The St James Church community is proud of the new sign now displayed outside the entry. It is a custom-made hand-carved designed to complement the wonderful Bib Milder sculpture. This sculpture, depicting the life of James, is featured on the main vestry wall. ‘Danthonia’ designed and crafted the new complementary sign facing Edinburgh Road. Please come by and have a look.
June Raymond
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” – Mark Twain
Last year’s drought and this year’s water restrictions mean that many of our gardens, and the bushland reserves, are stressed. As well as having less water in the soil, trees are being targeted by our native fauna, which includes possums and many native insects. They are looking for a quick meal but finding that there is less to choose from this year.
The way in which native trees respond to these conditions is by survival strategies that they have evolved over eons. Trees reduce their water demand during the tough times by losing leaves, or their smaller branches might die.
In nature, after the stresses are past, trees often recover. Typically, new shoots that have been dormant in the trunk and at the base of the tree spring back to life when the drought ends, much as we see trees recovering after bushfires.
Sadly, we have been seeing a lot of very grand trees chopped down in recent months because they look dead. Given time, they might have recovered.
The most valuable plants in any landscape are the mature trees. These form the basic structure of the bushland and gardens, and will take decades to replace. We are lucky in Castlecrag that many of our special garden trees – Angophoras, Sydney Peppermints, “Old Man Banksia” to name a few – are relics of the original bushland. They keep the links and wildlife pathways from the bushland through the built-up parts of Castlecrag. Some of these trees are a hundred years old and more. Replacing them will take longer than our lifetimes.
At present, the possums in our area are feasting on these new shoots and making it hard for some trees (such as Angophoras) to recover. We love the possums, but this is the time to exclude them from favourite trees by a possum guard (see below).
Of course, trees can become stressed because of other causes: for example, changes in drainage, too many nutrients, or insect attack. But care for a tree is worthwhile, and consult an expert if in doubt. The chainsaw should only be a last resort!
So . . . here are a few ideas:
1. Even if a tree appears to be dead, give it a little time to see if it might recover. Seek the advice of an expert arborist.
2. If dead branches might be dangerous, have these removed carefully, but keep the living parts of the tree to recover.
3. Stop possums eating the new regrowth shoots by possum-guards around the trunk.
4. Plant some new native trees to replace the ones which might have been lost in years past. We all enjoy our native birds, so every garden in Castlecrag should have at least two native trees!
AN EASY POSSUM GUARD
This works well if there is no direct branch-to-branch contact with other un-guarded trees. You might need to put guards on several trees.
Wrap a sheet of heavy flexible plastic around the tree trunk and secure it with grey duct tape. The plastic needs to be heavy enough that the possums can’t dig their claws into it. When wrapped around the tree it needs to be about half a metre high. We used a sheet of clear polypropylene – very flexible and easy to handle; we bought it at Eckersley’s Art Supplies, 21 Atchison St., St Leonards for $9.
We placed a guard on an Angophora that had lost all leaves and appeared to be “dead”. Within two weeks, new shoots 20cm long had grown from the trunk. They will become the new branches. We plan to leave the guard in place for at least six months, until the new branches are strong.
Lorraine Cairnes, Castlecrag
LIVING WITH POSSUMS
Possums are native marsupials. In the bush, they feed on leaves, buds, flowers and fruits. Brush-tailed and Ring-tailed possums are found in Castlecrag, and some of their rarer relatives, including Sugar gliders.
Possums have adapted well to contact with people. Most of us have learned to get along with these beautiful creatures, whose home we now share. Visitors from overseas are entranced to see such appealing wildlife so close to the city.
However, at times this contact can be noisy and messy – particularly if the possum takes up residence in the roof of your house!
In the next issue of the Crag we will provide more information on living in harmony with possums. In the meantime, remember that possums are protected in NSW and catching possums without a licence is illegal in NSW.
Licences to trap possums on your property are issued by NPWS free of charge from any NPWS office. A pest control company, licensed by NPWS, can trap the possum for you, or traps are available for hire from some pest control companies.
Well-known Castlecrag identity Harold Ruby was named at Willoughby City’s ‘Citizen of the Year’ at the Australia Day ceremony in Chatswood on 26 January. A film and TV producer, director, cinematographer and winner of many international awards, Howard has lived in Castlecrag for 35 years and has been active in community affairs during this period, particularly in his role as President of the Haven Amphitheatre Management Committee. Howard is a past President of the Progress Association and has served on the Committee for many years.
A large contingent of Castlecrag residents was present at the Willoughby City Australia Day Ceremony on the Civic Centre lawns to see the presentation of the award. The citation stated that Howard received the award for:
Long standing and continuous commitment and service to the Castlecrag and Middle Harbour community through various community groups, most notably the Haven Amphitheatre, where he has led the renaissance of the space into a living community theatre.
Matthew McKeighery won the ‘Bushcare Golden Spade’ award presented to him at the annual Volunteer Bushcarer’s Christmas barbecue held in December 2006. Matthew, who is Convenor of the Keep Reserve Bushcare Group, and is also involved in a number of other Castlecrag Community groups, gained the award for his contribution, participation and enthusiasm in the Volunteer Bushcare program.
The previous issue of The Crag highlighted the problem of vandalism, or at best thoughtlessness, in Griffin Reserves caused by those who value harbour view over all else and serves as a vigilance call to all of us who treasure Castlecrag’s bushland heritage.
Restoration of The Buttress Reserve has been achieved through careful consultation and planning, hard work and financial contributions of adjoining residents working with Council’s bush regenerator, Pamela Batters – a lovely Yorkshire lass.
Over the past five years Pamela’s skill and sheer, hard physical work has transformed what was essentially a devastated, bamboo-infested wasteland into natural bushland complete with a dry, rock-lined creek that solves adjoining neighbours water run-off problems. Before planting was commenced all immediate neighbours were consulted extensively on the scale and form of flora so that views would not be impeded. Species were limited to those that would not exceed 6 metres and it was agreed that self-sown “mongrel” eucalypts would be removed if they threatened views and used for mulch.
Careful selection and placement of small trees and shrubs, generally no more than 2-3 metres in height, and their nurturing from tube stage by Pamela in a labour of love has created a place of natural beauty complemented by some quite remarkable rock formations. Her inspirational work has had other unforeseen spin-offs in the immediate community, enthusing adjoining neighbours to clear and plant their gardens empathetically with native flora.
Wanton destruction of her caring, considered work was devastating and almost destroyed Pamela’s motivation to continue, but I am pleased to report that she was back on the job in The Buttress Reserve this week, removing invading weeds and continuing her good work for the benefit of our community. We are indeed fortunate to have such a motivated person as Pamela working for us, and she deserves our support and vigilance in nurturing and protecting Castlecrag’s very special and unique bushland heritage.
John Steel
Activist for equality and peace, mentor and respected elder of Castlecrag, Life Member of the Castlecrag Progress Association
One of Castlecrag’s last links with its ‘early days’ was severed on 16 November 2006 with the death of Joyce Batterham. Just six months after joining with Joyce on the occasion of her 90th birthday (The Crag 160, p.2), a large number of her family, friends and colleagues came together again at the Community Centre on 24 November to ‘remember, celebrate and mourn’ her remarkable life.
Born at Rockdale on 16 May 1916, Joyce was the fifth of Absalom and Annie Deans’ six children. Both Absalom and Annie grew up in English families in which progressive Christian concern for the disadvantaged was a dominant theme. Absalom was ordained as a Congregational minister a month after their marriage and the young couple set out for the Western Australian goldfields as missionaries. Absalom was subsequently posted to Rockdale in Sydney, and then the family moved to Melbourne where they became associated with Walter and Marion Griffin. Joyce completed her schooling there, then went on to excel at Business College but was also strongly influenced by the values she gained from her parents. Her father, recognised as a leader in the community, preached tolerance and was greatly esteemed for his friendliness. Annie instilled in her daughter a recognition that women’s power rests in influence, not authority.
As reported in The Crag (160, p.2), Joyce came to Castlecrag in late 1931 to stay with her eldest brother Edgar, who had been appointed Secretary of the Greater Sydney Development Association, and his wife ‘Cappy’. She was soon enmeshed in the local community and was influenced by Walter and Marion Griffin and their colleagues. Later she returned to Sydney, where she met Bob Batterham and they were married in 1941.
During the War, Bob and Joyce became residents of Castlecrag, initially living with Rawson and Nancy Deans in the Fishwick House in The Citadel. Joyce and Bob became active members of the community and their four children – Robin, Tim, Dan and Lindy – grew up in the suburb. Joyce’s secretarial skills contributed significantly to community organizations in her suburb.
During the War, Castlecrag was a small suburb with four shops, an hourly bus service to the city, little street lighting, no medical services, no sanitary system and certainly no school. In 1944, Joyce joined with Frank Duncan to establish the Castlecrag & East Willoughby Community Advancement Co-operative Society Ltd to raise money for a community centre. Joyce was setting out on her lifelong involvement in Castlecrag community affairs. As secretary to the co-operative, she worked tirelessly mobilising people to run artists’ fairs, prepare afternoon teas and make Christmas toys to raise money for the project. It was therefore a proud moment for Joyce when her efforts became reality in November 1947 with the official opening of the Community Centre. Its function was expanded in 1951 with the opening of the Castlecrag Community Library. Joyce remained a tireless worker for the centre, serving as a volunteer at the library and as secretary for the Community Centre Management Committee into her eighties.
Joyce’s other great passion was lobbying for the establishment of the Castlecrag Infants’ School. The post-war boom had seen a rapid increase in the suburb’s population and Joyce and others efforts were rewarded with the official opening of the school on 30 June 1950. It was to become a centre for Infant education and community life for generations of Castlecrag families. Accordingly, when the government moved to close the school at the end of 1989 Joyce’s deep sense of social justice was aroused and, along with her daughter Lindy, played an important role for the next five years in the community’s fight to retain the school. Through the family’s union links ‘green bans’ were placed on the site (which opened the door for many other threatened school communities) preventing the Liberal Government from selling the site which they had rezoned to allow up to 64 townhouses to be built. Joyce was always waving a placard with her little granddaughters in the many demonstrations organised by the SOS*Crag group, their position vindicated today with overcrowding at surrounding public schools, and lots of young families living in the suburb.
The Castlecrag Progress Association recognised Joyce’s work by awarding her life membership. She was a regular at PA meetings until recent years, with a highlight being her special address at the Association’s 80th birthday dinner on 18 November 2005 (The Crag 158, p.3).
The many family, friends and colleagues at Joyce’s beloved Community Centre on 24 November heard moving presentations on these and other elements of a very full and productive life. Peter Watson, the former Archbishop of Melbourne, was an effective manager of proceedings. Margo Watson (nee Deans) spoke of the Deans parents and their influences on their children. Nancy Deans covered Joyce’s early years in Castlecrag, highlighting Joyce’s steadfast, courageous, loyal and brave character. Joyce’s daughter Lindy, through cousin Cathy, told of the family’s deep sense of respect and loss and concluded with a poem by the late Oogeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker), a colleague of Joyce and Bob. Kim Batterham highlighted how she had been a point of reference in many people’s lives that was unchanging. Kate Westoby outlined Joyce’s many contributions to the Castlecrag community, while her longstanding friend, Jack Mundey, noted the link between the progressive Christian values of the Deans family and socialist ideals. He spoke of the wide range of people who loved and respected Joyce and noted how all those present had been enriched by her idealism and consistency. The selection of a Paul Robeson rendition of ‘Old Man River’ and music and song by Jeannie Lewis and Peter Winkler made strong contributions to the ‘Celebration of Joyce’s Life’.
The Editors
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Willoughby Municipal Council celebrated its centenary in 1965 and in Castlecrag we decided to mark that occasion by erecting a memorial to the creator of our suburb, Walter Burley Griffin. A proposal was put forward by the Castlecrag Community Centre Committee and Bim Hilder was asked to design an appropriate sculpture. It was thought that it would be best placed on the island which used to exist at the corner of The Postern and Edinburgh Road but on the recommendation of Edmond Harvey, a most talented local artist, the island at the corner of The Sortie Port and Edinburgh Road was substituted. So, Bim got on with his creation of a magnificent water sculpture made of copper and based on a tetrahedral motif and the community set about raising money to fund the enterprise. Which it did, in no time at all, and by over four hundred pounds!
The fountain was unveiled by the Mayor, Alderman Laurie McGinty on Centenary Day, 23 October 1965 to the great pleasure of the many residents who attended. He planted a tree nearby to further record the occasion, trees were planted at the shopping centre, some Griffin houses were opened for inspection and a demonstration of the design and construction of Knitlock tiles was held in the school grounds. Time has passed and the pumping, drainage and electrical systems of the fountain are in serious need of upgrading. The fountain is classified as a heritage item and Council, despite attempts to get the fountain operational again, has decided that the best way to keep it functioning into the future is to completely upgrade its hydraulic and electronic items with current technology. It has estimated the cost of restoration to be in the vicinity of $50,000. Funds to do this are not available in Council’s current annual budget but it is giving some thought to seeking funding from heritage bodies. It would be wonderful if the Castlecrag community were again to come together to assist in the financing of the fountain’s restoration. The fountain is a remarkable and significant item in our suburb and its preservation is important for the man it honours and for the generations to come.
James Smallhorn, from Willoughby City Council’s Open Space Branch, has prepared a Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Fountain Heritage Statement and will be the guest speaker at our general meeting on 25 August. He will talk about the fountain and answer question’s on its history and the re-financing of its restoration. We look forward to meeting you.
Willoughby City Council has been at the forefront in developing a systematic fire hazard reduction program for its extensive bushland areas, with particular attention to the interface between residential areas and bushland. The fire hazard reduction program seeks to reduce the intensity of fire fronts within 30-50 metres of properties.
Bushland areas are prepared for ecological burns according to the time since the last burn, the historical record of vegetation types within the area, evidence of reduced floral diversity and the emergence of dominant species (eg, Allocasuarinaspp.), the declining health of the flora (senescing) and the presence of species that rely on fire for regeneration.
In Castlecrag, a large ecological burn was carried out on the Northern Escarpment in September 2005, while smaller burns have recently been carried out in Oriel Reserve and the Linden Way reserve.
Castlecrag Private Hospital is establishing a display of old photographs interpreting the history of the hospital. It is a colourful history, with the origins of the hospital going back to 1927 when Dr Edward William Rivett purchased the Walter Burley Griffin-designed ‘King O’Malley House’ on the corner of Edinburgh Road and Sortie Port. This had been constructed on Lot 96 of the original Griffin subdivision of Castlecrag in 1922-23 and was financed by King O’Malley, the flamboyant Minister for Home Affairs in the Federal Government at the time the international design competition for the Australian Federal Capital was held. It was O’Malley who resolved the controversy over the design for Canberra by endorsing the majority view of the selection committee and approving the plan of fellow-American Walter Burley Griffin. O’Malley became a strong supporter of Griffin in the subsequent upheaval over the implementation of his plan, and he continued this support to the Castlecrag project.
The O’Malley house was leased by Edgar Herbert, a friend of the Griffins and a pioneer in physical education who came to Sydney from Melbourne to work with GZ Dupain at his Institute of Physical Education. Herbert was the foundation President of the Castlecrag Progress Association and his family lived in the O’Malley House until 1927. The house was a small stone cottage, very similar to the Cheong House at 14 The Parapet. Herbert’s daughter Erwin remembers that the picture window in the living room offered a commanding view of Middle Harbour and The Spit. It was ‘a typical Griffin house with polished floors and a blue and white Chinese rug in the living room’.
Dr Edward Rivett had graduated in medicine from Sydney University in 1920 and became Resident Medical Officer at Sydney Hospital and The Women’s Hospital that year. Rivett practised in general surgery and obstetrics. Following his purchase of the O’Malley House in 1927, it was converted into a small five-bed hospital. Griffin’s office designed significant extensions to the house to provide a two-storey 20-bed hospital, which Rivett called Cabarisha after a legendary Indian healer. Rivett’s vision was to provide a hospital that was more a home than an institution, in which people could be nursed back to health in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. The grounds were laid out with lawns, gardens, ponds, fountains and a tennis court – which was used by staff and local residents.
Further extensions to designs by Eric Nicolls were made to the hospital, notably a wing along Sortie Port and a nurses’ home in The Battlement in the 1930s, and an obstetrics wing along Edinburgh Road after the War. It remained very much a family affair, with Edward’s sister, Dr Amy Christine Rivett, assisting at Cabarisha for some considerable time from her practice in Northbridge. His sons Ronald and Howard also worked there as medical practitioners. The topsy-like growth of the facility resulted in a rambling geography, however, leading to a high staff-to-patient ratio. This, together with the need for new equipment and techniques to keep abreast of medical developments, resulted in financial losses by the 1960s.
To the older residents of Castlecrag the hospital was and always will be Cabarisha. Dr Rivett was a very popular doctor and the hospital was a thriving business, with many of his patients coming from the local community. The post-war baby boom made heavy demands on the hospital’s obstetrics facilities, so the wing along Edinburgh Road was added, with Dr Rivett undertaking some of the construction himself.
Many of Castlecrag’s post-war babies were born at Cabarisha, with the two-weeks of post-natal care provided there enabling mothers to return home fully able to meets life’s demands. Dr Rivett is remembered with affection for the professional standards of care he brought to his practice and for a hospital that was at one with the beauty of its natural setting.
Following the death of Edward Rivett and Christine Rivett in 1962, Ronald and Howard continued the business, changing the name to the Castlecrag Private Hospital. In 1970 they reluctantly decided to sell to a company with adequate capital for further development of the facilities. This did not eventuate and the hospital was onsold. The present remodelled building was opened on 5 January 1986. The architect, Michael Cavanagh, endeavoured to preserve the character of the former hospital, with the front façade being retained and the building’s past character reflected in the new Griffin-like mouldings in the other facades.
Bob McKillop and Elizabeth Lander
Castlecrag residents have been increasingly inconvenienced by the weekend traffic congestion associated with sporting events at the Shore School Playing Fields and Bicentennial Reserve in recent years. Our frustrations are minor, however, compared with the significant inconvenience suffered by residents in South Willoughby and Northbridge who are more directly affected by the increasingly chaotic situation.
Alpha Road and Sailors Bay Road are now virtually gridlocked on Saturdays as many hundreds of pupils, parents and spectators attempt to arrive, park and depart the area. At a recent meeting of the Northbridge Progress Association, residents complained that surrounding streets are completely parked out on Saturdays and they were regularly unable to leave their houses because of gridlocked traffic or because desperate parents park across their driveways for hours.
They were among the large numbers of residents who attended a special meeting of the Association on 12 July to hear the Principal of Shore School outline a Development Application it has before Council to upgrade the facilities on the playing grounds. The proposal covers improved drainage, the construction of a new large grandstand to replace two smaller ones, new perimeter fencing, the construction of nine new tennis courts and the removal of 65 trees (with 94 new trees to be planted). While the Progress Association stated it has no objection to Shore improving its facilities in Northbridge for the benefit of its pupils and their parents, it called for more rigorous action to address the traffic situation.
The Shore submission states: “The proposed upgrade will not alter the periods when the facilities are used or increase the intensity of use.” Similarly, Shore’s traffic report concludes: “The upgraded facilities would not generate any new activity in terms of traffic generation and parking demand”. In its submission to Council, the Northbridge Progress Association states that it expects there will be growth of use, especially through the additional tennis courts (and their new use for competition tennis) and the increasing popularity of soccer. Even if there were no increase, Shore’s playing fields already have a serious adverse impact on traffic and parking in the area.
Accordingly, the Northbridge Progress Association has called on the Shore School, Council and the RTA to work together to reduce the considerable traffic and parking problems caused by the playing fields and which have inconvenienced Northbridge residents for decades. The Progress Association also called on Shore to more rigorously address the chaotic traffic situation that has developed in Sailors Bay Road on school days since Shore’s early learning centre and lower primary school opened in 2004 without any changes to cater for the new traffic conditions they generated.
The Castlecrag Progress Association has supported its Northbridge colleagues with a submission to Council on this matter. Our submission expresses concern is that the proposal will inevitably generate still further traffic activity in Alpha Road and Sailors Bay Road between Eastern Valley Way and Alpha Road thereby affecting Castlecrag residents as they drive between Castlecrag and Northbridge using Alpha and/or Sailors Bay Roads. It urges Council, before consenting to this proposal, to ensure that as many car parking spaces and drop off zones as possible are provided on Shore land. The submission states that the proposal provides Shore School with an opportunity to ameliorate the traffic chaos generated by its Saturday sporting events that have increasingly clouded the otherwise good relationship existing between the school and its Northbridge, Willoughby and Castlecrag neighbours.
The Shore School Playing Fields and Bicentennial Reserve are just two of the many traffic trouble spots that have erupted across Willoughby City in recent years. The increasing ownership of vehicles and the increasing trend to drive children to school and sporting events have put tremendous pressure of our local street that have been provided for the movement of vehicles, but are increasingly being usurped as private parking lots. Recent meetings of the Willoughby Traffic Committee have been dominated by requests from residents to impose parking restrictions in narrow streets that are ‘parked out’ in a manner that seriously impeded traffic flow and hinders residents accessing their properties. As noted in the Smart Transport Show report (page 5), we all need to walk, cycle or use public transport much more to get to our destinations.
Bob McKillop