its thanks to all those who collected for and/or donated to the 2007 Red Shield Appeal. Unfortunately not all of Castlecrag could be covered this year as Diana was short of volunteer collectors. We request all residents to give some thought to volunteering next year.

Judit Englert-Shead, 1949-2007

We record the death of Judit Englert-Shead in May. Judit was a fine sculptor and artist and her obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald of 21 May 2007 lists the bust of Walter Burley Griffin that stands outside the Griffin Centre here in Castlecrag among her well-known sculptures that stand in Australia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and in private collections.

Judit was born in Budapest, Hungary and studied at the College of Arts and the Hungarian Academy of Arts in that city. She met the Australian artist Garry Shead there and after their marriage, she became the muse central to Garry’s development as a leading Australian painter. The Shead family have been long residents of Castlecrag and when Neville Shead approached the Progress Association in late 1996 with the offer of commissioning a bronze bust of Walter Burley Griffin by Judit we were most supportive and initiated negotiations with Council for a suitable site. The mayor, Pat Reilly, unveiled the sculpture at a ceremony outside the Griffin Centre shops in September 1997 (The Crag No. 117, November 1997). It stands as a fitting tribute to Judit’s artistic work.

Castlecrag Dental Service

Alex Dong and Winnie Li took over the Castlecrag Dental Practice in 2006 and, given that the residence is at the rear of the practice, they have become enmeshed in our community. Alex and Winnie met at dental school in New Zealand and they migrated to Melbourne before moving to Sydney 5 years ago. They have found Castlecrag to be a delightful environment and their new community to be most welcoming. Their 2 year-old daughter Anna attends the local Montessori Down Under Three Group. The Castlecrag Dental practice is children-oriented with its own playcentre and offers no gap payment for children’s dental examination and cleaning.

Alex and Winnie set up a table at the Castlecrag Fair to raise funds for Operation Cleft, a charity operated by the Rotary Club of Box Hill in Melbourne, to help children in developing countries who have cleft palates and have the deformity corrected. They raised sufficient funds for a child from Bangladesh to have an operation. Alex and Winnie express their thanks to all those who gave generously to the cause.

CragSitters

CragSitters had its inaugural gathering on 6 May 2007 at Stoker Playground. It gave an opportunity for young local families to meet each other. A number of new babysitters also attended, introduced themselves and added their names to the list. The babysitters list has been updated and is available to CragSitters members.

New members, both families and babysitters are welcome to the group, so if you’re a family who would like to find out more about the group or if you are interested in providing babysitting services, you can email us on cragsitters@yahoo.com.au. Existing and new members are invited to join in the next gathering on 9 September.

Thank you for the honour of election to this role. I am a retired government environmental lawyer and business manager, now running our family businesses here in Sydney and the Upper Hunter. I am a former president of the Castlecrag Sports Club, last President of Castlecrag Infant School P&C and a member of the Council’s Haven Amphitheatre Sub-Committee. I have a particular interest in encouraging friendship between neighbours and reinvigorating the peninsula’s sense of community, which can be summed up as: ‘Think local, Buy local, Employ local’.

What sort of ‘community’ are we in Castlecrag in 2007?

I have set out some demographic data from the 2006 Australian Census on Castlecrag. While interesting, this data tells only a small part of the picture. How do we fit together socially, economically and environmentally? Are our natural and geographical blessings used to full advantage?

From the 1920s to the 1950s, Castlecrag was noted “as an experiment in communal and community planning and living, and for the intellectual, Theosophical, Anthroposophical and Natural history views of its inhabitants”. Cars were few, residents lived more frugally, partly in fear of another Depression, and partly recognising that “the best things in life are free.” These included strolls, picnics, dropping-in, rock-fishing, dinghy sailing, gardening, scouts and church fellowships. It was a diverse community of communists and capitalists who set aside their weekday differences to work shoulder-to-shoulder on weekends building the Community Centre and other facilities.

Today the Crag is richer in median income and assets. What the Census doesn’t show is how many here are poorer in ‘free-time’ and relationships with fellow-residents, dependent on cars, with latch-key kids and joyless consumption. The Crag still has a remarkable 14 varied community associations, but these need reinvigoration by our 30-40 year olds. Our recent Castlecrag Fair was a wonderful ‘community occasion’, thanks to Simone Selby and generous local businesses who contributed to the occasion.

In order to build on this community spirit the Progress Association is seeking your ideas and support. What other events could we undertake? How would YOU describe the Castlecrag “community” today? And what would you like it to be in 8 years’ time, 2015?

Let us know your ideas in 20-50 words by emailing to: info@castlecrag.org.au or drop a note to PO Box 4259, Castlecrag. Better still, come along to the General Meeting on 21 August at 7.30pm (with a surprise special guest) and enjoy talking around these and other local issues over a cuppa or a vino at our Community Centre. We are particularly keen to hear from teenagers and the 30-40 year-old residents.

Bruce Wilson

Searching for a Poet Lorikeet, 11 November 2007

All Castlecrag residents are invited to a Sunday afternoon poetry reading get-together outside Sally’s Bookshop at The Griffin Centre on 11 November from 2.30pm to 5-ish. Bring along a piece of poetry that you have written, or has special inspiration in your life. As it is also Remembrance Day, why not some poems on peace and sharing of the world? Of course, some humorous Patterson-style doggerel, or Wordsworth whimsy will be welcome ingredients. Seated out on the verandah we will start about 2.30, take a 30 minute interval at 3.30 for you to get some afternoon tea or some wine from our excellent local shops, then a final hour of entertainment.

All original works will be eligible for the title ‘Poet Lorikeet’, to be selected by a well-versed expert formerly with the Passionate Larks & Wild Night Servers, Lorraine Cairnes. Other prizes donated by your Progress Association will be awarded to junior poets, and poems of special merit.

While entry is FREE, in order to be assured of a seat, please phone our convenor Sally Crawford 9958-5007 or visit Sally’s Bookshop to reserve a seat. Alternative arrangements will be made in case of wet weather or large numbers of participants. Why not book ahead with a Castlecrag restaurant to round off a wonderful afternoon and evening?

CragSitters

In August CragSitters arranged a night out for its Mums at the Bai Yok Thai Restaurant in Castlecrag. This provided a great opportunity for the Mums to have a well deserved night off and meet some other locals. They suggested that we organise a night out for the Dads. So Dads, we will keep you posted on dates and venues.

A follow-up gathering for families was held at Stoker Playground of the CragSitters on 9 September. Despite it being the APEC long weekend, we still had a number of families in attendance. The next gathering is planned for on Sunday 9 December at 3.30pm, again at Stoker Playground in Edinburgh Road. We invite existing and new members to join us on the day.

New members, both families and babysitters are welcome to the group, so if you’re a family who would like to find out more about the group or if you are interested in providing babysitting services, you can email us on cragsitters@yahoo.com.au

Sharie Kennedy-Wren

Community Notice Board

The Council’s notice board near the bus-stop outside The Quadrangle requires repair and the Progress Association has approached Council to attend to these. It also requires those using the board to follow some basic rules.

Please note the board has two sides: the eastern side is for display of notices from Willoughby Council and any of its formal sub-committees including The Haven Amphitheatre and Community Centre. The other side is for established community groups and public notices for local events. It is not for private commercial gain or advertising of events outside Castlecrag, or Willoughby, or personal notices of lost pets or possessions. Notices should be kept to A4 or A5 size.

Roger Page Real Estate kindly holds the keys as a community service to the people of Castlecrag. Please show them the proposed poster before asking for the key, and comply with the rules as to content.

Awards to Local Residents

Congratulations to Antoinette McSharry, who was commended by the judges of this year’s Willoughby Art Prize for her painting A Day in my Life, Sailors Bay in the Willoughby Resident Award sponsored by Willoughby City Council.

The coveted Sheads First National Real Estate 2D Award for Painting & Mixed Media was won by 92-year old Aboriginal painter Loongkoonan from the Kimberley Region of Western Australia for her Bush Tucker in Nyirina Country.

And congratulations to Valda Wilson who has been awarded the Best Soprano Award at this year’s McDonalds Performing Arts Challenge.

Boatshed Centenary

The Sailors Bay Park Boatshed celebrates its centenary this year. The first boatshed at the foot of Rockley Street in Sailors Bay Park was leased in 1907 for a Mr Bob Carr (no known relation of a recent NSW Premier). This was a popular place for families to picnic and hire of rowing skiffs for exploring the foreshores or quietly paddling canoes, as we still do today.

Special Thanks

The Castlecrag community extends special thanks to:

Willoughby Council’s Trades Supervisor Mark Supple and painters Frank and Tony Hecimovic for their recent restoration of the noticeboard at The Griffin Centre. The work demonstrates meticulous rust removal and stabilisation, while the former ‘Heritage Green’ has been replaced with ‘Eucalypt Green’.

The Bai Yok Thai Restaurant for its donation of 137 items of crockery, including 70 large plates, 14 serving platters and 30 coupes. These can be hired cheaply for Castlecrag events by contacting us at: info@castlecrag.org.au

The Haven Notice: Shuttle buses

Do you have a light-rigid bus, mini-bus, people-mover or large car that could help for half-an-hour before and after an event at The Haven amphitheatre? Do you currently hold an ‘LR’ (Light Rigid) licence?

The Haven is looking for volunteers in this area – even occasional help would be a tremendous assistance. Naturally there would be free admissions to shows and other rewards.

Phone Howard Rubie on 0418 648 870 if you can help.