South Perth: What a Place to Be

Wow, wasn’t Red Bull the place to be on the weekend. The crowd enjoyed a spectacular time, the pilots showed how good they are, pushing the limits of aerodynamics, the organisers made it look so easy and even the police didn’t raise a sweat.

You can click on the photos to enjoy them in full screen. For a YouTube video of Matt Hall, RAAF jet pilot, finishing in his best- ever, second place, position just click here (turn the sound up).

Click here for a longer video from Perth Red Bull 2008, with extra adrenaline.

The new beaches on the foreshore were really popular. With the addition of cabanas to lounge on they showed the way we might do things every day of the summer. Just imagine something like this, perhaps with a van selling ice creams, sun screen, coffee and postcards. Be there early to bag a spot.

Hospitality was really professional. Could we maybe do more of this around the Boatshed, so it becomes The Place to Be? Nothing grand, just some sheltering hedges, plenty of shade, views to snap and send home, a place to chill and enjoy being alive and in South Perth.

Night time views across the water aren’t too shabby either. Just imagine the new promenade running along the water’s edge from the Bellhouse cafe at Mends Street, after a restaurant dinner, walking arm- in- arm on a summer evening- idyllic. Could we even take a ride on the Ferris wheel and watch moonrise over the hills?

We are undergoing so much change and what amazes me is how well it is happening. People are using imagination, their experience from other lands and so many spirited conversations. With twenty one Councils along the river shores we seem to be managing pretty good co- ordination.

I really have lost count of how many public meetings, conversations and forums I’ve attended, around the topic of our way forward. People of South Perth are beginning to shape the future the way they see it, imagining possibilities, other realities and looking for opportunities.

For years we have been wary of change, sometimes doing nothing, at no cost, every day and never risking criticism. What a spirited experience this is, being part of making the future of our city.

Our community is thinking as a whole City, not just as local neighbourhoods. Exciting things are happening, from Mill Point to Manning, Canning Bridge to Kensington. Our city is developing for the benefit of all, including the million visitors every year. One more challenge is to find new ways to offer services to these visitors so the City benefits from the economic activity.

We have so many opportunities available. There is a general feeling that doing nothing has been comfortable for years but it means opportunities lost

By doing the things that continue to make South Perth a vibrant, exciting and safe place to be we are attracting more bright and alive minds who will go on to imagine and create new futures right here.

I love this place.