Category: Crag Archives

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

Proposals for the redevelopment of the Northbridge Plaza have generated considerable concern among residents and business-owners in the area. Over 150 people braved a cold night to attend a public meeting on this matter organised by the Northbridge Progress Association on 18 July. The debate was sufficient agitated to quickly warm the St Marks church hall.

A number of Castlecrag residents and business people attended the meeting. This article outlines the issues surrounding the Plaza proposals from the perspective of the Castlecrag Progress Association and our local business houses.

Northbridge Plaza was built in 1961 on land previously used for market gardens and residences by the developer Sid Londish. A condition of the consent was that Mr Londish donate the land to the community for the associated car park to Willoughby Council and a covenant on the land requires it to be used only for free car parking for the shopping centre and the adjacent baby health centre. Council zoned the Plaza as a community shopping centre. In the 1980s, the then owners, Australian Fixed Trusts, demolished the original shopping centre and the rebuilt Plaza was reopened in 1985. Woolworths, its main tenant, drew shoppers from other suburbs and this generated conflict with local residents over the increasing traffic congestion in the Northbridge area.

The Plaza had passed to new owners by 1987, when Jaydesh lodged a DA with Council for alterations and enlargement of the centre, including the addition of an office floor over the supermarket area. The Plaza was required to provide additional car parking spaces and a delivery area, which they achieved by purchasing and redeveloping the former service station on the corner of Eastern Valley Way and Sailors Bay Road.

Concern about the ongoing maintenance costs of the car park resulted in Council entering into negotiations with Jaydesh in 2003 to offer the firm a 65-year lease for the car park, which would be redeveloped as part of the its proposed expansion of the Plaza. Traffic problems were of increasing concern to Northbridge residents and there was also a concern the car park land, zoned for community use, would be alienated.

A move by the Northbridge Progress Association in 2003 for the diversion of traffic away from Northbridge, thereby increasing the traffic volumes in South Willoughby and Naremburn, resulted in the formation of a sub-committee of the Federation of Willoughby Progress Associations to examine the issue. I represented the Castlecrag PA on this sub-committee. The group concluded that the diversion of traffic to other heavily congested areas was not a viable ‘solution’ and that improved public transport and pricing mechanisms to induce people to reduce car use are the only solutions to the traffic problems (see p. x). It also recognised that the proposed expansion of the Plaza would not only generate additional car travel, but would also significantly impact on the continued viability of neighbourhood strip shopping centres such as Castlecrag.

With the sale of Northbridge Plaza to overseas interests, AMP Capital Investors (AMP CI) assumed responsibility for managing the complex. Redevelopment of the Plaza was again placed on the agenda in 2006 when AMP CI initiated a series of stakeholder workshops on the development of a Master Plan for the Plaza. I attended the second of these workshops on 4 December last. While stakeholders expressed strong views against the expansion of retail areas at the complex and the need to reduce traffic congestion, there was general agreement that the present Plaza was a poor design and that there are opportunities for improvement through good design and a better mix of activities, including residential elements and community services.

There was therefore considerable anguish among community stakeholders when AMP CI presented its proposals to the third meeting in April in a manner that suggested the concerns put forward by community representatives had not been addressed. The AMP CI proposal involved an increase in the retail space by 80 per cent, the construction of several blocks of residential units along Eastern Valley Way and the conversion of the car park area into a two-storey underground car park. Residents estimated that the traffic generated by the development would more than double. Community representatives objected strongly to these proposals at Council meetings in May and June. As the result of excellent debates, Council has invited AMP CI to develop a Masterplan for the Plaza, the car park and adjoining lands with any increase in retail space limited to approximately 10 per cent.

The Northbridge meeting on 18 July unanimously resolved that Council’s motion limiting the expansion in retail space be adhered to, that ownership and control of the publicly-owned Plaza car park land should remain with the community and that any residential units built on the site should be in keeping in height, bulk and quality with existing residential units in Northbridge. The meeting also called for any redevelopment to have minimum impact on current traffic volumes and on local neighbourhood shops and businesses, that improvements be made to access within the shopping centre for elderly and disabled members of the community, that improvements be made to car park, security and convenience, whether or not the car park is located underground and that there be minimal impact on the residents of Harden Avenue, Tenilba road, Northbridge Gardens Retirement Village and the Paulian Villa Nursing Home.

Northbridge Progress Association President John Becroft told the residents: “What happens to the Plaza shopping centre and the adjacent Council car-park could have a profound impact on local traffic, shops and businesses, not only in Northbridge but in surrounding suburbs. It could literally change the character of our suburbs.”

The AMP CI representative Gavin Boswarva, stated that the existing centre would not be demolished, only enhanced. “We want to work with Council and the community to move forward with the Masterplan process,” he said. Gavin also acknowledged that AMP CI cannot sell or use the car park without Council’s support.

The Castlecrag Progress Association supports the efforts of Northbridge residents to maintain the character of their suburb and it distributed flyers about the meeting to our local shops on 18 July. Shop owners have expressed a keen interest in the outcome of the Masterplan process.

Bob McKillop

How can we minimize the negatives in shopping today? Even ‘born-to-shop’ aficionados get jaded by stop-start traffic, difficult parking, crowds of jostling strangers, bewildering choices of similar goods and anonymous shop assistants with limited knowledge or communication skills!
By contrast, here in Castlecrag some 70 per cent of residents live within a health-giving 10-minute stroll of our boutique shopping cluster. The range of eateries is excellent, specialist meat and fruit & vegetables providores, couturieres, delicatessens, travel, quality books, pharmaceuticals, etc, and backed up by a mid-size Coles Express.

Sometimes individual price tags are a little higher than at mega-stores. Sometimes a particular item isn’t available immediately, but can be ordered in. But all the business-owners want to work harder to retain YOUR custom, because a local resident is more likely to be a repeat or spontaneous customer, and an advertiser to their neighbours.

Finally, do the quantitative and qualitative sums for your household: dollars, hours, travel style and time, and ease of item selection. You may find you are valuing your ‘free’ time at less than a dollar an hour!

The huge success of Castlecrag Fair was guaranteed by generous donations from all (except three) of our local businesses giving several hundred dollars each – and three being $1000 Sponsors: Roger Page Real Estate, Romanos and Yours Beautifully. All of them deserve our custom, -and a word of thanks when you shop there.

When you (eventually) reach the traffic lights at Eastern Valley Way, look up and read the (invisible) banner: “Abandon hope all ye who exit here!” Why drive out into Willoughby gridlock towards joyless consumption? Why not shoulder the backpack, or dust off the shopping stroller, and enjoy a healthy walk to the shops. Buy all the essentials, -and a few non-essentials just to surprise your household. Check out the surprising range of goods and services right here in your front-yard. Bump into friends and catch up with news; relax with some refreshment. Rediscover the joys of local shopping. (Oh, did we mention a small contribution to saving Planet Earth? ‘Think globally, Act locally’.)

Bruce Wilson

Shop owners, local community groups, young talented children and residents both young and old all came together for the Castlecrag Community Fair on Sunday 3 June. They were pretty much unanimous in declaring the 2007 Fair a great success!

We were fortunate in having beautiful fine day, large crowds descended on our suburb and they had a great variety of entertainment, information and craft stalls, and children’s activities to experience. The restaurants and stores aligning the streets of Edinburgh Road opened their doors to their friendly community with rows of stalls erected.

Whether you were after food, information on local pests or weeds or wanted to pick up some second hand clothing – you would have found it all on this entertaining day.

Willoughby mayor Pat Reilly got proceedings going at 10am by officially opening the new Watergate Walking Trail and the Fair. “It was a great day for a Fair in the historic suburb of Castlecrag,” he said and “the Castlecrag Progress Association has done a great job in bringing together all the community groups and the local businesses of the area to stage this event.” Cr Reilly thanked all those who had helped organise the event and sponsored the Fair, which he said “demonstrated the high level of community interest and support for the event”.

Children of the neighbourhood were entertained on a ride, some were eating cake made by local residents and others were gathered to watch the local girls perform to the beat of Christina Aguilera’s “Candy man”. The bungi jumping was a key attraction for children from the outset, the Wildlife Show held the attention of youngsters from 11am. Sally’s Bookshop offered a book reading of Oscar and Quincy by the author Kerry Millard, much to the delight of smiling young faces.

There was a real buzz around the Fair site throughout the day. Many visitors took time to relax with friends at our coffee shops, taste the wines on offer or explore our shops. The crowd in The Crag was also entertained by the local talented group Saving Grace, one member of which is a son of Pam of Pams’ Café fame. Others came to learn more about Castlecrag’s history and special features by joining one of the guided walks of the suburb.

The day brought many people through the doors of the boutique. The proprietor Sally Crawford said: “we have had lots of locals coming into the store to have a look at our books.”

Jeff Pharar, who has taken over ownership of Romano’s Restaurant said: “it has just been a great opportunity today to get to meet more of the locals in Castlecrag. A lot of the faces are familiar, but we definitely don’t know everybody” he said.

The community stalls offered an amazing variety of information and fund-raising activities. James Smallhorn, Council’s Environmental Projects Officer who grew up in Castlecrag, was assisting other Council staff on the pen Space Branch stall, which provided information leaflets on the local walking tracks, volunteer wildlife and weeding regimes and the highly successful Sustainability Street program. Sustainability Street brings residents together to reduce the impact on their environment.

A number of our community groups have reported that, from their perspective, the Fair was most successful, both in terms of the interest shown by the public and the funds raised to support their ongoing activities.

The Council-led walk along the Watergate Walking Trail got under way immediately after the opening, while Adrienne and John Kabos and Bob McKillop led four walks of the Griffin Conservation Area during the day. It was evident that the participants had come to the Fair to learn more about our suburb, many of them coming from Middle Cove, Castle Cove and North Willoughby, but there were others from further afield, including the Canada Bay Council area. Bob McKillop found two of his old university friends who had come from Perth on the first walk, so this group received ‘special attention’ in an extended walk that lasted 2½ hours!

Jacqueline Levett and Bob McKillop