THE Fremantle Ladies Probus Club celebrated its 30th anniversary at the Swan Yacht Club this week. Set up to help keep professional and business retirees active, these days the club’s not so strict about membership but president Elizabeth Hardy says it’s still definitely a women’s only club. “There are other clubs for both men and women, but we want the ladies to come to us,” Ms Hardy told the Herald. She says it’s always been a strong club with around 80-90 members, and there are still five founding members on the books. “I don’t come as often as I should now, because they don’t have a lift here,” says Doris Donovan, the club’s first treasurer. The FLPC meets once a month to hear guest speakers, who have included climate change sceptic John Happs and road safety guru Murray Lampard.
FOUR times as many people oppose a dog beach at Coogee than support it, according to rival petitions submitted to Cockburn city council. Ron Blake was planning to hand in his 450-strong petition on Thursday. It calls on the council to ignore the 116-signature petition asking for an exercise area north of the shark net. He says 80 per cent of his signatories are beach regulars and people felt so strongly about the issue “they were running down the beach to catch us”. “Coogee is a family beach,” he told the Herald. “Dogs are well catered for in this area. There are currently dog beaches at South Beach, CY O’Connor Beach, and Woodman Point.” The council is expected to consider the issue mid-year.
DAVIS PARK in the “Beacy Bronx” will get $20,000 of bollard lighting to help combat anti-social behaviour. Fremantle council was successful in wresting the money from the a state crime prevention fund after a decade of complaints from locals. The council is part of the South West Metropolitan Partnership Forum, which brings together a swag of organisations to look at various ways of tackling the area’s problems.
DIVERS from Murdoch University will be putting their scuba gear to good use today, Saturday April 18, helping to clear old fishing gear and rubbish at the Woodman Point groyne. There’ll be a clean-up team on the beach as well from 9–1pm—and they’ll all get a free feed afterwards courtesy of Cockburn council, which is supporting the event.
TAKING the plunge and putting your artwork out for the world to judge can be pretty daunting for a budding artist. At least there’ll be safety in numbers for a group of 10 aspiring Nolans holding their first exhibition at Kidogo Arthouse on Bathers Beach from May 16-21. The group has been mentored by artist Joss Gregson who runs the advanced studio painting class at the Fremantle Arts Centre Fridays. All work with acrylic, but have very different styles and techniques.
MELVILLE council and WA police have signed a new memorandum of understanding. The new model reflects the recent change to the police department’s new operating model Frontline 2020 which puts a focus on cops in neighbourhood teams. The council’s community patrols will have direct contact with the police, meaning incidents can be followed up more quickly. “With the renewed MOU in place the CSS providing daily 24 hour patrols across the city, we continue to work towards a safer Melville, however the community also plays a large part in keeping our neighbourhoods safe by reporting incidents or suspicious activities to police on 13 14 44,” mayor Russell Aubrey says.
