D DAY FOR COTTAGES, GROUPS, TREE ON MAY 5

It has been confirmed that Council will be making their final decision about Linde Reserve/Dunstone Grove at their May 5 meeting.

If you want to help save the cottages and keep the groups like 3D and Knee High Puppeteers in the reserve please:

1. Ring your local councillor. Contact details are on this page.
2. Write a letter to the Advertiser, Sunday Mail or the Independent Weekly
3. Ring talk back radio.

How Hahndorf almost lost their heritage

Our council is not the only one that has come close to throwing away its heritage. This story from the Hills Courier of 23 April shows that the Adelaide Hills Council did not understand that the iconic Hahndorf Academy was an asset. Thankfully local residents were more farsighted and the community has benefited both economically and culturally.

Almost 20 years ago the Hahndorf community banded together to save what has since become the town's most iconic building.
The Hahndorf Academy, plagued at the time with uncertainty for its future, was secured in 1988 when a foundation formed of local residents agreed to buy it to ensure it was kept for the town's people.
Other residents committed to funding the purchase from private owner Walter Wotzke, who, in 1964, saved the derelict and condemned academy from demolition to make way for a service station or supermarket.
They backed the plan to turn the building into a museum, cultural centre, art gallery and monument to the town's German pioneers.
It was a decision that shaped the future of historic Hahndorf, with the 151-year-old academy now the region's arts hub and set to be expanded to become the focus for Hills tourism.

Click here to find out more about the Hahndorf Academy.

Talk to your Councillors

If you're keen to let Council know how you feel about the future of Linde Reserve/Dunstone Grove then come along to the

Meet YOUR Councillors free public forum

Thursday 17 April, 7:15pm for 7:30 start

Norwood Town Hall (Don Pyatt Hall, George Street entrance).

NPSP's Councillors will be available to answer questions about any local issue, including Linde Reserve.

This is a great opportunity to let Council see that people ARE interested in their local community so come along.

No bookings are necessary but if you have any queries about the event please email npspresidents@gmail.com or contact Bernadette on 0412 848750.

What's the deal with 3D Radio?

We need to clear up the confusion over what would happen to 3D Radio if Council’s draft master plan for Linde Reserve/Dunstone Grove proceeds.

3D Radio operates out of a building on Council owned property at 48 Nelson Street. Council’s plan designates the property as

a non essential feature of [the] Reserve…determined on the basis that the property is located on the edge of the Reserve and is dominated by building structures utilised for activities [that don’t] necessarily need to be linked to the Reserve.

Council proposes to sell the property and relocate 3D radio, possibly within the St Peters precinct.

We feel this proposal, and the assumption underlying it, misses the myriad of social and artistic benefits 3D provides to the local community. If it were simply a matter of finding somewhere for Australia’s only fully volunteer operated community radio station to broadcast from we may be able to be persuaded of the value of their proposal. But 3D is much more than a broadcaster.

Among its many contributions to the local community 3D hosts the Hillbilly Hoot every Monday night. This is a live open mic event featuring local artists that happens in the stables at the rear of 48 Nelson Street each week. As there’s currently no fence between the Reserve and 48 Nelson Street it’s possible for fans to scatter their chairs and picnic rugs around the stables to enjoy the music. If 3D is re-located it’s highly likely this event will disappear from the precinct forever.

3D also brings over 150 hosts and guests each week to the Stepney studio and it has been conservatively estimated that these people are directly responsible for expenditure of over $300,000 a year in nearby shops, restaurants and service businesses. Given that Council has given no guarantee the station will be relocated within the same precinct there could be a significant loss to the local economy if 3D is moved from its present location.

Although we’re pleased that Council would relocate 3D Radio in the event 48 Nelson Street is sold we wonder how such a unique community organisation could ever have been classified as a “non-essential feature” of the reserve. 3D Radio is an essential feature of the Linde Arts Eco Park we propose as an alternative to Council’s plan.

Council bulldozers are making the news

Just thought it was time for a review of media coverage to date.
So far we have had three Messenger stories with photos, two Advertiser stories, one in the Independent Weekly and four interviews on the Carole Whitelock program on 891 ABC.
Stateline covered our St Peters Fair action and will be airing it either this Friday or next Friday.
But we need a lot more coverage.
Please write letters to all the papers and ring your favourite radio station.

Human Billboard Brings Alternative Plan to St Peters Fair

Linde Reserve is the traditional home of St Peters Fair which was held on Saturday April 5.

Hundreds of people attend the fair so it was an excellent opportunity to get our message out.

The Friends ran an information stall over by 3D radio with a petition, leaflets and helpful volunteers.

We were some distance from the main action but regular forays into the crowd by some young helpers with balloons and leaflets and the unmistakable human billboard Claudia got our message to the masses.

We drew people to our stall with the help of Save Our Cottages balloons, a Leafy Sea Dragon and what can best be described as a feral wind sock - a long tube of plastic buffeted by a giant vacum cleaner. The kids found it irresistable.

A slideshow is coming shortly but until then feast your eyes on Claudia the human billboard.

Guess which council is going on an os history junket?

Many readers would be surprised to know that the same council that is planning to bulldoze three nineteenth century cottages is also one of only 3 Australian cities that has been accepted into the League of Historical Cities.

The council's satisfaction at being accepted into this elite group can be read here .

On Monday night our council reached a new level of hyprocrisy by agreeing to send a councillor (yet to be determined) to the 2008 conference of the League of Historical Cities in Ankra, Turkey.

So while the bulldozers are crushing the cottages in Linde Reserve one of our esteemed councillors will be on an overseas history junket.

What exactly IS a community garden anyway?

Although there have been a few around for years not many people have any actual experience of community gardens. Given we have proposed one as a significant component of the Linde Arts Eco Park we thought it about time to talk about them in more detail.

Community gardens are a shared space for growing fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Although each community garden has unique characteristics due to the local people who manage it they do share some common themes including

• they foster sustainable living by growing food close to the source it is consumed (thereby eliminating transport costs and environmental impact) and implementing environmentally sound growing methods
• they offer an opportunity for a variety of members of the community to come together to achieve a shared goal and enjoy a healthy social activity (many of these gardens involve school children, local residents, the elderly and local businesses in the venture)
• preserve scarce open spaces in urban areas

Fortunately we don't have to reinvent the wheel to develop a community garden here in Norwood Payneham and St Peters. There are some fabulous community gardens that we can learn from right here in Adelaide, including those at Unley, Wynn Vale and Hackham West. There also great resources available including 40 local residents who have already signed up to become part of the project and an online community garden kit which can help with design, management, promotion, raising money, training and any other issues that may arise.

With so much interest from keen residents and a host of available resources to help us get started we believe a community garden will provide a range of social and environmental benefits to Linde Reserve.