Summer in the City

As we move out of spring and into summer, the City is alive with colour. The Jacaranda trees have flowered late this year because of the seasons being a little out of sync, and have finally turned our streets purple with the City’s Memorial Gardens a sea of yellow thanks to the beautiful Leucospermum ‘yellow flowers’ which are in full bloom and looking gorgeous (cared for by the City’s Parks staff). Our beautiful Memorial Gardens were full of red and white roses as we played host to this year’s Remembrance Day Service. Thank you to all who attended including the RSL and Como Primary School students who helped us mark this important occasion. 

The warm weather (I think and hope) feels like it’s here to stay and our foreshore is buzzing with activity. The Embargo Container Bar has sailed over to South Perth and been attracting locals and visitors from far and wide to our iconic riverfront. This pop-up, family-friendly venue is the perfect place to unwind and enjoy a cold drink, some great food and live music. I’ve been down there a few times and I absolutely love it. The feedback from the community has been really positive too. I recall last year there was a ‘pop-up' bar in place for one night only, and having mingled and spoken to those who availed themselves of this facility – the message they gave me was ‘we need more of these type of pop-ups’ on the foreshore.  

Kathy Allam’s Miasma Series is lighting-up the Mends Street precinct, transforming it into a kaleidoscope of red, green and blue in the evening. Twelve ‘floating’ artworks are suspended along the street light poles and in the rotunda at the end of the Mends Street jetty. At night they look particularly impressive when thousands of tiny solar lights illuminate them. It’s a must see, don’t miss it (on display until 4th December). 

If you haven’t provided your comments on Vision 2027 take the opportunity to be part of sharing with the City your thoughts and ideas about where you see the City going and what you’d like to see us achieve. As part of a major review of our Strategic Community Plan we’re seeking your feedback. The Strategic Community Plan is created by the community, for the community and we need your involvement, it’s key to the success of the project. This is your chance to contribute to shaping the priorities for the next 10 years. The Vision 2027 survey is quick and easy to complete and closes 5pm 9 December.

For all the local history enthusiasts out there I’m pleased to announce the launch of South Perth Stories, a website and digital collection of the City’s oral history told through the experiences of our community, past and present. Collected over the past 30 years, these are the stories of the people who have helped shape our City. This is such an innovative project and I thank all the library staff who have worked on pulling it together over the past two years.