I s s u e 7 6A p r i l 1 9 7 7

the balmain association

council report

L C I C H H A R D T C O U N C I L M E E T I N G - 1 s t a n d 1 5 t h F e b r u a r y

A t t h e fi r s t m e e t i n g t h e L e i c h h a r d t M u n i c i p a l C o u nc i l o n 1 F e b r u a r y 1 9 7 ? t h e r e u e r e 2 9 ? f o o l s c a p p a g e so f m i n u t e s , r e p o r t s a n d m o t i o n s u h i c h u o u l d b e r e a d ,c o n s i d e r e d , d i s c u s s e d a n d d e b a t e d a s a p p r o p r i a t ea l l o w i n g f o r p u b l i c p a r t i c i p a t i o n . T h e m e e t i n gc o n c l u d e d i n o n e a n d a h a l f h o u r s w i t h a l l m a t t e r sb e i n g d i s p o s e d o f a n d t h i s m e a n t t h a t e a c h p a g e o ft h e b u s i n e s s p a p e r w a s d e a l t w i t h a t t h e r a t e o f1 8 , 5 s e c o n d s .

T h e s e v e r a l m a t t e r s w h i c h a r o s e o u t o f t h i s a r e :

(a) How adequately do the Council Aldermen considert h e b u s i n e s s p a p e r a t t h e m e e t i n g ?(b) I f an amalgamation of Local Counci ls occurs int h e f u t u r e w i t h a c o n s e q u e n t i n c r e a s e i n w o r k l o a dw i l l t h e b u s i n e s s p a p e r b e l e s s a d e o u a t e l y c o n s i de r e d t h a n a t p r e s e n t ?(c ) The decreased oppor tun i ty o f e f fec t ive pub l icp a r t i c i p a t i o n a t t h e m e e t i n g b e c a u s e b u s i n e s s p a p e r sa r e n o t a v a i l a b l e t o t h e p u b l i c b e f o r e t h e m e e t i n gd e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t b u s i n e s s p a p e r s c l o s e t h ew e e k p r i o r t o t h e m e e t i n g .

D u r i n g t h e s e c o n d F e b r u a r y m e e t i n g A l d e r m a n S p a di n g m a d e a s e r i o u s a l l e g a t i o n t h a t a l l c o r r e s p o n de n c e h a d n o t b e e n c i r c u l a t e d t o a l l A l d e r m e n a n di n p a r t i c u l a r t o h i m s e l f .

O f m a t t e r s c o n t a i n e d i n t h e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e t h eA u s t r a l i a n B u r e a u o f S t a t i s t i c s a d v i s e d t h a t t h e

p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e M u n i c i p a l i t y o f L e i c h h a r d t a s a t3 0 Tu n e 1 9 7 6 w a s 5 2 , 5 A 0 a s a g a i n s t 7 1 , 3 3 8 i n O u n e1 9 7 1 .

The Federated Municipal and Shire Council employ

e e s ' U n i o n h e l d t h e i r a n n u a l p i c n i c a t L u n a P a r k o n11 M a r c h 1 9 7 7 a n d a l l C o u n c i l E m p l o y e e s w i t h t h eexcept ion of those engaged in essent ial servicesw e r e a l l o w e d t i m e o f f t o a t t e n d t h e f u n c t i o n , W h a tda te was YOUR annua l p i cn i c?

T h e M i n i s t e r f o r t h e L o c a l G o v e r n m e n t a d v i s e d t h a tt h e 1 9 7 7 r a t e s w i l l b e c o n t r o l l e d s o t h a t n o i ncrease wi l l be beyond 12%, subject to the Minister 'sconsent. An analysis by the Leichhardt Counci ld i s c l o s e d t h a t w i t h t h e s a m e r a t e i n t h e d o l l a r a slast year some 30% of rate payers would suffer ar i s e i n r a t e s o f b e t w e e n 1 0 % t o 3 0 % d u e t o i nc r e a s e d v a l u a t i o n s . T h e q u e s t i o n t h e n a r i s e s a s t owhat wi l l happen in the 1978 rates. This questionw i l l h a v e t o b e l e f t t o t h e i n c o m i n g C o u n c i l i nS e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 7 ,

The Balmain Hospital proposed to use the groundfl o o r o f t h e L e i c h h a r d t T o w n H a l l a s a m e d i c a lc e n t r e t o b e s e r v i c e d b y s p e c i a l i s t m e d i c a lo f fi c e r s .

On 14 Oanuary 1977 the Kindergarten Union ofN e w S o u t h W a l e s w r o t e t h a n k i n g t h e C o u n c i l f o ri ts donat ion of 510,000,00 towards the rebuilding of the Ellen Desailly Kindergarten atWentworth Park, Glebe« The donation uas to bridge-the gap between the cost of the construction andan Australian Government Grant, While the Councilare to be congratulated in their attitude to theEllen Desailly Kindergarten, their attitudetowards our loca l "C lontar f " a t Ado lphus St reet ,Balmain remains a mystery. All that had beenasked of the Council was their consent to therestorat ion and use of "Clontarf" as a pre—school.The fate of Clontarf remains i f not undecided,certainly unpublished,

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

W h a t d o m e m b e r s w a n t f r o m t h e B a l m a i n A s s o c i a t i o n ?At present it has the largest membership in its 12years of existence—over 500 members—and yet theA s s o c i a t i o n i s s u f f e r i n g f r o m l a c k o f p a r t i c i p a t i o nby membership. Appeals for contacts made throughthe News Sheet in the past have met with an unnervings i l e n c e . A s m a l l r e l i a b l e b a n d o f p e o p l e k e e p t h eA s s o c i a t i o n g o i n g f r o m m o n t h t o m o n t h . I t i sunfair to expect the same people to give theire f fo r t and t ime year a f te r year w i thou t resp i te .

I t i s n o t t h o u g h t t h a t a t t e n d a n c e a t g e n e r a l m e e tings alone is the answer. At the moment we need atyp is t ; a commi t tee to run soc ia l func t ions ;a n o t h e r t o o r g a n i s e t h e g a r d e n w a l k ; a n o t h e r t osuperv ise the Vi l lage Fa i r ; one to take cont ro lo f t h e Wa t c h H o u s e m a i n t e n a n c e a n d o n e t o p r o d u c et h e N e w s S h e e t . I t c a n b e s e e n t h a t t h e w o r k l o a di s h e a v y .

W e w a n t w o r k e r s , n o t t a l k e r s , a n d w e n e e d h e l pq u i c k l y . C a n y o u a s s i s t ?

R i n g M a r g a r e t D o b s o n , B u s . 2 3 0 5 1 0 1 o r A . M . 8 2 2 7 7 4 .

1

counc i l e lec t ionsL E I C H H A R D T C O U N C I L E L E C T I O N . - . - 1 7 S E P T E M B E R . 1 9 7 7

T h e C o u n c i l e l e c t i o n s u i l l b e h e l d o n 1 7 S e p t e m b e r1977 and voting uil l be compulsory. However,e l e g i b i l i t y t o v o t e m a y b e l o s t i n c e r t a i n c i r c u ms t a n c e s .

T h e f o l l o w i n g p e r s o n s a r e e l i g i b l e t o v o t e : AB r i t i s h s u b j e c t a g e d I B y e a r s o r o v e r a n d w h oe i ther (a) pays ra tes to the Le ichhardt Munic ipa lCouncil or (b) is a resident who is shown on theSta te E lec tora l Ro l l in the Le ichhard t a rea ( thereis not now, any minimum period for residency).

N a t u r a l l y , p e r s o n s w h o v o t e d a t t h e l a s t s t a t ee l e c t i o n s w i l l b e e l i g i b l e t o v o t e , U l h e r e a c o mp a n y i s a r a t e p a y e r , t h e n t h e c o m p a n y i s e n t i t l e dt o n o m i n a t e a p e r s o n t o v o t e o n i t s b e h a l f b u t t og a i n t h e b e n e fi t o f a v o t e t h e p e r s o n n o m i n a t e dshou ld no t o therw ise be en t i t l ed to vo te ( i ,e , no ta res ident or ra te payer) .

I f y o u a r e n o t o n t h e S t a t e E l e c t o r a l R o l l i n t h eL e i c h h a r d t a r e a a n d a r e e n t i t l e d t o b e e n r o l l e dt h e n y o u s h o u l d c o n t a c t a n y p o s t o f fi c e t o o b t a i na n e n r o l m e n t f o r m a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e .

I f y o u a r e n o t s u r e o f y o u r e l i g i b i l i t y o r w h e t h e ryou are on the Counci l Electoral Rol ls (which arepar t l y p repared f rom the Sta te E lec to ra l Ro l l )t h e n y o u s h o u l d c o n t a c t t h e E l e c t o r a l R o l l c l e r ka t t h e L e i c h h a r d t M u n i c i p a l C o u n c i l O f fi c e s(Ph. 560 4100),

S AV E P U B L I C T R A N S P O R T.

Y o u w i l l h a v e n o t i c e d t h a t t h e A s s o c i a t i o n h a sgiven publicity to pub meetings of this Committee.This is a hardworking group which has beeninvolved, among other th ings, in the f reewayproblem. They have made a submission to theC o m m u t e r C o u n c i l o n i t s t e r m s o f r e f e r e n c e a n d

propose to place future submissions on pensionerfares, an improved t icket ing system, westernh a r b o u r f e r r i e s a n d M e r c e d e s b u s e s .

They are in need of help and ask that anyone whobel ieves in the value of what they are doing togive up some of their t ime to the publ ic t ransportcause. Work can be done in almost any field.Attend a meeting or ring Geoff Dawson (44 1358)o r D o n M o r i s o n ( 9 5 5 7 3 1 ) .

"TO SEE OURSELVES AS OTHERS SEE US."

P. P. M c G u i n n e s s , i n a r e c e n t i s s u e o f t h e N a t i o n a lT i m e s , r e v i e w e d t h e A u s t r a l i a n fi l m D O N ' S PA R T Y -

"Booze, gropes, infideli ty, vulgarity, hypocrisy,midd le -c lass Labor po l i t i cs and phoney in te l lectua ls — an embarrass ing ly accura te por t ra i t o fl i f e i n P a d d i n g t o n o r B a l m a i n . "

BALMAIN THEATRE GROUP

"TR03AN WOMEN" by Euripides: there wil lbe a WORKSHOP PRODUCTION of this Greek Tragedy inthe Campbell Street Hall at 8,00 p.m. on Friday29th and Saturday 30th Apr i l . D i rec t ion wi l l be int h e h a n d s o f P e t e r T h o e m i n g w h o w a s l a s t s e e n i nthe part of the Rev. Dupas in "L i t t le Murders". Aswel l as helping inexperienced actors. Workshopsalso al low exper ienced actors to exper iment inr o l e s w h i c h t h e y w o u l d n o t n o r m a l l y a t t e m p t i n amajor production. The Workshop is for members ofthe Group and friends and any member of the Associ a t i o n w o u l d b e m o s t w e l c o m e . T h e r e i s n o c h a r g ef o r a d m i s s i o n .

"BARON BDLLIGREW AND THE DRAGON" by Robert Bolt(author of "Man for All Seasons"). After thes u c c e s s o f " W i n n i e t h e P o o h " l a s t y e a r t h e G r o u ph a s d e c i d e d t o t r y a n d p e r f o r m a c h i l d r e n ' s p l a yeach year. This is a very wit ty play set in Media e v a l T i m e s a n d h a s a l a r g e a n d v a r i e d c a s t i n c l u ding Knights, Peasants, the rascal ly Baron and hisd u l l - w i t t e d o f f s i d e r a n d , o f c o u r s e a D r a g o n .

The play is to be performed over threeweekends during the May school holidays: Sat.,7th May, Sun., Bth May, Fri. 13th May, Sat. 14thMay, Sun. 15th May, Fri. 20th May, Sat. 21st May,S u n . 2 2 n d M a y. F r i d a y p e r f o r m a n c e s a r e a t 8 . 0 0p . m . a n d S a t . a n d S u n . p e r f o r m a n c e s a t 2 . 0 0 p . m .P l a c e : P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h , C a m p b e l l S t . , B a l m a i n .B o o k i n g s : B r a y ' s B o o k s h o p , 2 6 8 D a r l i n g S t ,T i c k e t s c o s t S 2 , 5 D f o r a d u l t s a n d S i . 0 0f o r c h i l d r e n a n d p e n s i o n e r s .

WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS.

Barbara Hal l of 92 Kent Street, Richmond, Vic.,3121, is researching for a book on Austral ianw o m e n p h o t o g r a p h e r s a n d w o u l d l i k e t o s e e a c t u a lphotographs taken by as many women as possible,past and present. The photographers need not bepro fess iona l in tha t pho tography was the i r l i vel i hood — j us t t ha t t hey ca red abou t i t . P l easecontact Barbara i f you can help.

C O N S T I T U T I O N

I t i s p r o p o s e d t o r e - d r a w a n d u p d a t e t h e c o ns t i t u t i o n o f t h e B a l m a i n A s s o c i a t i o n a n d am e e t i n g i s p l a n n e d f o r s o m e t i m e i n A p r i l t oc o n s i d e r t h i s m a t t e r . P l e a s e c o n t a c t P e t e r C o l q u -houn (Work - 82 0676) for information about them e e t i n g a n d w i t h s u g g e s t i o n s a n d i d e a s y o u w o u l dl i k e i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t h e n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n .

A R T C L A S S E S

Life drawing classes in Balmain one evening classand one week-day class start ing in the first weeko f A p r i l . F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n t a c tM i c h a e l S n a p s a t 8 2 1 7 4 7 ,

2

YOUR OMBUDSMAN.

The first Ombudsman was appointed In Sweden In1809. In the 19th century his activities weremainly concerned with the Courts and the police,but the growth of admin is t ra t ion In the 20thcentury shifted his emphasis to the bureaucracy.In 1915 the work load became too heavy and aseparate Ombudsman was appointed for the armedservices and the police and In 1968 a thirdOmbudsman was appointed to receive consumerc o m p l a i n t s .

The N.S .W. Ombudsman Ac t was assen ted to on18th October, 1974 and an appointment was madew i t h e f f e c t f r o m 2 n d A p r i l , 1 9 7 5 . P a r t I I I o fthe Act (which deals with Investigations) wasproclaimed to commence on 12th May, 1975. TheOmbudsman (Amendment ) Ac t was assen ted to on13th October, 1976, and a further amendment,with effect from 1st December, 1976, empoweredthe Ombudsman to Investigate complaints abouta d m i n i s t r a t i v e c o n d u c t o f L o c a l G o v e r n m e n tAuthorities. A Deputy Ombudsman was appointedI n M a r c h , 1 9 7 7 .

U n d e r S e c t i o n 1 2 o f t h e A c t , t h e c o n d u c t o f a n yp u b l i c a u t h o r i t y m a y b e t h e s u b j e c t o f a c o mp l a i n t u n l e s s

(a ) the conduc t took p lace p r io r to 18 thO c t o b e r , 1 9 7 4 ; o r ,

(b) In the case of a local government author i t y , t h e c o n d u c t t o o k p l a c e b e f o r e 1 s tD e c e m b e r, 1 9 7 6 .

The Ombudsman's Jurisdict ion Is l imited byP a r l i a m e n t a n d h e c a n n o t I n v e s t i g a t e t h e c o nd u c t o f C o m m o n w e a l t h D e p a r t m e n t s a n d A u t h o r i t i e s ;judges , mag is t ra tes and o fficers o f the Cour ts ;a m e m b e r o f t h e P o l i c e F o r c e w h e n a c t i n g a s ac o n s t a b l e ; p r i v a t e p e r s o n s , b u s i n e s s e s o r c o mp a n i e s .

T h e r e I s a n e e d f o r a d d i t i o n a l p r o t e c t i o n o ft h e c i t i z e n a g a i n s t a r b i t r a r y d e c i s i o n s I n t h ea d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e m o d e r n d e m o c r a t i c S t a t e .In these days very many decisions are made bym i n o r o f fi c i a l s w h i c h a f f e c t t h e l i v e s o f e v e r yc i t i z e n . I f s o m e o f t h e s e d e c i s i o n s w e r e

a rb i t ra ry and un jus t i fied , there was no easyway fo r the ord inary c i t i zen to ga in redress .The right to appeal to one's Member of Parl iament does not meet the problem. The Member'susual method of deal ing with a complaint Is tosend It to the Department or Minister concernedand , na tu ra l l y, t hey a re l i ke l y t o pu t t he bes tl ight on the i r own case. I f the Member Is d issa t isfied w i th the rep ly, a l l he can do Is ask aquest ion In Par l iament .T h e O m b u d s m a n I s a n I m p a r t i a l a u t h o r i t y w i l l i n gt o a c t I n c a s e s w h i c h w o u l d n o t b e w o r t h t h ec o s t o f e l a b o r a t e c o u r t p r o c e d u r e s . T h e g r e a tv i r t u e o f t h e s c h e m e I s t h a t I t s w e a p o n s a r epubl ici ty and persuasion rather than cumbersomec o n t r o l s .

Complaints should be made In writing to theOmbudsman and there Is no charge for any actiontaken. Where the Ombudsman finds that the conductcomplained of Is wrong, he may recommend that theconduct be reconsidered by the public authorityand action taken to rectify, mitigate or changethe conduct or Its consequences. If the OmbudsmanIs not satisfied that sufficient steps have beentaken following a recommendation made by him, hemay make a report to the Premier for presentationt o P a r l i a m e n t .

The Defamation Act Is amended to provide thatthere Is a defence of absolute privilege for apublication to or by the Ombudsman.T h e O f fi c e o f t h e O m b u d s m a n I s l o c a t e d o n t h e4th Floor, Remington Centre, 175-183 LiverpoolStreet, Sydney, 2000. Telephone 61 6677.

M A S Q U E R A D E PA RT Y.

D isappo in t ing ly, because o f lack o f suppor t f rommembers, the Masquerade Ball, scheduled to beh e l d I n t h e B a l m a l n To w n H a l l o n M a r c h 5 , h a d t ob e c a n c e l l e d . I t s h r a n k t o a p a r t y a t t h e W a t c hHouse and about 80 people turned up, masked anddisguised, and had a wonderfu l t ime. The organisers, Diana McDonald, Janlne Oates, Carol ine Frlckeand Beveley Harr is , were b i t te r ly d isappoin ted byt h e l a c k o f r e s p o n s e , b u t d e c o r a t e d t h e W a t c hHouse gai ly and supplied nibbles and a lavishsupper. Great Ingenuity was shown by the guests— there were pussy-cats, Dave and Mabel on theirway to welcome the Queen, a Spartan warrior andmaiden, hourls, Arabs, Russians, a green Womble,death's heads, monkeys, witches and an EdnaE v e r e g e t y p e .

The original concept of a ball had been plannedas an annual event, giving members, old and new,a chance to get to know each other. However,I t I s o b v i o u s t h a t t h i s t y p e o f e n t e r t a i n m e n tIs not to members ' l ik ing, so future p lans haveb e e n a b a n d o n e d .

A S I W A S S A Y I N G . . .

Further to the harangue about membership Involvement, Ralph Catts has a scheme afoot to form aB a l m a l n A s s o c i a t i o n c r i c k e t t e a m t o p l a y c o m p et i t i o n . T h i s I s t h e s o r t o f e n t h u s i a s m t h a t w a r mt h e c o c k l e s o f t h e h e a r t .

H e a l s o h a s v i s i o n s o f e n c o u r a g i n g t h e y o u n g f r yt o b e c o m e i n t e r e s t e d I n c r i c k e t a n d s o f o r m a j u n l o it e a m .

A n d w h a t ' s m o r e , h e I s a c t u a l l y d o i n g s o m e t h i n ga b o u t h i s v i s i o n s . I f y o u w a n t f u r t h e r I n f o r m a t i o n ,ring Ralph, 2 0982, Ext. 9254, or at home, 82 4350.

3

watch these da tes ! ! !

Apr i l 5, Tuesday, 5,30 p.m.Save Public Transport, Euery Tuesday, GreatSouthern Hotel lounge, 723 George St,,Sydeny,

Apr i l 5, Tuesday, 8,00 p,m,Le ichhard t Counc i l nes t ing . Town Ha l l , Le ich-hardt,

Apri l 13, Uedneaday, 8,00 p,m,B a l m a i n A s s o c i a t i o n G e n e r a l n e s t i n g . H a t c hHouse, Darling St,, Balmain,

Apr i l 19, Tuesday, 8,00 p,m,Leichhardt Counci l nest ing. Town Hal l , Nor tonS t , , L e i c h h a r d t ,

nay 3, Tuesday, 8,00 p,m,Le ichhardt Counc i l nest ing. Town Hal l , Le ichh a r d t ,

nay 11, Hadneaday, 8,00 p,m,Balmain Association nanagamant naating. HatchH o u s e , D a r l i n g S t , , B a l m a i n ,

nay 17, Tuesday, 8,00 p,m,L e i c h h a r d t C o u n c i l n e s t i n g . To w n H a l l , L e i c hh a r d t ,

H I S T O R Y G R O U P .

T h e H i s t o r y G r o u p , c o n v e n e d b y P e t e r R e y n o l d s ,meets on the first Monday of each month (nextm e e t i n g 4 t h A p r i l ) a t t h e W a t c h H o u s e a t 8 . 1 5p . m .

A f ter the successfu l launch ing o f Peter 's bookH A L F A T H O U S A N D A C R E S - B A L M A I N . A H I S T O R Y O FTHE LAND GRANT, the group is gathering its forcestoge the r to s ta r t on the i r nex t ven tu re . Anyonei n t e r e s t e d i n h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h , p u b l i s h i n g ,w r i t i n g , e d i t i n g a n d l a y o u t i s i n v i t e d t o a t t e n dt h e i n f o r m a l m e e t i n g s .

HALF A THOUSAND ACRES

The Association has repaid a loan of S3,ODD to theCommonwealth Trading Bank, The loan was drawn tohelp finance the production of "Half a ThousandAcres", Many thanks to the Commonwealth Bank forproviding the loan and to Peter Reynolds, DavidPorter and David McCann for acting as guarantors.In the four months since the book launching, halfthe production coats have been recouped. Pleasehelp us get into the 'black* by purchasing a copy($8,95 to mambers) and by telling your friends,

membership form1 wish to open/renew ray roerabershlp with theBalmain Association and enclose Ss u b s c r i p t i o n .

A d d r e s s .

TelephoneS e n d t o :The Hon. Secretary, The Balmain Association, P.O.Box 57, Balmain, 2041.

^Subscription rates: Single membership $2.00F a m i l y 3 4 . 0 0Pens ione r / Jun io r 30 .20

GROUND COVERS.

It is impossible to keep ground bare, as theweeds wi l l br ing themselves, so the choice isto plant something worthwhile. Of recent years,the use of plants for special purposes has beendeveloped, some of the uses being keeping thegroxjnd cool by covering with plants and so lessening the need of constant watering, preventingerosion, smothering weeks, improving appearancea n d d e c r e a s i n g m a i n t e n a n c e .

As to ground cover p lants , to the pur is t inthese matters, very smal l ground-huggingplants that spread, are what is usual ly meant,b u t p e r s o n a l l y , I c o n s i d e r a n y p e r m a n e n tplanting that covers the ground to be groimdc o v e r. T h i s r a n g e s f r o m t h e r e a l l y " t i n i e s "such as many types of scented thymes, majus,ajugas (3 types), larger ones such asn e i r e m b e r g i a , c a m p a n u l a , v e r b e n a , o n t o t h el a r g e r g r o w i n g p e r e n n i a l s , u p t o t h e s m a l l e rshrubs such as Hypericum (yel low flowers),L a v e n d e r , V e r o n i c a , M a r g u e r i t e , D a i s i e s a n dm a n y o t h e r s , a l l s u i t a b l e f o r s u n n y s p o t s .F o r s h a d e , u s e F u c h s i a s , I m p a t i e n s a n dF l e e t n a n t h u s . L o w s p r e a d i n g c o t o n e a s t e r sa re o f ten ava i lab le . Lo ts o f c reepers can beused, such as Jasmine, Abelia, Thunbergia Alata,Ivy Geraniums and even modem Bougainvilleasa r e r e c o m m e n d e d . T h e r e a r e m a n y n e w t y p e s o fIvies much brighter than the old ones for shadys p o t s .

A m o n g t h e N a t i v e s , t h e A u s t r a l i a n v i o l e t l i k e ssemishade and i f i t l i kes the p lace, w i l l g rowl i k e c r a z y . ( I f i t d o e s n ' t l i k e i t , w i l lmere ly su l k l ) Ano the r Auss ie fo r shade i sP ra t i a (wh i t e o r pa le b lue ) . One fo r ho ts p o t s i s d w a r f M y o p o r u m ( B o o b i a l l a ) a n d t h e r eis the a t t rac t ive c reeper Kennedia ( redfl o w e r s ) . A l s o t h e r e a r e a v a i l a b l e s e v e r a llow-growing spread ing Grev i l l ias tha t wou ldfi n a l l y c o v e r q u i t e b i g a r e a s . F o r aJapanese look, consider the low growingJunipers in tones of gold, green or b lue-green which result in a furry shaggy groundcover, good in cool spots . Even the o ldChlorophytum with variegated leaves looks wellunder t rees where l i t t le would succeed.In full sun and rather poor soil, many types of" p i g - f a c e s " ( M e s e m s ) w i l l fl o u r i s h . A l s o f o rsimilar conditions, consider the Dimorpotheca(white and pink) with blue centres, andG a z a n i a s .

Use occasionally plants with grey or blue-greenfoliage to avoid monotony. Two good ones forc o v e r a g e a r e t h e C o n v o l v u l u s M a u r i t a n i c a a n dCerastium, both of which look particularly goodhanging over low walls and grow well in sun.These are just some ideas for filling thosehungry- looking spaces in your garden. There areeven two attractive cousins of the Wandering Jewcreeper, that can be used; one is Zebrina (greenand white stripes) a rampant grower, and one ofpurple that is in terest ing in appearance and hassma l l p ink flowers i f g rown in fu l l sun .

J . M u r r a y .B a l m a i n G a r d e n C l u b .

M E M B E R S H I PQ U E S T I O N A I R E

Most Association members must feel that membership should involve more thanpaying a subscription and in return getting a regular copy of the News Sheet.

Communication is inadequate and enthusiasm is dissipated. So Associationmembers, old and new, are invited to fill in this questionnaire to bring our recordsu p t o d a t e .

Right now we need a pool of News Sheet distributors; typists; architects;journalists — in fact, we need a whole range of skills. We need those who want to"switch off" and spend a couple of hours doing manual work or leg work with noresponsibility, right through to those who want to initiate a project and see itt h r o u g h , t a k i n g 1 0 0 % o f t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y.

Tick off your areas of interest and the ways in which you can assist, ont h e l i s t s b e l o w a n d r e t u r n t h i s f o r m i n t h e e n c l o s e d e n v e l o p e .

A S S O C I A T I O N A C T I V I T I E S :

a . T o w n p l a n n i n g

b . E n v i r o n m e n t p r e s e r v a t i o n

c . F e r r y S e r v i c e s

d . C o n t a i n e r t r a f fi c

e . C o m m u n i t y s e r v i c e s

f . T r e e p l a n t i n g

g . H i s t o r i c a l R e s e a r c h

h . M a i n t e n a n c e o f W a t c h H o u s e

WHO CAN HELP?

1 . T h o s e w h o c a n j o i n M a n a g e m e n t f o r t h ed u r a t i o n o f a s p e c i fi c p r o j e c t .

2 . P e o p l e t o a s s i s t w i t h N e w s S h e e tp r o d u c t i o n a n d p u b l i c i t y .

3 . A n d w i t h N e w s S h e e t d i s t r i b u t i o n

4 . P e o p l e w i t h a n h o u r t o s p a r e . . . .

3 . A p h o n e a n d a n h o u r t o s p a r e . . . .

6 . A c a r a n d a n h o u r t o s p a r e

7 . A v a n o r t r u c k a n d a n h o u r t o s p a r e

8 . S t r e e t o r l o c a l a r e a w a t c h d o g .

NAME:

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T E L E P H O N E : B u s i n e s s : H o m e :

i . F e r r e t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n f r o mb u r e a u c r a c y, p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e ,L o c a l , S t a t e a n d F e d e r a l G o v e r nm e n t s , e t c .

j . A t t e n d i n g C o u n c i l m e e t i n g s a n df u r n i s h i n g r e p o r t s .

k . P e t i t i o n i n g

I . H e l p w i t h l e a fl e t d i s t r i b u t i o n .

m . G a r d e n w a l k s

n . H e l p w i t h V i l l a g e F a i r .

o . H e l p w i t h o r g a n i s i n g s o c i a l e v e n t s .

9 . P e o p l e w i t h m e d i a c o n t a c t s

1 0 . W r i t e r s - f o r a r t i c l e s , r e p o r t s ,e d i t i n g , e t c .

I I . P e o p l e w i t h s k e t c h i n g a n d / o r g r a p h i ct a l e n t s .

1 2 . T y p i s t s

1 3 . P e o p l e w i t h p h o t o - c o p y i n g f a c i l i t i e s

1 4 . P l a n - c o p y i n g f a c i l i t i e s

1 3 . P h o t o g r a p h i c e q u i p m e n t f o r r u s h j o b s

1 6 . A n y o t h e r s .