FREO WITHOUT RIVERS
It’s bad news for Fremantle’s retail, but even worse for my personality and public profile. The Rivers clothing franchise in High Street has closed its doors, I noticed walking back from my ophthalmologist appointment today.
RIVERS has been my favourite supplier of affordable clothes, and helped make me look like the bronzed beach boy people in Fremantle think I am. Rivers’ youthful tops, baggy shorts, and sneakers, even socks and underwear, have complimented my triple sprayed on tan and chemically sun bleached blonde hair fantastically over many years, and helped me disguise my real age. This is all gone now, and like Fremantle looking for a new anchor national chain store, I am looking for a new personality.
Roel Loopers
FANTASTIC FREO FIREWORKS!
There were heaps of ooooohs and aaaahs last night when the combined efforts of the City of Fremantle and City of Cockburn went up in the air in a blaze of colour and smoke. The Australia Day fireworks were met with enthusiastic praise from young and old and were the talk of the town in cafes this morning.
It was difficult to concentrate on the fireworks though, as nature had its own stunning lightning show at the same time, with sheets of lightning in the east and north of Fremantle, while over west at the Indian Ocean the city created its own spectacle with the biggest off shore fireworks in Australia.
There was a big party at Kidogo Art House at Bathers Beach, and one at the Fremantle Society cottage on Arthur Head, while City councillors enjoyed the show from the vantage point of the Little Creatures Loft.
Roel Loopers
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Photos copyright Roel Loopers/Profile Photography
ABORIGINAL STORIES THAT NEED TO BE TOLD
Is there a better day than Australia Day to promote an indigenous business in Fremantle? I joined a tour organised by local Aborigine Greg Nannup of Indigenous Tours WA. Greg is the son of well respected Noongar elder Dr Noel Nannup.
The tours start in front of the Maritime Shipwreck Museum and follow Bathers Beach up to the Round House. Greg talks about the Wadjuck people of the region and greater Fremantle, called Walyalup in Noongar language. He talks about the hunting and gathering, setting fire to the bush to regenerate it, the sharing of food among families, and he shows edible plants and nuts.
Greg Nanup is a gentle man who does not talk in anger about the past, about racism, and what happened to his people. He gently reminds us that the stories need to be told, when he mentions the holding pen the Round House was before indigenous people were sent to Rottnest Island Quod, where Aboriginal people were imprisoned under atrocious conditions and many hundreds died. He does not even speak with resentment when he mentions that the burial ground on the island is still not officially acknowledged, fenced off and named.
It is a quiet tour, where we are kindly reminded that Greg’s people roamed the land here for more than 40.000 years, before white people arrived and claimed the land and named it Australia. It is a tour I highly recommend, and hope many school teachers will do with their students, because the stories of the Aboriginal people need to be told and we Wadjelas (white people) need to listen, understand and learn.
Greg also does tours in Kings Park and I will report on that next week. You can contact him via the website: www.indigenouswa.com
Roel Loopers
FREO FIREWORKS BUT STILL NO LIGHT
In the week prior to the opening of ISAF (December 2) I notified Fremantle CEO Graeme McKenzie that the light near the steps of the Round House had been out for weeks and that this could become a risk for people walking up and down the steps to the Round House in the dark. Graeme reacted immediately and sent an electrician out, who could not solve the problem, as it had something to do with work at Bathers Beach.
Last week I made Freo’s CEO aware again that the light still had not been fixed and that hundreds of people might come up to watch the Australia Day fireworks. I even emailed Graeme photos to show which one of the lights I was referring to, as a larger, more modern light, had been switched off because people in apartments at Little High street complained the light shines into their bedrooms. Graeme promised to make the repair a priority, but today, nearly two months since I notified the City of Fremantle first of the faulty light, it still has not been repaired and hundreds of people on Australia Day will have to navigate the steps in the dark. Strangely a different light on the other side of the railway line was repaired today, but it has no effect on the darkness of the Round House steps of course.
I hear complaints about the work ethics at CoF time and time again, and someone really has to put her/his foot down and gets this lackadaisical attitude changed!
Find yourself with broken bones in Fremantle. Not sure that that works as an advertising promo for our beloved city. : >(
Roel Loopers
I AM LOVING THE HEAT
I have always known I am a bit strange, and if the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum was still operating, authorities might well have put me there, after my friends expressed concern about my state of mind, because, you see, I LOVE THIS HEAT!! I only hear people complaining how hot it is and how uncomfortable they are, but I revel in this warm embrace by nature. It’s the cosy feeling one gets as a baby when mum puts a warm towel around you when you get out of bath. I first ever felt like that in the seventies, getting out of the plane in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I absolutely loved the heat and it has never stopped. It’s one of the reasons I always wanted to live in the Kimberley.
Trying to find sleep in the heat last night, the fan just centimetres from my feet, I called myself a Roel roast, as it felt as if I was in a fan forced oven and being cooked slowly. Slow roasted Roel belly? I know I’d prefer pork any time.
No wonder my friends call me Loopy!
Roel Loopers
FREO GETS FIRST BITE AT NEW LABOR LEADER
Fremantle people will be able to hear fisrt hand what new Western Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan has to say, and hopefully we can question him on Freo issues as well.
Here is the invite from the Chamber of Commerce:
A WEEK IS A LONG TIME IN POLITICS!
Mark McGowan MLA WA Labor Leader and Members of the Shadow Cabinet
invite you to a meeting with the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce to discuss issues affecting your business and community.
When: Tuesday 31 January 2012
Where: Fremantle Sailing Club
151 Marine Terrace, Fremantle
Time: 7:30am – 9:00am
Cost: $15pp
• Mark McGowan MLA
• Sue Ellery MLC
• Ken Travers MLC
• Peter Tinley MLA
Selection of Muffins & Refreshments supplied. rsvp@fremantlechamber.com.au
KITCHENHAND NEEDED AT ROUND HOUSE
My Portuguese friend Carlos, who runs the cafe at No 1 High Street in the West End of Fremantle, just under the Round House, has returned from a visit to his home country and needs a new kitchenhand/cook for the cafe. It’s a full-time job, so if you are looking for work, or know someone who does, pop by and say Bon Dia (G’day) to Carlos and have a chat with him. The cafe opens around 7.30 and closes around 4 pm I believe.
Roel Loopers
COOL FREO OZ DAY FIREWORKS
It’s going to be cool to be in Fremantle for the Australia Day celebrations tomorrow, especially since the fireworks here are guaranteed, as they will be launched over the Indian Ocean, while the Perth fireworks could be canceled because of the heat and bushfire risk. It will obviously also be cooler here near the ocean than it will be in Kings Park or on the foreshore, and no one will have to put up with traffic congestion, over crowded trains, etc. Let’s hope Freo’s parking inspectors will also be generous and don’t book people for overstaying!
I am a big fan of the Australian citicenship ceremony at the Esplanade, starting at 4 pm, and it will be the first time in years I will miss it because I am on duty as tour guide at the Round House.
The City of Fremantle is aware of the high temperatures expected for tomorrow, so there will be cold water available at the Esplanade and there will also be volunteers with water pistols to help you cool down.
Australia Day is a special day during which we should also remember the great contribution the indigenous people make to this country. The start of Australia was the invasion of their land.
Let’s finish with a quote: “Patriotism is as fierce as a fever, pitiless as the grave, blind as a stone, and as irrational as a headless man” AMBROCE BIERCE
I am delighted the nationalistic ‘Boganville’ displays are less numerous, and to see far less Australian flags on cars than last year.
Have a fun day!
Roel Loopers
KOELMAN PERFORMS WITH FREMANTLE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Dutch born Rudolf Koelman, my favourite violinist, is coming from Switzerland to Fremantle again for more concerts with the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra. Here are the details:
Rudolf Koelman (violin) Vivaldi: 4 Seasons
(family event with speaker and pictures to illustrate his fantastic program music)
Saturday 18 February Fremantle Town Hall 3pm
Sunday 19 February Perth Town Hall 3pm
The Supporters
FCO’s concerts are made possible by the generous support of the Fremantle Herald and Perth Voice, the City of Perth, Fremantle Ports, the Town of East Fremantle and the City of Fremantle, and all enthusiastic musicians and volunteers.
Tickets
Tickets are available at the door or via BOCS: all ticketing outlets, 9484 1133, (fax 9486 1711) bocsticketing.com.au; transaction fees apply. Adults: $35, Concession $30, under 17 years: $15. Family tickets: $80 (2 adults 2 children)
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