The Beast's Monthly Mailbag

Words The Good People of the Eastern Beaches

Hilarious

Dear Beast - Thank you for the entertaining juxtaposition in August’s Monthly Mailbag. First, Thomas with his polite request that people not behave like over-indulged prats when dealing with Council (good luck with that, Thomas), followed by Dale “writing to express [his] outrage” about bike lanes put in by Council. Good one, Dale! You should ring Council and say, “I‘m a car driver!” That is bound to get their attention.

Robert Parkinson

Bellevue Hill

Bronte’s Edition

Hi James - I just wanted to write a special thank you for featuring Bronte Goodieson in the last edition of The Beast. I have some of her artworks in my home and she’s an awesome local artist.

I thought the profile on her really made her shine. I’ve met her many times at different markets, and seeing her in The Beast really made me happy that even more people can enjoy her colourful, happy pieces!

Nicky Randwick

You’re the Voice

Dear James - You would expect every journal editor in Australia to have a strong view about the Voice, Yes or No. Problem is, when you write off one side as ‘misinformation and fearmongering’, as you did, then your readers are entitled to ask if you are fair-minded.

When stone-age hunter-gatherers met modernity, in the form of ships, farmers and guns, the inevitable wholesale disruption to Indigenous tribes occurred.

Out of such ominous circumstances the great triumph of 21st Century Australia is that about 80 per cent of the over 800,000 Australians who now identify as Indigenous are doing okay in society at large. Significantly, about 70 per cent have partners or spouses who are not Indigenous. An effective integration into regular Australian society has occurred. We all know these people - they are household names in sport, government, universities and business. Some are our neighbours and colleagues at work. Some are Aussie battlers. They do not need a separate power of representation in the Constitution. The Burden of Culture by Gary Johns, a former ALP government minister, has the details.

About 20 per cent of Indigenous Australians are living mainly in rural and remote communities with lives blighted by abuse of women and children, low school attendance, obesity and diabetes, and high incarceration rates of men (mainly for abuse of women). These fellow citizens need assistance to succeed in contemporary Australia. We don’t need to attach a race label to them. We should resist the implication that would come from creating a permanent privilege in the Constitution, that these people are to ever remain powerless and dependent.

But how do we help these fellow citizens ‘close the gap’? The billions spent annually by Canberran bureaucrats advised by committees of city Aboriginal elites is not working. The Yes case seems to rest on the untested assumption that changing the Constitution will fix this problem.

Famous Australian anthropologist Peter Sutton, author of The Politics of Suffering, writes: “To hold out to those suffering the grim realities of certain Indigenous communities the expectation that they will be safer, healthier, less arrested, because of the contracting of a formal Reconciliation package is to offer them goanna oil. Surely by now we understand that to peddle a grand national gesture as a cure for early renal failure and child abuse is not just whimsy-minded, it is dangerous mumbo-jumbo.” The answer is local initiatives, one community at a time.

Chris

Clovelly The Voice

I’m at a loss to understand the reasoning behind people voting Yes to the Voice because it makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

These people, the ones that have their head shaved up one side and a nose ring (you know the kind who I’m talking about), they should try and go further than 5km from their Single Origin coffee shop, have a trip to Darwin or Alice Springs and walk the streets after dark and tell me that another government body will be any different and improve the lives of these people.

We have Albo giving us little detail on what it means for the average Australian, he wants us to trust him. Since he came to power I’m waiting for my $275 discount on my electricity bill, which has gone up 30 per cent. Trust him I don’t. It’s divided this once great country.

Nathan

The Bra

Yes or No?

Hi Beast - In last month’s edition I saw a couple of letters saying they can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t support the Voice. Therein lies the problem; are we supposed to support the Voice just because one person can’t understand why we wouldn’t?

No doubt there are some voters opposed to it who are motivated by nothing but prejudice towards Indigenous people. But what about those who don’t understand what the Voice is or how it will work, or want to know basic details like how many years individual members will serve for? How are you trying to persuade and explain it to them?

You’re more than welcome to despair that anyone could be ‘undecided’ or want details, but do you want their vote, or don’t you? Yes or no? Because answering that question in the affirmative is the only way this will get up.

Nicholas Bondi

Stay Positive

Thank you to James and Marjorie for their thoughtful contributions to the Yes vote in August’s edition of The Beast.

I feel the same way and sent away for my Vote Yes corflute, which is now proudly up in my window (www.voteyes.com.au).

Ignore the mud being thrown by the No camp, they have nothing to offer, only hate and division. I would urge people to vote Yes because it’s the right thing to do.

Regards,

Andrew Worssam Bondi

I’m Voting Yes!

Hi James - I read you’re Welcome Note, You’re the Voice, in the August edition of The Beast tonight. As a volunteer and neighbourhood team leader with Wentworth for the Voice, and someone who got piled-on on Twitter over the weekend for one of my tweets in calling out the threatening behaviour of a No supporter while I was handing out Vote Yes flyers on the weekend, I wanted to reach out and say, thank you!

Words like yours in The Beast give me heart and steel my resolve to keep campaigning on behalf of Australia’s Indigenous peoples. And I will be sharing them with my fellow volunteers.

Despite the frustration caused by a misleading No campaign, I am constantly buoyed while handing out flyers because I so often hear the three words I’ve come to love: “I’m voting Yes!” Regards,

Robert Fairhead Bondi

A Seat at the Table

Thank you for your words. I hate to admit I rarely read The Beast, but seeing who the local artist was led me to your great piece. I have just returned from working in the Central Desert Region, where male life expectancy is perhaps 65 if you’re lucky and people in their early 30s look 50, and I don’t understand the difficulty people are having with all this.

I liken it to the fruit table at preschool (although I’m probably insulting preschoolers by drawing an analogy with government), it’s like a child having to sit in the corner, not bring their chair up to the table and be included in the sharing of fruit and stories. Honestly, that’s all this is, a permanent seat at the table that can’t be kicked away by a thoughtless child (incoming or outgoing governments).

The issues surrounding Indigenous communities result from years and years of powerlessness. We would have exactly the same problems if an alien race landed tomorrow and moved us from our homes, work, food, etc. If people are so fearful of letting them have a voice, then what does it say about us?

Sorry to rant, but I just shake my head in disbelief at all this extrapolating of what it will lead to!

Kind regards,

Dr Sarah Cooper Bondi

Aussie Referenda

In the last three months of the year 2073, the Asian Republic of Australia plans to hold a national referendum to recognise the minority Australian whites (aka the white trash of Asia) in the Constitution of The Asian Republic of Australia.

The traditional mass media, the traditional opposition parties, and the traditional No case political lobby recommends a No vote.

In Australia, the No case has beaten the Yes case in 72 per cent of referenda ever held, whether it was Aboriginal Australia before 1788, white Australia from 1788 to 2048, or the Asian Republic of Australia from 2048 onward.

Australians have had American negative pessimistic propaganda conditioning from films since Boxing Day 1903 (43,667 days), from television since September 16, 1956 (24,409 days), and from the Internet since June 23, 1989 (12,441 days) as at July 16, 2023.

The traditional mass media, the traditional opposition parties, and the traditional No case political lobby would like to firmly point out that the white Australians refused to recognise the first Australians and the Aboriginal peoples in the former White Australia Constitutional Monarchy Constitution by referendum in the final three months of 2023.

The traditional governments and the traditional Yes case political lobby have an uphill battle to convince negative and conservative Australians and Asians to back their Yes case as they have failed to convince Australians and Asians about “what is in it for the man and the woman in the street.”

When it comes to Aussie referenda, the No case nearly always beats the Yes case.

Jane Wallace Riverwood

Flower Power

Dear Beast - For many years now in Ireland and the UK, and in fact in many places around the world, there is a growing movement for wildflower diversity. It started in country towns on roadsides and laneways, and it’s made its way to cities, where people are urging councils to allow grasses to grow long, wildflowers to pop up and vital habitats for butterflies and bees to flourish.

This has been on my mind lately as I see Randwick Council out with their herbicides everywhere, Yarra Bay in particular. Do we really need bowling green grass in our parks and reserves? Couldn’t we allow the flowers to poke through and give the native grasses their chance?

If councils can lead by example, we will see more natives successfully do their thing for our local wildlife, particularly for important insects, of which we see less and less every summer. Stop cutting grass to within an inch of its life in reserves and put away the chemicals. There are better ways.

Jess Lombardo Little Bay

Dangerous Driving

Dear readers - I am writing to share my deep concern about the recent occurrences of very dangerous driving in the Coogee and Maroubra area. In the past four weeks alone, while out running in the late afternoon I have witnessed two car crashesone at the roundabout at Oberon and Arden Streets, and another at the junction between Malabar Road and Fitzgerald Avenue. Both incidents appeared to be the result of excessive speed and a lack of concentration from at least one driver.

Having lived in the Eastern Suburbs for the past five years, I have noticed a worrying trend of drivers speeding through populated suburban streets, often disregarding safety measures like roundabouts designed to control and slow traffic and prevent accidents. It is essential that we all realise our responsibility on the road - no one’s destination is more critical than the safety of others, whether it’s fellow drivers, pedestrians crossing the street or cyclists using tokenistic bike lanes.

I urge everyone to prioritise safety over urgency. Taking a few extra minutes to reach your destination could save lives and prevent needless accidents. If, unfortunately, an accident does occur, please remember to immediately activate your hazard lights to warn other drivers (so that I don’t have to tell you to).

Let us work together to create a safer environment for all road users. Slow down, pay attention and make our community a model for responsible driving. Stay safe and vigilant on the roads.

Sincerely,

Sam Cornell UNSW

Pocket Parks

Hi James - Whoever thought of a ‘pocket park’ must be totally unaware of the traffic build-up that will occur on the corner of Clovelly and Carrington Roads. And, who in their right mind wants their kids to play in a small park with all the fumes from traffic, especially bus fumes?

There are plenty of parks for kids to play in. What is more important is keeping the traffic flowing. There will be long lines of traffic waiting to turn left, and there will only be two lanes - one for turning left and one for turning right. Those going straight will be stuck behind all the cars turning off. Council just don’t have a clue.

Lyn M Clovelly ¢

Please send your feedback to letters@thebeast.com.au and include your name and suburb. We try and publish as many as possible, but nothing too crazy please.

Local Artist... Victoria Owens from Bronte

Local artist Victoria Owens is the talent behind this month’s cover painting of the Lifeguard tower at Bondi. She shares her local favourites with The Beast

How long have you lived here? 68 years and counting. I came here from Glebe when I was 3, but my ancestors lived in the Eastern Suburbs from 1841. They had a dairy at Bronte Beach from the 1880s and I have a photo of my dad on Bondi Beach in 1928, so it’s in my genetic memory. I say this with apology to the traditional custodians, whose presence I felt here from a young age: I took home chunks of sandstone from the cliffs and copied traditional art onto them - a very ignorant appropriation.

What's your favourite beach?

It was Belongil Beach at Byron where I’ve disappeared into the sunset on many a long walk.

What's your favourite eatery?

The Spruce Goose food van in Centennial Park. I get a New York hot dog with the ducks.

Where do you like to have a drink? I had my first drink at the Royal Oak in Double Bay. I was not quite 18, so a crème de menthe was brought out to the car by a private school chap - very sophisticated. After that I drank at the Cask Wine Bar on Bondi Road. The last time I had a drink was at the Sheaf.

Best thing about the Eastern Suburbs? The proximity to water and, until recent years, the slower pace of urban development and preservation of sky views and green spaces.

Worst thing about the Eastern Suburbs? High-rise residential development without any thought as to the traffic gridlock that the increased population causes in relation to the area’s primary intersections.

How would you describe your art? Acrylics inspired mainly by tribal art, the work of a hobbyist and dilettante (one who cultivated an interest in art without any real commitment or knowledge).

Where can people see your work? Apart from on this cover of The Beast, I was twice a finalist in the Waverley Art Prize, so maybe on their website.

Who are your artistic inspirations? Magritte was my first, followed by Frieda Kahlo, then Geoffrey Smart, Brett Whitely and Wendy Sharpe.

What are you working on at the moment? I just finished a memoir with twenty co-writers about living in a creative share house in Woollahra in the ‘70s. I was the facilitating editor.

When did you discover you had a gift for your craft? When I won the Woolworths Bondi Junction Draw Your Dad Competition - I was 11 years old.

Did you study art? In the time before we had a TV, my mum subscribed to the Brodie Mack Correspondence Art School. A thick brown envelope of lessons would arrive every month and I’d spend hours doing per- spective and shading exercises instead of watching Annie Oakley and I Love Lucy. So, ‘home tutored by a floral artist (mum)’ would be my response.

Any words of wisdom for young aspiring artists? Just do it. Anyone can create art; it’s a basic human skill that sets you apart from other apes - although some apes, like Koko, have been known to paint when given the right tools.

Who is your favourite person? I admire Marcia Langton. Generally speaking, Homo sapiens have a lot more evolving to do in terms of emotional intelligence and selfless concern for the greater good. My favourite people are creatives like Baz Lurhmann and Catherine Martin, and any doctor or dentist who is genuinely committed.

What do you get up to on the weekends? I’m retired, so every day is a weekend. I try and stay away from crowds, other than shopping at Birkenhead Point for jeans and runners.

What do you do for work? I worked in arts administration as a career. These days I write history stemming from ancestry research and dump it on unsuspecting local libraries. I paint, but only when the muse descends. I love being engrossed in the process of creation.

Do you have a favourite quote? “The highest purpose is to have no purpose at all. This puts one in accordance with nature and her manner of operation.” - John Cage.

Any other words of wisdom for readers of The Beast? Life can feel like you’re going to hell in a handbag when too many people take their stress out on you or treat you as nothing but a cash-dispensing consumer. Create your own realm of creativity with a high fence.