Long gone monuments to another civic age
Over my lifetime I have been saddened by the loss of many fine Ballarat buildings, none more so than the grief I felt when the Barkly Street Ballarat East Town Hall was demolished and replaced with a plain, bricks and mortar, new school. I am so thankful I attended the Girls Secondary School there during 1937-40. I was then unaware of its history, yet quite enchanted by the building inside and out. The adjoining botanical gardens were a delight to those of us who wandered through them at leisure time. Special appeal were the steps to climb throughout the tiered terrace gardens, a true place of beauty to enjoy.
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It struck a real chord with me to read the words of John Quinn expressing shock on his return to our city at the heritage weekend to find such neglect where he expected to find gardens. I like his suggestion that next time around we have a display of this site's past history. The Ballarat East municipality deserves to have highlighted its library, former post office building and the old fire station, thankfully buildings still standing, on display with images of the lovely town hall.
June Johnson, Alfredton.
Heritage down the gutter
Am I the only person who finds it ironic that during Heritage Weekend, infotainment ruled and the overall mood was one of cosplay and larping, whereas actual material heritage of Ballarat in the shape of fine civic engineering of the past, notably the fine bluestone deep gutters of Skipton Street is being obscured by mega-ugly curved concrete covers. Although I enjoy popular culture, tangible, banal everyday heritage is where the past and present imbricate. I for one, regret the covering of those gutters, but at least they are not being dug up with the blocks sold for profit. But the street loses individuality and creeps even closer to being a clone of Nunawading’s megamile in Whitehorse Road; surely the most unattractive street in Melbourne.
Juliette Peers, Ballarat
NOt the way ahead
What could the United States, the most powerful country the planet has ever known, possibly have in common with two of the smallest and weakest? If the present US administration has their way, the United States, Nicaragua and Syria will be the only three countries that are not party to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Although the US is set to remain a world leader in the use of solar and wind energy, this step is further evidence that Australia's future lies with the growth economies of our near neighbours and friends in Asia.
Pat Hockey, Clunes
The belligerent Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the USA from the Paris climate agreement comes as no surprise. It's just the latest destructive decision from the rogue administration. We must recognise that Donald Trump's move strengthens the case for Victoria to show more leadership. It will be needed to prevent climate change from getting worse and exposing regional and rural communities to more droughts, bushfires, and extreme weather. Earlier in 2017, the Andrews government strengthened the state Climate Change Act to bring it into alignment with the Paris agreement. The state now has a legislated zero emissions target by 2050 and will set interim targets every five years. Its Victorian Renewable Energy Target initiative will rollout 5,400 megawatts of new solar and wind power and create 11,000 jobs in the regions. The Andrews government can build on this momentum by delivering Victoria's first ever climate-focussed budget. It's time to invest in climate action. Emerging powers such as China and India are investing record amounts of money in renewable energy and other climate solutions. This is the role model for progressive governments to follow.
Leigh Ewbank, Act on Climate coordinator, Friends of the Earth
