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

Whats the BIG IDEA!?

The following instructions were presented at the Idea Exchange referred to in the last post.

"In the spirit of all those ‘big thing’, town branding initiatives (big banana, prawn, merino etc.), it is proposed to erect a Big Idea in Gosford.

An idea, no matter how large, being immaterial, can be inserted into the urban fabric at a cost acceptable to even the most conservative local government agency, and no planning permission is needed.

We are asking for your help in selecting a site for the BIG IDEA.

We suggest consideration of a position so that the new ‘big idea’ will be between the viewer and an existing bad idea, object or building etc.

The ‘big idea’ will be transparent, of course, so we expect there will be no quibbles on aesthetic ground, but once it is in place the view will never be the same again.

Place a green ‘dot’ on the map where you would like to see the BIG IDEA in Gosford.

Results.

The majority of sites suggested were on the western and southern sides of the stadium, although one prominent local councillor nominated the western side of the Olympic Pool.

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.

A pedestrian year

Happy New Year!

2009 brings hope for new things in the quest to redress some of the town's problems and fulfill its potential. We should see some outcomes in the Gosford Challenge process and it would be nice to think that the people steering the planning are prepared to think outside the usual developer oriented approach.


A couple of graphic comments, and a thought about pedestrian oriented initiatives for urban revival from Jan Gehl. (Think Mann Street between Erina and Donnison Streets)

Mr. Gehl’s core message remains so simple it sounds almost like a proverb. It goes like this: “Cultures and climates differ all over the world, but people are the same. They will gather in public if you give them a good place to do it.”
Urban sustainability rarely seems so straightforward, ensnarled as it is in thorny issues of land use and energy consumption, housing prices and unemployment rates, roads and transit lines, density and sprawl. In many of the world’s cities, however – North American cities in particular – there might be no single problem that encompasses them all as fully as the decision made after World War II to give top priority to the automobile in every urban quarter and under essentially every circumstance. And as Mr. Gehl’s clients are learning, there is no more economical or efficient way to begin sorting out this knot of problems than to simply restore people to their rightful place above cars in the urban hierarchy.

The full text of the article can be found here.

Passing Reminiscences

From the Gosford Times. 22nd of December 1899

Passing Reminiscences

(By Nettle)

What was Gosford like then?
Why a lot better than it is now; more money and less people to share it among. We got something like a price for sticks then, when we loaded the ketches and schooners, till they were as low as it was safe for them to swim to Sydney, with sawn timber or shingles. Then it was no distance to go for it. Why, bless your heart, we had only to go round the back of the mountain at the back of East Gosford and there you could cut for twelve months without shifting camp. Besides there was always two or three pairs of sawyers within cooee, so that when supper was over we would gather round and some rattling yarns were told; stories of the old hands who had to rough it in real earnest. They must have had real grit in them, for they had nothing of what you call luxury. They had corn beef, flour, corn meal and tea and sugar, that’s all – except rum – and they could stand it; their stomachs were as tough as their hides; and when I was a boy all the disputes among mates were drowned in a tot of grog on pay day. Then I heard father say as how the blacks were a great nuisance, not savage, but regular sneak thieves. You could not keep a fowl for them. Why, they would get a fish hook and a grain of corn and a bit of string and fish for the fowls while there was one left. Then of course we didn’t spin yarns all the time. We went down to Venteman’s (?) pub sometimes and had a high old time. But those good old times have gone, and I find it very hard to drop into these new fangled ways that people have today. Most of the old hands have gone too, and most of my old mates have been dead years and years now, and some of them as good men as ever looked through a tumbler. But those good old days suited us. The youngsters wanted the pace a bit faster; so they made it to suit themselves, and we old chaps had to stand aside. But what a day we had when the first steamer came. Why many of us had never seen a steamer before, and we took a few glasses of grog before we could understand how the old tub went without sails. Then came the Black Swan and the Alchemist and the Pelican and all the rest of later days. But what took my breath away altogether was to hear of the railway coming to Gosford. It seemed to break up all the old ideas. Fresh people came to the district; they cut the land up into little bits and called them town lots, away out in the bush where you want a brush hook and a warrant to find them. And then they elected Harry Wheeler Mayor and incorporated the town, and do you know that they kick up a row if you turn your horse or cow out to feed on the street. Bye the bye they are talking of building baths for the people to wash themselves in. Why in my time we just peeled off and tumbled in anywhere. But they seem to be making a different place of it altogether; they are building smart houses to coax the City folk here. But we don’t like to see them gong too fast and we steady these young people of ours as well as we can, but there will have to be a few respectable funerals in Gosford before they have it all their own way. But perhaps it might be best after all, for we old hands must soon pass in our checks. Then it won’t make any odds to it. But I like to think of those dear old days when we had to work well, and got well paid for it.

GOSFORD CHALLENGE

A Tip for tomorrow's race. A late entry, Gosford Challenge. An outsider who has had many starts without success, but has caught the eye of some prominent racing indentities.

“The Gosford Challenge is a comprehensive masterplanning process that will design and renew the City Centre. The Project Sponsors, Council and the Department of Lands (Lands), seek a Design Partner to prepare, design and implement the masterplanning process and a Development Partner(s) with the capacity to deliver catalyst projects involving public land.”
The proposed partner selection process, has been developed in consultation with the William Kerr Company... (and) does not fully conform to the general Local Government Act, Tender Regulations.

The Gosford Challenge selection process for the Design Partner and Development Partner(s) will commence with the release of the Request for Proposal on the 5 November 2008.
(Extracts from MATTER SUBMITTED BY THE DIRECTOR - CITY CENTRE DEVELOPMENT
GOSFORD CHALLENGE SELECTION PROCESS, Gosford City Council)

A disconcerting aspect of the Challenge is the apparent blind following of the William Kerr model from Coburg and the overriding of Tender Regulations. There would seem to be too great an opportunity for some parties to be given the inside running.
Perhaps a more radical planning vision is needed for Gosford to be at the forefront of change and innovation, something that could profitably be embraced as an aspiration, and perhaps should be, in the 21st Century.

Meanwhile in the 19th Century Gosford’s Challenge was much as it is today.
From the Gosford Times, 10th November 1899:

Mr Jas, Kibble, who recently purchased a number of allotments in the Alison estate in Gosford, is having some fenced preparatory to further improvements being effected. It is a pity that owners of other vacant blocks, which are a public eyesore, would not follow Mr. Kibble’s example.

May Acquire School Land

Interesting item from the Gosford Times past, in light of the ongoing discussions about the future of the centre of Gosford.

29th August 1950

May Acquire School Land
Acquisition of an area of land at present occupied by the Gosford Primary School will be the objective of a Gosford Shire Council committee which was appointed yesterday.
The Council had been asked by the Education Department for an area of land near the new school site at Gosford through which Baker Street will pass if it is extended south.
Prove an asset
The committee consists of the B riding representatives (Crs Downes, Chambers and Parsons) and Cr W.B.Grahame.
They will consider handing over the baker Street extension in return for the school area.
It was stated that the school ground would provide the council with an asset which could be exploited as a business proposition similar to the Kibble Estate.

Kibble Park Plans

You will be aware of the invitation to comment on plans for the improvement of Kibble Park.
If you have not done so, and think it will help, check the plan at the council website and act quickly.

The following is a summary of one response that will be sent.

Eliza Street Closure.
I fully support he closing of Eliza Street and consider that doing so is essential to any redesign of Kibble Park. While local shopkeepers might be concerned about loss of parking adversely affecting trade, in reality the number of spaces lost would be insignificant for Gosford as a whole, and the resulting improvement to the park as an amenity, and an attraction, would more than compensate. Parking should be last, not first, priority in urban design according to leading contemporary thinking, particularly given coming changes in transport due to climate change pressures. As it is, there is rarely parking space to be had in Eliza Street at busy times.
Eliza Street as it is destroys the parks major attribute as a place of repose and relaxation. In fact the car park in the Master Plan, if not removed altogether cold be reduced in dimension to limit the amount of paved surface intruding into the park. An argument could be made to confine it to only handicapped and ‘pram’ parking to service the library. Gosford’s parking problems will not be solved by keeping half a dozen parking places in the park, whereas the park, if well designed, will considerably enhance the attractiveness of the town.

Kibble Creek
Another beneficial aspect of the Master Plan is the celebration of the original creek with its meandering water feature reminiscent of the original stream. This is important in terms of historical identity and recognises the natura flow and form of the land. Its positioning is dealt with later in these comments.

Playground.
A children’s playground is an excellent addition to the park. However if built in the position indicated on the draft Master Plan it would dominate the park’s ambience to too greater an extent, and together with the car park would still essentially bisect the park and so undermine the open space quality that people like.
A more sympathetic location for it would be where the proposed water feature is indicated on the plan.
As the parent of a two year old child, I would find the location near William Plaza a more comfortable place as the Plaza would extend the sense of space around the playground.


Entrance and egress. (Creating an initial impression).
The entrance from William Plaza would work well with the playground on the left and a path leading ‘upstream’.
Access from the corner of Henry parry Drive and William Street fails now due to a barrier of palm trees, but would work well with them removed. The eye would then be drawn into the park to a ‘feature’ (perhaps a planting with strong verticals rather than the ‘sculpture’)

Moving the taxi stand towards William Plaza and closing Eliza Street, would improve the entrance from The Imperial Centre, which at present is a nightmare of cars, smokers, taxies and people waiting for transport. Perhaps taxis could wait in Mortimer lane with two pick-up and set-down spaces in William Street west of the Shopping Centre entrance.

If a car parking area is retained near the Library, access from Donnison Street will fail on aesthetic grounds.

More thought needs to be given to the points of transition to give Gosford’s central park a clear identity. Visitors need to discover an example of civic aspiration, not a ‘backyard’.

Kibble Café.
The Kibble Café is a problem for the park. It is poorly patronised and its training function does not integrate with public space requirements. Perhaps it would be better to move the service industry training to one of the many empty shops in Gosford. If a food outlet is required in addition to those already in the vicinity, an example of one that is well patronised can be found in the Botanic Gardens in Sydney where good quality takeaway food can be eaten outdoors.
The existing facility would be better utilized for functions that add to the ambience of the park and entail activities that would increase the types of usage. In particular, uses that would reflect a change in thinking towards knowledge and creative industries as being central to establishing economic viability in emerging economies globally. The Cultural Spaces and Places Report, currently in stage two with council, and the Cultural Plan identify two possible options.

1. Contemporary Art Resource Centre. This is a clearly identified priority for the CBD.
2. An extension to the Library to house the local studies collection, including space for displays of historical documents and images.

Both would function interactively with other park uses for regular activities and special events, as well as attract tourists.
The building could also incorporate an ‘urban screen’.

Library.
People understand the language of public space in terms of central park, civic square, town common, village green etc. and have associations evoked by those concepts. These reflect a need that people feel in Gosford which has no town hall, meeting rooms and places for common activities and civic assemblies.

In this regard I believe that Kibble Park would benefit from re-orienting the Library so that the main entrance was from the park. Incorporating the library more fully in the plan would be a positive measure, not withstanding its uncertain future, as it symbolically places culture and learning at the heart of the town, which is struggling to define itself.

I would suggest that it be re-oriented so that the entrance was on ground level in Kibble Park. At present the ‘back’ of the library is dead space and the entrance from Donnison St. is unattractive, and feels ungenerous. Lines of approach through the park would add both to a sense of active presence for the library and inclusion with the life of the park.

Central path.
While this might work in larger parks, such as Hyde Park in Sydney, the scale of Kibble Park does not suit such rigid geometry. While it would be useful in establishing unity in design and creating lines of passage, in the Master Plan the central line does not link items of significance. The path in Hyde Park, as an example, links the Archibald Fountain and the War Memorial, in Kibble Park the path links the unknown sculpture with an empty seating space.
Unless there is a clear vision for the sculpture, perhaps it would be better as a planting (Gymea Lilies?). A feature in that vicinity could be useful, particularly if it lifted the gaze.

Rather than a straight path, perhaps consideration could be given to a meandering path, echoing the stream and leading past or near the water feature.

Water Feature and Fountain.
Moving the fountain, with its 1970s brown bathroom tile surround, and replacing it with a different water feature is a good aspect of the plan.
Perhaps rather than relocating it in the park, it could be installed as a static sculpture on the forecourt of the Council building in Mann Street. This would enhance the Council building, which at the moment is uninviting, and the styles would be compatible. The theme of the fountain (family) would be appropriate to Council’s public relations objectives, as would a gesture to culture. Importantly Kibble Park would be less cluttered.

If the playground could to be located closer to the William Plaza/Mortimer lane corner, an ideal site for the water feature would be close to the site of the old Gosford wells. This would place it in an historically significant location and situate water, with its metaphoric links to life, centrally in the park in the heart of Gosford.

Consideration should also be given to the aesthetic quality of the water feature so that it could be of iconic significance for the town rather than just another suburban public space design element. An international sculpture/design competition would be a good way forward to achieve results as well as be good promotion for the town.

Exercise stations.
On a negative note, the inclusion of exercise stations is unnecessary and counterproductive.
They will entail maintenance and repair from vandalism as well as increase the risk of accidents. While the provision of these facilities on Council land is to be encouraged, perhaps it would be more practical to locate them at the waterfront alongside the walking/cycling/jogging track where they could be integrated with other exercise regimes.
As a gym member and exerciser, I think that after an initial burst of activity, the equipment would be under utilised and become a hangout for unenergetic youths. In addition, people using exercise equipment want a place to shower and change, and these are not included in the plan.
Further, they add unnecessarily to a sense of clutter.

Furniture.
The addition of more benches and tables is good, but care must be taken to ensure they are horizontal, unlike the bizarrely sloping picnic tables now installed.

William Street.
Retaining the covered wisteria walkway along William Street would be preferable to the all weather sails proposed.
The living wisteria is better ecologically and it provides a usage niche on a different and more intimate psychological scale to the rest of the park. Also it softens the ugliness of the Woolworth’s/Imperial Centre brick wall.

Traffic.
Drivers do not respect the shared road concept, and crossing to the park is hazardous even for able-bodied people. Perhaps extending the one-way system in Mortimer lane as far as the eastern end of the present Eliza Street intersection would help. If any parking must be kept in Eliza Street near the library, perhaps it could be restricted to ‘pram’ and ‘handicapped’ vehicles.

Bandstand.
This would be of possible use if well designed, but should be of low priority, with potential vandalism issues.
I would be concerned about more humps in the ground when the natural slope from Donnison Street could be used (exercise stations deleted). I also consider that there would be advantages in moving the stream closer to the diagonal path that runs from the corner of Donnison and Henry parry Drive to where the underground stream is now. The path would then parallel the stream through the centre of the park passing to the south of the water feature (old Gosford wells).

Overall.
The overall impression of the Kibble Park Master Plan is of unnecessary clutter despite a simplifying intention indicated by the closure of Eliza Street and the central walkway ‘spine’.
Local government plans often seem to try to please everyone (parents, exercisers, retailers, parkers etc.) with the effect that results are compromised and lack clear vision and a strong design statement. We are left with a malaise that afflicts many public space plans, of trying to fit in too much. Why Australians fear open space, other than as an opportunity to exploit, is a question for another time.

The idea of public space is changing. Some people want a civic square; a central park, an entertainment venue, a garden, a town common, a village green, a suburban playground. New ideas are coming from technology, such as Castell’s theory of the space of flows. We ask whether we want our experience to be inspirational, aspirational, or recreational.

Perhaps the answer lies in the vision we have for the future of the town, rather than in a list of wants based on present pursuits.

Assets
Open space is an asset with intrinsic value. It is place for tranquillity, repose, and reflection; a place to loiter without intent. It is in psychological terms, potential or transitional space, being flexible and undetermined. There is a feeling that the master Plan is over-determined, and as such will require future spending and remodelling.

Physical Context.
While the facilities and design are important, the flow between the park and its immediate and further surrounds is vitally important. This is difficult with Kibble Park as it is bordered by ‘dead zones’ - Henry Parry Drive, Donnison Street, Half of William Street and Mortimer Lane.

Setting.
Outstanding features of Kibble Park are the views of the hills to the east and west.
More thought could be given to highlighting the lines of sight to these natural horizons. Interactive optical devices, sundials, sculpture and framing devices could be used to link the ground and the sky. The park needs to look upwards.

Kibble Park is a rare opportunity to set a vision for the town beyond simply its commercial function, important though that is. Alone that will not achieve a unique identity for the town, as we have seen.


NOTE

Some information that might be of interest about two events that provided material upon which the above comments were based.

1
In March 2008 an open forum was held in Kibble Park. It was organised by Gosford Art Flux Forum and featured presentations by Professor Steffen Lehmann, Dr. Astra Howard, international artist Cida de Aragon and Professor Anne Graham amongst others.

Professor Steffen Lehmann is the Artistic Director of the ‘Back to the City’ project in Newcastle, a new biannual public arts festival about temporary interventions in public space. He is a German-born architect and urban designer and holds the Chair in the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle. He is Founding Director of the s_Lab Space Laboratory for architectural Research and Design (Sydney-Berlin).

As part of the event we conducted a psychography survey and mapping exercise where people were asked to mark the places to which they were most attracted on a large map of Gosford CBD.
From the results, it was clear that the eastern end of Kibble Park was the most valued place in town. Not one mark was placed on the western end. Without further research it would seem that green open space was desired while the paved, over-determined and cluttered western end held no appeal. The library itself had some positive hits.

2
In November, 2007, Sydney based artist Astra Howard brought her SPI Vehicle (a transparent booth with walls on which conversations could be written from inside and out) to Gosford city centre. Dr. Howard regards her artwork as action-research. She mostly works in public places where she can engage in “conversation” with people about things of interest to them.

She has worked in major urban centres in Australia and overseas, and also worked extensively with homeless people and other marginalised communities. She has adopted a social science methodology in her art practice with a goal of calling for greater recognition of the dynamic and interactive relationship formed between individuals and external urban environments – collectively envisioning a vibrant and vital public space.

The conversations that took place were documented.

Cultural traditions

November 1, 1895.

Sunday Afternoon in Gosford

To THE EDITOR OF THE GOSFORD TIMES

Sir, – I think the subject on which I wish to write a few lines is of sufficient public importance to request you to publish the following. I was an eye witness (unobserved) to the most villainous attacks on two ladies this afternoon by a number of youths and young men (pardon my abusing the word “men”) congregated in front of a small shop in the main street. A lady walked quietly up the street; as she did so, these fellows commenced whistling and calling out something offensive (the whole of which I could not make out). Next a young girl came along and after her they whistled and literally yelled. How many more they attacked, I did not wait to see.
Where are your policemen on Sunday? Or have you any? In my professional capacity, I have visited the worst and lowest parts of London, New York, Sydney and other places, but anything like this I have never witnessed. I was thankful I had not to bring my family to reside in such a community and glad I shall be able to shake the dust of Gosford from my feet, upon the arrival of the 7.35p.m. train.
Hoping I have not trespassed too much on your valuable space. Yours &c.,
QUANTUM SUFFICIT.

Gosford by Moonlight

To coincide with the opening of the exhibition at the Gosford Regional Gallery at full moon last Friday, titled "A Sense of Place", we present a poem from The Gosford Times.

5th May, 1899

Gosford by Moonlight
(For The “Times”)

I stood on the range o’or Gosford,
At the lonely midnight hour,
When the moon at the full was shining
With a wondrous golden power.

I gazed on a fairy scene below
That spread upon either hand,
The golden moonlit water,
The shadowy, dreamy land.

And Gosford lay in her cradle there
In robes of shimmering gold,
Slumbering like a fairy child
Embraced in a fairy fold.

And all was still save a distant hum
That sailed in the calm repose;
T’was the solemn moan of the restless sea,
That up to the ranges rose.

My God! What a cry, like a banshee’s wail,
From that lone bird as it flew,
Wailing all round that ghostly cry
Curlew! Curlew! Curlew!

O my soul drank deep of the magic there
As I gazed on each moonlit bay,
And my tongue burst forth in rapture loud
As I turned to move away.

Oh! for a soul, a burning soul
I cried as I gazed all round,
To paint on a canvas glorious
The picture that there I found.

Cean O’C

Illusions

To keep people in Gosford town, to stop them straying to the shopping malls for entertainment and company, and heading down the freeway to find culture, perhaps we could erect some cardboard decoys.
Perhaps we need some phantom art centres, film theatres, museums etc. and real coffee shops open after 5pm to cater to the expectant crowds.

German nursing homes are using a novel strategy to stop Alzheimer's patients from wandering off: phantom bus stops.
"They know the green and yellow bus sign and remember that waiting there means they will go home."
The result is that errant patients now wait for their trip home at the bus stop, before quickly forgetting why they were there in the first place.
"We will approach them and say that the bus is coming later and invite them in for a coffee," said Richard Neureither, Benrath's director. "Five minutes later they have completely forgotten they wanted to leave."





The allure of an illusion of a promise.








There are many possibilities.



Virtual speed humps are part of a campaign called Drive CarePhilly.
The fake speed humps are being installed at 100 junctions around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of a campaign against aggressive driving.

The images will appear as 3D barriers to oncoming motorists, although the road is completely flat.


In Vancouver cardboard police with radar guns are being installed to curb speeding.





Cheap solutions are often effective.

In Britain, the most recent Home Office report on urban surveillance found that better street lighting is seven times more effective at cutting crime than CCTV.

Here it is

For those who do not know the location of the Gosford School of Arts building.
Firstly a map:


And secondly a link to an old photograph. (Click to enlarge)

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.

There are better things to do

A sense of despondency prevails, little improved by the perverse pleasure of tragic irony elicited by the ongoing urban renewal saga.

Now we are told that approval has been given to move the Kariong Post Office to a pub next to the planned High School at Mt. Penang, on the opposite side of the busy highway from the suburb of Kariong, against the wishes of the community, and in the neighbouring suburb of Somersby.

The licensee of the pub is the president of the Chamber of Commerce.

I'm sure its all for the best though. Its just a shame we can't find a new way of doing business. One that would allow some room for the ideas that are being being embraced elsewhere.

Lets Get Serious

Let's Get Serious
Council's battle plan to clean up city
(Express Advocate 25th April)

Now that I have got your attention, if you want an interesting (but long) read pertinent to future development options for Gosford, have a look at the UN report on Creative Economies released this month.

I quote extracts from their publicity release, but the full document is worth looking at, particularly the reference to Charles Landry and his concept of Creative Cities.

The application of his ideas to an Australian city, Perth, are even more useful.

First the quote, then a letter sent to the Express Advocate in an attempt to get people to read about, and consider, positive approaches to change.

"A new development paradigm is emerging that links the economy and culture, embracing economic, cultural, technological and social aspects of development at both the macro and micro levels. Central to the new paradigm is the fact that creativity, knowledge and access to information are increasingly recognized as powerful engines driving economic growth and promoting development in a globalizing world.

The Creative Economy Report is the first to present the perspectives of the United Nations as a whole on this exciting new topic. It provides empirical evidence that the creative industries are among the most dynamic emerging sectors in world trade. It also shows that the interface among creativity, culture, economics and technology, as expressed in the ability to create and circulate intellectual capital, has the potential to generate income, jobs and export earnings while at the same time contributing to social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development.

This Report addresses the challenge of assessing the creative economy with a view to informed policy-making by outlining the conceptual, institutional and policy framework in which this economy can flourish."

Now the letter to the editor, with apologies for the intemperate tone. Past letters that were reasonable and polite were not published, so a different tactic is being tried to get useful ideas out there. There is little evidence that local decision makers are aware of the strategies for urban renewal being successfully implemented in many cities around the world.

If you missed the alarming newspaper account of the Council meeting, you can check out what happened in the minutes on the Council website.

Keystone Council

"Judging from newspaper reports of the Law and Order debate at last weeks Council meeting, it would seem that Vicki Scott’s was the only voice of sanity when she called for inclusiveness and social responsibility, against a chorus baying for the blood of scapegoats – groups politically vulnerable and already victims of various social exclusions. One gets the impression too many are singing only from the Chamber of Commerce song book.
If Council wants to ‘run-out-of-town’ any people deemed to be creating unacceptable problems, an uncharitable person would think some of our civic leaders might not be eligible, as residents, for re-election.
But to be charitable, I’m sure they want the problems solved, and I suspect that the answers lie in a different way of thinking; “A new development paradigm (that) is emerging that links the economy and culture, embracing economic, cultural, technological and social aspects of development at both the macro and micro levels.” (UN Creative Economy Report, April 2008)
http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/ditc20082cer_en.pdf"

The more things change

Nothing of great note has been passing my eyes or ears in the past few weeks, so postings have been sluggish.

In relation to planning for rejuvenation, since the Town For Sale notice and punitive reaction; the Advocates Nightmare on Mann Street and Knock Them Down campaign which followed, to apply some pressure to get things moving from a recurrent roundabout of planning followed by inaction, Gosford Council has acted:
To move responsibility to the State Government to take control of development and to introduce legislation to punish delinquent property owners, to establish a new group, the Gosford BID (Business Improvement District Association) to replace the CBD Promotions committee which replaced the CBD committee, and Bill Kerr has been appointed to manage development of the CBD by brokering relationships between the Council and the corporate sector (putting on permanent hold the development of the waterfront until this is accomplished)

So responsibility has been deflected, and new arrangements put in place with the intention of progressing matters. One hopes this will happen, and those of us who care for the future of Gosford wish them well, but there is nothing new in the model to takes into account the new economy and a broader conceptual understanding of 21st century urban theory. Its like trying to inject some extra horsepower into a 30 Series Nissan Cedric.

The ideas which could be useful are out there, but you can lead a horse to water …etc.
It seems difficult even to get the ‘horses’ interested in the trough in Gosford these days, let alone get getting them to drink.

Not so in the past.
From the Gosford Times, 9th December 1898.

“The horse trough recently erected at the town pump in Mann Street should prove a great convenience to the traveling public during the hot weather.”

Gosford People

Past attempts to develop the Gosford region.

From the Gosford Times
4th March 1898
It is said that the meeting to be held at Ourimbah on Monday night next re the proposed park promises to be a rather “stormy” one. Much bitterness, uncalled for no doubt, has been engendered against certain members of the Progress Association for their alleged ‘shady’ actions in influencing the selection of a certain site. It is a great pity that local petty jealousies should intrude themselves at this early stage of the proceedings, for if perpetuated it will assuredly be the deathblow to the Park – a public boon that wellwishers have striven hard to secure. Let us hope that wiser council will prevail in future.
25th march 1898
Ald. Kibble produced a photograph of an improved night cart, which was offered for sale at 35 pounds, and in accordance with his notice at last meeting, moved that cess pit closets be abolished and the pan system adopted throughout the borough. Ald. Mason seconded. On the advice of other Aldermen, however, the motion was withdrawn pending the receipt of further information from boroughs where the pan system is in vogue.

[Alderman Kibble realized that cess pit toilets had disadvantages, particularly in the low lying, swampy, areas at the bottom of the Gosford ‘bowl’, and the potential value of his land holdings in this area could only be improved by a change to the sanitation system.]

Of course such self-interest might seem strange to us today.
But then, people have changed. Do we see people on the Central Coast resembling Australians from the 1880s?

Poster from 1885

Geometry of Persuasion

While the mapping is in progress, and with regard to the comments on the Back Page about map forming around us rather than recording a reality, I can’t help but reflect on emerging patterns in our map to this point.

The unmistakable winner in the affection of the contributors is the bushland on Rumbalara and Presidents Hill, followed by the Broadwater, with hot spots at Kibble Park and the Swimming Pool. The town is circled by “red dot” positive feelings, i.e. the non-built environment, with a swathe of “blue negative dots” from the western entrance to the Gosford basin, through the stadium and the Leagues Club, Baker Street and parts of Mann Street.
Interestingly this follows the course of the obliterated Gosford Creek. Is this negativity some kind of karmic revenge for disregarding the natural energies of the place, one muses?
Contributors clearly liked being in Kibble Park, at least the grassy bit. No response to the hard-surfaced area to the west of Eliza Street. Emotional anaesthesia seems to be present there and other places seldom frequented such as the dead, blank wall, streetscapes surrounding the shopping centres.
We note that some people, like Miles Buffalo, who have developed independent visions, have tried to take the ‘Gosford Creek’ as a key element in their design. Miles has also completely removed the road from the waterfront – a great improvement, and made a garden/park as the centre piece.


Driving in from Erina Centre (teeming with Easter shoppers), to an almost deserted Gosford, I wondered if it might be better to make a virtue of necessity, and market Gosford as the most peaceful and tranquil town in NSW; a place of gardens, parks, animals, outdoor entertainment etc. Some attempts have already been made in this direction.


Our emotion mapping of Gosford project, and the dominance of natural and organic flows that emerge when people follow their psychogeographic journeys, makes an interesting comparison to the Gosford “Masterplan”.


Complaints in the past about the process of laying out the town on a square grid, that did not take into account natural landforms, seemingly has resulted in the process of laying out plans based on circles – centred, and given radii, so that the intersection of the circumference lines occur where it is convenient for some determined purpose.

In addition to “lines of desire", perhaps we need to introduce an allowance for ‘polydirectional perversity.'

Mapping emotions

The "emotional" mapping of Gosford commenced at the Art inTent forum is ongoing.
Below is an image of interim results.


Instructions, which may or may not have been followed by contributers, were as follows –

Collective Virtual Dérive
Participate in an emotional mapping of Gosford

Contribute your feelings and impressions remembered from being at places, or walking, within the geographic area we call Gosford.

Place your ‘emotion’ dots on the map

Red Dots
Places that attract; have positive energy, are places where you feel comfortable, are in harmony with the natural environment and the shape and spirit of the land.

Blue Dots
Places that repel; have negative energy, which make you feel uncomfortable, uneasy, unwelcome and are discordant with the intrinsic nature of the place.

Hearts
Places of the heart; where you feel a personal resonance with the land (where you would feel most at home with your poetic nature, your ‘inner artist’).

[Each envelope of dots provided contained 4 red and 4 blue dots, and one heart.]

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.