The ruins of Bibra Lake’s history

BY JACOB HIGGINS ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

The Bibra Lake Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) camp ruins, discovered the week before ANZAC Day and locally heritage listed last week, have been the source of much mystery regarding the history of the site and it’s occupants.

The ruins, a scattering of broken concrete connecting a small bathroom block, sewage structure and a speculated underground bunker, and encircled by potential concrete tracks, were brought to the locals’ attention after a Coolbellup resident commented on the potential impact the Roe 8 Highway extension might have on the site.

Christine Cooper, President of the Bibra Lake Resident’s Association.

Bibra Lake Resident’s Association President Christine Cooper stated this resident was the first of many to come forward with childhood stories regarding the site.

“He provided me with pages from the book, ‘We Answered the Call’ by Eileen Reilly Tucker and that gave us some information about it and he sort of remembered where the site was, he’d actually grown up in the area and could remember the searchlights in the sky as a kid,” she said.

“I’m starting to get stories from these sons and daughters as well, one contacted me the other day, and she was asking her mum about the site, she was a driver, and she used to drive linesmen around but she was based at Bibra Lake.”

This was confirmed by History Now Historian Eddie Marcus, who believed that the 66th Searchlight Battery established the site in Bibra Lake in 1943 and that the base contained up to 200 soldiers.

“There was possibly upwards of 100 or 200 people based there,” he said.

“She [Eileen Reilly Tucker] interviewed a number of women who clearly remembered the site at Bibra Lake being an AWAS site, and they had a number of experiences there.”

However, Mr Marcus stated there were a number of issues with this interpretation.

The remains of a bathroom block in the Bibra Lake ruins.

“Oral history always has to be backed up with something in the records because people misremember things,” he said.

“It is possible that the women who were interviewed for this book were misremembering exactly where the AWAS site was, or they had been to the headquarters that was briefly based there, and that’s where the confusion lies.”

Military Historian Graham McKenzie-Smith maintained the site was never a searchlight site or an AWAS camp at all.

“It wasn’t an AWAS site, it wasn’t a searchlight site, it was a temporary home for a newly formed mobile regimental headquarters,” he said.

“The site was occupied in January 1943 by the headquarters of the 116th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment.

“The Regiment would have had about 50 people, including about five AWAS’, I’ve heard all sorts of rumours about there being 300 brave AWAS’ on site, well, at 300 on site, with a 3 hole toilet, that doesn’t work.”

Ms Cooper held the site was predominantly manned by AWAS soldiers and more information would be uncovered following the discovery of an onsite diary.

“The book says that it was the Regimental Headquarters, we’ve got a photograph from that book of 99 women and 43 men, and at the bottom of the photograph it says it was at Bibra Lake and it was the 66th Anti-Aircraft battery,’ she said.

Photos of AWAS soldiers provided by local descendants.

“Archeologist Sue Carter was able to get the Australian War Memorial Archives to locate the diary of the site which goes from 1941 to 44, and it’s 761 pages.”

Archeologist Sue Carter confirmed the 66th Anti-Aircraft Battery maintained the site and that the diary is highly significant to the true history of the site.

“The history of the site was a 66 AA Battery as recorded by the WA War Museum,” she said.

“The War Diary from the site will throw light on its involvement of the defence of Australia in during World War II.”

Ms Cooper commented on the need to have the site properly surveyed due to the AWAS’ historical significance.

Identical photos provided independently by two descendant families without knowledge of the other.

“We’ve got to have it properly surveyed, now if you’ve got a site that is that big, and a diary with that many pages in it, one can guess it was a big site and an important one,” she said.

“It’s really quite significant because it only seems to be in recent times that people are starting to recognise the efforts these women put in to defend this country if it was absolutely needed.

“We certainly haven’t finished with what we’re going to find and I think the more stories that come in, it’s a lot of these personal stories that make it really interesting for people, and that’s part of the history as well.”

Fremantle Port privatisation rests on timeline for outer harbour, Colin Barnett says

source: abc news

Fremantle Port privatisation rests on timeline for outer harbour, Colin Barnett says

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett wants the construction timeline for an outer harbour containment port off Perth determined before Fremantle Port is privatised to avoid the prospect of later compensation.

The port is part of a broader asset sales program the Government hopes will raise between $3 billion and $5 billion as it looks to reduce the state's climbing debt.

The Government has flagged privatisation of Fremantle Port on a long-term lease arrangement, but Mr Barnett said there was still "a long way to go" before any move goes ahead.

"A prospective buyer needs to know exactly the timetable in terms of container capacity at Fremantle and the timetable and capacity of a new container port," he said.

"Giving certainty to a bidder is fundamental to the sale of the port.

"I'm not one to hypothecate compensation, I would rather deal with the issue so there is not a question of compensation."

Mr Barnett made the comments in response to questions in State Parliament on whether the Government would consider compensating the potential future lessee of Fremantle Port, if a rival container facility is developed in Kwinana.

The comments also follow concerns raised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission about the Port of Melbourne's sale.

One of the competition watchdog's concerns centred on the Victorian Government creating a system to compensate the operator if the state builds a rival port ahead of schedule.

Mr Barnett said other issues also needed to be worked through before any deal regarding Fremantle could go ahead.

"Some of the issues include the ultimate capacity ... in terms of containers. It will also be affected by what happens in terms of freight connections to the port and to the Roe Highway system," he said.

"It will also be determined as to whether any prospective buyer has a right or first entitlement to be involved in the expansion of a container port at Cockburn Sound, and add to that a whole range of detailed issues as to exactly what is being sold in terms of land and assets on that.

"This project has got a long way to go and we are concentrating on the sale of the first identified asset, which is the Perth Market Authority, and the second one which is [port facility] Utah Point in Port Hedland."

If the Government does decide to put the facility under private control, it is expected to be in the form of a 50-year lease.

posted originally by the ABC HERE

Premier Colin Barnett renews hope new PM Malcolm Turnbull will fund WA rail projects

source: abc news

Premier Colin Barnett renews hope new PM Malcolm Turnbull will fund WA rail projects

Colin Barnett hopes the new Prime Minister will widen federal infrastructure to include
public transport rail projects.

WA Premier Colin Barnett hopes new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will expand the Federal Government's infrastructure funding to embrace rail as well as roads.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott had refused to fund public rail projects, arguing trains had traditionally been a state responsibility.

But with the change in leadership, Mr Barnett said he hoped Mr Turnbull would favourably consider reform to GST arrangements and help fund major rail projects in WA.

"They will be the two prime discussion points. GST, and where the Commonwealth wishes to go in terms of transport funding," Mr Barnett said.

"And I do hope Malcolm Turnbull changes the position and puts Commonwealth money both into road projects and public transport projects."

The Liberal Party went to the last state election promising two major rail projects — Max Light Rail and the Forrestfield-Airport Rail Link.

Both were touted as fully costed and fully funded, but both were initially heavily reliant on securing federal funding.

Faced with its deteriorating budget position, the Barnett Government had to choose which project to fund itself, and subsequently deferred its Max Light Rail project for at least three years.

Mr Barnett was asked if a change in the Federal Government's funding policy could be used to bring forward the Max Light Rail project from its revised 2022 completion date.

He said it was too early to tell.

"It could, but we'll wait and see because I haven't had that discussion," Mr Barnett said.

Yesterday, WA Opposition Leader Mark McGowan urged Mr Turnbull to redirect funding from the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link project to public transport rail projects.

Mr Barnett scoffed at Mr McGowan's suggestion.

"Do you seriously think that Malcolm Turnbull is going to be listening to Mark McGowan on transport in Western Australia? Don't think so," he said.

WA Labor calls on Turnbull to scrap Perth Freight Link

source: news.com.au

WA Labor calls on Turnbull to scrap Perth Freight Link

Federal Member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan and WA Labor Leader Mark McGowan. Picture: Marie Nirme

Labour is stepping up its calls for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to scrap, or at the very least review, the controversial $1.76 billion Perth Freight Link project.

WA opposition MPs want Mr Turnbull to abandon the project, with state Labor leader Mark McGowan saying $1 billion in Commonwealth funding pledged by former prime minister Tony Abbott was a “captain’s call” and should instead be used for urban rail.

On Wednesday, Labor Member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan said Mr Turnbull “must prove Australia is truly under new management” and commit to an immediate review of federal funding for the project, which also has the Greens up in arms because it will cut a swathe through the Beeliar wetlands.

Originally published as ALP pressures Turnbull on Perth Freight Link

Aboriginal heritage committee reversed decision to knock back Roe Highway works, WA Parliament told

source: abc news

Aboriginal heritage committee reversed decision to
knock back Roe Highway works, WA Parliament told

A controversial Perth highway extension project was initially knocked back by a committee set up to assess whether Aboriginal cultural sites would be disturbed, it has been revealed.

The extension of Roe Highway from its current Kwinana Freeway terminus to Stock Road is part of a wider plan to construct the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link, which the WA Government says will remove up to 5,000 trucks a day from Perth's other roadways transporting goods to the Fremantle port.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier confirmed in State Parliament that the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee initially recommended heritage approval not be granted for the Roe Highway Stage 8 works.

The Department of Aboriginal Affairs committee scrutinised construction of the highway extension because it runs partly through an area sacred to Indigenous people.

"The Committee ... resolved to recommend to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs that consent not be granted based on the ethnographic significance of the sites the subject of the notice and the objections to the Purpose raised by the majority of Aboriginal [sic] consulted," the committee said in the minutes of its initial 2013 decision, released to Parliament.

But that decision was revisited in June 2015, with the committee recommending that conditional consent be granted.

"The applicant has indicated that the purpose will be designed and constructed in a manner to minimise the road footprint and impact on Aboriginal sites and places," the committee later said.

The route runs through the North Lake and Bibra Lake region, which is considered by Indigenous people to be sacred because of the legend of a giant serpent called Waugul.

Mr Collier granted Aboriginal heritage approval for the project, saying extensive consultation was conducted and arguing the importance and significance of the area will not be disturbed any more than had already occurred.

He told Parliament it was appropriate for the committee to re-consider the matter, because he had been prevented from assessing it until this year while environmental approval was pending, and significant time had passed since the 2013 assessment.

The Minister also said new information about the "archaeological heritage places on the land" had been received for the second consideration.

But Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren described the sequence of events as deeply concerning, and said an investigation was needed to clear up several aspects.

"The fact that an archaeological survey was ordered by the department between 2013 and 2015 smacks of the department trying to shop around for a different outcome, which is what they eventually got," Ms MacLaren said.

"Clearly Aboriginal heritage in this area is significant and important and should be respected over and above any other values, and our system of heritage protection has failed."

Here is the link to the original news article from ABC NEWS

Health fears over freight link fumes

source: the west australian

Health fears over freight link fumes

Parents with children, politicians, environmentalists and residents in dust masks joined yesterday to put faces to the campaign against the Perth Freight Link.

About 1000 protesters worried about everything from diesel fumes to poor planning gathered on Stirling Bridge in East Fremantle to show the growing opposition to the $1.6 billion State Government project.

Federal MP Alannah MacTiernan, who wants the heavy transport route scrapped, said the “crazy” project was hastily conceived, poorly thought out and would not “bring home the economic bacon”.

Labor would allocate $2 million to plan an outer harbour at Kwinana if it won the next Federal election.

Transport Minister Dean Nalder said the project was well-planned and environmentally responsible.

He said he was focused on the Roe 8 highway extension and the Government did what it could to minimise the environmental impacts of the “critical” project.

“We understand there are concerns whenever we do something that impacts on natural vegetation,” he said. “We need to make sure we’ve looked at it carefully.

“I’m comfortable that the process has been done properly and we’re doing the right thing.”

Public health physician Linda Selvey, an associate professor at Curtin University, said the link would ruin East Fremantle.

She said it would increase diesel particulates, traffic crashes and noise pollution while destroying green space and connectivity.

Those most affected would be children, the elderly and people with lung problems.

An application for a judicial review of the environmental approval of Roe 8 was filed in the Supreme Court last week.

Hundreds protest freight link

source: the west australian

Hundreds protest freight link

Perth Freight Link protesters on and near Stirling Bridge, East Fremantle.
Picture: Simon Santi/The West Australian

Hundreds of people donned paper dust masks before marching across Stirling Bridge in East Fremantle this morning to protest against the Perth Freight Link.

The protesters highlighted diesel fuel exhaust as a pollution hazard as they filled the pedestrian walkway on the bridge.

During a rally at Kitson Reserve, Federal Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan said the project would not bring home the "economic bacon" for the State.

She told the crowd the only solution was an outer harbour in Kwinana.

Ms MacTiernan said Labour's pledge going into the next Federal election would be to allocate $2 million to the State Government to restart the planning on the outer harbour.

"That is in fact the only solution, it is what indeed these billions of dollars should be spent on delivering," she said.

"We want infrastructure that is really going to benefit this State."

The full story is available HERE