FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

This week we celebrated National Volunteer Week 2024 with the theme Something for Everyone. Recognising the diverse passions and talents that all volunteers bring to their space.

Nowhere is this truer than in the City of Burnside, where we have a staggering 390 volunteers across 34 different programs. Collectively these volunteers donate approximately 27,000 hours to volunteering throughout our Council area, which is the equivalent of 13.5 full-time staff.

Volunteer with The Shed Biodiversity Nursery for three years Denise said volunteering at the nursery was a cathartic experience for her, akin to yoga and allowed her to keep active.

‘The people here are from such diverse backgrounds, a lot of them are still working and volunteer on their off days.’

At a ceremony at the Regal Theatre on 21 May 2024, Burnside recognised the contributions of its many volunteers with an award ceremony and a free movie.

Recognised volunteers in attendance included Patricia, who was awarded for her 30 years of service! As well as Sandra, Anthony and Christine were recognised for their 25 years with the city. Simone was awarded the Outstanding Achievement by a Volunteer Award, for her incredible work and dedication to the Burnside Library Toy Library.

Ramya who also volunteers at the toy library was awarded the Premier's Certificate 'Recognition for Outstanding Volunteer Service'.

In a study from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2020 over an estimated 5 million Australians volunteered through an organisation, with women aged 40-54 the most populous group.

Congratulations to all our outstanding volunteers for their hard work, dedication and commitment to making Burnside the best it can be!

If you would like to volunteer with the City of Burnside, visit our ‘Volunteer Vacancies’ or email volunteer@burnside.sa.gov.au.

Simone accepting her Outstanding Achievement by a Volunteer award Patricia accepting her Certificate of Appreciation for 30 years

Volunteers accept their Certificate of Appreciation for 5 years

Volunteers accept their Certificate of Appreciation for 10 years

Did you know the birthplace of the Hills Hoist clothesline is Glenunga?

Lancelot Leonard Hill (1902 - 1986) was born in Knoxville, South Australia, which later became part of Glenside and Glenunga in the 1910s. At age 14, Lance joined the staff of the Hill family's bacon factory and meat cannery, where he gained skills in general engineering. In October 1939, he married Cynthia Langman and moved to Glenunga.

The story goes that in 1945, Cynthia complained to Lance that there was not enough room to hang out the washing on their backyard's single-wire clothesline. Using an old pipe and a welder, Lance created a clothesline that took up less space and could be raised and lowered with ease. Family and friends admired the innovation and placed orders, which led Lance to decide to make a living by making hoists. By the time of Lance’s passing, over one million Hills Hoist had been sold.

Photograph: Leonard Hill with a Hills Hoist circa 1950s. Courtesy of Hills.

There’s plenty going on in the City of Burnside over the next few weeks, including:

✅ History Festival throughout the rest of May

✅ National Volunteer Week from Monday 20 May

✅ Give a Sheet recycling day on Saturday 25 May

✅ And more!

Find out all the latest news and more with Mayor Anne Monceaux in this edition of Burnside Highlights.

Did you know the George Bolton Swimming Pool was initially filled with water drawn directly from First Creek?

In 1954 it was announced that a swimming pool was to be established at the Hazelwood Park site. It took some years before the development came to fruition, with the official opening held in October 1966. At the 1966 ceremony, Burnside Swimming Centre (now known as George Bolton Swimming Centre) was opened by Olympian Dawn Fraser, who swam the inaugural lap. The pool featured a 50 metre pool, plus a children’s pool and wading pools. The swimming pool is adjacent to First Creek, which runs through Hazelwood Park.

Photograph: The George Bolton Swimming Centre pools circa 1980s. Burnside Local History Collection.

Did you know there are 63 State Heritage Places and 303 Local Heritage Places within the City of Burnside?

A place that contributes to South Australia's architectural, social, technological, or scientific history may be listed as a State Heritage Place. State Heritage Places in the City of Burnside include Hazelwood park, the Regal Theatre, Gartrell Church and the Waterfall Gully Kiosk.

A Local Heritage Place has values that are significant to the local area. Examples in the City of Burnside are Skye Cellars, Ransom's Corner shops, Burnside Post Office and Bennett's Pottery.

Photograph: State Heritage Place Wootton Lea in 1874. The house is now part of Seymour College. Burnside Local History Collection.

Do you recognise the location shown in this 1953 photograph?

In 1912, W.G. McAllan established the Adelaide Brick Company on 27 acres of land. The company blasted clay from the hillside and fired it in an 18 chamber Hoffman kiln, which was initially powered by coal. At its peak, the plant employed 43 men and was producing 5 million bricks per annum. However, production stopped in the late 1960s. The chimney was demolished and the land was cleared to make way for housing and a recreational reserve.

Answer: The location of the 1953 photograph is now Langman Recreation Reserve on Waterfall Gully Road, Burnside.

Join CEO Chris Cowley for this week’s episode of Burnside Highlights, keeping up with all the latest news and events within the City of Burnside.

Did you know that the Burnside Hospital in Toorak Gardens is a War Memorial?

In 1944, Otto Georg Ludwig von Rieben donated his property 'Attunga' to Burnside Council for use as a hospital, with the wish that the Edwardian residence and gardens be preserved. In 1949, the converted residence was opened with beds for 21 patients. In 1956, the purpose built Burnside War Memorial Hospital opened.

The hospital is a memorial to those who have given their lives in service of Australia.

Photographs: Attunga House and the opening of the Burnside War Memorial Hospital, 1956. Burnside Local History Collection.

A five-time Tree City of the World, the City of Burnside has become even greener, with recent figures released by Green Adelaide showing the city’s 2022 canopy cover sitting at 31 per cent!

A significant growth from previous measurements, the canopy percentage grew from 25 per cent in 2018 and 2019 and signifies a massive win for Burnside’s strategic priorities to conserve and enhance canopy cover.

Partnering with Green Adelaide and 18 other councils, the program looks to map tree cover, green spaces, built environment and urban heat across our cities.

Using a mapping system called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and thermal imagery, the program builds a three-dimensional model of the landscape, including trees and buildings. Vegetation measuring horizontally three metres or above is counted as ‘tree canopy’.

Having planted over 1,000 new trees annually for the last six years, the City of Burnside is excited for future measurements with even greater percentages of tree canopy expected.

City of Burnside CEO Chris Cowley said the investment made by Council into the future of its tree canopy was clearly paying dividends, with an increase in canopy cover that will accelerate in the longer term.

‘We currently have thousands of trees that do not reach the three-metre requirement due to their immaturity. In the coming years, we will see continued growth in our canopy percentage as these trees meet the threshold.’

If you would like to view the online map of all councils involved in the program, you can do so at http://spatialwebapps.environment.sa.gov.au/urbanheat/?viewer=urbanheat.

For more information, watch the latest episode of Burnside Neutral.

LiDAR mapping City of Burnside canopy map

City of Burnside was recently named a Tree City of the World for the fifth time

Join Mayor Anne Monceaux for this week’s episode of Burnside Highlights, keeping up with all the latest news and events within the City of Burnside. Find out more about what’s happening at www.engage.burnside.sa.gov.au