FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

John Bruce retired a few years ago and thought it would be a good idea to help his community in some way. After reading about the need for volunteer bus drivers in the spring Focus newsletter, he signed up.

“I enquired at the council and the rest is history,” John says. “I have been driving and assisting with the shopping bus and the community cars for two to three months.”

John, 64, volunteers with the shopping bus every Thursday from 8.30 am until approximately 12.30 pm. “I collect people who are often quite elderly and no longer driving, from their residences and take them to the supermarket.” Shoppers have an hour and a half to complete their shopping then John helps them back on the bus and takes them home.

“I also take people in the council car to appointments such as doctors, lunches, or hairdressers.”

“I took one group of passengers to Murray Bridge for a lunch cruise on The Captain Proud.”

John, of Linden Park, enjoys his work and says the service is appreciated by the passengers. “This gives me a feeling of value and the desire to continue,” John says. “That is the best way I could encourage other drivers. The council too, are most appreciative of the volunteers.”

It is that exciting time of the year when the great gift hunt for the festive season has officially begun. Little Treasures and its wide assortment of affordable handmade art and craft gifts will solve all your gifting needs.

All items are for purchasing and taking on the day in this ever-changing showcase.

Over 50 artists bring you this opportunity to browse an enormous range including textiles, ceramics, glassware, wall art, jewellery, gift boxes, cards, homewares, wearable art, calendars, decorations, children’s items and more.

Each item is handcrafted, with regular restocking for variety and freshness.

This year there are special twilight sessions.

Friday 25 November and Friday 9 December 5 pm - 8 pm.

Join us for two special evenings for late night gift browsing with extras. A glass of bubbles on arrival, nibbles, artist demonstrations, live music and more.
Free entry for you, friends, family, neighbours and bargain hunters!

The Burnside District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial statue in Rose Park has stood for almost 100 years, having been unveiled on Sunday 14 December 1924 by Governor of South Australia, Lieutenant General Sir Tom Bridges. The statue depicts a soldier climbing over the top of a trench and turning back to offer a helping hand to his mate. Interestingly, those with knowledge of weaponry will notice that the bolt is on the wrong side of the rifle. The statue was funded by the Burnside Memorial Committee, which commenced fundraising in 1920. Australian artist Charles Web Gilbert was commissioned to design the bronze sculpture.

The Ferdinand Barbedienne Foundry in France cast the figure, which is mounted on a granite plinth with bronze plaques bearing the names of 87 fallen soldiers of the District of Burnside. In August 2022, the City of Burnside consecrated an additional 22 fallen soldiers in a ceremony along the Avenues of Honour.

The Burnside District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial (both the Avenues of Honour and the Memorial Statue) was confirmed as a State Heritage Place in 1989.

Photo: Unveiling ceremony of the 'Helping Hand' bronze statue on 14 December 1924 by Governor Sir Tom Bridges. Burnside Local History Collection.

More than 300 people attended Burnside Ballroom to hear tennis great Ash Barty being interviewed by fellow player and good friend Casey Dellacqua. Ash was launching her autobiography My Dream Time: A Memoir of tennis and teamwork.

Ash says:

"It's a tennis story. It's a family story. It's a teamwork story. It's the story of how I got to where and who I am today. My story is about the power and joy of doing that thing you love and seeing where it can take you, about the importance of purpose – and perspective – in our lives."

Thanks to Dillons Bookshop.

On Friday 11 November the George Bolton Swimming Centre will be closed while works are underway to remove several feral European honeybee nests.

These works will commence at 8 am and are necessary as a matter of priority for the health and safety of City of Burnside residents and all other visitors to the pool. Feral European honeybee stings are known to cause health complications such as anaphylaxis, and the City of Burnside aims to reduce this risk as much as practically possible.

During this closure, we will remove the feral European honeybee hives within the vicinity of the pool, which we hope will reduce the presence of these bees during the upcoming swimming season. The City of Burnside will only target feral European honeybees during these works – native Australian bees will not be targeted.

Acting Senior Urban Forestry Officer Tom Jolley said the works would effectively remove the hives and improve public safety.

“Within 24 hours of the works, we will see a noticeable decrease in hive activity, and eventually no activity in the days following,” Mr Jolley said.

“As spring slowly warms up, there has been an increase in feral European honeybee activity, and when you have so many people within close proximity of multiple hives for an extended duration of time, there’s always a risk of stings. With stings comes the risk of severe allergic reactions.

“Being in a pool environment with visitors having a greater level of exposure than normal, the risk of being stung elevates even further, which is why this work is so crucial.”

George Bolton Swimming Centre Team Leader Ben Grant said removing the hives is necessary to ensure the ongoing safety of all guests at the pool.

“Our number one priority at the George Bolton Swimming Centre has always been, and always will be, the health and safety of our visitors,” Mr Grant said.

“Whether it’s water safety or safety from bee stings, we want all our visitors to be able to enjoy a safe, fun experience at the pool and come away happy and healthy.

“Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a spike in stings from feral European honeybees, more so this year than in previous years.

“By removing these bees, we will be able to continue to offer a great, family-friendly outdoor experience and provide peace of mind to parents and guardians who want to bring their children to the pool.”

The George Bolton Swimming Centre has EpiPens onsite as a precautionary measure in the event of an emergency; however, we recommend that anyone who has been prescribed an EpiPen please bring it to the pool.

If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Experience team on 8366 4200.

These tickets and pass out cards (circa 1945) are from Kensington Oval. The oval has been home to many things over the years including cricket, athletics and SANFL football. It has been the home of Kensington Football Club, Norwood Football Club and even for a short time West Adelaide Football Club.

The ground was also home to the Kensington District Cricket Club, which means that none other than Sir Donald Bradman also played on this oval. In the 1960s the oval was renamed the Olympic Sports Field and was the premier athletics facility in Adelaide until 1998 when Santos Stadium opened.

These items and many others are on display in the Local History Room at the Burnside Library. Feel free to pop in and check them out some time.

Photographs: Tickets and Passouts (Burnside Local History Collection), The First Bounce – Post War Opening Game 1945 (Burnside Local History Collection) and Boys at Kensington Oval – 1945 (Burnside Local History Collection).

Here's an update of what's been happening in the City of Burnside this month from CEO Chris Cowley, as well as a look at what's to come! Exciting updates include:

✅ Water Smart Burnside website launches (bit.ly/WaterSmartBurnside)
✅ Work progressing on shared use path at the bottom of the freeway for the Crafers Bikeway
✅ New wellness space open in the Burnside Community Centres
✅ Council elections closing Thursday 10 November
✅ New LED parking signage at Waterfall Gully and Chambers Gully coming soon.

To find out more information and receive the latest updates about what's going on in Burnside, sign up to engage.burnside at www.engage.burnside.sa.gov.au

The Glen Osmond Institute had its grand opening in 1877 and was an important part of the community, housing a library of over 1,000 books and a reading room that was open to the public some evenings during the week. The institute building was also used for a number of social gatherings including concerts and lectures, with the schedule for evening events planned around the phases of the moon due to the darkness of the unlit roads.

In 1965, the foundation stone of the Glen Osmond Institute was removed. Underneath the stone were two glass bottles that contained documents and items from the time. One bottle was opened, while another remains closed to this day! The opened bottle included a photograph of Elizabeth Boothby, who was the owner of The Glen in Glen Osmond at the time. It also contained coins and pen nibs, as well as a lead bullet (not pictured).

The bottles were initially put back under the foundation stone, along with souvenirs from 1965 in a large brass cylinder. They were, however, recovered again in the early 2000s and added to the Burnside Local History Collection. These items and others are on display in the Burnside Treasures cupboard in the Local History Room in the Burnside Library.

Photos: Left - Glen Osmond Institute, circa 1904. Right - Message in a bottle items on display in the Local History Room at the Burnside Library

Grow It Local is a year-round program for councils and communities which supports Council’s key objectives relating to food waste diversion, positive sustainable living behaviours and local food systems, community engagement and capacity building climate change resilience, health and wellbeing, leadership and innovation.

This free online platform allows members to connect with other like-minded local growers who are passionate about all things home grown. Members can share knowledge, swap produce or seeds and discover new recipes. Free membership also gives growers access to an extensive library of online resources and workshops about growing their own produce. Members can receive free expert advice on topics such as composting, how to grow food in pots, veggie patch design and how to grow from seed.

Grow It Local’s annual impact report helps to quantify the impact of the platform on communities across the country. The impact report for 2021-2022 has just been published and provides a fascinating insight into the positive outcomes being achieved through the platform, which was established in 2012.

According to the 2021-2022 impact report, Grow It Local has 18,130 members nationally, 3,420 registered veggie patches and 868,897m2 under cultivation for growing food. More than 90,000 hours a week are being spent in the garden nationally and 26,008 kg of food waste is being diverted from landfill each week. The majority of members (83 per cent) are female and 15 per cent male (3 preferred not to say their gender). The majority of members (96 per cent) were interested in sharing their excess produce with others. The majority (95 per cent of growers excluding those ‘not growing yet’) said growing their own food provides a greater appreciation of the value, time and resources required. Respondents further noted that it also provides a sense of food security.

On a national level, the top five reasons for members getting involved are to learn more about growing edibles; to live more sustainably and positively impact climate change; to eat locally grown produce; to improve health and wellbeing and to connect with other local growers.

The top five reasons that members grow food include to grow healthy, chemical free food; to live more sustainably and positively impact climate change; for mental health and wellbeing; to reconnect with nature and because they just love plants.

Members are predominantly growing vegetables, fruit trees, herbs and ornamental flowers. Members are mostly growing this produce in their backyards, front yards, verge gardens and community gardens.

As of 17 October 2022, the City of Burnside has 302 members, 27 registered patches, and a total of 110 m2 under cultivation for growing food. In Burnside 214 members are either composting or worm farming, and 492 kg of food waste per week is being diverted from landfill.

The successful online platform is growing at a rapid rate, with an 81 per cent increase in members from the previous year (2020-2021). With 33 local government partners nationally (including the City of Burnside), the sky is the limit for Grow It Local.

City of Burnside residents can sign up on the Grow it Local website at https://www.growitlocal.com/register and register their veggie patch. It is important to provide as much detail as possible about your veggie patch, so that this data can be captured by Grow It Local in the year’s impact report.

Supported by Green Adelaide.

Images attributed to Green Adelaide.

Do you recognise this busy Burnside street? Pictured is a view of Glynburn Road back in 1913.

At the time, this road was actually called Beaumont Road. How things have changed in just over 100 years!

Image: Beaumont Road (now Glynburn Road) in 1913. State Library of South Australia, B 21061.