FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

Join us to celebrate Australia Day on Thursday 26 January 2023 in Hazelwood Park.

The City of Burnside recognises extraordinary citizens and their remarkable and diverse contributions to our community each year on Australia Day. Help us celebrate what is great about our community by nominating someone you know for:

Citizen of the Year Award (aged 16+) - The most outstanding Citizen for Burnside.

Young Citizen of the Year Award (aged under 30) - The most outstanding Young Citizen for Burnside.

Community Event of the Year Award - A person or group who has staged the most outstanding community event.

The City of Burnside’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy includes a priority to reduce waste and increase recycling. To promote the use of the green organics bin for food waste, Council conducts bin tagging, a method of engagement that has been successful in Burnside and other councils.

We gratefully acknowledge the large-scale bin tagging project is supported by grant funding from Green Industries SA.

The focus of the bin tagging project is on food waste. Why?

There are numerous reasons why it is very important for food waste to go in the green organics bin. First, it is around five times cheaper to send food waste to be composted, by putting it in the green organics bin, rather than sending it to landfill. These savings keep the pressure off Council rates in the City of Burnside.

Using the green organics bin for food waste also makes good environmental sense. The contents of the green organics bin are turned into valuable compost, rather than being wasted in landfill. Composting food waste also generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than sending it to landfill.

How does this bin tagging work?

Bin tagging involves a quick check of the content of Council bins when they are on the verge for collection. The Council team then place temporary education notices (bin tags) on the bins. The tags provide feedback on the use of the bin for food waste. For example, if the green organics bin contains food waste, the tags provide positive feedback. If the landfill bin is used for food waste, the tags provide educational information reminding the household that food waste belongs in the green bin. The tags also provide information about the importance of putting food waste in the green organics bin.

Previous success

In 2021 sixty households were randomly selected to be a part of the bin tagging project and had their bins tagged three times. On the first check, 73 per cent of the households were placing their food waste in their organics bins. It was good to see that most households were doing the right thing! By the third check, six weeks later, 95 per cent of those households were placing food waste in their green organics bins, an excellent improvement!

As part of the ‘Smart Cities’ initiative, Council is installing parking occupancy sensors in the car parking areas of Langman Reserve, Chambers Gully and Waterfall Gully.

The sensors detect the occupancy of the associated parking area and relays the data via gateways to the ‘Cloud’, where the data is processed. The data is then relayed to electronic variable message signs (VMS), which will display parking vacancy numbers for each location. The two VMS are located at the entrance to Waterfall Gully Road and on the approach to Chambers Gully. Motorists will be able to see a real-time number that displays how many parking spaces are available at multiple car parks. This will save a lot of time for many people and help to reduce traffic during high demand periods.

Nominate Now for the Environment Awards

The City of Burnside held the inaugural Environment Awards in 2021. The annual Environment Awards celebrate excellence in sustainability practices within our community by showcasing our local champions who have demonstrated a substantial environmental impact.

Nominate an individual or group to recognise local environment champions.

Last year’s Local Sustainability Winner, Andrew Compton, was recognised for his work over many years at Waterfall Gully. Andrew says there are many people working away doing good things for the environment who often go under the radar. “They don’t want to blow their own trumpet but they should be recognised,” Andrew says.

Categories

Environment Action Champion - For an action, project or initiative which has a positive impact on the environment.

Prize: $250 Heyne's Voucher

Inspiring Garden - An inspiring garden offers a place to unwind and connect with nature. Open to any garden within the City of Burnside that inspires you.

Prize: $250 Heyne's Voucher

School Project - For a school project delivered by a student or group (including pre-school students).

Prize: TreeClimb Adelaide Voucher

Nominations Open: Monday 9 January 2023 at www.burnside.sa.gov.au/EnviroAwards

Nominations Close: Friday 17 February 2023.

Environment Day will be held on Friday 3 March 2023 (see Events on page 22 for details).

The summer issue of Focus newsletter is being delivered to letter boxes this week by Australia Post.

In this issue meet your newly elected Council Members, read about Bin Tagging, Water Smart Burnside, Magill Village Redevelopment, Environment Awards and more.

You can also read it online here.

In 1836, several olive trees arrived in South Australia aboard the HMS Buffalo with Governor Hindmarsh and his secretary George Stevenson. These trees were the beginning of the South Australian olive oil industry. Sir Samuel Davenport (1818-1906) of Beaumont House was responsible for the rapid growth of olives and the olive oil industry in the Burnside area.

Pictured below is a bottle of olive oil that came from that very plantation. This bottle is part of the Burnside Treasures collection which is viewable in the Local History Room in the Burnside Library.

Picture – Burnside Local History Collection

Did you know that Hazelwood Park was known as a "National Pleasure Resort" in the early 20th century? The land was originally owned by the Clark family as part of the Hazelwood Estate, but in 1914 they sold the land to the State Government under the condition that it remained a park.

In 1915 it was declared a National Pleasure Resort under the National Pleasure Resorts Act 1914, and in 1964 the park was handed over to the City of Burnside. To this day Hazelwood Park remains a central attraction within the City of Burnside and will host the annual Carols in the Park this Friday 9 December.

Photo: Gum trees in Hazelwood Park, circa 1921. Courtesy of State Library of South Australia

The winners of the 2022 Christmas Card Design Competition have been announced.

The popular annual Christmas Card Design Competition received a record number of entries this year, with 137 submissions from children who attend Burnside schools. This is the third year that this competition has been held. Usually it’s called the Mayor’s Christmas Card Design Competition, but due to Council elections taking place this year, it was changed the City of Burnside Christmas Card Design Competition. Luckily, the election results were announced in time for judging for the competition, so our Mayor Anne Monceaux was delighted that she was able to judge the competition again this year, alongside City of Burnside CEO Chris Cowley.

The theme was “What makes an Australian Christmas?”. The competition was open to Year 2 and 3 students from schools within the City of Burnside. With so many entries received, judging was difficult and it took some time to settle on a winner and runners up. With so many amazing entries, it’s evident that there are many talented budding artists amongst Burnside school children!

Annie, 9, a student from Burnside Primary school, was declared the winner at a ceremony on Monday 5 December in the Mayor’s Parlor within the City of Burnside Civic Centre. Her winning design features a surfing Santa, a festive dolphin, koala and sun, a reindeer and wrapped presents under a tree. Annie attended the ceremony with her grandmother Elizabeth, who said she was so proud of Annie and very excited to have been able to come to the ceremony. Annie received a $100 gift voucher for the Harry Hartog Book Shop at Burnside Village.

When designing her Christmas card, Annie was inspired by time she spent at her family’s beach house in Port Lincoln. She saw a picture on a cup of Santa surfing, which inspired her drawing of a jolly Santa surfing in the ocean in his Christmas hat. While kayaking in the ocean, she saw a dolphin, which inspired the festive dolphin image in her design. Annie and her family will be celebrating Christmas this year at her auntie’s house.

The three runners up were Chloe (Burnside Primary School), Lachlan (Rose Park Primary School) and Ryan (Burnside Primary School). Each design was bright, colourful, cheerful, unique and, of course, Australian. Each runner up received a Regal Theatre Family Voucher and a Burnside Pool Pass.

You can visit the City of Burnside Civic Centre to view all of the 137 entries, which will be displayed until mid-January. See if you can pick your favourite!

Thank you to everyone who entered the competition this year!

The winners of the 2022 Christmas Card Design Competition (from left): Chloe, Annie, Lachlan and Ryan

Annie (Burnside Primary School) took away the first prize

Chloe (Burnside Primary School) was a runner up

Ryan (Burnside Primary School) was a runner up

Lachlan (Rose Park Primary School) was a runner up

On Saturday 3 December we were delighted to celebrate the official opening of the completed Magill Village Project, which has seen a wide range of improvements installed within the precinct. This project involved collaboration across all three tiers of government, as well as cooperation between the City of Burnside and Campbelltown City Council, with $2 million in Federal Government funding and $5.75 million in State Government funding.

This redevelopment has delivered a safer and more accessible streetscape with additional pedestrian crossings, improved cycling lanes and disability access compliant footpaths, as well as new paving, landscaping, public art and bespoke street furniture. Environmental sustainability has also been front of mind, with 68 new trees and water sensitive urban design features installed.

All of these features combine to create a unique and inviting identity for the precinct which we hope you will enjoy exploring. Thank you to everyone who helped bring this project to life, we are so proud of the final outcome and invite you to visit this summer!

Pic L - R: John Gardner MP, Jack Batty MP, Mayor Jill Whittaker, Paul DiIulio CEO Campbelltown City Council, Mayor Anne Monceaux, Chris Cowley CEO City of Burnside, James Stevens MP, Vincent Tarzia MP.

During the Second World War the Australian Government created a means for the public to support the war effort at a low cost that would also be of benefit to them in the future. These were called were War Savings Credits, which were a form of war bond. These bonds could be purchased for a small amount of money and redeemed after seven years for the amount printed on the certificate. These could be bought for as little as three shillings (approximately $19.64 today) and cashed in for five pounds (approximately $613 today) at the end of the bond period. Signs like the one pictured were used to advertise the scheme, where streets of residents would contribute to buy multiple bonds together to support the war effort overseas.

Photo: War Savings Sign in the Burnside Treasures Cabinet in the Local History Room at the Burnside Library.