FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

We have a lot of great news to unpack in this week’s episode of Burnside Highlights, with the new facilities at the George Bolton Swimming Centre, the re-developed Dulwich Community Centre and the upgraded Conyngham Street Dog Park all opening this month.

The City of Burnside has presented to Parliament in a landmark first that could help shape the future of tree protection laws in South Australia.

Council CEO Chris Cowley and Coordinator Environmental Sustainability Dr Philip Roetman met with the Environment, Resources and Development Committee (ERDC) at Parliament House yesterday to give a presentation on the City of Burnside's submission to the Inquiry into the Urban Forest.

The Inquiry's interim report, which was tabled in both the House of Assembly and Legislative Council in recent weeks, investigates Adelaide's diminishing urban tree canopy and contains 15 recommendations to help restore it.

Earlier this year the City of Burnside made a submission to the Inquiry, making a number of recommendations that have been incorporated into the interim report. These recommendations include a significant increase in fees for legal removals and fines for illegal removals, the removal of exemptions that can be exploited via loopholes, a broadening of regulations to protect more trees and the establishment of an Urban Forest Fund.

In his presentation to the ERDC, City of Burnside CEO Chris Cowley said while councils can play a major role in protecting Adelaide's urban forest, they needed more support from the State Government to do so.

‘We are achieving prosecution, but the work involved is substantial. We are relying heavily on residents to provide evidence, the challenge we have is finding enough - a stronger message needs to be sent,’ Mr Cowley said.

‘We are absolutely supportive of the vast majority of, if not all of the recommendations, but we think there is an opportunity for some fine tuning.

‘Streamlining of the prosecution process on multiple levels and removing ambiguity would support Councils greatly.’

Mr Cowley also provided further details to the ERDC on what the City of Burnside has done to mitigate tree damaging activities within the Council area, citing the illegal removal of approximately 50 trees in Auldana North Reserve earlier this year.

‘The sheer scale of this damage is terribly upsetting. We have had Trees For Life revegetating this site and it was completely decimated,’ Mr Cowley said.

‘We have had numerous other incidents within the past year of individuals and businesses causing damage to our urban canopy.’

With support from the State Government and Member for Taylor Nick Champion, $50,000 in funding has been granted to assist the City of Burnside in establishing 15 semi-mature trees to offset tree losses in Auldana North Reserve. Funding will also go towards major signage in the reserve alongside a walking trail and CCTV surveillance to ensure the continued prosperity of the site.

The City of Burnside was also successful in achieving a prosecution in recent weeks against an individual who illegally felled a River Red Gum at a private residence in Rosslyn Park. Due to the prompt action of neighbours contacting the City of Burnside, Council was able to arrive on scene during the act and gather evidence in a timely manner, which enabled a successful prosecution.

Judge Michael Durrant recorded a criminal conviction against All State Tree Works owner Mike Fatu, who was also fined $7,000 and ordered to pay over $2,000 in additional fees including the City of Burnside's court costs.

In his closing comments to the ERDC, Mr Cowley urged parliament to take action to reduce further damage to Adelaide's diminishing urban forest, calling for increased avenues pursuable by Councils.

‘We would like to reflect on the ability of Council to expiate rather than proceed to court action – court is costly and time-consuming passing costs to rate payers. Expiation would provide a faster process to produce outcomes,’ Mr Cowley said.

‘Councils do require changes for more successful prosecutions.’

ERDC Chair and Member for Badcoe Jayne Stinson thanked the City of Burnside for their valuable contribution.

The Inquiry will continue into 2024, with the interim report available to view online here.

What park am I?

I am State Heritage listed, 13 hectares and named after a boy's school in Birmingham, England.

Photo: Aerial view of the park circa 1964, Local History Collection.

Do you know where this coach house is located? Built around 1869, this coach house was originally part of a large estate owned by Thomas Graves at the time of construction. The building itself is made from local bluestone, with flanked gabled wings and a central pediment. When the property was subdivided in the 1970s, the coach house was converted into a residence and still stands today.

Photo: Coach house circa 1899, State Library of South Australia B47447

It is with sadness that the City of Burnside has unveiled new several banners and signage around the Auldana area. Deemed necessary following the destruction of up to 50 native trees in a reserve at the end of Patrick Auld Drive, these signs will act as community information boards and warnings against further vandalisation.

The City of Burnside is thankful for the assistance from the State Government and Minister Nick Champion for helping to support this project by providing $50,000 funding. These funds will provide protection and development of the site moving forward through:

• Debris cleanup and removal from the site
• installation of new signage and banners
• installation of CCTV cameras
• installation of a walking trail through the area
• creation of a new fund to plant 15 mature trees around the City of Burnside.

The City of Burnside CEO Chris Cowley said the act of destruction had been extremely disappointing.

‘The City of Burnside wants to send an extremely strong message to the community that we will not tolerate this and it must never happen again,’ Chris said.

‘Our message is encouraging the community to be our eyes and ears on the ground. If you hear anything we encourage them to contact us straight away if you see any vandalism going on. We implore our community to help us in this endeavour.’

City of Burnside Mayor Anne Monceaux said the importance of trees to the community both as an aesthetic and environmental asset was paramount.

‘Trees are a part of who we are, they are part of our logo, the tree is a symbol of the City of Burnside,’ Mayor Anne said.

‘The loss of trees is a loss of a community asset, a loss of beauty and a loss of habitat.’

‘We do not want to lose these trees that take tens or even hundreds of years to replace.’

Council Members for Kensington Gardens & Magill Jo Harvey and Kerry Hallett echoed the mayor’s sentiment.

‘This is an important day for trees and creating awareness in our ward and within Adelaide,’ Jo said.

‘Tree vandalism is not the answer, and it costs you, the ratepayer.’

‘Trees should not die for a few,’ Kerry said.

The installation of the signs follows a recent spate of incidents, including the large Auldana cull, in which members of the community had illegally damaged regulated trees.

On Tuesday, 17 October 2023, the City of Burnside was victorious in gaining a successful conviction in a case before the District Court of Adelaide regarding the illegal felling of a regulated tree. The action, which occurred on 22 November 2022, saw the illegal removal of a River Red Gum or similar eucalyptus by workers employed by All State Tree Works.

Council was fortunate that nearby residents reported the illegal action immediately to the City of Burnside employees who were able to arrive on the scene during the act and gather evidence in a timely manner.

Chris Cowley said those who were caught conducting illegal actions towards regulated trees could expect similar consequences.

‘We want to send a very strong message to any member of the community that is seeking to cause damage to our precious tree canopy that we will pursue you. We will leave no stone unturned and will throw the full weight of the law at anyone we can find guilty of having damaged our tree canopy resource.’

The Auldana reserve site was cleared of up to 50 native trees earlier this year.

New signage has been installed at the site and surrounding area informing locals of the event and requesting assistance in finding those responsible.

Pictured left to right: Cr Mike Daws, Mayor Anne Monceaux, Cr Kerry Hallett, Cr Jo Harvey stand in front of the newly installed Auldana banners.

Want to know more about what's been happening in Burnside recently? Find out more in this edition of Burnside Highlights with Mayor Anne Monceaux.

✅ State Government funding provided to install signage at illegal tree felling site at Auldana North Reserve
✅ Conyngham Street Dog Park works continue, scheduled to be completed in late 2023
✅ Remembrance Day services to be held at Rose Park and Kensington Park
✅ And a special Christmas announcement…

Find out more about what's going on in the City of Burnside at www.engage.burnside.sa.gov.au

I hope you have finished your Christmas shopping by now.

But if you haven’t, join Pepper Street Arts Centre for the return of the local artist exhibition ‘Little Treasures for Christmas’ running until 21 December 2023.

Featuring the works of over 60 artists this exhibition is a much-loved Christmas special covering a variety of mediums including handcrafted jewellery, collage, textile, paintings, wearable art, woodwork, sculptures and much more – all stunning works at affordable prices, perfect for the last-minute gift.

A staple of Pepper Street Arts Centre for over 20 years, this exhibition is the only ‘cash and carry’ show of the year and always delights with an abundance of colour.

Coordinator of Pepper Street Arts Centre Sally Patterson said Little Treasures for Christmas is a flagship exhibition for the centre and never fails to draw in a dedicated fanbase.

‘This event is marked on the calendar every year by visitors,’ Sally said.

Artist and Pepper Street Arts Centre volunteer Annie Reid who described the exhibition as ‘awe and wonder’ will this year be featuring in her fourth Little Treasures for Christmas exhibition with her signature Japanese-inspired temari balls and digital graphic cards, and said the exhibition was a great way to find something special.

‘It’s a basic celebration of Christmas and an opportunity for people to collect treasures,’ Annie said.

‘It doesn’t have the rarified look of a normal exhibition; it can be an overwhelming jumble of colour and warmth. It has a different vibe.’

Learn more about ‘Little Treasures for Christmas’, including demonstration times at bit.ly/PepStExhibits

The Kensington Wama/ Kensington Gardens Reserve has been recognised nationally for its innovation, winning a Landscape Architecture Award for Parks and Open Spaces at the National AILA Landscape Architecture Awards.

The award follows The Kensington Wama/ Kensington Gardens Reserve collecting three awards at the state awards back in June.

Do you know which City of Burnside community centre was once a stone and concrete water tank?

This structure was originally part of the Undelcarra property and was built in the 1870s. This photograph may provide a hint, showing the inside of the building during the 1990s.

40 Gordon Terrace, Rosslyn Park – prosecution achieved

On Tuesday, 17 October 2023, the City of Burnside was victorious in gaining a successful conviction in a case before the District Court of Adelaide regarding the illegal felling of a regulated tree.

The action, which occurred on 22 November 2022, saw the illegal removal of a River Red Gum or similar eucalyptus by workers employed by All State Tree Works.

Council was fortunate that nearby residents reported the illegal action immediately to City of Burnside employees who were able to arrive on scene during the act and gather evidence in a timely manner.

City of Burnside CEO Chris Cowley said the damage to the City’s urban forest could not be ignored.

‘Our community in Burnside will not tolerate tree vandalism. We are serious about safeguarding our urban forest and this is another example where Council is committed to taking strong action to protect it,’ Mr Cowley said.

‘This illegal behaviour is not acceptable in our community and anyone can help by providing information to Council if you see anyone damaging a tree.

‘Photographs and statements are what can really change the outcome.’

His Honour Senior Judge Durrant recorded a conviction against owner of All State Tree Works, Mike Fatu who has also been fined $7000 and ordered to pay the following costs;

• court fees of $303.00.
• victims of crime levy: $262.00.
• the costs of the informant (City of Burnside) fixed at $1,667.57.

The $7000 fine will be paid to Council in addition to costs.

In his closing statement, His Honour Judge Durrant said: ‘I consider the whole community should be aware of this offending to protect significant trees and the integrity of the planning regime and to deter you and others from future unlawful removal of significant trees’.