Melbourne Bike Share arrives in Port Melbourne

Yesterday 4 new Melbourne Bike Share stations were installed in our area at Ingles St [near interection of Dorcas and Ingles], Foreshore [near intersection of Beach and Stokes St], Bridport St [near the former Post Office] and at Kerferd Rd [near the intersection with Beaconsfield Parade]. For the full list of stations and a map showing where they are, click here or go to http://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/bike_share.htm I know there are Bike Share doubters out there, but where else could you get unlimited access to convenient travel for $50 a year* which is all it costs to become a member.* go the Bike Share website for full terms and conditions.

Chilly arrival

The cruise ship season begins with the arrival tomorrow of the Dawn Princess at 8.00 am [+/- l hour]. For the full cruise ship schedule for 2011/12, click here. I have put a link to the schedule under the links section.

Update on Princes Pier and Pier St

Major Projects Victoria's recent newsletter says that Princes Pier works are on track for completion by the end of 2011. The Gatehouse and getting services out onto the Pier are the focus of activity. The newsletter provides a summary about the drainage works in Pier St.

Didn't it rain?

48 mm yesterday. Abandoned the bike and hopped on the tram. Anything to report from your place?

Rouse St west

Worried about some of the newly planted trees in Rouse St? So am I. All the trees have been inspected. Those trees that haven't made it will be replaced. Six trees that are not doing well will be fed. All will be closely monitored.

The Future of Fishermens Bend - count us in

Council last night resolved to write to the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Major Projects and the Chair of the Urban Renewal Authority advising:

• Fishermens Bend is one of the last remaining areas of broad scale industrial land in the inner metropolitan area


• Council research indicates that Fishermens Bend is a thriving industry, business and employment precinct of local and state significance


• The Precinct's inner city central location, proximity to the CBD and access to markets, accessibility to Melbourne's port, rail network, and freeway network distinguishes it from other industrial areas


• Fishermens Bend is considered one of Melbourne's pre-eminent high tech industrial locations and has attracted a number of high profile companies to invest heavily in the area


• The area generates a wide range of employment opportunities and in 2007, there were 9,747 people employed in the precinct and 300 businesses


• Council research indicates that very signfiicant residential and mixed use development opportunities exist in the South Melbourne Industrial Precinct located at the eastern end of Fishermens Bend ... And requesting


• That the State Government confirm that the City of Port Phillip will be invited to work in partnership with the URA to explore the future of Fishermens Bend, including any planning for change to the land use of the precinct.


• That the State Government confirms that the City of Port Phillip will participate in all decisions affecting the future of Fishermens Bend


• That the State Government confirms that it is committed to first investigating the significant role of the Fishermens Bend area to the Victorian economy prior to planning for any change to the future use of the precinct

Liardet Childrens Centre - further delay

The Heritage Council of Victoria has written to Council advising that the hearing for heritage registration of the Lady Forster Kindergarten has been adjourned from 29 September to 28 October.

Port Town Hall's Art Deco period

Last week I wrote about the different faces presented to Bay St and Spring St by our Town Hall. David Thompson has written here about yet another era of our Town Hall - its Art Deco incarnation. The mayor and councillors' chairs and table in the Council Chamber are all that survive of that period, but David provides a fascintating glimpse into an elegant time in the Port Town Hall's history http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.com The 2012 Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society calendar, available from the Port Town Hall, features an almost tactile reproduction of one of the panels that were a feature of the auditorium.

A champion team ...

photo David Thompson

'We did it for you, we did it for Port Melbourne' - said captain John Baird after Port defeated Williamstown in the VFL Grand Final 22 12 144 to 13 10 88. A stand alone Club won against a team fielding 15 AFL listed players.

Grand Final Day - Port vs Williamstown

The game begins at 2.15 at Etihad. In their last encounter in Round 20, the results were Port Melbourne 17 17 119 d Williamstown 16 18 114. There seems to be as much interest in Gary Ayres future as in the result of the game.

Cyclist injured in Bay St

A female cyclist was seriously injured after being struck by a car and then by a truck on Bay St around 11 am. The police are looking for the man believed to have struck the woman initially. He was driving a BMW3 series car. Anyone who can help the Police with information about the incident should contact Crimestoppers 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppers.com.au

Spring plants at South Melbourne Market

The South Melbourne Market offers support and training to stallholders to make their stalls look good.

Its a no no

to put recycleables into plastic bags and into the yellow top bin. Recycleables in plastic bags can result in a whole truck load of recycleables being rejected. This is because workers oversee the recycled material on a conveyor system, and plastic bags may conceal broken glass or syringes. Overfilling bins is also not acceptable - its like going to the supermarket and taking something extra off the shelf.

Port Melbourne Town Hall improvements

Money was allocated in Council's 2011/12 budget to refresh the upstairs hall of the Port Melbourne Town Hall and make it more useable. The improvements include replacing the ceiling tiles and at the same time doing an environmental retrofit, painting the walls, adding new stage curtains, removing the carpet and varnishing the floor, and designing and installing a new audio-visual system. Taking this photo, I was struck anew at the two very different faces of our Town Hall - to Spring St and Bay St. The layered history of the Town Hall is described in the Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society booklet available from the Assist counter at the Town Hall.

The Borough make front page news!

The City of Port Phillip homepage now features rotating images from around Port Phillip. When I went to the website this evening, I was greeted with 'Go Borough'. Click on 1 to get the Borough.

'Please feel free to take some'

Generous offering in Bridge St on this very beautiful Sunday. Must be a very bountiful tree.

Into the Grand Final!

Port defeated the Bullants by 22 points and will play Williamstown in next Sunday's Grand Final. At three quarter time this result seemed far from certain and the possibility of a draw was actively discussed. Following the nail biting pattern of some previous games, Port made an intensely accelerated effort in the final quarter to win 18.19.127 to 16.9.105

Market and Farmers Market - spoilt for choice

Market day today. Whole cabbages only $1.20 each. Visual feasting and people gathering at both markets.

The Borough meet the Bullants

Tomorrow Port Melbourne meet the Northern Bullants in a preliminary final at North Port Oval. The sides met previously in Round 4: Port Melbourne 21.9.135 d Bullants 18.3.111, and in Round 21: Port Melbourne 20.11.131 d Bullants 15.8.98. Port Melbourne hasn't met the Bullants [and its predecessor Preston] since the 1982 Grand Final when Port Melbourne won by 7 points. The game begins at 2.10 pm at North Port Oval. For more, click here.

New species of dolphin in Port Phillip Bay

A new species of dolphin has been discovered in Port Phillip Bay. To see a magnificent picture of dolphin with Webb Dock in the background, visit the link to the ABC story here.

Looking after the trees in the Railway Reserves

The mulch has [finally] been spread. Drip irrigation has been installed. Stormwater entry pits have been re-configured to direct stormwater onto the trees. Tree controls have been initiated for these magnificent trees in the Railway Reserves through the review of Heritage Overlay 1.

Swallow/Ross/Byrne

The re-instated road opening at Swallow/Ross/Byrne has several improved safety features compared to the one it replaces. The splitter island, shown here, keeps motorists from straying to the wrong side of the road. The road is narrow - creating a low speed environment and re-inforcing that this is a local access rather than a through route. A raised pavement will be installed to make it clear that pedestrians have priority at the crossing. Once the raised crossing has been installed, the temporary road opening will be closed. More trees will be planted including a feature jacaranda tree.

Spring in Port

After the magnolia, the wisteria.

Electronic waste

Your e waste can be recycled if you take it to the Resource Recovery Centre cnr White and Boundary St - just off Ingles St. Melways 2E F11. We accept TVs, printers, monitors, and av equipment. Let people know about this great service - better than leaving it on the footpath.

More about the review of Heritage Overlay 1: Edwards Park

One of the recommendations arising from the review is to introduce an individual heritage overlay for Edwards Park to reflect its historical, social and aesthetic significance. A citation has been prepared for the park from which the following information is taken: 'Edwards Park, lying between the Esplanades, reflects the presence of the original saltwater lagoon. It is a reminder of the early history of the suburb and the efforts by early residents to provide for public open space and the Guild of Play's pressure on the Council to provide for a children's playground. Of particular significance is the radial layout of paths on the flat grassy plane and the accompanying mature palm (Phoenix canariensis) avenues'. The extent of the Heritage Overlay should include the main park with its radial avenues of palms and the northern area where the Trugo Club and playground are located. Tree controls should apply to the mature palm avenues. [source: Lovell Chen 2011, and Edwards Park: Conservation Analysis and Masterplan, prepared by ALM for the City of Port Phillip 2001]

Protecting more of Port's heritage

Monday's Council meeting, to be held in the Port Council chamber from 6pm, is important for Port Melbourne. Over the past few months, Council has been reviewing Heritage Overlay 1 - the heritage overlay that covers a large part of Port Melbourne. It is now proposed that the review be implemented by means of a planning scheme amendment. All affected property owners have been notified of the review and 29 submissions have been received. The review recommends extending the heritage overlay to a further 244 properties and the Turner Reserve, and introducing two new individual heritage overlays for the Port Melbourne Football/Cricket Ground and Edwards Park. It also recommends applying tree controls to the Port Melbourne Light Rail Reserve. A heritage overlay does not mean that properties cannot be altered. It means that a planning permit is required to make changes to properties covered by the overlay, and significant tests are applied to the demolition of dwellings. The full council report, review documents and maps are available from here. If you would like to view a hard copy of any of these documents or to ask any questions about all this, please contact me or attend the Council meeting where your questions are welcome.

Straying to South just for one post

South Melbourne Athletic Club scored first and third in the half marathon run around Richmond Boulevard on Sunday - the best result ever for the club at this distance. First was Reuben Kosgei, a resident of Kenya who runs for South when he's in Melbourne and third was Wondwosen Geleta, formerly of Ethiopia, who is awaiting citizenship in this country. Wondwosen is also the current Victorian marathon champion. And there they are in the South Melbourne colours - nearly as good as the red and the blue. [thanks Peter Logan]

'It's over to you, sir'

With these words, the recast bust of Vice Admiral William Rooke Creswell, regarded as the father of the Royal Australian Navy, was handed over to the care of the City of Port Phillip. Port Melbourne has been very significant in the history of the RAN, now celebrating its centenary year*. The bust of Creswell was first unveiled in 1938. Following amalgamation the bust disappeared - leaving only the plinth outside the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron. The Navy League traced the original cast for the bust and had a new one made which was unveiled today. But the mystery remains - where is the original? *Click here for a map showing sites of significance to the Navy in Port.

VFL news

as reported by Brent Diamond*: 'Port Melbourne's relentless run and centre-clearance work mesmerised the Casey Scorpions, with the Borough winning yesterday's qualifying final by 97 points and taking another step towards being the first stand alone team to win the flag in the AFL affiliate era.' Port Melbourne 24 16 160 to Casey 9 9 63. I love Brent's commentary, but I wish he wouldn't say things like that. *The Sunday Age Sport p16

Landcare week - groups caring for the land closest to us

Kennedia prostrata Running postman at Perce White Reserve

The Friends of Port Melbourne's Foreshore meet every month* to weed and otherwise care for Perce White Reserve. Today the running postman was in flower. Nearby, the Friends of Westgate Park have transformed the park into an inner urban oasis for biodiversity - winning the 2010 National Urban Landcare Award for their efforts. *Saturday 1 October, Sunday 6 November, Saturday 3 December from 9.30 to 12

The bike hoops are back, 2 of 2

source: Alison Lee: Bike Parking in Shopping Strips, slide 17

Alison Lee's investigation found that while car drivers tended to spend more, the space efficiency of bicycle parking meant that more was spent by 13m2 unit of car parking space by bike riders than car drivers. This graphic illustrates the point. To read more of her findings, click here.

The bike hoops are back, 1 of 2

The bike hoops in Liardet St have been reinstated - seen here with the former Port Picture Theatre in the background. I have always been intrigued by this bike parking as it is the only location I know of in Port Phillip where car parking has been replaced with bike parking. The arrangement pre-dates my time on Council. With car parking at a premium, can replacing a car park with a bike park be justified? Alison Lee set out to investigate this question in a study conducted in Lygon St.

Happy wattle day!

photo thanks to Lyn Allison

I'm sorry I didn't get on to this earlier today. Then we could have greeted each other in this way. Yes, September 1st is officially Wattle Day. The golden wattle Acacia pycnantha, our national floral emblem, grows in Lagoon Reserve. Click here to read about CSIRO's research on the ecological and evolutionary interactions of the genus Acacia in Australia.