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Do you know what material a cob building uses?

The cottage in this photograph, of three rooms, was built circa 1850 and was one of the earliest residences in the area. The village of Burnside was laid out in 1849 and by 1883 it included 45 houses, several shops, a hotel, two churches and a tram service.

The word ‘cob’ derives form an old English word meaning lump or rounded mass. Cob building is a mix of lumps of dirt with sand and straw, sculpted into a clay.

To discover more about the history of Burnside visit https://www.burnside.sa.gov.au/About-Council/About-Us/Our-History/Our-History-Video-Series

Photo: An early cob cottage in the village of Burnside, circa 1876.

On Tuesday we had our first Council meeting for the year, with plenty to look forward to in 2024. Find out more about what’s on over the next few weeks in this episode of Burnside Highlights.

Do you remember the Symons & Symons playground on L’Estrange Street, Glenside?

William Symons, a glass manufacturer of the company Symons & Symons, built the playground in the mid-1950s using the vacant block next to his house. The playground featured swings, seesaws, a slide, a climbing tower, a trapeze and a merry-go-round, providing a fun and enjoyable experience for the local children. Symons connected the playground's loudspeaker with his home radiogram, allowing children and their parents to listen to music while they were in the park.

The annual Progress Association Picnic at the playground, pictured below, was held to raise funds for the construction of a community building for local youth.

Photo: Symons & Symons playground circa 1957. Burnside Local History Collection.

Fire Danger Season – what you need to know

Changes to available services on catastrophic fire days

On Extreme and Catastrophic Fire Danger days there will be a reduction in the services that Council provides in the Mt Lofty Ranges Fire Ban District. Services will recommence following a return to normal weather conditions with extra servicing for domestic waste collection to maintain an up-to-date service.

Services will be uninterrupted on Moderate or High Fire Danger days.

For further information on service reductions visit bit.ly/CoB_changestoservice

Australian Fire Danger Rating System

Most of the City of Burnside area is leafy suburbia with no direct bushfire risk. However, on the eastern extremes of the Council area is the Mt Lofty Ranges Fire Ban District. This area extends along the foothills of the southern Mt Lofty Ranges, one of the most fire prone areas in the world due to the Mediterranean climate and the characteristic hot summer months.

Every year the Adelaide Hills experience a number of summer days with occasionally strong dry northerly winds and low humidity that create conditions for extreme bushfire risk. If you live within the Mt Lofty Ranges Fire Ban District danger is on your doorstep!

The Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) is your simplified survival tool, telling you how dangerous a bushfire would be if it broke out, and what you need to do to stay safe on Moderate, High, Extreme and Catastrophic days. Go to bit.ly/CFSAFDRS

Fire Safety Plans

Learn about bushfire behaviour and how to survive by visiting the CFS website www.cfs.sa.gov.au.

You can also refer to the City of Burnside website for further information and advice at bit.ly/CoBFire

If you and your home are not fully prepared for a bushfire, or if you have any doubts about your ability to defend your home, you should plan to leave early.

Prepare now: clear around your property, pack an emergency kit and know your closest Bushfire Safer Place.

Plan ahead: do your 5-minute bushfire plan and share it with loved ones today, and plan for all your pets and livestock.

Stay informed: check the fire danger rating each day and stay informed using more than one source of information in case a fire starts near you.

Know your Fire Danger Rating, monitor local conditions and keep informed.

Backyard Burning

Outside of the fire danger season, you can apply for a permit to burn vegetation as part of your fuel reduction program. Permits will only be granted for residents in the Hills Face Zone.

In the fire danger season you will not be granted a permit to burn fuel. Please ensure your fuel reduction program is concluded prior to the fire danger season. While no permits for burning will be granted for the fire danger season, residents are able to light a fire for cooking food or providing comfort (all year) provided conditions are met, except on a total fire ban day. For more information about the conditions and fires generally, please refer to our website: https://bit.ly/firesinCOB_dosdonts or contact the Fire Prevention Officer on 8466 4200.

A sustainable Christmas can still be a merry Christmas.

The City of Burnside is always looking to bring you more ways to lessen your carbon footprint, and as we enter the festive season here are our tips to help you stay environmentally conscious this Christmas.

Many of us see Christmas as a time for giving. How often has someone told you 'I really don’t need anything... No really, I don’t need anything’? But we all know you have to get them something!

Giving gifts to long-time family and friends can be difficult – by this point, you’ve given them everything, right? Rather than buying dad socks and jocks for the sixth time, or another knick-knack that will take up space, why not consider trying something different?

With summer here and the weather perfect for getting out and about, why not purchase an experience or a memory that will last a lifetime?

• If you know someone who likes to be pampered, you can purchase gift cards for manicures, pedicures, facials or a spa visit

• For movie buffs, The Regal Theatre on Kensington Road always shows the latest releases

• Classes or short courses can be fun and educational, with local options including one of the many activities available at Pepper Street Arts Centre

• For the foodies in your life, you could consider dinner vouchers, cooking classes or vouchers for wine, beer or spirit tastings. South Australia has some of the best food and wine venues, all within a short drive of Adelaide

• For animal lovers there are many options: Cleland Wildlife Park is right on Burnside’s doorstep and is not far to Adelaide Zoo or Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary. If you are buying a present for someone more adventurous, why not consider Monarto Safari Park or a ferry ride to Kangaroo Island?

• If adventure is the primary objective, consider opportunities like rock climbing, abseiling, or a roof climb at the world-renowned Adelaide Oval

• For the active people in your life, the City of Burnside offers multi-passes to the George Bolton Swimming Centre.

Giving gifts can be rewarding, but some people seem to have everything they need. In these cases, rather than buying something superfluous, why not give a donation? Again, there are options to suit a range of tastes and budgets!

• If you are buying a gift for someone who likes to give to charity, you could consider one of Oxfam’s ‘unwrapped’ gifts; there are a range of prices and the donation can include a card or an e-card

• Planting trees has many environmental benefits and is particularly important in the wake of the rising effects of climate change. Several organisations provide gift certificates to plant trees, including Trees for Life. It can all be organised online or with a phone call.

Not all ways to be sustainable in the festive season relate to gifts themselves - we also need to consider the other Christmas traditions that contribute to unnecessary waste.

• If you are giving a material gift, you can wrap presents in something reusable, rather than generating waste. For example, wrap gifts in a reusable shopping bag or a reusable gift bag. You can also use old newspapers to keep the joy of tearing into presents while minimising waste

• Consider switching your Christmas lights to LEDs. These use less energy and last longer than incandescent lighting

• We can also reduce food waste with a little planning. Carefully considering how much food everyone needs can save both money and waste. And if you do overcook, refrigerate the food in reusable containers and use them as lunches and easy dinners.

• Even with careful planning, you might still have some food scraps. It’s important all food waste goes in the green bin. This action will ensure the food is composted, rather than sent to landfill. Putting food scraps in the green bin saves money and creates jobs in South Australia. Any food scraps you have go in the green bin, including vegetables, fruits, breads and meats - even prawns and seafood can go in the green bin. If you are concerned about the smell, wrap the seafood in a compostable bag (available from Council) and pop it in your freezer until bin day.

You can have your Christmas cake and eat it, too! Consider which ideas will work best for you and implement them to celebrate the Christmas holidays sustainably.

At the City of Burnside we hope you all have a safe and happy (and waste-free) festive season.

What a year we’ve had at Council! Here is the final Burnside Highlights of 2023, thank you all for your support! We hope you have a wonderful festive season with your loved ones and a safe and happy 2024.

Home to more than 44,000 residents and hundreds of community groups, the City of Burnside continues to support local organisations through funding sponsorships and donation programs.

One of the most successful is the annual Community Grants Program, offered to local organisations, groups and schools within the City of Burnside up to $5,000. These grants encourage and support community projects that provide a service or program to residents that would otherwise go unfulfilled.

Burnside Community Grants 2024/25 applications open mid-January 2024.

Glenunga Rams Basketball Club – Training facilities and equipment

Seeking to increase interest in competitive basketball for local players, the Glenunga Rams Basketball Club received a grant to assist with purchasing new uniforms, training equipment and court hire.

With around 120 participants – 80 per cent of whom identify as living in the Burnside area, the Club has seen quick growth over the past 12 months.

Next on the agenda for the Rams is expanding their girls’ teams offerings by recruiting more female players and addressing the urgent need for more volunteer coaches. A low-cost club to join, the Rams will also begin approaching local schools to secure access to indoor training facilities.

Under 14 Boys Head Coach Daniel Hart said the Club was taking a planned approach moving forward, and any assistance was helpful.

‘We are very grateful to Burnside for the grant – every bit helps,’ Daniel said.

Norwood Community Creche – Sensory Native Garden

Caring for and educating young children for over 40 years, Norwood Community Creche’s philosophy focuses on nature, community engagement and child-initiated activities. To help their children flourish and learn about environmental sustainability, the creche was awarded a Community Grant to assist the centre with building a sensory native garden.

Featuring dozens of native plants, the garden acts as a resource to develop the creches themes of ‘Belonging, Being and Becoming’.

Norwood Community Creche Co-Ordinator Susan Burgess said the centre’s indoor and outdoor play-based style would benefit from promoting environmental engagement through the grant.

‘This grant has enabled us to build an under 2’s sensory garden to allow our children to explore, learn about sustainability, promote curiosity and creativity and experiment through play.’

Zonta Club Adelaide Torrens – Breast Cushion Project

A self-funded organisation, the Zonta Club Adelaide Torrens provides support projects for girls and women in the local community.

Provided with a Community Grant to support their Breast Cushion Project, funds from the grant were directed towards purchasing raw materials required to create the cushions.

These cushions, of which the Club produces around 300 per year, are donated to the Burnside Hospital – Breast and Endocrine Centre. Given to patients post-surgery, the cushions provide comfort and assist through the healing process.

Group member Judy Lovett said the Club deeply appreciated the grant and that the cushions provided physical and emotional support for patients.

‘We supply individual community members as well as those at Burnside Hospital,’ Judy said.

‘If there is anybody who would like to lend skills, we would warmly welcome any more hands that would like to be involved.’

As part of the City of Burnside’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan, Burnside Library has been trialling a new specialty event, The Burnside Home Library Grown Up Storytime - aimed at increasing community outreach to residents living in local assisted living and aged care facilities.

In August 2023, the program delivered its first group sessions, visiting both Regis Burnside and Estia Health Toorak Gardens for 90-minute readings of poetry and short stories by Burnside Library staff, with a second event held in mid-October.

Run in conjunction with the Home Library Service, the Grown Up Storytime initiative aims to increase social interaction and mental stimulation for those living in assisted care who cannot make it to the library in person.

Burnside Home Library Melissa Davenport said the program will hopefully make a difference in the lives of those they visit.

‘In the Home Library Service, we see the difference we can make in people's day even with such a small interaction – this is the magic we hope to recreate through this idea,’ Melissa said.

‘The Library is an incredible community resource, and we try to make sure that everyone can benefit from it even if they cannot visit the library.’

During their stay in assisted living facilities, residents may experience social isolation, depression and anxiety. Studies indicate that consistent social engagement can aid in reducing these potentially detrimental effects, offering improvements in mental well-being and fostering a sense of belonging within a community.

Burnside Library Coordinator of Customer Service Judy Brown said it was still the early days of the trial program, but hopes were high that with more exposure, the service could grow to reach more people across more facilities.

‘We’ve had positive feedback from our previous two events.’ Judy said.

‘Burnside Library is always looking to innovate our service offerings to residents and the wider community.

‘We have plans to deliver a special Christmas-themed event later in December that we are extremely excited about.’

Still, in the early stages of development, Burnside Library is currently taking expressions of interest from any other aged care or assisted living facilities in the City of Burnside area that would like to participate in the fledgling program.

City of Burnside's Melissa Davenport reads a book of poetry at Estia Health Toorak Gardens

The City of Burnside is excited to announce the launch of our new official WeChat channel.

Extremely popular in China, WeChat is one of the world’s largest social media platforms, with over one-and-a-half billion monthly users. The City of Burnside is lucky to have over 6000 residents who identify as having Chinese ancestry, and it is our hope the move to this platform will assist us in providing even greater service to this section of the community.

This channel will be used by our Chinese community to keep up to date with the goings on around Council and for important community announcements.

Watch our official launch video here: LINK

Do you know which City of Burnside building this Christmas party was held in?

During the Second World War, branches of the Volunteer Defence Force in South Australia organised Christmas parties for children of Australian Imperial Force personnel. The Burnside sub-branch hosted this particular celebration for approximately 160 children. The program featured a film, sweets, ice-cream and soft-drinks.

Photograph: 21 December 1940, B 62413/40.