COVID ART PRIZE BLOW - A FURTHER DELAY |
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Lilli Waters "Sanctuary" (archival pigment print on fibre rag) |
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1. ARTISTS' CHOICE - DON'T ABANDON EXHIBITION |
APPA's largest and most prestigious event - the biennial Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize - has been hit with a second COVID-19 blow, but artists have urged us not to abandon our planned exhibition. |
After successful art Prize exhibitions in 2014, 2016 and 2018, this year's event was shaping to be the best ever with a record number of entries (350) by the closing date at the end of January 2020. Judges culled the entry list down to 77 finalists to compete for a share of the $38,500 prize money but then, of course, COVID-19 struck. The proposed exhibition at the Festival Centre was delayed from April-May to December-January but even that was contingent upon the Festival Centre re-opening. In late October 2020 we were advised the Festival Centre would NOT be able to open for exhibitions by December. |
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Lara Tamke "Lorikeets in Their (Natural) Environment" (wire construction - found materials) We scrambled to find an alternative venue but none were available for the same time period. Accordingly, we gave our finalist artists a choice: Would you prefer to: - have your works judged over a weekend in December 2020, in a warehouse, to finalise the Art Prize without a public exhibition; OR
- have another delay to enable a proper exhibition to proceed in April 2021 at another venue?
Artists were split on the choices but a clear majority (70%) opted to wait for the opportunity to have a proper Art Prize exhibition, even though it would be delayed by another few months. |
Christopher Meadows "Between the Flags" (oil on canvas) . Accordingly APPA is now negotiating with the Festival Centre for a time slot immediately after the conclusion of the Adelaide Festival in mid-March through to late April or early May, 2021. This will be almost 12 months after the original planned exhibition. |
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| Art Prize convenor Maggie Fletcher (left) explained that "we explored many alternative spaces to exhibit the Finalists' artworks but decided to defer yet again in response to artist comments from our survey and in consideration for the quality of the art. |
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"The Adelaide Park Lands have inspired extraordinary art again this year and we look forward to showcasing it once again in the Adelaide Festival Centre from March 2021. "Finalists' works will continue to be available for sale online on the Art Prize website." |
Rose-Anne Russell "Light’s Legacy"(leather botanical sculpture) We expect to be able to confirm exact times and dates for the exhibition before the end of November. |
2. STATE BUDGET - TWO DISAPPOINTMENTS, ONE BIG RELIEF |
The South Australian State Budget delivered on Tuesday 10 November contained two Park Lands disappointments, but one decision that has come as a big relief. As we highlighted in last month's newsletter, the Adelaide Venue Management Corporation has been targeting YOUR Helen Mayo Park (in Park 27) for a proposed new commercial stadium, as well as TWO hotels, a cinema, shops and offices. |
In the State Budget, Treasurer Rob Lucas has effectively rebuffed the plan for a new Park Lands soccer stadium - deciding instead to put $45 million into an upgrade of Hindmarsh Stadium. This is an excellent outcome for both soccer fans and the Park Lands. |
On the other hand, the Treasurer has missed an opportunity for what could have been a relatively low-cost feasibility study into the proposed Adelaide Rainbow Circuit. |
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| Earlier this year, the Premier referred the Adelaide Rainbow Circuit to the Treasurer for possible funding of a feasibility study in the Budget. |
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The major State Budget blow for the Park lands is the decision to expand the size of buildings on Tarntanya Wama (Park 26) with four new tennis grandstands, to replace two existing grandstands, on a larger footprint. Corporate tennis occupies four hectares of Park 26, but the leased area is not Open, Green, and Public, as a "Park". The entire area off War Memorial Drive is fenced off for the benefit of paying customers and car parking. |
Find out how much of Tarntanya Wama (Park 26) has been lost to the public in our 4-minute video at www.adelaide-parklands.asn.au/park-26 |
3. VICTORIA PARK MOTOR RACING - AN ELECTION ISSUE? |
Campaigning by APPA to return the eastern Park Lands to YOU, freeing them from the annual five-month motor sport invasion has been successful. The SA Government has recognised that fossil fuel sport is on the way out and has pulled out of all sponsorship. Motor racing will continue at Tailem Bend but not in Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16). The Park is being returned to YOU We've congratulatred the Premier Steven Marshall for this decision. However, the job is not completed. The Opposition Leader, Peter Malinauskas is now campaigning to reverse this decision. He says a Labor State Government would bring back fossil fuel motor racing to the Park Lands. |
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APPA President, Shane Sody, has started a petition on change.org https://www.change.org/p/peter-malinauskas-don-t-bring-fossil-fuel-racing-cars-back-to-a-clean-park Add your signature to let Mr Malinauskas know he's on the Wrong Track and backing a loser at the expense of Adelaide's Open Green Public park lands. Also if you're on Facebook, follow the group "Better At the Bend" https://www.facebook.com/Betteratthebend We note that the State Labor party is proposing to use taxpayer funds to prop up fossil fuel motor sport while at the same time opposing a proposed new tax on electric vehicles. Mr Malinauisklas has told InDaily, (without any apparent hint of irony) that this is "a time we’re trying to encourage people to use electric vehicles”. |
4. NEW FACILITIES IN PARK 2 NOW COMPLETE |
$3 million has been spent to re-surface tennis courts, and install new barbecues, basketball rings, exercise equipment, paving and shelters just off Prospect Road in Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2). |
The State Government and City Council collaborated to fund these works. Thanks to Peter Bolton for these pics. |
5. CROWS, ROUND TWO: THE NEXT THREAT |
What is wrong with the picture below? If you said "it needs a multi-storey office building in the forest, on the edge of the oval" then congratulations on your recent appointment. Your name is John Olsen and you are the chairman of the Adelaide Football Club. |
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In APPA's newsletter of October 2020, our headline story was "How to Attack Parks - the Rule Book". These are the Rules that would-be Park attackers generally seem to follow: Make Friends in High Places Produce Pretty Pictures Don't Mention the Park Loss Don't Acknowledge Other Potential Sites.
The Crows chairman, John Olsen (appointed in October 2020, presumably with an eye on Rule #1) is still learning the ropes. In November 2020, he had not invoked Rule #2 and he failed to follow Rule #4. But he certainly followed Rule #3. Mr Olsen has signalled that the Melbourne-controlled AFL business (trading as the "Adelaide Football Club") is looking for a new site for its local-franchise administrative headquarters that would be “near” the Adelaide CBD. On 9 November 2020 he said it was "unlikely" that the AFC's former targeted site at the Aquatic Centre in Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2) would remain on the Crows short list of potential sites. (See the history of that saga on our website.) Where else then? Asked which other site was on top of the AFC's list, Mr Olsen didn't give a direct answer but did mention Wayville Showgrounds, Thebarton Oval, and an area that he described as "opposite the Ice Arena in the west an old E&WS site". WHERE? IS THAT A VACANT PLOT OF LAND? Mr Olsen was referring to the Narnungga Urban Forest in Gladys Elphick Park / Narnungga (Park 25), as pictured above. The Adelaide Football Club would be welcome to have training sessions on that Oval, but if they were to lodge a bid to locate their administrative headquarters with hundreds of employees within the Narnungga Urban Forest then they would be facing another huge community campaign to protect this Park. Mr Olsen was interviewed on ABC Radio 891 breakfast program on Tuesday 9 November. At no stage did he suggest that protecting the world-unique National-Heritage listed Adelaide Park Lands would be a factor in targeting a new headquarters site. You can hear the 9-minute interview at this link (MP3 audio file, 9 minutes, 8.2 Mb). |
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At least we can take some encouragement from the fact that Mr Olsen has not relied (yet) upon Rule #4. He’s acknowledged that there ARE, indeed, other potential sites that might suit the multi-million dollar football business. Perhaps common sense will prevail and the Club will avoid polarising the Adelaide Community in 2021 as it did during "Round One" of this saga. Read Michelangelo Rucci's analysis of the issue at InDaily: https://indaily.com.au/sport/football/2020/11/13/crows-in-the-city-past-present-and-future/ In case you've forgotten the communuty's fight earlier this year, to "Stand With Denise" see the story on our website: www.adelaide-parklands.asn.au/crows |
6. PLANNING & DESIGN CODE PROMPTS NEW LOOK AT PARK LANDS ACT |
Earlier this month, APPA joined with 17 other community organisations in urging the new Planning Minister, Vicki Chapman, "to initiate a genuine, thorough and independent community engagement process around the Government’s proposed Planning and Design Code" due to come into effect early next year. There are a raft of community concerns about the Code, mostly about watering down protection for built heritage. APPA's concerns relate, of course, to the Park Lands and the fact that (under the Code) a host of commercial land uses along the River Torrens such as hotels, shops and offices would be "deemed to satisfy" the Code and accordingly deplete the Park Lands even further. Minister Chapman fronted a public meeting on Thursday 5 November to answer questions. |
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| APPA President Shane Sody asked how the Code could be reconciled with the Adelaide Park Lands Act 2005, under which the Park Lands are supposed to be "held for the public benefit of the people of South Australia". |
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Ms Chapman did not directly respond to the question but invited APPA to submit recommendations on how the Adelaide Park Lands Act might be improved. We intend to take her up on that invitation. We have been saying for years that the Act is totally ineffective at protecting the Park Lands from rampant development that dilutes the Park Lands as Open Green Public space. |
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7. LORD MAYOR ENCOURAGES RESTORATION PROJECT |
Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor has encouraged APPA to make a formal submission to the Park Lands Authority early next year, to kick off what we hope will be a successful reclamation of one Park Lands site that was lost, long ago, to bitumen, in Park 23. |
Last year our members and supporters voted that this site (above) off Anzac Highway in G.S. Kingston Park / Wirrarninthi (Park 23) should be our highest priority for re-greening. The Lord Mayor agrees that re-greening here would be a great idea, but has advised us that any community restoration initiative would need to be put, formally, to the Park Lands Authority for approval. We're hopeful of getting that approval at an Authority meeting in February and then, soon afterwards, calling for volunteers to return at least some of this old patch of bitumen into something more befitting a Park. |
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Meeting in the Lord Mayor's office on Monday 9 November, from left: Stephanie Johnston (member of both the APPA Committee and the Park Lands Authority), Shane Sody (APPA President), and the Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor. Discussions also centred on: - the Lord Mayor's proposal to establish a "Park Lands Foundation" that could attract tax-deductible donations for environmental purposes; and
- the proposal for an "Adelaide Rainbow Circuit" around the Park Lands that was overlooked in this week's State Budget (see story above).
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There are lots of bitumen car parks that have been inflicted on the Green Open Public spaces of the Park Lands. Check out our two-minute recap above. |
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8. TEMP FENCING - THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY |
This month, there are at least 15 sites within the Adelaide Park Lands "temporarily" fenced off from public access. Some of them are very welcome as they are leading to new public facilities or playspaces. Others are outrageous as they are enabling what amounts to theft of YOUR "Green, Open Public" Park Lands. And others are just ugly, All photos below were taken in early November 2020. The Good (1): |
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Clockwise from top left, above: - Earthworks around the new wetlands under construction at the southern end of Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16). The works will take most of 2021 to complete.
- The Lucky Dumpling Market in Elder Park brought thousands of people to Tarntanya Wama (Park 26) one of the most popular event spaces in the Park Lands. The market was scheduled to be packed up after Sunday 15 November.
- New turf is being laid and irrigation pipes replaced in Red Gum Park / Karrawirra (Park 12) between Frome Rd and Sir Edwin Smith Ave.
- Work under way to build the Quentin Kenihan Inclusive Playspace in Rymill Park / Myurlawirrapurka (Park 14). It's due to be finished by the end of 2020 offering new play opportunities for children of all abilities.
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Again, clockwise from top, above: - A large part of Rundle Park / Kadlitpina (Park 13) is getting improved "event infrastructure" i.e. new sewer inlets, water, power. It's due to be finished by mid-December.
- A new monument to Vietnamese "boat people" is soon to be installed here off Victoria Drive in Red Gum Park / Karrawirra (Park 12).
- A footpath along the River Torrens in Mistletoe Park / Tainmuntilla (Park 11) on the northern side of the Zoo has been fenced off for months, to upgrade the path and stabiilise the riverbank. A sign says the path repairs are due for completion by August 2020 but we're advised the likely re-opening will be very soon (mid-November).
The BAD: |
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Clockwise from top left: - For the past few years, this site, Kate Cocks Park (Park 27), off Gaol Rd, has been used as a Council storage area. There have been vague promises of future landscaping here, but no timetable.
- The worst Park Lands giveaway in history - The Walker Corporation's corporate takeover of Festival Plaza in Park 26.
- The Bragg Centre (aka SAHMRI 2) under construction off North Terrace in Park 27. When there are already four huge buildings in this precinct, no-one will notice a fifth one taking more of the Park Lands, will they? This unfinished building on YOUR land has been sold to a private consortium for $446 million ($$ subscriber-only link).
- Work under way to update and enlarge a storage bunker for a private school (CBC) in King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina (Park 15). Public Park Lands for private storage?
The UGLY: |
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Clockwise from top left: - Fencing near a COVID medi-hotel restricts access indefinitely to the north-eastern corner of Hindmarsh Square.
- The COVID-19 testing station in Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16). We are advised that the testing station and the fences will be removed by the end of November, having served their purpose.
- The former "Edwards Park" off Anzac Highway in G.S. Kingston Park / Wirrarninthi (Park 23) hosted amusement rides etc after the cancellation of the Royal Adelaide Show. This was due for removal after 11 November.
- Fencing around the playing fields in Gladys Elphick Park / Narnungga (Park 25) (above) was for a Sheffield Shield cricket match. Entry was free but we're advised that the fences were part of a COVID-19 plan.
Do you know of any more fencing that's restricting access to YOUR "Green, Open Public" Adelaide Park Lands? If so, let us know: secretary@adelaide-parklands.asn.au |
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9. VIDEO OF THE MONTH - MARY LEE PARK |
This month's video looks at a small, triangular park that's nestled between two railway lines and Park Terrace at Bowden. Take a 3-minute tour of Mary Lee Park (Park 27B): |
Next month: Palmer Gardens / Pangki Pangki (Park 28). Catch up on videos for other parts of the Park Lands on our YouTube channel |
10. PRIVATE BAR AND VIEWING DECK FOR PARK 9 |
A minimum-length period of public consultation is likely to begin soon, to ram through approval for a private college to put a new bar and viewing area near the centre of Bundey's Paddock / Tidlangga (Park 9) along with a new road into the Park. On 5 November, the Park Lands Authority relented in the face of pressure from Prince Alfred College. Despite earlier reservations about both the size and the location of PAC's proposed building, the Authority has now recommended to the City Council that documents should be drawn up to cater to PAC's demands in this Park. Provided that the Council agrees, then the public will be given merely 21 days to comment before a 21-year lease is entered and construction can begin. |
The existing buildings in Park 9 are dilapidated and in need of replacement (see pics below). However this is no justification for a private bar with a viewing platform in what should be an Open, Green, Public Park. |
The Adelaide Park Lands have some great places to play sport and the playing of sport should be encouraged with appropriate facilities. For those who want to stand at a bar and drink while watching sport, there are many hotels to choose from. |
11. WHAT'S ON IN THE PARK LANDS |
There are always events scheduled in the Park Lands, many of them free, and there are always opportunities to explore the Park Lands on your own, or with friends or family. Browse our Explore Parks pages for hints about interesting spots to visit. Here are just some of the opportunities in coming weeks: |
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| Guided Walk through Carriageway Park / Tuthangga (Park 17) Sunday 22nd Nov - 9.30 to 11am Click the pic for details and/or to book. |
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| The Park Lands Project Sun 22 Nov Carriageway Park / Tuthangga (Park 17). Noon to 4pm Art, music & citizen science meets nature. Free. Click the pic for details. |
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| Park Run, Torrens weir Every Saturday 8am, this is a free event run by volunteers. Click the pic for details. |
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| "Wine Island" - Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka (Park 14) Sat 5 Dec 1pm to 6pm Wine tastings & more. Click the pic for details and/or to book. |
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12. BRIEFLY, IN OTHER PARK LANDS NEWS |
Biggest Park giveaway to get even bigger |
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| Lang Walker of the Walker Corporation has approval for a 27-storey office tower and a three-storey retail complex on YOUR Rarntanya Wama (Park 26). What's more, your taxes are subsidising the cost of construction, currently under way.. |
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However it's not enough for the billionaire. He's just going to extend the retail space a bit further, to more fully obscure views of Parliament House. No joke. https://indaily.com.au/news/local/2020/11/11/festival-plaza-changes-set-for-approval-despite-parliament-house-heritage-concerns/ |
No car parking here please |
There's been a small win for Golden Wattle Park / Mirnu Wirra (Park 21W) in the constant battle to prevent Park Lands being over-run by car parking. This Park, located between Goodwood Rd & Sir Lewis Cohen Avenue is split 50/50 between bush regeneration and sporting fields. Proipoosals to have 112 new car parks inserted into the Park have been dropped in a new Community Land Management Plan. The new Plan also pushed back on suggestions that a new sports building should have an upper storey almost twice almost large as its "footprint" Congratulations to Cr Helen Donovan who moved for the changes. She was supported by (among others) Councillor Philip Martin and with a casting vote, the Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor. |
$90k to start planning a new Aquatic Centre, but where? |
The City Council has approved $90,000 for a feasibility study into a new Aquatic Centre. The proposed location is still to be determined but it appears most likely that the Council will NOT take the opportunity to choose a site off the Park Lands. The decision on Tuesday 10 November was to: "Assess locations including but not limited to within Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2): - The existing Adelaide Aquatic Centre location.
- The South East corner (intersection of Barton Terrace West and O’Connell Street)"
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A white elephant - no way to cross here |
This is supposed to be a pedestrian and cyclist crossing between John E Brown Park (Park 27A) and the North Adelaide Golf Course off War Memorial Drive in Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1). The crossing was built in 2018, with electric gates for safety, but it's fenced and barred - never opened. Infrastructure Minister Corey Wingard has now admitted there are no plans to EVER open the crossing, because it can't be made disability compliant. There are shared use bitumen paths in both Park 1 and Park 27A that lead to this now-useless piece of infrastructure. |
A bridge this far? Should there be a new bridge built across the Botanic Park lake? That's one of the suggestions in a new draft Master Plan for the Adelaide Botanic Garden in Park 11. Your comments on this and other questions are invited by Thursday 19 November. |
Greener play areas boost children’s immune systems Children whose outdoor play areas were transformed from gravel yards to mini-forests showed improved immune systems within a month, research has shown. The scientists believe this is because the children had developed significantly more diverse microbes on their skin and in their guts. |
Join us! You can be a proud Park Lands supporter, with membership starting at only $15 (for concession and student membership) expiring 30 June 2021. Longer-term memberships are also available.
We rely on annual membership fees to continue our Park Lands advocacy, so if you haven't already, please consider putting your money where your mouth is and backing APPA to keep up the Park Lands fight.
As a financial member of APPA, you receive: |
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| 13. PHOTO OF THE DAY - RECENT HIGHLIGHTS |
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From the top: - Basketball & tennis in Bundey's Paddock / Tidlangga (Park 9)
- Corellas catching the sun in Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka (Park 14) Pic: @craig.tonkin
- Noisy miner and magpie in Bonython Park / Tulya Wardli (Park 27) Pic: @mike.kent53
- Adelaide bridge, River Torrens and rowers in Red Gum Park / Karrawirra (Park 12)
- Glover playground off South Tce in Blue Gum Park / Kurangga (Park 20)
- Disc golfers among the ancient olive trees in King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina (Park 15)
The Park Lands "photo of the day" series has been running since May 2014, and the collection of Park Lands photos gathered over more than six years now numbers over 2,300. We maintain (and gradually grow) more than 40 separate albums: one for each numbered Park and Square, along with several albums for "Alienations". Contributions are very welcome! Tag your photo #adelaideparklands on Instagram. To find out more about any of these featured Parks, click the link to the Park number. To see the #AdelaideParklands #picoftheday as it's released each morning, just follow us on Facebook, Instagram &/or Twitter. Browse our albums on Flickr at any time. |
Despite being a National Heritage-listed place, the Adelaide Park Lands are not well protected by Federal environmental laws.
That's why we've joined the Places You Love Alliance, to campaign along with 56 other organisations for better environmental protection laws. |
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NEWSLETTER TEAM
Editor: Shane Sody
Contributors: Ted Jennings, Kate Treloar
Proofreader: Trish Russell
Send content enquiries/submissions to secretary@adelaide-parklands.asn.au
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Here at APPA, we hate marketing (spam) emails. That's why we deliver news about the Park Lands, in this email format, only once per month. If you're after more regular information, please follow us on Facebook where we are posting every day. Unlike marketing emails, we're not trying to sell you anything, so we hope you'll forgive this intrusion to your InBox. Nevertheless, if you'd rather not hear from us in future, you can unsubscribe here. |
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