North Sydney Sun March/April issue 2021

INSIDE: Ghost Train fire revisited, Jobkeeper ends & a LGA-wide smoking ban?

March/April 2021

News and views for North Sydney’s residential and business community

www.northsydneysun.com.au

Opposition emerges to proposed Beaches Link Both North Sydney Council and a trio of independent councillors have expressed concerns about the Beaches Link and Western Harbour Tunnel developments, even as work has begun on construction.

A section of St Leonard Park adjacent to the Greens restaurant and the Ridge St carpark has been established as a temporary construction site for the project, while a larger 28,000 sq m section of the western side of Cammeray Park has also been earmarked for a similar purpose in the medium term.

The independents trio of Councillors Zoe Baker, MaryAnn Beregi and Tony Carr have written to the NSW Department of Planning with the claim that, far from alleviating lower north shore traffic woes, the roads projects will exacerbate them.

“The project fails to provide a sustainable response to metropolitan congestion. The provision of such a tunnel is counter to all reasonable and sustainable transport and traffic planning evidence and principles. The project will result in significant adverse impacts

including, but not limited to, significant net additional traffic on Berry Street, Miller Street, Falcon Street and Pacific Highway (south of Falcon Street) as well as significant reductions in levels of service,” they wrote in a submission.

“The occupation of the Cammeray Golf Course construction site will be extended by 2 years to 7 years in total as a direct result of the ... projects. This will cause significant flow-on impacts on other arterial and local roads in the North Sydney local government area.

The proposal (for) four traffic lanes (in)

Berry Street will directly and indirectly impact upon numerous adopted and draft State and Local Government strategic projects and initiatives,” they added. “The proposal will cut a swathe through the North Sydney CBD public domain initiatives without delivering any real benefits to ameliorate or ease traffic congestion within the region.”

North Sydney Council itself was less adamant about drawbacks of the roads upgrade but still emphasised the disContinued on page 3

Critics target Icon over renovation of swimming icon but Council demurs North Sydney Council has launched a strong defence of its decision to choose a contractor associated with the defective Opal Tower to rebuild the iconic North Sydney Olympic Pool. The decision is now a fait accompli with work beginning this month following a smoking ceremony at the site.

The Council experienced widespread commercial and social media ridicule when it was revealed that Icon was the successful tenderer for the pool redevelopment project, budgeted at up to $64m from an original $28m estimate.

Icon was the construction supplier for the Opal Tower in Sydney’s Olympic Park which notoriously had to be evacuated in late 2018 when cracks and fissures appeared across several floors.

Icon later paid out $31m compensation.

Typical of the derisive reaction on social media was one commenter who said: “Out of all the possible building contractors North Sydney council could have chosen, they went with the one that had to pay $31m in compensation for shoddy construction? Perhaps this is how the council expects to get back to their original $28m budget.”

But the Council has strongly defended the selection process and implies that the choice has been misrepresented. “After an extensive expressions of interest process, ICON SI was shortlisted by resolution of Council as one of eight contractors invited to submit a detailed tender. Five of the eight shortlisted companies elected to do so,” a spokesperson told the North Sydney Sun. “The tenders were assessed with consideration to: robustness of the proposed construction methodology;

demonstrated capacity, experience and technical ability; duration of construction period; and price.”

Council said that the Icon unit selected for the pool redevelopment was a different entity to the one contracted for Opal and that it most recently had completed a $15m rebuild of the Lane Cove Aquatic Centre, apparently built on time and on budget “ICON SI (formerly Cockram) are an Australian contracting company with 150 years of experience. They are now part of the Kajima Corporation, a Japanese owned multinational construction group with 17,000 employees operating in over 20 countries. The ICON SI portfolio included three major aquatic projects, the most recent being Lane Cove Aquatic Centre which was completed last year,” the spokesperson said.

A Council meeting on 15 December resolved to authorise the finalisation of contract negotiations. “Prior to entering the contract on 31 December 2020, a detailed independent financial assessment of the company was undertaken.

Council appointed a sub committee for this purpose, which reviewed the final contract terms. Specialist advice was provided by Sparke Helmore solicitors,” Council said.

“While ICON SI was connected under the Kajima umbrella with the Icon that built Opal Tower, it is a separate legal and financial entity and it was assessed on the quality and size of the projects ICON SI (and the Cockram team) had completed.”

Council has also defended the inContinued on page 2

Left to right: State MP Felicity Wilson, North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson, Icon NSW state director Ed Whiting and federal MP Trent Zimmerman

Council defends choice of pool developer Continued from page 1 crease in budget for the project, stating that much of it is for contingency and ancillary suppliers.

“The initial budget estimate in 2019 for the redevelopment option selected

by Council to proceed to Development Assessment was $57.9M. The construction contract entered with ICON Si is valued at $53.5M. However, Council has allowed for an overall final budget of $63.9M, which includes design and development costs, legal and specialist consultancies, project management for the balance of the project and an allowance for contingencies that may arise during construction.”

The pool redevelopment project has split the council, with a motion to rescind the tender process to date only narrowly defeated 5-4. Key councillors to speak out against the process were MaryAnn Beregi, Zoe Baker and Tony Carr. They raised arguments around the large costs and debts created by the project and what was seen as the lack of commercial sustainability of its retail component. There are also issues over what is perceived as a lack of scrutiny and transparency, and concerns it may

necessitate asset sales.

Beregi, ahead of the rescission vote, said: “There has been a huge abuse of the trust of the community… the business case is flimsy and dodgy.”

Councillor Alanya Drummond dismissed these arguments, saying that the redevelopment of the pool has been considered for up to seven years and has been debated at as many as 15 meetings in that period.

General Manager Ken Gouldthorp claimed the concerns about cost blowouts for the project were unfounded: “The entire budget allocation, including the design phase, consultation, DA preparation, construction and an allowance for contingencies has increased from $57.9M to $63.9M.” He added: “The cost of construction is within 5% of the estimate provided

by Council’s quantity surveyors. This project has been well managed to this point and I am confident that Council has struck the right balance between maintaining the essential character of the pool and upgrading to 21st century standards that meet the needs and expectations of the community.”

Mayor Jilly Gibson said: “The North

Sydney Olympic Pool has served our community splendidly for 84 years.

Sadly, age has taken its toll and the 50m pool, concourse and grandstand have deteriorated to the point that we can only operate with load restrictions.

This redevelopment will mean our regular swimmers will be able to enjoy their harbourside swim for many decades to come. The redevelopment will

also open the complex to new customers. We’ll have better swimming and play options for families, older people will be able to enjoy gentle exercise in warm water pools and we’ll be able to offer more aquatic and fitness classes and an expanded gymnasium. This will be a centre that meets the needs of future generations, not just a fortunate few.”

ABC documentary revives interest in 1979 Luna Park Ghost Train fire The airing of a three part documentary series by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation about the Luna Park Ghost Train Fire has revived interest in what really happened on that night of Saturday 9 June 1979.

Six children and one adult perished in the flames of the Ghost Train,, which started in an imitation fireplace on the train route.

And despite the initial police verdict that it was the result of an electrical fault and a later coronial finding that the “cause of the fire cannot be conclusively stated”, there is still plenty of evidence that foul play may have been the cause of the blaze.

The ABC Exposed series focuses on a survivor, Jason Holman, who was just 12 when he attended Luna Park with his four schoolboy best mates from Waverley College - Jonathan Billings, Richard Carroll, Seamus Rahilly and Michael

Johnson. This was the first time the boys had ventured out without their parents. In a cruel twist, Holman survived while his friends perished. Holman has been haunted by their deaths ever since and participated in the documentary via assisting the producers with making sense of the extensive dossier on the fire compiled by the late Martin Sharp, the famous Australian pop artist.

Sharp, who died in 2013, painted the iconic laughing face and viewed the place as a form of inanimate muse.

Sharp was among the first to suspect foul play and was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery of the fire.

Martin’s Sydney estate Wirian is effectively a shrine to the Ghost Train disaster: a whole room is dedicated to it: containing thousands of documents, witness statements, official inquiries, court records, media clippings, hun-

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dreds of hours of audio recordings with key people connected to the story and a treasure trove of art inspired by the fire and its victims.

Sharp’s biographer and friend Lowell Tarling says the findings of the Exposed documentary have long been known, and buried, for decades. What’s new now is that Holman, via the ABC, is getting some of the revelations out to the wider world.

“I met Jason Holman at Wirian - and he wanted to tell his story, so I guess what’s new is that the story got and the general public got to hear what has been struggling to get out of Wirian for several decades,” Tarling told the North Sydney Sun. “Like many others I helped Martin with his research, ran tapes on him telling the story and did rather a lot of tidying up and labelling tapes and ordering newspaper clippings. Martin would have been so pleased to have this story out,” he adds.

According to Tarling, Martin was essential in keeping the story alive because of the persistence he showed all the way to his passing 24 years on.

“He taped all the major players, kept the reports, stored a lot of Luna Park's effects. He just wanted to hand the torch over to people who would listen.

Back in 1985, I was running around various media trying to get them to run the story. He did too. But they just weren't interested,” Tarling laments.

Sharp was first made aware of the fire by Arkie Whiteley, the daughter of

Wendy and Brett Whiteley, who spotted the flames from their nearby Lavender Bay residence.

She called Sharp to tell him, and the news was quickly repeated to him by two visitors. He quickly drove over and was taken aback by the scale of the fire, which also claimed the adjoining Big Dipper, itself closed for repairs.

Sharp saw a form of religious meaning in the deaths: the four dead boys from Waverley College were like the four apostles, even having attended Mass prior to visiting the park. The other three—a father and two sons—were named Godson. And the deaths occurred where the living poked fun at the deceased in the form of a ghost train.

Tarling admits: “Martin didn’t help his case by presenting a whole host of metaphysical and numerological examples to prove his point. Like, there was Continued on page 9

Beaches Link construction fine print raises hackles of councillors

Continued from page 1 ruption it would cause, while specifically calling for the motorways facilities building proposed for Cammeray to be placed underground.

“The construction and postconstruction impacts on North Sydney open space is substantial,” Council said in its submission.

“The permanent loss of much valued land in Cammeray Park (28,896m2 in total) is of significant concern. The proposed Motorway Facilities Buildings do not need to be on the surface as proposed and can be placed underground to minimise the visual impact and maximise retention of usable open space for

the North Sydney & regional community.” Council said that the construction costs are temporary, whereas the loss of open space and visual impacts are permanent. “The facilities buildings consist primarily of ventilation and substation equipment and precedents show that these facilities can be placed underground. If the project proceeds, the development of an overarching strategy for negotiation of financial and open space loss amelioration and compensation is warranted,” Council added.

But with the ink barely dry on these submissions, the NSW government is wasting no time and has already begin works. In a March update, NSW Planning said: “Service and utility relocation

and removal work will be starting in March. This work is being carried out by the Sydney Program Alliance on behalf of Transport for NSW.” “This work will include establishing four temporary site compounds, above and below ground service and utilities relocations and removal including power, water, sewer and telecommunications.”

The compounds are at Blue St and Ridge St in North Sydney and Ernest St and Rosalind St in Cammeray.”

First cab off the rank is Ridge St, where a “temporary construction site will include a storage area for machinery and equipment, staff parking, offices, a lunchroom and wash facilities for

around 35 staff and construction crews.

To build the site we will need to use excavators, cranes, hand tools, some heavy vehicles, traffic controls and light vehicles.”

According to Transport for NSW, “The Ridge Street temporary construction site is only needed until construction is finished in around 2025. When we have finished our work we will be returning the site to the community.

We will work with the community and stakeholders as to what the future site will look like. This will be developed by the contractor during detailed design and we will keep the community informed as this process progresses and how you can be involved. “

Can North Sydney CBD handle the transport load?

North Sydney’s CBD may become a defacto regional transport hub for the northside of Sydney, as a little understood consequence of the plans for Beaches Link and the Western Harbour Tunnel.

That’s the view of the Committee for North Sydney, an interest group mainly comprised of architects, urban planners and local community leaders.

According to the committee, under the plans, the main transport interchange on the northside will be the North Sydney city centre.

“Its few narrow streets will not only carry all the local buses but become the regional terminus for the B-Line and northern commuter buses that now run to the Sydney CBD. Berry Street is not a

pedestrian-friendly street in the heart of the city – it’s the on-ramp for the Warringah Expressway.

Current transport plans make it the on-ramp for both the Western Harbour Tunnel and the Beaches Link as well.”

In its submission to the Beaches Link environmental impact study, the Committee goes further in its analysis.

“In its present form, transport planning nevertheless directs lower North Shore traffic not only to this regional transport node but into smaller roads with Sydney’s highest concentration of schools, and into the heart of the North Sydney city centre, where there are some of Sydney’s highest concentrations of pedestrians,” the submission to the EIS says.

The committee believes that plans for the Berry St off ramp connecting the Western Harbour Tunnel to the Warringah Freeway should be scrapped and the regional hub should be located closer to Cammeray.

It says this is feasible and can be incorporated into the existing plans for a Cammeray portal into the Harbour Tunnel.

A submission from Milsons Precinct to Planning NSW reinforces the point.

It says: “North Sydney will become the terminus for 350 morning peak hour buses from the northern beaches and coming out onto Warringah Freeway and then Alfred St, High St, to then cross over Pacific Highway to drop passengers to North Sydney train

station in Blue St followed by Victoria Cross Metro stations, in Miller Street.”

The Precinct believes these buses should not be adding to the already congested traffic of North Sydney and rely simply on the use of the existing road system at grade.

“This situation must be ameliorated by additional infrastructure works, preferably via a tunnel direct to an underground transport interchange. It has been done before, similar for example to Tokyo city.”

The Precinct also adds that “furthermore, the impact on North Sydney roads especially the arterial traffic function of Berry Street, Pacific Highway, Miller Street & Falcon Street is of grave concern.”

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THE SUN SAYS…

Revamp for Middle Head scenic walk

The decision of North Sydney Mayor Jilly Gibson to pursue a complete ban on public smoking in the LGA is likely to draw national attention to the district over coming months.

The Mayor wishes to put the question up for referendum at September’s Council elections.

The Council already bans smoking near playgrounds, sports fields, outdoor dining areas on Council-owned land and in bus shelters and taxi ranks. There are also smoking bans in Brett Whiteley Place and Elizabeth Plaza in the North Sydney CBD and in Ernest Place in Crows Nest.

The Mayor says it is time we gathered our courage and took the next step to an LGA wide ban. This would involve banning smoking in all public areas within the North Sydney Council Municipality including all parks, reserves, streets and plazas.

She says 80% of submissions to a consultation process held recently backed this idea.

“Such a ban will not stop people smoking on private property or in designated smoking areas. But it will mean that non-smokers, who are the majority of the community, will not be exposed to second hand smoke which is detrimental to health. It should also further decrease the number of discarded cigarette butts which leach toxins into the soil or harbour water. This is a big step and I’m sure we’ll hear criticism about being a nanny state,” Gibson says.

Indeed, she will. But it is to her enormous credit that this will not just be pushed through as a line item on a monthly council agenda but will likely be put to an LGA-wide vote.

The question may also be accompanied by another as to whether North Sydney’s mayor should be directly elected by the people, as opposed to a majority of councillors.

In both cases, let the debate begin.

Sydney Harbour National Park's historic military fortifications at Middle Head and Georges Head are set to get a $10 million revamp conserving their history and providing the public greater and safer access.

Environment Minister Matt Kean said the project will also include a new 3km walking track showcasing the breathtaking views from the headlands on Sydney Harbour.

"These works at Middle Head and Georges Head will focus on stabilising the nationally significant structures which represent the most diverse collection of defence sites in Australia, while ensuring public safety," Kean said. "The new walk will also connect to the Sydney Harbour Scenic Walk, itself part of the greater Manly to Bondi Walk, and showcase Australia's most diverse collection of fortifications dating from 1801 to WWII." Member for North Shore Felicity Wilson, said: "This investment in Middle Head walking tracks will connect our harbour foreshore benefiting locals, and drawing people from across Sydney to enjoy the natural environment, military history and indigenous heritage."

The National Parks and Wildlife Serviceis constructing the 3km walking track to connect the headlands to adjoining parklands and is providing interpretation to assist visitors in exploring and learning about the area's history, Aboriginal, natural and cultural heritage. Other works will also include new viewing platforms and seating areas. All works are expected to be completed by June 2022, with sections of the new track by October this year.

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ernment for the construction of the Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway upgrade. Blues Point Reserve is under extra pressure at present because the centre of the park is taken up with a work compound for the NSW Government infrastructure works. A large work compound is also taking up the centre of Bradfield Park while Harbour Bridge works are undertaken. The temporary loss of these large areas of open space is having a flow on effect to other foreshore areas such as Quibaree Park and Cremorne Point Reserve," she said.

"We could review signage and install one sign, preferably an illuminated one, that makes it clear what is and isn't permissible in the park or reserve. We could potentially increase ranger surveillance of popular parks so we can keep a closer eye on how they are being used."

Northern Sydney councils back the right to repair

those for which the consumer is responsible. It may include a repair by a manufacturer, a third-party, or a selfrepair option through available replacement parts and repair information.

The Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils said its members are interested in repair as an approach to product life extension which has a direct benefit in reducing both waste to landfill and the premature disposal of products and materials.

“Repair is very relevant to local government as the key manager of domestic waste, because it reflects the top half of the waste management hierarchy which is the most effective point of intervention in reducing the amount of waste/resources sent to landfill," the submission says.

"There are potentially more jobs associated with repair and reuse than recycling; there are costs savings to consumers; there are new business opportunities for the repair industry and social enterprise; there is a more equitable and appropriate allocation of environmental responsibility to those who produce and consume electrical and electronic equipment; there is a cost saving to local government in not having to carry as much of the economic burden of managing e-waste.”

A group of northern Sydney councils is supporting the concept of a Right To Repair in a joint submission made to a Productivity Commission inquiry.

Mayor concerned about The term right to repair describes a guerilla take-overs of parks consumer's ability to repair faulty North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson is goods, or access repair services, at a proposing more signage and ranger competitive price. This can relate to a surveillance to limit what she termed range of product faults, including as "guerrilla" use of local parks for large scale weddings and the like.

She told a Council meeting that: "A few weeks ago someone used the reserve without Council's permission for a wedding, which placed the bride and groom in front of a panorama that included the Bridge and Opera House.

In the normal course of events this wouldn't warrant a Mayoral Minute, but in this case the happy couple erected two marquees, a wedding arch and 50 chairs to support the event.

Council doesn't permit marquees in our parks for private events, as they can damage the grass and our watering systems, so this guerrilla take-over of our park was cheeky and potentially costly to Council."

She emphasised that her reaction was about proportionality, stating that a small pop up picnic table with flowers added to the atmosphere. "But North Shore MP Felicity Wilson with the North Sydney Yarnalarger events that annex the space chists, members of the of the Stanton Public Library’s "Wrap from public use and increase wear and with Love" group who created The Refuse of Coral Reef installatear on the park, need to be controlled. tion at Brett Whitely Place and aim to increase awareness of the This will be especially important in the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef through rising sea temperacoming few years as areas of open tures (coral bleaching) and contamination by plastics. space are taken over by the NSW Gov-

3,000 local businesses to lose Jobkeeper in April Over 3,000 businesses in the North Sydney region may be affected by the withdrawal of the Federal Government’s Jobkeeper program at the end of March, according to Treasury data.

The data, released in late February, showed that Crows Nest and St Leonards businesses were the leading recipients of Jobkeeper subsidies: with 1066 applications from the 2065 postcode.

The 2060 postcode, covering North Sydney, McMahons Point and Waverton, wasn’t far behind with 1020 applications.

2061 covering Milsons Point and Kirrbilli accounted for 218 applications, 2090 covering Cremorne 331, 2089 covering Neutral Bay some 385 applications and 2062 covering Cammeray some 172 applications.

The North Sydney and Crows Nest areas ranked in the top 20 postcodes receiving the subsidy. Sydney’s CBD with over 6,000 business recipients was the leader.

Considerably fewer businesses in the region were receiving the subsidy compared to the first phase at the height of COVID last year, when eligibility was considerably looser and the economy more dramatically affected. At the peak in August, there were 1918 recipients in the 2060 postcode and 2128 in 2065.

That same month, the 2061 postcode accounted for 587 applications, 2090 586, 2089 774 and 2062 346.

Over 6,300 area businesses were thus receiving Jobkeeper in August last year.

Vocus founder James Spenceley joins Kogan Vocus Communications founder and area resident James Spenceley will join the board of Kogan.com as a nonexecutive director from next month.

Spenceley is also chair of wireless tower infrastructure provider Swoop and chairman and seed investor in Airtasker, among other board positions.

He founded Vocus Communications in 2007 and remained at the company for nine years until shortly after its merger with M2 to become Vocus Group in 2016.

Boost Juice and Retail Zoo founder and former Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Janine Allis is also joining the board as an independent director effective from the start of April.

Commenting on his appointment, Spenceley said he is excited to be joining the Kogan team. “It is always a great pleasure to work for a high growth business and Kogan.com’s track record on growth and innovation is second to none,” he said.

“Ruslan [Kogan], David [Shafer], the Board and the entire Kogan.com team have done an incredible job creating such a true Australian success story. It’s rare and very exciting to be joining a business with such great people, momentum and opportunity ahead of it."

Business Talk

James Spenceley The appointment of a high profile telco figure to the board comes as Kogan revealed its Kogan Mobile MVNO business is now contributing close to 5% of its group profit.

Woolworths highlights life without bees Woolworths has stripped the shelves of its Neutral Bay store [after hours] in Sydney of fruit, vegetables, and longlife products that rely on pollination, illustrating the significant role bees and insects play in Australia’s food supply.

The removal of the products from the shelves in the store coincides with the recent return of Woolworths’ popular Discovery Garden collection, which helps customers grow their own vegetables, herbs, and flowers. This year’s collection has an added emphasis on bees; 21 of the 24 seedlings can attract bees and encourage pollination in local gardens and ecosystems.

Vast amounts of Australia’s floral resources have recently been decimated by drought, bushfires, and floods. Last year’s bushfires resulted in 15.6 million hectares of burnt forests, which provided nectar and pollen required for healthy bees.

Without these resources, popular fruit and vegetables like avocado, apples, cucumbers, pumpkins, rockmelons, watermelons, blueberries, zucchini, macadamias, kiwi fruit would become scarce. Similarly, pantry staples like coffee beans, muesli, cereal, almonds, fruit juices, fruit based jams, canola oil, and sunflower seeds all rely on or include ingredients that require pollination.

Sixty-five per cent of Australian horticultural and agricultural crops require honey bees in order to pollinate, amounting to more than $14 billion contributed to the economy each year.

Without bees, these products could cease to appear in supermarket shelves and customers’ plates.

What really happened at Luna Park on that fateful June night in 1979?

Continued from page 2 a train strike so on that day the Ghost Train was the only train running in Sydney. Martin didn’t have to start there as he had a whole lot of testimonials from people who said they smelt an accelerant or they saw bikers.”

Tarling’s book Sharpest catalogues testimony from a number of witnesses on the day who either overheard bikies talking about kerosene and matches, or whose observations of the fire almost certainly suggested the presence of accelerant.

The ABC documentary also highlights from testimony from firefighters who attended the scene that night, who could not understand how police could attribute the fire to an electrical fault within a matter of hours.

Sharp himself originally thought it was “an amazing coincidence” that a real fire had begun in an imitation one.

But he then grew convinced that it indicated an act of “total deviousness,” according to the ABC. “All those people who went through were fooled by it. So the alarm wasn’t given until it was too late.”

This, to Sharp, was evidence of premeditation.

As Tarling records in Sharpest, “Martin pieced together a theory that Abe Saffron had deliberately orchestrated the conflagration as a way of getting control of the place and turning it into a development.”

“Six children and one adult died, which no one wanted to happen. Martin reasoned his case from synchronicity rather than from empirical evidence, which made some people think his ideas were quite loopy.”

“The years pass. Nobody ever records this period about Luna Park without tabling Martin’s case, whether they agree with it or not. They laughed then but they’re not laughing now.”

As for Tarling, he has an even more elaborate theory that it was not Saffron behind the fire but an associate who wanted to set him up as appearing to be the perpetrator.

As for the documentary itself, it is quite a technical achievement, realistically showing what the burning Ghost Train ride felt like.

It was a massive undertaking that involved building a historically accurate replica of the Ghost Train ride, an extensive risk and safety assessment and liaison with the NSW fire brigade, which was on site during filming.

Documentary maker Caro MeldrumHanna said: “One detective said to me, 'You have found information that noone had at the time, this is fresh material', and it demands it to be reopened, whether that be another inquest or something even bigger with more compulsion powers.”

The three-part series of EXPOSED: The Ghost Train Fire is on ABC TV iview.

Sharpest, the new biography of Martin Sharp by Lowell Tarling is published

by ETT Imprint.

FROM ABOVE, CLOCKWISE: Above: Martin Sharp’s “Crucifixion” work depicting the seven souls to perished in the Ghost Train blaze. (Picture by Lowell Tarling) Below: Lowell Tarling with the subject of his biography, Martin Sharp and Jane, the corgi in 1983 (Pic by Lowell Tarling) Below Left: Luna Park today, with the current design featuring motifs developed

by Martin Sharp (Pic by Luna Park) Left: Documentary makers Patrick Begley and Caro Meldrum-Hanna in the room devoted to Ghost Train evidence at Martin Sharp’s estate (Pic by ABC) Top left: The Ghost Train fire has evoked its own lore including this picture of a mysterious man dressed as a witchdoctor or minotaur who had his picture taken with two of the victims earlier in the evening (Pic supplied)

Cityscope sees upturn in commercial sales Cityscope research has found that North Sydney commercial property sales for the quarter to January 2021 have increased in terms of both total value and number. "Sales recorded in the most recent quarter totalled $618.7 million from 37 sales, as compared to the $246.4 million from 22 sales in the quarter to October 2020 and from the $326.8 million from 21 sales recorded in the quarter to July 2020," Cityscope found. Properties listed as for sale in the January 2021 update in the areas covered by North Sydney Cityscope include 41 McLaren Street, North Sydney, a seven-storey building with a building area of 8,450 sqm, for sale through Colliers International North Sydney; Lot 61, known as suite 801 at 83 Mount Street, North Sydney, a 70 sqm commercial unit on level 8 plus a 13 sqm car space on basement parking level 2 in a 13-storey office block, for sale through Raine & Horne Commercial North Sydney, and Arcade Chambers at 443 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest for sale through CBRE Sydney.

School COVID restrictions lifted COVID-19 era restrictions on schools have been lifted, according to state MP Felicity Wilson. Wilson, citing NSW Health advice, said: "Parents and carers will be allowed to enter school grounds. Parents and carers can also attend school sport events. The same rules for community sporting competitions and training activities will apply to school sport events." She said there are now no recommended limits on singing groups in schools, including for in-class educational activities such as group repetition, chanting, recitation, or singing activities. Five metres is recommended between a group of performing singers and the audience, where practicable. Dancing activities, including dance classes, balls, formals and social events, can proceed, but organisers should select venues with adequate floor space to comply with any venue restrictions.

Time-looping romcom tells a long Sydney story short As the COVID era rolls on past its first anniversary, good cinematic film releases - particularly ones with locally relatable themes - have become rare commodities.

Sydney-set film Long Story Short aims to remedy that with a breezy romantic comedy based on an intriguing conceit: what would happen if one day on your wedding anniversary you found your life accelerating to the next year’s wedding anniversary and so on and on with no idea why or what had happened in the interim 365 days? The film plays as a form of anti-Groundhog Day. The movie stars British auteur Rafe Spall - whose character is afflicted by the time loop issue and Melbourne actor Zahra Newman, known for her appearances in Wentworth and Neighbours, appearing in her first feature film.

Without giving too much away, the film is essentially about the need to live life to the fullest in the moment and it seems suited to these COVID times even though it was made in late 2019.

Newman told the North Sydney Sun: “The film is about how in putting things off, you may be missing out on the things that are actually really valuable in life and what you’re sacrificing by not engaging with the things that you really want to do right now.”

“And 2020 was such a reckoning for quite a number of people in terms of priorities and what matters and what’s important and re-evaluating, you know,

your life and where you’re at, because it was so clear that some of those things could be taken away in an instant and that they were quite fickle, built on a house of cards.”

“So I actually think that given the year that we’ve had, yes, seeing a film like this is so nice to be able to see something that’s about romance and a bit of comedy. It’s light and makes us feel good,” Newman added.

The film, which features Noni Hazelhurst and Ronny Chieng in supporting roles, is also a form of love letter to

Sydney, making extensive use of harbourside and beach locations.

Newman, who is from Melbourne, said she relished the chance to make a film in Sydney: “It was really great to be able to film in Sydney. To be able to come to Sydney and film and not be freezing outside and have really, really amazing weather and the great location.

I think for those living in Sydney, you know, it’s easy to forget how picturesque it is. And it was also something that Rafe commented on. He is from London and he said ‘you guys are killing

Ep 36: Rupert Murdoch vs Facebook Ep 33: Chinese Colonialism Ep 31: Does Everyone hate Feminists?

it here. You just, like, walk down the street and you’ve got an amazing location.’ It’s quite rare. And so it was really lovely to be able to do that. I think we forget that we’ve got these access to these really amazing locations around.”

As for her own career, which has taken her to Sydney before for theatre appearances, Newman admitted that COVID had affected dramatic productions: “Hopefully there’s more happening this year. A lot of projects and things have kind of fallen away. So it’s almost a little bit like starting again.”

Mater Maternity celebrates its 30th anniversary

The iconic Mater Hospital in Waverton is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its current maternity wing this month, with CEO Heidi Bayliss using the occasion to draw attention to the long history of the facility.

“Well, while the 30th anniversary is certainly a milestone for Mater Maternity, our legacy does in fact date back to World War II,” Bayliss (right) told the North Sydney Sun. The Mater Hospital has a long history as an establishment for mothers and babies, and was actually founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1906 as a small 12 bed cottage hospital for women and children. A dedicated maternity hospital opened on Rocklands Road, which is the road that Mater is on now, diagonally opposite our current hospital during World War II, actually in 1942 (pictured above).”

Bayliss said a sandstone carving of the Madonna and Child can still be seen above an adjoining apartment block.

“Mater has now grown into a worldclass facility, actually one of Sydney's leading maternity hospitals, which is known for its experience, caring and much loved Mater midwifes who offer the best in maternity care to new and expecting mums,” Bayliss said.

The Mater was founded by the Sisters of Mercy back in 1906: “They did sell off to the Sisters of Charity, but the Sisters of Mercy still live around the hospital. It started as a small 12 bed cottage hospital for women and children.”

“The Mater has a very, very strong reputation in the community. People like the fact that it is a not-for-profit organization. The Mater has a reputation for providing very kind, compassionate care, we certainly look out for the poor and vulnerable people. Which quite honestly, every patient that comes in the door is vulnerable, and our mission is to provide inclusive, compassionate care to everyone that walks in that door.”

Bayliss said it’s been 30 years since the Mater opened its doors of the new maternity department. “We’ve had several recent upgrades recently. We’ve got a dedicated and cutting edge caesarean theatre. It’s an operating theatre which has been built up on the maternity floor located between the delivery suite and the special care nursery, and it is a dedicated operating theater just for caesarean sections. Which means that if some-

one requires an urgent caesarean section, life-saving caesarean section, within minutes they can be whipped around into this operating theatre,” she said.

“We’ve also got a beautifully designed special care nursery which has all private rooms, we actually call them nests. We would be one of the only hospitals on the North Shore or within Sydney, really the private hospitals in Sydney to have private rooms for a special care nursery. We also have newly refurbished luxury birthing suites which finished maybe 18 months ago, and they are fantastic. Three of them have big circular shaped baths that the women can, whilst they’re labouring, use the bathtub.”

“We also have just in the last two weeks opened up a new feeding support clinic for mothers who need assistance with breastfeeding after they leave the hospital, and comprehensive emotional wellbeing support programs for mothers and parents experiencing anxiety and depression,” she added.

The hospital has even updated itself to the COVID era: “We’re now offering virtual tours of the hospital's maternity ward and the facilities. We hold them via Zoom every second Wednesday at 6:00 PM. Expecting mums and couples can join from the comfort of their home and can ask questions they have to our team who hosts the virtual tour and Q&A sessions.”

“The last one we had 70 people attend the tour, and information can be found on our web under matermaternity.com.au under tours. But we found that they have been really well attended and we’re getting great feedback from it, and we’re having a very good conversion rate of people attending that maternity virtual tour to booking in with us to have babies.”

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Coal Loader Market, NSW Blues at NS

Seen around North Sydney

Above and below right: Sydney turned on magnificent weather for last month’s edition of the Coal Loader Artisans Market.

Meanwhile, below left, world leading cricketer Steve Smith walks off North Sydney Oval after having scored 127 runs in a one day match for the NSW Blues against Victoria. NSW went on to win the match by 57 runs. Above left and top left, the Mosman Junior Hockey Club (see here playing at Forsyth Park) was named as the Hockey NSW Community Club of the Year for 2020. The Club has around 200 boys and girls, aged from 4-18. Photos: Grahame Lynch, Tram Vo and Mark Hewitt-Park

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The centre letter must be included, and each letter may only be used once. No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in “s”.

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5 In Bermuda, what is traditionally flown on Good Friday?

6 Who (pictured) played Jesus in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ?

7 Easter Island is also known by what name?

8 And what famous statues are found there?

9 Which AFL team is playing North Melbourne on Good Friday this year?

10 What is the name of Roger Rabbit’s wife in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

ANSWERS: 1. Denmark 2. Elle Macpherson 3. Cuckoo 4. Mexico 5. Kites 6. Jim Caviezel 7. Rapa Nui 8. Moai 9. Western Bulldogs 10. Jessica Rabbit.

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66 What a dentist might recommend (5) 68 Military cap (5) 70 Register (4)

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54 If you know the intricacies then you know the – and outs (3) 57 Sudden urge to act (7) 58 Snake (7) 59 Ostensible reason (7) 61 Place or group different from those surrounding it (7) 62 Rub out (5) 64 Indifference (6)

ache, achoo, cache, cachet, catch, cate, catechol, ceca, celt, chalet, chat, cheat, chela, CHOCOLATE, cleat, cloche, clot, clothe, cloth, coach, coal, coat, coca, cochlea, coco, cocoa, cola, cole, colt, cool, coolth, coot, cote, each, echo, eclat, etch, lace, latch, leach, loach, locate, loch, loco, ocelot, octal, ootheca, tach, tache, taco, talc, teach, theca, thecal

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38 Wednesday or Thursday, for example (7) 39 Having eight straight sides (9) 40 Spasms (6) 41 African deer (8) 42 Fast (5) 43 Headlight type (7) 45 High tennis shot (3) 47 Large-scale (4) 48 Transparent sheet (10)

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Lord (5) Increase the whiteness (7) Outstanding (6) Join (4) Soft cottage cheese (7) Anthology (7) Acknowledge (5) Cocktail – one of Bond’s favourites (7) Backward view (10) Earth (5) Unprepared (9) Arm of the Mediterranean sea (8) Aromatic substance (7) Insect (3) Ancient keyboard instruments (11) Dispute (7) Encourage in crime (4) Mark (6) Location for viewing celestial bodies (11) Rage (5) Mythical troll-like creature; a type of enemy in The Lord of the Rings (3)

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56 Organs that filter waste from the blood (7) 60 Used alongside oestrogen in the female birth control pill (12) 63 Music of Jamaican origin (6) 65 Practise petty theft (6) 67 Largest living rodent (8) 69 Fatherly (8) 71 Pakistani city (6) 72 Imprison (11) 73 Part payment given as security (7) 74 Huntsman’s cry (5-2) 75 Jack in the fairy story climbed it (9)

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Cruelly, unfeelingly (9) Person who deals with water supply, drainage, etc. (7) Result (7) Drenched, sopping (11) Closer (6) Indian dishes cooked in a clay oven (8) Pertinent (8) Two-piece bathing suit (6) One dependent on drugs (6) All over the place (12) Doubter (7) Prone (3) Collusion (7) Green oily fruit – often smashed (7) Pursue (5) Grain that has been steeped, germinated and dried for brewing (4) Means of connection (5) Cereal grass, precedes –meal (3) Label (3) Tweet (5) Sentimental or over the top; often describes soap operas (12) Later reflection (12) Dragnet (5) Cereal plant; a source of whiskey (3) Trophy (3) Insurgent (5) Halt to a horse (4) Annoyance, pet – (5) Farewell (7) Tea towel (7) Used to indicate that something has been copied exactly, including errors (3)

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