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This photograph of a natural rock dam in Magill was taken circa 1870. It offers a glimpse of what the landscape once was.

The village of Makgill was founded in 1838 by Robert Cock and William Ferguson, who named it after Scotsman Sir David Maitland Makgill. Later, the 'k' was dropped and the village was known as Magill. There have been many other variations on its spelling including, Macgill, Mackgill and McGill. Early on, the village's nickname was ‘World’s End’ due to its location at the end of the plain.

Mayor Anne Monceaux shares this week's Burnside Highlights from last night's Council meeting.

Summary:
✅ Brock Reserve toilets approved
✅ Mayor's Christmas Card competition open until 17 November
✅ 88% of Burnside residents over 15 have received their first COVID-19 vaccination shot, 72.3% have received both
✅ Market at the Hub open this Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm
✅ Community information session at Bell Yett Reserve this Saturday from 9.30 am to 11 am
✅ Garage Sale Trail coming to Burnside on 13-14 and 20-21 November
✅ Successful working bee at Laurel Avenue Pirkurna Wirra/Peter Bennett Organic Community Garden last Saturday.

This is just a summary of some of the things happening within the City of Burnside. You can read the full minute's from yesterday's meeting at bit.ly/BurnsideAgendasMinutes

The redeveloped Laurel Avenue community garden has been named Laurel Avenue Pirkurna Wirra / Peter Bennett Organic Community Garden

The City of Burnside has been embarking on a journey of reconciliation. This has involved partnering with the Kaurna reference group on various projects and efforts, which includes consideration of Kaurna names for local places when possible.

The name Laurel Avenue Pirkurna Wirra was provided by Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi, the leading group dedicated to Kaurna language revitalisation and maintenance. Pirkurna loosely translates as ‘communities / group of people’, while Wirra translates as ‘forest of trees / garden’. While the site no longer has access from Laurel Avenue, the site’s address is 31 Laurel Avenue, Linden Park. Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi nominated the full name to include Laurel Avenue.

Peter Reginald Dane Bennett (1928 – 2010) was a resident of Wattle Park and a pioneer of organic gardening in Australia. He also showed leadership in promoting ecology, sustainability, pollution awareness and the plight of the River Murray. For more than 30 years Peter Bennett operated the Organic Gardening Centre, educating the community in good gardening practices. He achieved this through communicating over his shop counter as well as via radio and television. He was also an accomplished author, with multiple editions and reprints of his book Organic Gardening. In recognition of this, Peter Bennett was awarded as City of Burnside 2007 Citizen of the Year.

As a past local resident with a passion for organic gardening and community gardens, the new community garden is named to recognise his contributions. The garden would operate as an organic garden, to reflect his teachings.

His widow, Sandra, said she and her family were “thrilled, honoured and humbled” to have the garden named after Peter. “He was an entrepreneur,” she said. “He would be very happy about putting the Indigenous name first.”

Sandra Bennett with the newly erected sign at the garden.

A Council grant is being used to install and paint totem poles in Kensington Gardens Reserve, near the Preschool, as part of the Kensington Gardens Reserve Project. The grant of $15,000 was provided to Marra Dreaming, as part of Council’s Community Public Art Fund.

Marra Dreaming is a cultural community centre located in Salisbury. It was established in 1999 by predominately Aboriginal women from various regions of Australia. It was initially set up to provide a space for Aboriginal people to develop their artwork and is now a thriving meeting place for community to experience and explore the Aboriginal culture.

Preschool Director Catherine Honeychurch says Council has kept staff and the children involved in the redevelopment of the Reserve. “We have had site visits and talks from elders about Indigenous culture. The children keep a journal of construction activities and work they see happening on the project,” Catherine says. “I am really pleased that Council has taken these steps.”

Marra Dreaming and Kaurna have worked together on designs for the totem poles that complement the area and the work is being undertaken by artist Raylene Snow and her children Thomas and Samantha.

Raylene says the paintings depict the story of the River Torrens and the animals, birds, berries and fruits that grow and live nearby. Each pole takes approximately two days to complete.

Marra Dreaming are also working closely with Kensington Gardens Preschool and their students throughout the works, including cultural activities such as traditional basket weaving that they are able to learn about and practice.

Students Ben, 5, Skye,4 and Nick, 5 with some of the totem poles and in the background a mural by artist Scott Rothman.

Indigenous artist Tom Snow paints one of the totem poles with his sister Samantha Egan in the background.

In July 1940 Council agreed to fill in and level an area east of Burnside Town Hall, on the corner of Hyde Street and Greenhill Road, to be used as a Parade Ground by members of the Returned Soldier’s League Volunteer Defence Corps. The Burnside Parade Ground was used for marches, weapons training, trench digging exercises and musketry drills.

The Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) was a part-time volunteer military force of World War II. Established in 1940, it initially comprised of ex-servicemen who had served in World War I. From 1941 the Corp was controlled by the government, who gave the organisation the role of training for guerrilla warfare and collecting local intelligence.

Photographs of the VDC training at the Burnside Parade Ground in 1942/43 courtesy of the State Library of South Australia.

The name Bell Yett was chosen by the 1877 owner of the property, Ellen Barham Black. Ellen migrated to South Australia with her three children from Wigtown, Scotland. In Wigtown there was a field named Bell Yett, which was named after the field’s gate (yett) which had a bell on top of it. The Wattle Park property was named after this, therefore the name literally means Bell Gate.

Helen Foster Barham Black shared about her childhood at Bell Yett (1981):

“Bell Yett was a wonderful place for children, with a creek running from one end to the other through the paddocks and garden; there were two ponds where we used to play a good deal. We usually had at least two horses and two cows; calves of course were an annual event. There were fruit trees of great many sorts and plenty of grape vines. We practically lived outside except when it was raining.”

Excerpt from Elizabeth Warburton, The Paddocks Beneath: A History of Burnside From the Beginning

In 1948, the property was sold to the Sisters of the Convent of Mercy, it was used for teaching, studying and social work.

In 1971, the property of Bell Yett was subdivided and the City of Burnside purchased the ‘old cow paddock’ for a public reserve.

A large Bunya Pine at the western end of the Reserve is believed to be one of the last remnants of the original Bell Yett garden.

The future of the reserve

Today Bell Yett Reserve consists of a car park, two netball / tennis courts, a basketball hoop, a storage shed, a playing field, biodiversity zones in the south and west sections, a playground, amenities block, bench seating, drinking fountain and rubble pathways. Stonyfell Creek runs through the Reserve.

To ensure that the future maintenance and improvement of the Reserve are sensitive, planned, purposeful and complementary, a new master plan for Bell Yett Reserve is being developed and Council wants your input. This is a community-led master plan and we encourage you to join the working group to be involved.

A master plan will also provide a basis for scheduling works in a financially sustainable way.

Have you say by completing the online survey below by 5 pm Monday 18 October 2021.

Community Information Session

There will be an Information Session in Bell Yett Reserve from 9.30 am - 11 am on Saturday 16 October 2021.

This will be an opportunity to have your say in person, as well as gather more information on the Bell Yett Reserve Master Plan.

Click to complete the Survey

Built in 1841, the old toll house at the base of the South Eastern Freeway raised funds for the construction of the road from Adelaide to Mount Barker. As the only toll in the colony, the scheme met public hostility, and the funds raised were insufficient. Consequently, in 1847, the toll was removed.

This image is of the 1842 watercolour painting by Alexander Murray (1803 - 1880) entitled 'The first toll bar in South Australia, entrance to Glen Osmond'. This painting is in the Art Gallery of South Australia collection.

The toll house is the first stop on the Glen Osmond Historic Walk, which you can download.

Mayor's Christmas Card Design Competition

Mayor Anne Monceaux invites children in Years 3 -4 to help us capture the spirit of Christmas by designing our annual Christmas card for 2021.

Theme: What makes an Australian Christmas?

Who: Burnside school children in Years 3-4

Medium: Draw, paint or do any form of design

Enter online or through your school.

Mayor of Burnside Anne Monceaux shares this week's Burnside Highlights from our 28 September Council meeting.

Summary:
✅ Dulwich Community Centre to be redeveloped in 2022/23
✅ Nature Festival Inspired by Trees exhibition at the Burnside Civic Centre
✅ Active Ageing Week activities
✅ Bell Yett Reserve Master Plan out for consultation
✅ Award nomination for The Shed.

This is just a summary of some of the things happening within the City of Burnside. You can read the full minute's from the meeting at bit.ly/BurnsideAgendasMinutes

Alf Walker’s 14-acre violet farm near Magill was a favourite Sunday excursion during the 1920s. In its heyday, the farm attracted 2,000 people each weekend. Visitors paid six pennies to enter, picking as many violets as they could carry and enjoyed afternoon tea at the farmhouse or had a picnic in the paddock.

Pictured: Walker's Violet Farm, circa 1924. Burnside Local History Collection.