Powerful and humble woman
I AM a wadjala and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Marie Thorne for 17 years. She has lobbied the Fremantle council in the past to organise a safe place where visiting Nyoongars can stay whilst in town for a funeral or family meeting.
The culture is nepotistic so friends and relatives can’ t be turned away.
It’s not Marie’s fault so many Nyoongars are homeless or can’t afford a hotel room.
She didn’t take their land, children or culture away and pretend they didn’t exist.
Aboriginal history should be included in the curriculum at all Australian schools so we all know how they happen to be in the position they’re in at the moment.
Marie is a powerful and humble woman with a huge heart. I love and respect you Marie and everything you stand for.
Clayton Black
Jenkin St, South Fremantle

A fine day ruined
AS a regular user of the E Shed area I was most disappointed to see Wilson Parking issue $65 fines for people using the area adjacent to B Shed.
No leniency or warnings to these people who help keep this area economically buoyant.
This style of parking management is most unwelcoming to visitors and does nothing to encourage people to use this area and spend.
Instead it is going to Wilson Parking and leaving a very bad taste in the public’s mouth.
Let us hope Fremantle Ports reconsiders the implications of using this type of parking management company.
John Monaghan
Samson St, White Gum Valley

If you dig a little deeper…
YES, synthetic turf looks great—green all year round, and no watering. But there are downsides to this.
Artificial lawn is a petro-chemical product which uses mostly virgin resources in its manufacture. There are substantial carbon emissions from the processing, production, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal stages.
There is no cooling effect in hot weather and, being synthetic, it heats up the air around it.
Artificial lawn provides no organic biodiversity and damages soil. It does not filter carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and at the end of its life—7–10 years—it can end up in landfill, where it will take a long time to break down. It also takes habitat from our birds—imagine if everyone had synthetic grass, where would they find food?
J Curtis
Kanimbla St, Bicton

Freo tribe alive and well
MY husband and I decided to go for lunch in Fremantle today. We headed to the markets afterwards to have a wonder and watched the bad piper.
I went into a shop and left my three-year-old son and 4-month-old with my husband to enjoy the entertainment.
After 5 minutes of browsing my husband asked me if I had seen my son. We immediately went into panic mode and looked desperately for him: the bad piper was kind enough to ask the crowd but he was not seen. A few people from the crowd asked for a description and offered to look for him.
The two ladies in the markets offered to help, with one even leaving her stall. My son was found in the office of the markets about 20 minutes later.
I just wanted to say thank you so, so much to all involved and especially to the kind lady who took him to the office. We are both eternally grateful and so relieved you took him to safety as we had the worst fears play out in our minds.
Our son isn’t the wandering kind so it made the situation ever more stressful.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We were so distraught for those painstaking 20 minutes. It also gave me an insight into the thoughts and emotions a parent must feel when a child goes missing (eg, William Tyrell, Maddie McCain). I couldn’t imagine how our world would be if our son hadn’t been found.
Kathy Blake
Young St, Melville

Clean up your own mess
WHAT is it about public toilets (Herald, February 21, 2015)? When I was growing up I was taught to be considerate of other people, this seems to have gone out of fashion in my old age.
Seems to be the attitude—someone else will lean up the mess! Doesn’t anyone have any personal pride anymore?
Chris Dyson
Blinco St, Fremantle

Volunteers have done a great job in Alfred Cove reserve
I refer to Mr Gary Crawford’s recent letter (“Weeding for truth”, letters, February 21, 2015).
Mr Crawford seems not to appreciate:
• the impact that kikuyu and other weeds have had on the natural values of Alfred Cove A-Class Nature Reserve;
• the improvements to the ecological health of the foreshore and amenity to users of the pathway along its margin that have resulted from their removal; and
• the need to be vigilant in their control to protect this very special place of international significance.
The accompanying before and after shots of the area will perhaps illustrate the good work that has been done by community volunteers.
Since commencing restoration of the site in 2010, thousands of dollars of funding have been raised and many hundreds of hours of volunteer labour have been contributed to restoring this vital sanctuary for our native birdlife and other fauna.
We strive to support the objectives of management plans that have been developed through considerable community and expert input. No member of our organisation works independently—decisions are made by committee in close consultation with the managing authorities, and with the full support of our members, the majority of whom are local residents.
Dozens of people each day now deliberately seek out this beautiful stretch of foreshore to enjoy, and we are encouraged by their positive comments as they pass our volunteers.
We have also greatly appreciated the warm-heartedness of those residents of Burke Drive who have joined in various bushcare activities, offered hospitality to teams of early morning weeders, given shelter to us on stormy days, kindly stored equipment, or simply exchanged pleasantries and wished us well.
Catherine O’Neill
Chairperson
Swan Estuary Reserves Action
Group Inc.

Rough diamond
THE Spearwood deli (Herald, February 21, 2015) stands on land owned by a Spearwood family. It is sub-let to the family running the shop. I should suggest Mrs Landon goes into the shop and buys a carton of milk. She will find first-class service and clean interior—and I am 86 years old.
I get the feeling someone wants the land.
The store always looks after its customers—take the kids in too.
DE White
Edeline St, Spearwood

Raise the library
BOOKS don’t age like wines in a cellar/underground.
Books should be picked up and read and re-read and stories, art, historical facts need to be shared, not left to rot underground. So let’s bring the Fremantle Library out somewhere in the open for everyone to enjoy. Be it book or non-book let’s rejoice in our library.
Maybe we could even have a coffee shop in the cellar/underground.
Margaret Pendred
Melville

More bitsa shade, please
GARY CRAWFORD has hit the nail on the head (Herald letters, February 7, 2015). We don’t need more sedges—we need shady trees! Not that I don’t like sedges—I do!
And he is dead right—one shady bench along the whole pathway is not good enough and other areas of the park are definitely in urgent need of attention.
Priority area number 1: Bitsa and I just about expire on our daily “walks” along the stretch between Roberts and Haig Rds, where you’re lucky to spot a tree, let alone find a shady bench to recuperate on. It’s like crossing the Gobi Desert.
Thanks for thinking of the young mums and us oldies, Gary—and get those trees in as soon as you can. They will definitely improve the amenity of the park for us but they take a while to grow, and Bitsa and I want to still be around to enjoy them!
Bob (And Bitsa) Mitchell
Preston Point Rd, Attadale