Category: Crag Archives

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.

Eric Kaye 1916-2004

Life Member of the Castlecrag Progress Association

Castlecrag lost one of its notable and longstanding citizens with the passing of Eric Kaye on 14 June.

The construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during Eric’s teenage years sparked his interest in engineering. He joined the Navy and studied engineering at Technical College in the evenings.

Eric married Rita in 1942. They purchased a block of land at 325 Edinburgh Road in 1948 and got local architect and close friend, Chris Sorensen, to design their house. They then spent many years building this house – indeed, Eric was still working on it 50 years later.

Many, many wonderful memories were created at their home. From their deck perched above Middle Harbour, the Kayes were inspired by the magnificent natural landscape.

During his successful engineering career with the Australian Navy, Eric took possession of the Navy’s first computer in the United Kingdom, and spent several years in Washington DC where he and Rita made many close friends and became interested in the human rights movement.

Eric held an abiding love for Castlecrag and established a strong relationship with the whole Castlecrag community. He was a passionate advocate for the natural environment, and it was under Eric’s guidance as president of the Castlecrag Progress Association that the successful campaign against the extension of the Warringah Expressway through the bushland of the northern escarpment of Castlecrag, was fought during the 1980s.

In 1980, Eric was elected to Willoughby Council. He stated that his aim was to preserve Castlecrag’s quiet beauty for the enjoyment of Sydney’s future generations. He was re-elected in 1983, becoming Deputy Mayor in 1985. His role as an alderman was one in which he took great pride.

Eric served on the advisory committee that prepared an environmental study of the Castlecrag Peninsula for Willoughby Council from 1980. The report, released in 1982, established the basic guidelines for the future development of the suburb.

A natural leader but a self-effacing person, Eric will be fondly remembered and missed by those in the Willoughby and wider community who were fortunate to know and love him.

Luke Hastings/Editors

Each community group and organisation is founded on shared aspirations and beliefs and a common purpose. As each group interacts with the wider populace and other groups, it helps weave the rich fabric that makes a vibrant community tapestry. Accordingly even those who do not endorse every belief of another group have reason to celebrate its achievements as a contribution to the greater good of the community.

On Sunday 22 July, the congregation of St James Church welcomed all Castlecrag residents, via its new wheelchair accessible entrance, to celebrate the 60th (‘Diamond’) Anniversary of the first Church of England (now Anglican) service in Castlecrag. (A ‘church’ refers to a body of people professing the same Christian creed, not merely the edifice for public Christian worship.)

Originally in the Parish of St Thomas’, North Sydney, the Castlecrag area became the responsibility of St Stephen’s Willoughby, when that Church was founded. Archdeacon H S Begbie became Rector of St Stephen’s in 1921 and soon purchased land in Willoughby and Castlecrag. The Castlecrag site was on the corner of Edinburgh Road and The Parapet, but was subsequently sold when a new minister took over at St Stephen’s.

There were no services in Castlecrag until July 1947 when 16 people assembled at the home of Jack and Dorothy O’Connor. Worship at this venue continued for seven years. The name St James was chosen as younger brother of St John, the Willoughby sibling church. A Parents and Friends Association was also formed, making thousands of cakes and bottles of jam to raise funds for the Sunday School and proposed church building. By August 1949 a Building Fund was established and by April 1950 thanks to the generosity of Mr FW Turton, the rocky site on 184-186 Edinburgh Road was acquired.

On 24 July 1954, the lower church hall was opened and dedicated by Archbishop of Sydney and Primate of Australia, the Most Reverend H W K Mowll. This building served as a church, Sunday school and concert hall and centre of community activities. By 1956, the congregation had outgrown it and every Anglican family was approached for donations enabling a decision to build a new building and acquire adjoining land for a future church centre.

The present Church was designed by local architect John Brindley and features the acclaimed Bim Hilder foyer mural depicting scenes from Apostle James’ life. In November 1969 the Church Centre was dedicated by Bishop Hulme–Moir, a fitting climax to the work of Rev C E Reynolds, his planners and builders. The large debt incurred was repaid via musical comedies organized by Dorothy O’Connor with local youth, and Annual Art Shows organized by June and Barry Raymond. In 1987, St James Church was finally consecrated by the Bishop of North Sydney, the Right Rev D Cameron.

At the present, services are held at 8am each Sunday and the Sunday school has recently re-opened under the guidance of our youth worker Richard Sercombe. Bishop Peter Watson is the interim minister until Rev Robert Cameron arrives in February 2008.Each Christmas members carry out ‘Operation Caring Christmas’ delivering small cakes and similar ’goodies’ to residents who are unable to get out. If you would like to receive, or to give, please contact St James’ members.

Today, St James’ elegant design in light face-brick and stone tower topped by an unadorned wooden cross, floodlit at night, is a pleasing landmark and symbol of community cooperation that welcomes all. Please contact us on 9958 4377.

Bev Westwood and Esther Leslie, with Bruce Wilson

Marguerite (Rita) Elizabeth Kaye:

1917-2003

Marguerite Elizabeth Kaye, who has died aged 86, was a resident of Castlecrag for nearly 60 years and a former editor of The Crag. She is survived by her husband, Eric, her daughter, Barbara, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Marguerite, affectionately known as Rita, was born at home in Paddington on 3 July 1917. She was one of six children of Fred and Ethel Miller, and their only girl. After living in various houses in Sydney’s east, Rita’s family moved to Northbridge. Rita attended a youth fellowship group at St Mark’s church in Northbridge. She regularly attended the local movie theatre (near to the current Woolworths) on a Saturday. On one Saturday, Rita noticed a fine looking gentleman in the theatre queue and determined that they should meet. You will not be surprised to learn that Eric Kaye was oblivious to all but the newsreels and movies that he had gone to view. In stark contrast to the times, Rita brashly invited Eric to accompany her to a dance of the youth fellowship group and the rest, as they say, is history. Rita and Eric were married on 21 February 1942.

Rita and Eric always had a great love for the outdoors and their honeymoon was spent bushwalking from Bungonia down the Grose Valley to the Kangaroo Valley, including passing through the Blue Gum Forest, later photographed by another former resident of Castlecrag, Max Dupain. After they were married Rita and Eric moved from their family homes into “Wee Jean”, a shack at the end of the Castlecrag peninsula. In 1945 and 1947, they had two lovely young girls – Barbara and Margaret.

In 1948, Rita and Eric had almost saved enough for a deposit on a block of land further up the hill. They bargained the owner down and purchased 325 Edinburgh Road, an address that would remain theirs for more than 50 years.
In this post-war period materials were in short supply so the construction of their family home took a number of years. Rita was actively involved in the building and often told of her pride in the walls she had plastered. Many, many wonderful memories were created at 325 Edinburgh Road.

It is not hard to understand why Rita and Eric were attracted to Castlecrag. However, Rita and Eric did not merely adopt this suburb, they adopted the entire community. Rita became a voluntary librarian at the Community Library. Rita and Eric were members of the Castlecrag Progress Association for more than 50 years. Among the many tasks she undertook, Rita worked tirelessly to raise funds for community projects such as building the Castlecrag Kindergarten. Rita and Eric participated in numerous community campaigns opposed to the construction of the proposed Warringah Freeway which would have devastated their suburb. As we know, this was ultimately successful. Rita took on the role of Editor of The Crag for many years.

Another role in which Rita took immense personal pride was in the regeneration of Castlecrag’s bush. She participated in various groups, including one led by Beverley Blacklock and, more recently, WEPA’s Bush Regeneration team working in the Sugarloaf Catchment Creek.

Rita made many, many friends in Castlecrag, who will sadly miss her and fondly remember her.

There are some who pass this way and it is difficult to recall what, if any, impact they have made for doing so. Rita was not one of them. The contribution which she made during her life – to her family, her community and to her husband – is substantial and lasting.

Castlecrag is one of four communities selected for an exploration of ‘Life in the Australian city’, one of ten broad themes governing the National Museum of Australia’s (NMA) new permanent gallery due to open in August 2009.

The Creating a Country Gallery aims to represent the encounters of ideas, people and places that are signposts in the evolution of Australia’s social, political and economic forms. The detailed explorations of particular places will reveal the circumstances that produced these historical encounters, locating them in their geographical and social contexts.

For the exhibit on the Australian city, the NMA has deliberately avoided an abstract centred on the usual themes of the colonial townscape, changes to transportation and the growth of suburbia. This exhibit, like all the others in the new gallery, considers its theme from the perspective of place. Castlecrag will stand alongside displays on Bennelong Point, suburban Brisbane in the late-nineteenth century and Rottnest Island in Western Australia. Visitors will be encouraged to view each place as a particular reflection about how we have built our cities, how they have changed, and how we have responded to life in an urban environment.

The history of Castlecrag offers a fascinating way of exploring and reflecting on the ideas and values that have shaped our homes and our cities. An exhibit on Castlecrag has many tantalizing possibilities. Broadly speaking, the exhibit aims to introduce visitors to the Griffins’ social and architectural vision for a planned residential community. While the objects will tell how Marion and Walter went about building a unique suburban plan, visitors should leave with a strong sense of the Griffins’ philosophical understanding of urban life, the fusion between the natural and built worlds and the kind of society they dreamed of fostering.

The Castlecrag exhibit will revolve around four major themes. The first will consider the creation of Castlecrag and the Greater Sydney Development Association (GSDA). Here the primary objects will be colourful advertising and promotional material held by the National Library and the fabulous cinema advertisement, Beautiful Middle Harbour. The second theme centres on the knitlock machines held by the National Museum of Australia. I have written elsewhere that on first sight of these wondrous machines, I was unsure if they were an elaborate steel clothing press or some kind of medieval torture device. Patented in 1919, Griffin first experimented with the knitlock system in Melbourne and intended to build knitlock homes in Canberra. Yet, it was at Castlecrag where the knitlock system began to take on a much broader cultural significance. It has come to embody both Griffin’s idealism as well as his commitment to a practical, adaptable and democratic architecture.

The third theme heads inside to consider some of the values and attitudes inherent in the Griffins’ approach to interior design. In 1912, the strong-willed Marion revealed something of her attitude to cluttered, over furnished homes (amongst other things!) when she wrote:

The confusion to which we doom ourselves when we use figured wall papers, figured rugs, figured curtains, figured upholstery, is responsible for much of the weariness of the women who spend so much of their time in the house, for peevishness of children…and for [the] crouchiness of men who need rest when they come home from a day’s work…

A spartan Griffin designed desk and lampshade will be key objects in this part of the exhibit.

The final theme has a strong accent on the community of Castlecrag, both in the past and in recent times. Visitors to the gallery should sense the continuity between the Griffins’ vision and the current residents of Castlecrag who continue to celebrate this historical legacy. Few objects convey this with more force that the giant puppets of Walter and Marion. Like the other places being explored in the Australian Cities exhibit, Castlecrag will not be presented in some kind of historical time-warp, dislocated from present day concerns. Indeed, it is the continuities as well as the disjunctions with the past that will make for a fascinating, relevant and lively exhibit. In this vein, I look forward to recording (in a format to be determined) some stories about life in Castlecrag, life in a Griffin home, what attracted people to the area, and most importantly, some of the issues the suburb faces today.

Daniel Oakman, Curator

National Museum of Australia

The 2003 Castlecrag Community Fair on 1 June was an outstanding success. Fine weather brought large crowds and the event served its purpose of bringing our community together. Once again, our mayor, Pat Reilly, officially opened the Fair and met with many of those attending.

All our community groups in The Crag conducted stalls or activities at the Fair and Willoughby Council was well represented with a range of education displays. There was a range of items on sale and all the community groups reported good support for their activities.

The Association extends a big thank you to Kathy Rosenmeyer and her helpers at the Trash and Treasure stall. We are indebted to all those who helped make this such a success. Thanks are also extended to the businesses which participated in the Fair and helped to make it a wonderful day for our community: Castlecrag Newsagent, Shamrock Meats, Rodney Clark, Castlecrag Florist, Castlecrag Quality Meats, Castlecrag Fruiterers, Momo Interiors, Castlecrag Pharmacy, Galleria, Mia, Travelplan Australia, Lunch, Clipso, Christina’s Restaurant, The Professionals, LJ Hooker, PRD Nationwide, Richardson & Wrench, Treats & Temptations, Flavours of Peking, Source and Castlecrag Cellars. With this generous assistance, we covered the cost of staging the Fair and there was a small surplus.

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

Our AGM on Sunday 4th May was well-attended and Guest Speaker Linda Cardew gave a most interesting and informative talk on the Civic Place proposal.

Kate Westoby in her President’s Report gave the following summary of the Association’s activities over the past year:

Guest speakers at our meetings have included Greg Woodhams, Council’s Director of Environmental Services, who spoke on the thorny issue of Development Applications. For those with interest in the history of Willoughby, local resident Ian Rannard gave a fascinating talk on the market gardens which once flourished in the area bounded by Eastern Valley Way and Alpha Road. At an earlier meeting, Council’s Traffic Engineer Tony Lehmann outlined proposals for traffic calming installations in Castlecrag, with members of the audience giving suggestions for revisions in keeping with the special heritage nature of Castlecrag.

After its long gestation period, we are happy to report that the Association’s website is now available. We thank Karen Benhar for her professional input.

Recently, the longstanding matter of the Foreshore Building Line has finally been resolved, and the Progress Association congratulates Council for bringing to conclusion a difficult process that needed to address a wide range of interests. While all groups will no doubt have some disappointment at the final result – ours being that the FBL on the Northern Escarpment is not as strong as the line we had hoped for – nevertheless, the outcome will provide significant protection for our foreshores over the coming years.

The Committee prepared a submission regarding Council’s corporate signage in parks, reserves and walkways. This was successful in getting Council’s support for installing the Bim Hilder-designed bronze plaques which have been used in various locations in Castlecrag over past years.

The Progress Association sends delegates to the Federation of Willoughby Progress Associations which meets every two months, for information-sharing meetings on matters of concern to the wider Willoughby community. The Federation has recently made a detailed submission to Council on the revision of DCP 27 which covers notification of Development Applications to interested parties.

Thank you to the hard-working committee which meets every alternate month to our general meetings, and tackles a wide range of issues of importance to maintaining the unique character of Castlecrag.

Kate Westoby, President

On Census night, 8 August 2006, householders in every house in Australia filled out their Census forms. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has now released the ‘QuickStats’ – see: www.censusdata.abs.gov.au

So what secrets do our 1022 private dwellings contain? Some Castlecrag numbers and percentage proportions are summarised below, with occasional comparisons where there are interesting differences with the Sydney Statistical District (the most relevant comparison) and Australia as a whole.

Population: 2807 (Syd 4.12M; Aus 19.9M); Females: 50.2% (Syd/Aus 50.7%).

Ages: 0-14 years, 650 (23.2%; Syd/Aus 20.7%); 15-24 years, 302 (10.8%; Syd/Aus 13.8%); 25-54 years, 1079 (38.4%; Syd 44%,Aus 42%); 55-64 years, 372 (13.3%; Syd 10.2%,Aus 11%); 65 years and over, 405 (14.4%; Syd 12.3%,Aus 13.3%). The median age is 41 years (Syd 35, Aus 37).

Citizenship: 88.9% (Syd 83%, Aus 86%).

Born overseas: 878 (31.3%; Syd 31.7%,Aus 22%).

Country of birth: Australia 1844 (65.7%; Syd 60.4%, Aus 71%); England 174 (6.2%; Syd 3.5%); New Zealand 59 (2.1%; Syd 2.6%); Hong Kong 58 (2.1%); South Africa 45 (1.6%); China 44.

Languages spoken at home: English only 82% (Syd 64%; Aus 79%); Cantonese & Mandarin 138; German 39; Japanese 37; Hungarian.

Religious affiliation: Catholic 748 (26.6%; Syd 29.7%); Anglican 737 (26.3%; Syd 18%); No Religion 547 (19.5%; Syd 14%, Aus 19%); Uniting Church 106 (3.8%); Judaism 98 (3.5%). (Note that Sydney includes 4.3% Eastern Orthodox; 3.9% Islam).

Marital status of Over 15s: Married 67% (Syd 50%); Never married 22% (Syd 34%); Separated or divorced 6.1% (Syd 10%); Widowed 4.5% (Syd 5.6%).

Income of Over 15s: Median weekly individual income $932 (Syd $578, Aus $440). Median weekly household income $2672 (Syd $1154, Aus $1027).

Family characteristics: 804 families, including 472 couple families with children (59%; Syd 49%, Aus 45%); 262 couple families without children (33%; Syd/Aus 37%); 63 one-parent families (8%; Syd/Aus 16%).

Dwellings: 1022, with 947 occupied on 8/8/06; 931 separate houses (98%; Syd 62%, Aus 75%).

Median weekly rent: $600 (Syd $250, Aus $190).

Median housing loan repayment: $3000/month (Syd $1800,Aus $1300).

Average household size: 3.0 (Syd/Aus 2.7); av. 1.1 persons per bedroom.

Fully-owned houses: 468 (49.4%; Syd/Aus 30%); Being purchased 331 (35%; Syd 31%); Rented 117 (12.4%; Syd 30%). Of the 947 occupied private dwellings, 797 (84%) were family households (Syd 68%); 125 (13%) were lone person households (Syd 22%). Of the 117 privately rented dwellings, 90 were via real estate agents (77%; Syd 62%).

Bruce Wilson

In April 1998 Willoughby City Council established the Griffin Reserves Advisory Committee and its members consist of residents of Castlecrag, the Councillors of our Ward and Council staff. Its functions are to review the current Plan of Management for the Griffin Reserves in Castlecrag as it relates to the ongoing implementation, development, work and management of these areas and to advise on aspects of the use, control management of Griffin Reserves for consideration by Council. Its duties include monitoring and advising Council on the health and condition of bushland in the reserves and encouraging the visitation, promotion and enhancement of the natural and built features of the Griffin Reserves.

Much work has in the Reserves and Islands has been overseen by this committee since 1998. The work has been done using bush regeneration contractors and in some reserves working with residents. It is funded by Council. The nature of the work is necessarily slow and it will be some years before Griffin’s entire system of inter-related Walkways and Reserves is again able to be used safely. Regeneration and planting in The Buttress Reserve, below The Tower Reserve, has been underway for some time, but last week the contractor arrived to start work and was horrified to discover that vandals had ripped out plants and slashed or destroyed trees. All her efforts to restore the natural vegetation of this reserve had been made null and void.

Griffin’s vision for Castlecrag was one in which the natural landscape, not the built form was the dominant feature. The Plan of Management seeks to re-establish this vision and it is a matter of deep disappointment that some would seek to destroy this. Let us hope that The Buttress, after further regeneration work, and as the other Reserves are demonstrating, will become the place of natural loveliness it was planned to be.

Elizabeth Lander