Category: News

During my first visit to Brisbane many moons ago, I asked a local geezer at a pub in New Farm about West End.

“That’s where they have all the hippies, smoking their incense and loving peace and shit,” he said.
I felt some of his facts were probably askew, but as it turned out, not by much.
In fact, so plentiful were the West End hippies, they gave rise to a unique collection of specialty boutiques catering to the alternative lifestyle.
The Westender spent an afternoon among the weird and wonderful with Andrea and Lachlan, owners of local weird emporia Crystal Earth, Ecclectica, and Atticus Finch.

Hi Andrea, how long have you and Lachlan been in West End?
We opened Crystal Earth in 2005. It will be 9 years in October.

Did you live in West End before opening Crystal Earth?
We didn’t, but we’d been doing the Green Flea Market (now Davies Park Market) for several years and we knew we wanted to open a business, and we knew West End was the only place we wanted the business to be.

Why only West End?
It’s the alternative energy of the place. It’s not mainstream by any stretch of the imagination. For us, coming from a more spiritual place, we were always really drawn to the river and the big beautiful trees.
Everything we do is guided. We do our own readings on our decisions. Everything we’ve done is from what our spirit has told us.

It seems to be guiding you pretty well. Coming up for 9 years – how has the place changed?
It has changed a lot. The nightlife has changed significantly. You get a lot of outsiders now, and unfortunately not all of them respect West End.
West End has always had a cosmopolitan feel during the day, but at night time it would be dead quiet. Now it’s different. There’s some great little bars, they are very cool.

What is the oddest thing you’ve seen?
Odd is our everyday. I have met the most amazing, bizarre, strange people here in West End. It has been fantastic – odd people are the thing that keeps me going.
The most important thing I’ve learned is never judge a book by its cover. Greet anybody who comes in just like anyone else, and you will get the most amazing stories out of the most unlikely people.

And what do you see in the future over the next 5 years?
We need to keep the ‘different’ side of West End alive. There’s a lot of change coming through, but West End can’t be all cafes at day and all bars at night. That would be really sad.
There’s a lot of development restrictions being lifted and you can see more and more buildings going up around West End. New people are coming in, and while it’s good to bring new people into the area, we don’t want the place to become sterile.
Being ‘different’ is what has made West End unique and desirable. Being ‘different’ is why people want to live here. We can’t lose that. We have to keep our unique feel, our unique look, our unique ways of living.
What would you recommend for people visiting West End who’d like a little more weird in their lives?
Come in and talk to us! We love meeting new people, so come in and say hello.

In the heart of West End is a shopping village that is home to many interesting shops, boutiques, galleries, cafes and bars, the likes of which you won’t find anywhere else in Brisbane. Within these local businesses you will find gifts that will delight, inspire, intrigue, entertain and even bedazzle your Mum.

To make shopping in West End even more rewarding, you could win for Mum (or maybe for yourself!) a shopping adventure worth more than $1500.

From now until 5.00pm on Mother’s Day Sunday, 11th May when you make a purchase at participating shops you can enter the competition to win a Shopping Adventure in West End.

Participating shops:

Andrew Tanos Pharmacy, Avid Reader Bookshop & Cafe, Coolshirts.com.au, Dandelyon Gifts, Green  Grocer, Hullabaloo Bazaar,  Charlie & Liz’s Fruit Store, Framer Gallery, Happy Cabin, Kazuyo’s Collection, Lock’n’Load Bistro, Perfect Potion, PJ’s Steaks, Terry White Chemists, Nook, West End Coffee Club, Spaghetti House and Shay’s Shoes.

The winning entry will be drawn on Monday 12th May outside Shay’s Shoes, 126 Boundary Street, West End.

For more information about the Win a Shopping Adventure in West End promotion please contact Fiona Stager Fiona@avidreader.com.au or 07 3846 3422.

These three sites could be West End’s newest parks if Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and Cr Amanda Cooper follow-through on their 2011 amendments to the Local Area Plan.

1.BAILEY STREET, HILL END

If each new park was to get an Award this one takes the cake for most obscure. As yet, its actual location and size are unclear. Council has claimed a locale at the end of Bailey Street intersecting with the new extension of Rogers Street. However, Council hasn’t rezoned for that purpose yet. Furthermore, in addition to the new park a further provision of at least 20% of the former Distance Education site on Montague Road must be made publicly accessible land.

That’s one new park of an unspecified size plus about 1,200m of publicly accessible land in the adjacent site.

2. 68 VULTURE STREET, WEST END

This park takes the gong for least-loved. For decades after fire destroyed the buildings on this site the owners left it as a dusty car park. In the 2011 amendments to the local area plan Council claimed it for a new park: A welcome advance on the dirt patch. However, the owners failed to respond to Council consultations on its new use and lodged a DA over the site. Council has confirmed that the ‘notice for compulsory acquisition’ was sent in December 2013. At the conclusion of this process West End will have a prime new park.

3. ABSOE – FULL OF PROMISE

The most exciting new park award goes to this location. The green lawn on the Boundary Street frontage has been identified by Council as the site for a new park. Pending the sale in early May 2014 that site will become our newest greenspace. But wait there’s more. The site is so large that it too must comply with the Council planning requirement to provide at least 20% of the total site as publicly accessible space. There is now scope to create the town square that West End has always deserved right there on Boundary Street.

Dr Jane Goodall recently turned 80 years and will be sharing her highlights of her career and life in Sydney, Melbourne and Beerwah the next coming months.

She is considered a leading expert on chimpanzees and has spent over 40 years studying their social and family interactions in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.

Traveling the globe for 300 days per year, not only studying chimpanzees but also, as a determined and passionate conservationist, humanitarian and UN Messenger of Peace.

She will, without a doubt, enrich us with her life-long experience and exciting life journey through her live shows.

Live Show Dates
Jane Goodall – Celebrating her 80th Year, Hosted by Jennifer Byrne
Location: Sydney
Venue: Sydney Town Hall
Date: Saturday 31 May 2014

Jane Goodall – Celebrating her 80th Year, Hosted by Jennifer Byrne
Location: Melbourne
Venue: Melbourne Town Hall
Date: Thursday 5 June 2014

Jane Goodall – Celebrating her 80th Year, Live at Australia Zoo, Hosted by Ray Martin Featuring special guests Terri & Bindi Irwin
Location: Beerwah, Sunshine Coast
Venue: Australia Zoo
Date: Sunday 8 June 2014

Tickets available through TICKETMASTER: www.ticketmaster.com.au

For more info about Dr Jane Goodall, visit the Jane Goodall Institute

This month the sale of the former Peter’s Ice Cream/ABSOE site for +$40m is slated for settlement. The buyer is Sydney company PAYCE Consolidated. Many Westenders greeted the news with a sense of imminent foreboding.

However there is a chance to dream big. Let your imagination match the size of the site. It’s big. Over 2.6 hectares in total area.

With four street frontages, the long presence on Boundary Street is unique. It’s this aspect of the redevelopment that is of interest.

In repeated community consultations the independent retail mix of Boundary Street is cited as a defining characteristic of West End. Many religiously support local shops. There have even been successful protests and effective boycotts of inappropriate business behavior or proposals over the years.

Council requires that any future development will include a mix of retail and commercial options. There is a significant chance to extend that diverse, independent retail options along into the redeveloper site.

There are many examples around the world where former-industrial sites have been adapted to extend wonderful neighbourhoods.

The challenge is now with the community, PAYCE Consolidated and Council to achieve an acceptable design solution.

The community’s support for an extension of that independent retail mix is assured however the ball is in the developer’s hands, for now.

There is also a chance to create the civic centre that West End has always deserved. By observing Council’s requirements for the new park on Boundary Street plus meeting the additional requirement for 20% publicly accessible land there is great opportunity to make that civic heart a reality.

This will take vision from new owners PAYCE Consolidated and good judgment from City Council. There is merit in reaching out for the best ideas by commissioning an open design contest.

Creating a new civic space around the new park along Boundary Street has the potential to change the street’s centre-of-gravity.

It’s a prospect that carries great responsibility and risk. It will need goodwill and patience.

Today, as you look at the location of the new park, you can almost see the surrounding lanes and envision a cluster of new stores and small, regular retailers such as bakers, homewares, a butcher and dry goods provider. One thing is certain-West End needs more coffee shops like a hole in the head, so lets give that trope a miss just this once.

Boundary Street retail is about to move northwards, in a big way.

Queenslanders alarmed by the VLAD laws and sabre rattling over G20 need to keep a sympathetic eye on their southern cousins over the next week. Westender joined activists at Bentley over the Easter weekend to see how the 3,000 local citizens are preparing themselves for a major act of civil disobedience. They are camped next to a farm and actively supporting a group of hard core activists (Simmos) chained to structures put in place to “lock the gates” of a farm that has invited gas miner Metgasco onto his property.

Since then, the temperature has risen as reported by Mick Daley at http://www.mickdaley.com/?p=155 and quoted below.

In what appears to be a classical military pincer manoeuvre, the NSW riot squad seems poised to enforce Richmond Valley County Council’s decision to shut down the anti-CSG Bentley protest camp.

This move comes hot on the heels of a visit to Casino last week by Energy and Resources minister Anthony Roberts. Refusing to meet delegations from the 3000-strong camp, Mr Roberts instead closeted himself with APPEA representatives, pro-gas Mayor Ernie Bennett and Council’s general manager John Walker, who has previously been under investigation by ASIC.

As the end of school holidays looms and the camp will presumably be vacated by the large number of families staying there, the announcement appears to be carefully synchronised by a state government that refuses to accept the Northern Rivers community’s right to refuse invasive gasfields.

Interestingly enough, it also coincides with warnings by an unnamed source to representatives of the camp, which they claim specified next week, from Monday April 28 on, as the likely dates for an onslaught by huge numbers of riot police, bolstered by the implementation of the Cronulla Riot Rule 6A, allowing extraordinary police powers.

“Such a response by government would be a clear misuse of those extraordinary powers against a peaceful but very sizable local opposition,” said Aidan Ricketts, a Gasfield Free Northern Rivers representative.

Aidan claims that an unspecified source within government has warned that up to 700 riot police will be deployed against the camp. The Minister’s office failed to respond to attempts to verify these claims.

The Richmond Valley Council’s timely announcement could act as a trigger for these police to be trucked in to the Northern Rivers as a pretext for shutting down the camp and allowing CSG mining company Metgasco to bring in a drilling rig from Queensland to commence work on its beleagured well site at Bentley.

Aidan Ricketts claims that the three month standoff at Bentley has gone beyond a policing issue, particularly in the light of the resignation of NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and other related gas-industry investigations currently underway at ICAC.

“It is a political issue and as far as we’re concerned it’s a democracy issue, because 87% of people voted in a registered AEC poll that they didn’t want gasfields in the Northern Rivers,” he said.

“But the minister came and instead of seeking political solutions he was preparing the ground for a military solution.”

He said that these powers had previously been used on a non-violent activist training camp in 2010.

“Under those powers they can arrest anybody without cause, just for being there, which means they can target who they see as organisers. They can sieze mobile phones and communication devices, they can shut down areas and stop and search vehicles and search and stop mobile transmissions.

“So it’s a full suite of extreme police powers and any arrests or offences that they charge people for have a maximum $5000 fine.”

Minister Roberts has labelled the campers as “extremists”, despite the overwhelming presence there of everyday people from the Northern Rivers region. Aidan Ricketts says that this kind of inflammatory statement is designed to prime the police to ignore the peaceful demographic of law-abiding residents exercising their democratic right to oppose what they see as a toxic, invasive industry that will not benefit their region or Australia.

“They have an impression that there’s a hardcore that they want to get and they kind of don’t want the mainstream mums and dads and farmers in the way. Unfortunately at Bentley they’re going to get the mainstream, because the mainstream is what it is,” Mr Ricketts said.