Henry Kendall

We received a message recently responding to the Kendall’s Rock post. It contained an image of a ‘newspaper’ clipping from the 1930’s showing Joe Fagan standing beside the rock on which Henry Kendall and his companions, is supposed to have engraved his initials. It would appear to be a copy of the photograph from the Keith Compton collection also reproduced in The Fagans, the Cottage and Kendall published by the Brisbane Water Historical Society.


Early in the 20th Century, the ‘rock pool in the glen’, with its waterfall, was a place to visit and enjoy, and it is a tragedy that it has been treated with such disrespect and neglect recently.
I have been informed that it is now inaccessible, and that the rock itself had to be protected by a mesh fence to prevent others ‘stooping to trace their names upon a stone’. One man’s graffiti tag is …etc.

And now:


More images

Big Idea for Gosford

In the spirit of the big banana, merino etc., you are being asked for your help in siting a 'big thing' idea in Gosford as a way of boosting the town's identity and tourism.

To help with your input, a map has been provided at the IDEA EXCHANGE BUREAU, level 1, Town Centre Shopping Complex, Gosford, until the 26th of January.

Art Centre

The Gosford Times. December 23, 1898. "One of the institutions of Gosford of which the town and district can be justly proud is the School of Arts. In these days of learning when it is generally agreed brains and brawn and recreation and toil are factors as inescapable as they are indispensable to the attainment of the fullest and best results of life and labour, the town that cannot boast of a School of Arts is either a very insignificant place or extremely tardy in the march of progress. If Gosford is somewhat back in other respects, an allegation we won’t deny, it has certainly nothing to be ashamed of in its medium for disseminating light and information and providing honest and instructive recreation. In this respect, at least, it can vie with many towns of much greater pretensions. The Gosford School of Arts was established in 1888, and, as will be seen from the illustration, is rather an imposing structure. It is substantially built of brick and stone and with furniture etc. cost something like £1,500. The building comprises a first class library room, containing about 800 volumes; a reading room (free), which is supplied with all the latest papers and periodicals, chess and draught table etc; a large meeting room, at the disposal of the public at a very nominal charge; and chambers used by the Municipal Council and the Oddfellows Lodge. Then on the street level there is a spacious hall capable of seating about 250 people, fitted with a roomy stage, piano, scenery etc. etc. As showing the readiness of the committee to meet the growing needs of theatricals and the public generally we may say that during the last five or six years, the stage has been considerably enlarged and scenery and drop curtains etc. provided at a cost of about £60, so that it may now fairly lay claim to being one of the best equipped halls in the colony for the size and importance of the town. There are members on the committee of management today who have been connected with the institution continuously since its inception 10 years ago, and it speaks well for their interest and enthusiasm in its welfare and the management exercised by them, when we say that not withstanding the heavy expenses incurred in improvements to the hall, additions to the library and otherwise increasing the general utility of the institution, the debt has been reduced to £240. Although the School of Arts receives a fair amount of patronage, the membership roll if the library is not so large as might reasonably be expected, considering the advantages offered. In our advertising columns will be found the rates of subscription etc. and we trust the new year will bring an increased membership list and that long before another ten years the building will enjoy the position of being free from debt altogether."

What a shame that the building is now lost to the people of Gosford, and closed to the public. The possibility of restoring it to be a Centre for Contemporary Art has been raised with Debra Schleger, Marie Andrews and Belinda Neal. More action is planned.

Ceci n'est pas Guernica

Ceci n'est pas Guernica

Word is being received at GT that the notice in the Express Advocate posted on the Back Page art blog is causing some annoyance. It seems that people who have been working hard to make improvements in the civic centre consider it too negative and that it does not acknowledge their efforts.

I am constantly being surprised and pleased to discover so many individuals passionately concerned about the current situation and wanting to do something about bringing new life to Gosford.

However, given their commitment, and the wealth of ideas they have formed, I am constantly surprised that things are still as they are. Perhaps we need to consider what is preventing the good ideas out there from being realised, as well as how the insights that citizens have can be brought into the public area without the frustration of feeling that consultation processes are a form of massaging compliance.
These same people, as well as those who have become cynical with time, have described Gosford in terms of the notice in the Express Advocate, which seems to me to be more strategically provocative than negative.

One cannot deny the validity of the state of affairs described, which is not to deny the work of those seeking to make improvements, or the positive attributes, not stated, which are the reason why many are working in their own ways to fulfill Gosford’s great potential.

Gosford’s main street is lined with Real Estate Agent’s offices. It is perhaps not surprising that the notice in the Advocate parodied the form of the property developer’s spiel.

Perhaps when Picasso painted ‘Guernica’ he should have depicted the “suitability for development” of house sites cleared by bombing.

Local icons.

Prompted by Sharyn’s piece on the Rotary Fountain in Burn’s Place, I did a quick survey of the postcard racks looking for other icons of cultural achievement and historical landmarks.

Alas – nothing!
Plenty of beaches and pelicans though.
I did stumble across (almost literally) the stone entrance to Grahame Park, ignominiously set in the fence at the back of “that” stadium. Perhaps, being at dog level, it celebrates a time when dogs (and people) freely could enjoy that part of the public foreshore, and also provide an amenity for them now.

Gosford Times has already featured Kendall’s Rock and the Reptile Park Dinosaur, and the Back Page this week has a nice image of the old Gosford School of Arts Building, but not much has survived “development”.

Do we have any grand civic structures, historical or aesthetic monuments, or do we need to acquire some. We have looked at William Pye’s Charybdis as an inspiration for a monument to common communal values (the Town Well), and one can’t avoid the example of Anthony Gormley’s Angel of the North in defining a location and region.


Material presence informs awareness. In the past the Cathedral focussed a city on issues beyond the mundane and commercial, and the in-progress Buddhist Great Stupa of Compassion will undoubtedly redefine Bendigo,

Perhaps we should look to examples from elsewhere.

“There is a new trend in monument buildings in the countries of former Yugoslavia. After the wars that aimed to eradicate the multi-cultural character of the former society, now the monuments are built in celebration of that very character to globally recognized imaginary heroes that fight for justice and protect the innocent: Bruce Lee in Mostar (Bosnia), Rocky Balboa in Zitiste (Serbia), Winettou in Plitvice (Croatia), Tarzan in Medja (Serbia) - birthplace
of Jonny Weismueller, and Samantha Fox (before breast-reduction) in Cacak, the capital of Serbian country music. Significantly, the only place where such a monument faces desecration and vandalism is Mostar in Bosnia, also the only place still with multi-ethnic population. Is it so that Balkanians can accept theoretical multi-culturalism only once they practically destroy traces of culture of "others" around them?”
Via Nettime.

A plan to have a monument to Sigmund Freud has been turned down by locals in Prague who want to have a statue of a goat instead.
The monument will be erected in the area of the city known as Goat Square where there have been no goats for hundreds of years. Freud was born in the Czech Republic but lost out to the goats after locals started a protest group called "The Friends of the Goat".
Spokesman Stanislav Penc said: "A Freud monument can be erected anywhere in the Czech Republic, a goat monument only on Goat Square."
Via Ananova, who also provided us with the update below:


“Plans for a statue of former page three girl Samantha Fox in Serbia have been scrapped.
The tribute was ditched after she snubbed fans and then failed to turn up for a ministerial dinner staged in her honour after a concert in Serbia.
The former pin-up said: "The crowd made rude comments about my breasts."
The British singer had stormed off after the gig in the central Serbian town of Cacak after the crowd started singing a chant about wanting to see her breasts.
Local media said the hall she had played in had been only half full and the audience had made it clear they were not there to hear her sing.
Fans had last month said they were planning the statue in Cacak because they thought she was an idol who deserved a proper monument to her talents.
Now the plans have reportedly been scrapped after the backers pulled out following the concert.”

Could this be our opportunity?