Writer's block at Urban Rowing

Meanwhile at the Vet in Moorooka...

No Parking On The Grassed Areas

Real Australians Say Welcome

I thought in the light of the closure of the refugee detention centre on Manus Island and yesterday's horror story from Nauru, it might be worth letting you know that not all of us agree with our immigration minister Mr Dutton. 

Signs on Boundary St.

And now to a developing storey....

It's been a long time in between drinks but here I am again. Hurray! I've been feeling for a while that it's time for a comeback. Doing this blog makes me feel more connected to where I live and what is happening around me. And there's a lot happening around me in my neighbourhood of West End. What has historically been an industrial area - probably due to the high flood risk - has in the last few years had a huge amount of development applications approved. The projected population of our area is set to double in the next few years. That's just in West End. Across the river in Toowong the same thing is happening. Infact, throughout the inner city, if a house gets knocked down, you can expect a block of units to rise in its place.

The case for development is that the greater city's footprint is sprawling - roughly the size of London but with a fraction of the population. Traditionally, people from Brisbane have lived in single-level high-set houses on big blocks. But if the city is to prosper and grow, this type of housing - particularly so close to the centre of town - is unsustainable and a waste of valuable space.

The case against the current developments is that thousands of new residents are moving into the area (with thousands of cars). I read somewhere that the population density between the river and Montague Road will be similar to Hong Kong yet there is apparently no planning for new schools/infrastructure/parks/public transport. There will be high towers (some 15 stories or more) close together, creating dark, windy streets. There is no allowance for affordable housing - all the apartments being built are "luxury".  And everything is being built on an area that was under several feet of river water in 2011 during the flood. Local residents aren't anti-development - just anti-bad development. (Can you tell which side I'm on?)

See here for a related post back in 2012.

The Lost Boys

Posters outside the old Skate Arena in Red Hill.

Brisbane's Sovereign Embassy

Brisbane's Soveriegn Embassy is an indigenous protest site set up in Musgrave Park in South Brisbane and has been open for just over a month. Read about the politics here.

Some of the coals from Canberra's sacred fire in the original Tent Embassy were carried to Brisbane to start a fire here. The residents of the camp have kept the fire burning despite prolonged rain over the past few days. 

Sovereignty of sacred land (like Musgrave Park where the camp is), an end to the disproportionally high number of black deaths in custody and a change to the intervention laws currently in place in the Northern Territory are all mentioned on the various signs around the site.

The signs are hard-hitting but the mood around seems pretty light. I've heard there is a playgroup being held there and of course there is some great art going on...

Signs around the place strictly forbid drugs and alcohol but it looks like the cups of tea are going down a treat.

Enjoy Ice Cold

Tow Away Zone

PJ's Roast Inn

If you like your lunch old school - and by that I mean things like hot roast meat rolls or a big banana smoothie - then this take-away place is going to float your boat. Not a balsamic reduction or mini herb in sight... or, if I may speak London for a mo, it's not "poncey".  It does a roaring lunchtime trade on Adelaide street with punters of all ages and walks of life.

Boundary Street, Friday

Boundary Street in West End has a mix of restaurants, bars and independent traders. Friday evening sees it come alive with delicious food smells, a wide variety of music and general weekend excitement. You get an eclectic mix: office workers, people dressed up in all their going out finery, hippies, transients, young and old, black and white.  There's also a big mosaic lizard under some trees - a shady place to hang out. This was taken yesterday afternoon where, with lunch out of the way, the atmosphere was one of quiet anticipation. I stuck the camera on top of the big lizard's head.

Sign of the times?

The area I live in, West End, has been gentrified a lot over the past few years with a large amount of industrial land near the river being transformed into 8-10 storey luxury apartments. While Brisbane needs to have more housing for its expanding population, there is a the concern that the existing infastructure just wont be able to cope.

This photo is of a boarded off building site, originally announcing the construction  of "Montague"; 424 apartments where presumably, looking at this photo, you can re-live your own version of The Titanic (and had you lived there last year, you probably could have as it was several metres under water during the floods). Anyway whether it's due to objections or perhaps the whole global financial crisis I'm not sure - but it looks as if the development application has fallen through - and the guerilla stencillers have been having a field day.

At Auchenflower Shops

 

I Spy Another VIET

To see it properly you need to be about 2 metres higher than where I was standing when I took this shot... but you can more or less see it: the letters "VIET" stylized in four images.

Yesterday I said I'd seen the Viet graffiti tag around West End but I realised when I went looking that this was the only one and it's not really a tag (the other one was a big spray-painted "Vietnam"). I'm wondering if that "2010 Still Vietnow" is relevant? Vietnow is a rap song by Rage Against The Machine that's about 15 years old with an anti right-wing sentiment. Maybe it ties in with the Occupy movement? Vietnow is also a Vietnam Vets' group. Surely they'd be getting a bit long in the tooth for all this sort of thing? Maybe not... who knows?

If I see any more interesting Viets around the place, I'll stick them up here for you to check out.

3 Hour Barking

Woof  Woof! This sign is outside the dog-walking park by the Powerhouse arts centre in New Farm. There are other interesting signs nearby there so I think it might not be all that serious.

Don't quote me on that, though.

Rebel Sport

Appropriately placed art work (or shop sign) in Burnett Lane...

Messing Around with Night Time Light

Castlemaine XXXX Brewery By Night

This is a shameless rip-off of a postcard I saw in a bookshop a few months ago. I don't think I've got it quite right but you get the general idea. I took it at about 5.30am on Wednesday morning which was a public holiday here and so I had to hang around in the cold waiting for the odd car to go past.

The things I do for this blog.

Oxley Creek Common

Back in January this urban green space area, south of the city, was under several feet of brown river water. Being close to several industrial estates, there was a worry that the chemicals from there mixed in with the flood waters but it looks like they might have dodged a bullet. The plants and wildlife are slowly returning.