FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

Cr Paul Huebl | Cr Harvey Jones

Cr Paul Huebl

We have just had a weekend of torrential rain and wind that has seen near-hourly BOM warnings issued for Burnside. While this type of weather is not unusual, the intensity and frequency certainly are and it is here to stay. Our changing climate has led to more extreme weather events that impact our lives and properties to a point where we must adapt our approaches to city management, even if there is not much we can do to change it.

We currently mandate fuel clearing of properties in our high bushfire threat zones; shall we apply this approach to the clearing of waterways through private land? What about culverts? Is our guttering infrastructure sufficient? Are we doing enough to retain green canopy of private land to protect urban cooling, and wildlife corridors that promote biodiversity?

Roads, Rates and Rubbish are all we should do according to some, but this is an outdated idea and simply goes against our mandate from the Local Government Act. We have a responsibility to improve the quality of life in the community which the City of Burnside does remarkably well. This is why it is the best place in Adelaide to live.

We are not only entering a new year but also a new era on council. I am pleased to be continuing to represent the Beaumont Ward along with Cr Harvey Jones for a second term. I am humbled by the support I have received during the election period and thank each and every resident who assisted my campaign.

Enjoy the holiday period, the hopefully nicer weather and please be in touch if there is anything I can do to help make your community an even better place to live.

Cr Harvey Jones

First of all, thank you for re-electing me to Council. I think we achieved a lot in the last four years and I think that this was borne out by the fact that the Mayor and all seven of the councillors seeking re-election were re-elected. But we still have some renewal, with five newly elected councillors. I look forward to working with them to make the City of Burnside even better.

A key challenge for over the next four years is going to be planning and development.

The Planning and Design Code introduced by the state government in the last council term was very, very bad. But it wasn't nearly as bad in Burnside as most of metropolitan Adelaide. Council successfully lobbied to maintain character and heritage protections in inner-east suburbs, to remove suburbs such as Linden Park from high-density development zones and to preserve large block sizes in the upland parts of council running from Auldana through to Beaumont.

The Planning and Design Code is now up for review. We know what's wrong with it. We have developed a City Master Plan with our vision for the City of Burnside. Now we need to persuade the state government to fix it.

We also face fiscal challenges. Burnside Council has a lot of debt and interest rates are going up. This was predicted - by me at least. We need to cut our cloth to suit our purse. Everyone seems to think that Burnside is populated entirely by silvertails who can afford endless rates increases but it's not true.

And away from the big stuff, if you have a problem give me a call. Planning, trees, footpaths, traffic, parking. I can't fix everything but I'll have a red-hot go.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you to everyone who voted in the recent elections. Local Government is the level of government that is closest to its people. It has a daily impact on our lives. Councils provide and maintain libraries, parks, playgrounds, pools, paths, planting and protection of trees, local roads, walking and cycling trails, dog parks, ovals, sports grounds and facilities, bus stops, park benches, fences, rubbish bins and public toilets. Some councils, like Burnside, provide street sweeping and verge mowing, even though they are not mandated services. Burnside supports small businesses (through Propel SA), provides bushfire prevention services as well as health services (through Eastern Health Authority).

Burnside provides waste collection services (through EastWaste) and education on waste disposal. We provide many programs for the elderly, disabled, young children and their parents and teenagers. We support the Burnside Symphony Orchestra and the Burnside Youth Band, and we have a number of performance spaces like The Regal Theatre, the Burnside Ballroom and the original upstairs Ballroom, the Civic Centre Hall as well as art spaces like Pepper Street and Hubbe Court. We have gathering places like The Shed, The Hub, Eastwood Community Centre, Dulwich Community Centre and Civic Centre cafes. We work closely with Lions and Rotary Clubs and Burnside Historical Society. We support Probus, War Widows and other community groups (social, sporting, recreational, educational and cultural) through community grants and facility hire.

Burnside leads the way in environmental strategies as a Tree City of the World and as one of the first councils to declare a Climate Change emergency, we focus on being carbon neutral by 2030. And we have some of the lowest rates in Adelaide. All of this happens through the work of our committed staff, led by our CEO, Chris Cowley.

I thank the 30 people who stood for election and the 10,800 people who voted. Thirteen people were elected: 7 women and 6 men. 8 people were re-elected in Beaumont, Burnside, Rose Park & Toorak Gardens, Kensington Park and you re-elected me. Five new members will represent Eastwood & Glenunga, Kensington Gardens & Magill and Kensington Park. Each person elected is now responsible for representing their ward as well as ensuring their service considers the whole community of Burnside. I encourage you to make contact with your local members to seek information or support. By the time that you read this, we will have completed our mandated training and be ready to help. Their profiles appear later in this Summer Focus.

Thank you Councillors Sarah Hughes, Henry Davis, Helga Lemon and Grant Piggott for your time and commitment over the past 4 to 12 years. I wish you well in your new councils and in your retirement.

Thank you for having confidence in me by re-electing me as Mayor. I will continue to be your ‘everywhere Mayor’ as I am committed to this Burnside Community. I am inclusive and will continue to attend events and be involved with the community across different cultures, abilities, ages, and in sports, social, recreational and historical activities. I love Burnside’s tree-lined streets, its parks and pools, its green spaces, hills and creeks. I find the things I need at our shopping villages and enjoy coffee and other treats at our many cafes and restaurants. I appreciate and respect Burnside’s history, character and heritage and I will continue to do all I can to protect what most of us who choose to live here, love most.

I have already spoken to the State Planning Expert Panel Review Team about our community’s concerns about infill development, heritage protection, demolition controls, parking and tree protection. I have addressed Katadilla (Adelaide Parklands Authority) about the importance of our connection and concern for protection of the parklands. I will continue to lobby in both of these areas, as well as be actively involved in all aspects of planning for now and the future, particularly with the implementation of our Master Plan and continued action regarding climate change initiatives.

Finally, I wish for warmer days, time outside in our parks and pools, for families re-united at Christmas, safe travelling in holiday time and good health and happiness for 2023.

On Monday 21 November it was our great pleasure to host a swearing in ceremony for our incoming Council Members who were elected in this year's Council Elections. Following a Welcome to Country held by Kaurna man Corey Turner, each Council Member was officially sworn into office in the presence of Justice of the Peace Ann Wilson and pledged to work with and for the community.

It's been a big month here at the City of Burnside, with our new council sworn in last night at the Burnside Civic Centre. We want to congratulate each of our Council Members, both new and returning, and look forward to working with them over the next four years. Meet your new council in this episode of Inside Burnside!

In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, one of the responsibilities of Council was to check up on local businesses. Council inspectors would visit local shops to check that owners were following regulations. Using scales and weights, similar to those in the picture, they would test the shop’s scales to ensure that customers were not being short changed. The scales and weights in the picture are believed to have been used by the Burnside District Council inspectors. They are displayed as part of the Burnside Treasures collection in the Local History Room in Burnside Library.

Picture: Burnside Local History Collection

Students from Glenunga International High School (GIHS) conducted a backyard blitz for a resident at Mount Osmond recently.

Each year a group of students from GIHS gives their time and efforts to clean up a yard as part of a year-long program. COVID delayed last year’s event but this year it was back to business as usual.

Student Wellbeing Leader Andrei Leucuta says the blitz is part of a mentoring program to help students build connections with trusted adults. “We identify appropriate students and match them up with a trusted adult at the school,” he says. “They catch up fortnightly, have a chat, discuss issues and build on their relationship.”

“They also go on three to four outings each year with elements of service, challenge and reflection.”

Andrei says participating in the well-established youth program Operations Flinders presents challenge and time for reflection. “We also do a Mount Lofty hike,” he says. “For some students that is a real challenge.”

The Backyard Blitz is part of the service element. “We used to visit nursing homes and interact with the residents but COVID put an end to that,” Andrei says. “The Backyard Blitz is a safe way for the students to provide a service.” Andrei works with Council each year to identify a ratepayer who is having difficulty maintaining their garden. It is usually an older resident who uses some of Council’s Home Support Services.

The students and adults then work on clearing scrub, chopping wood, weeding and whatever maintenance is required.

Adrienne Burns, a Home Support Program client, was identified as needing help to clear her large property at Mount Osmond. “I couldn’t believe how well the students cleared the garden,” she says. “I was thrilled – the students were wonderful and the property looks amazing.”

Pic: GIHS students clear Adrienne’s property.

The Burnside Inn was the centre of life in original Burnside village – approximately 27 and 29 High Street. The area developed around the Hallett Rivulet (now Second Creek), and in 1863 Caroline Clark and her children opened the Burnside Inn. Caroline’s husband, Francis, had died in 1853, and the family would go on to become significantly involved in South Australian institutions such as the State Children’s Council and The Register newspaper. Henry Warland, landlord of the inn, took over in 1865. Warland ran several other businesses in the area, including a blacksmith shop and passenger coach.

The Inn was an important meeting place for the community, playing host to election meetings and community gatherings. Sporting clubs, councils and coroners held court at the Inn. Travellers on their way to the hills would also stop here. At some point in the 1870s, Warland renamed the Inn to Burnside Hotel. It was owned for a time by the Edmeades and Co. Brewing Company, who constructed a hotel at 33 High Street in 1883 and also called it the Burnside Hotel.

Burnside Inn remained as a small single storied building marking the centre of the original Burnside Village, until about 1909 when it was closed as part of a large wave of restructuring of liquor licences, reflecting public opinion on public consumption of alcohol.

Burnside Inn circa 1873. State Library of SA B4723

We are so excited to announce that Carols in the Park is back for 2022! After three years away due to Covid-19, our massive Christmas celebration is back in Hazelwood Park on Friday 9 December from 5 pm to 8 pm and we would love for you to join us. There'll be live musical performances, entertainment, food trucks, activities for the kids and so much more. At the end of festivities we'll also be screening the classic Christmas movie Elf on an outdoor movie screen. Find out more at bit.ly/CarolsinthePark2022

Left: A native Blue-banded bee. Right: A European honeybee

When you think of bees, you think of honey. But did you know that there are hundreds of bee species native to South Australia – none of which live in swarms, produce honey, or have a queen? Meet the native bee, Australia’s homegrown pollinator.

The bees we are most familiar with are feral European honeybees, introduced to Australia to produce honey and pollinate crops. These bees are the kind kept by beekeepers but have since become feral and produce their own nests in the wild. These nests can often be seen and heard on trees. Individual honeybees are highly social and may aggressively defend their nest by stinging nearby threats. While most people have a mild reaction to honeybee stings and do not require medical attention, some people can undergo an anaphylactic reaction that requires further treatment. In fact, the honeybee is the most common cause of allergic reactions to insects in Australia.

In contrast, native bees are typically solitary and do not build large nests with their peers, so they can often be so hard to spot. Instead, these bees nest in small holes within trees or in the ground and cover their nest entrances with natural materials such as resin or leaves.

The great thing about this is that it is very easy to create an inviting habitat for native bees in your garden. You can create something as simple as a bundle of hollow bamboo sticks zip-tied together or something as complex as a native bee hotel! The opportunities to create habitat for these creatures are endless.

The Blue-banded bee, pictured below, vibrates at high speeds to release pollen – a technique known as buzz pollination. Some local native plants, such as kangaroo apples, require this for efficient pollination. Buzz pollination is also critical for food plants, including tomatoes and potatoes. If you grow tomatoes or potatoes at home, you are likely to be receiving pollination from Blue-banded bees! Other fascinating species include Leafcutter bees, which cut semi-circular pieces of leaves to line and seal their nests, and Cuckoo bees, which lay their eggs in the nests of other native bees – much like their namesake!

Native bees are calm and gentle compared to their overseas cousins, as they do not aggressively defend their nests as feral European honeybees do. So while it is possible for some native bee species to sting, the risk is far lower.

At the City of Burnside, we are eager to promote the growth of native bee populations and have supported the creation of several public native bee hotels. We encourage you to create your own bee hotels at home too. The more native bee hotels available across the City of Burnside, the higher chance their populations will grow in our area! Find out more about native bees and bee hotels at www.burnside.sa.gov.au/Environment-Sustainability/Animals/Native-Animals/Bees

Carol with her children (L to R) Zichen, Zhining and Hanyin.

“The workshop was really helpful and talked about how to communicate through play and develop my child’s language skills,” Carol said.

“Rather than playing silently, I learned how important it was to use words when playing with toys – the word association will help to develop her (Zhining’s) language skills. I really learned a lot.

“By doing this I can improve my daughter’s English and help her to be able to speak it before she goes to school.”

Upcoming sessions in 2023 include nature play, healthy device usage, early literacy and more.

This project has received funding from the Department for Education’s Local Government Childhood Community Innovation Grant, administered by the Local Government Association of South Australia.

To find out more about the FISCH program, please email communitydevelopment@burnside.sa.gov.au or visit bit.ly/FISCHBurnside online.