IT’S been an up and down week for Adin Lang (right).
Heckled down in Cockburn last Thursday as he tried to sell his vision for a “Greater Fremantle” taking in Hamilton Hill and North Coogee, Mr Lang was being hailed in Fremantle five days later when named citizen of the year.
Mr Lang picked up the “premier’s active citizenship award” (the new PC title for citizen of the year) for his work establishing the Friends of Hollis Park and turning the long-forgotten patch of sand into a park full of blossoming trees and shrubs, and a mural.
“We turned a sketch on a piece of paper into a park,” Mr Lang said.
“Receiving such an award is a huge honour but the real honour and reward will be returning to Hollis Park in 20 years and walking amongst the forest of tuart trees.”
Mayor Brad Pettitt says Mr Lang’s passion helped unite the community, particularly over one monumental weekend when 5000 native plants went into the ground in less than three hours.
The Tuesday high was very different to last Thursday’ low, when Mr Lang faced a hostile crowd of mostly Cockburn folk deeply suspicious of his desire to shift their municipality’s boundary south.
He copped a fiery outburst from Cr Carol Reeve-Fowkes when he noted Cockburn had refused him permission to hold the information session inside the old Newmarket Hotel, forcing the crowd of 30 into a backyard.
“It’s a construction site!” Cr Reeve-Fowkes thundered at him. “It’s not safe.”
Later Mr Lang told the Herald it was an odd outburst given the council didn’t seem to have safety problems with ballet classes now being held in the building.
Despite almost universal condemnation of his plan, including from one gent who said he’d only be interested in joining Freo if he could vote its council out, the perennially positive Mr Lang says it was a good session. He says many of the most vocal participants weren’t from the affected area, but were simply protecting Cockburn territory.
Storeys by STEVE GRANT
BENJAMIN POWER (above) has been named Fremantle’s young citizen of the year (or premier’s active citizen).
For the last four years he’s organised local sessions of the Catch Music project, bringing together people of all talent levels for weekly jam sessions. It’s been praised widely for being accessible to people with disabilities.
Mr Power told the Herald the highlight was public performances, as they got the most unlikely people on stage.
“The clearest thing was seeing people who had debilitating handicaps, some who weren’t verbal or fully mobile, but you’d see them beaming halfway through. It was great to think I could help in making their day for half an hour.”
