VOTERS MISTAKEN OVER FREO ELECTION CONFUSION: WAEC
WA Electoral Commission solicitors today dismissed witness statements by Fremantle voters who gave evidence they were disenfranchised when they received incorrect ballot papers in the 2023 local government election. State…
FRAUD RAISED IN DISPUTED FREO ELECTIONS
ELECTORAL fraud and false signatures overshadowed proceedings in the Magistrate's Court today when parties presented disputed evidence in the bungled 2023 local government elections in Fremantle. After a day hearing…
LEGAL DOUBT LINGERS OVER FREO TREE REGISTER
A LEGAL question over the existence of the City’s significant tree register saw elected members for the second time this year vote to remove the Moreton Bay fig at 195…
VIDEO CAPTURES LEEUWIN COLLISION
VIDEO footage of the destructive moment a container ship smashed into STS Leeuwin II will form part of Fremantle Ports' investigation into the inner harbour collision on Friday. Available on…
FREO ELECTORAL DISPUTE DRAGS OUT TO OCTOBER
THE validity of the disputed 2023 local government elections in Fremantle will be tested in October - a year after thousands of ballot papers were mailed incorrectly to central and…
STATE RESISTS FOI OVER FIGS & ELECTION FIGURES
TWO State Government departments have denied StreetWise FOI access to public documents related to infected trees and the use of blank ballot papers in Fremantle. The WA Electoral Commission says…
WAEC FOI ELECTION FIGURES DO NOT ADD UP
WAEC has further muddied the electoral waters following a Freedom of Information request for the number of blank ballots the City of Fremantle used in the 2021 and disputed 2023…
FIG FOI RUNS INTO PESTY RESISTANCE
THE department of primary industries and regional development cannot explain why it cleared the Moreton bay fig tree at 195 High Street of shot-hole borer a day after its pest…
HISTORIC SHARK HEAD IN SAFE HANDS
‘Mate, it’s safe. I’m grateful I have it.’ THE stuffed remains of the first shark caught in WA after killing a swimmer at Cottesloe in 1925 has landed in the…
Election extras, blanks & overs – but is it cricket?
SPECIAL REPORT: The City of Fremantle used hundreds of uncoded ‘spare’ ballot papers to influence the balance of power in the 2021 and disputed 2023 local government elections. StreetWise Media…
Democratic death at half mast
COMMENT: The City of Fremantle today flew the Australian flag at half mast to commemorate as part of its truth-telling journey the execution of Nyoongar leader Midgegooroo on May 22,…
SOMETHING ROTTEN AT 195
SOMETHING is rotten at 195 High Street. In what appears to be the left branch not knowing what the right is doing, the WA department of primary industries and regional…
‘THE OTHER FELLOW’ – 007 CURSE OR COOL?
HITLER. Manson. Putin. I’d ditch my family name. But what if you were born with the same name as one of the most iconic spy characters in the world? Bond,…
ELECTION CHALLENGE OVER BOTCHED BALLOTS
MATTERS of mathematics and due process (democracy) will be tested in June following a hearing last month over the botched 2023 local government elections in Fremantle’s central and coastal wards.…
CEMETERY ‘RENEWAL’ WITHIN DECADE
HEADSTONES could be removed from graves at Fremantle cemetery within the next five to 10 years. Documents sent to StreetWise by Saving Family Headstones at Karrakatta confirm plans by the…
EXMOUTH WONDERLAND
UNDERWATER photographer Rowan Dixon says he is lucky to have lived in Exmouth most of his life. The 28 year old told StreetWise: “Living here has been great for my…
COUNCIL APOLOGIES FLOW OVER TREE BLUE
“We can’t be seen as belting up on an old lady like this and seeing this happen. The tree of this size in anyone’s mind does not fit the block…
CITY REVISITS TOOTHLESS TREE REGISTER
ELECTED members called on the City of Fremantle last night to scrap its toothless significant tree register and find out whether the 135-year-old Moreton Bay at 195 High Street is…
Fig tree family calls out City on rotten policy
MEMBERS of the Cattalini family tonight put the City of Fremantle on notice that it did not give council consent nor was it consulted when it listed a 135-year-old fig…
Cossack caretakers abandon historic WA site
NGARLUMA and Yindjibarndi caretakers of Cossack today walked away from the historic town after it claimed the State Government refused to transfer ownership of the popular tourist site to the…
City seeks Bathers Beach shark barrier funds
FREMANTLE council tonight voted to seek State funding for a $200,000 shark barrier for a beach where no shark has tread before. Bathers Beach. The decision is not based on…
MAYOR SHUTS DOWN ELECTORS CONCERNS
‘Excuse me, excuse me … this is my meeting’ - Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge ELECTORS say council's contempt of Fremantle ratepayers was confirmed last night when Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge slapped down…
GREENS FEED ON FIG FRENZY
COMMENT: Tree huggers united. Architects designers on call. And former Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt taking temperature readings around the ‘monster’ Moreton Bay fig tree overlooking 195 High Street. Seriously Freo…
Who gives a fig tree? Freo does, not
A COUNCIL decision to remove a Moreton Bay fig tree at 195 High Street from its register of significant plantings paves the way for property owners to cut it down…
Not happy Hannah, say Freo electors
A MOTION of no confidence in Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge over her handling of the City's finances and South Beach change rooms was carried tonight at the annual general meeting…
Luxury ‘cruise craze’ raises health concerns
SHIPPING NEWS: Cruise ship season is in full swing in WA with a fleet of luxury hotels due to dock in Fremantle in the next couple of months. The multi-storey…
FREO ELECTION COMEDY OF ERRORS
THE State solicitor. A former WA premier. Fremantle’s youngest councillor and two legal actions declaring the 2023 local government elections invalid because of a ballots blunder in central and coastal…
BONKERS OVER BATHERS BAY
COMMENT: IS a permanent shark barrier at Bathers Bay overkill for a site that has never recorded a shark death or serious injury? So what exactly are we keeping out?…
CUTE BUT CRITICAL
FREO filmmaker Jane Hammond has brought to the world stage Western Australia’s black cockatoo crisis in which our threatened feathered friends face extinction. Sadly, this beloved species without science and…
City muzzles Marija
The City of Fremantle tonight muzzled former councillor Marija Vujcic from speaking publicly at a planned council acknowledgement of her controversial time in local government. On Monday, Ms Vujcic accepted…
HMAS Sydney – Lest we forget
TRAGEDY struck Australia on this day in 1941 when HMAS Sydney and its 645 crew, returning to Fremantle from escort duties in Sunda Strait, crossed paths with German raider HSK…
Half-mast mayor raises red flags
THE CEO at the Town Of Victoria Park which voted Yes in the Voice referendum said during public question time on October 17 the Aboriginal flag would not be lowered…
CLAUDIA’S VIEW
'Flag at half mast for the death of the democratic process' IT appears Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge took it upon herself to make the highly contentious, political and dubious decision to…
Cosmic burst baffles radio astronomers
ASTRONOMERS have detected a cosmic ‘pulse’ that has travelled through space for eight billion years or more than half the age of the universe since the Big Bang to reach…
Mega wombat haul unearthed in the Pilbara
I haven’t looked a diprotodon in the eye since 2002. In real life, this wombat-related herbivore grew up to 3.8m long, weighed nearly three tonnes and stood up to 2m…
Face to face
THIS preserved head and jaws of a 4.3m tiger shark has brought together the US family of its victim and WA shipwreck author Hugh Edwards who salvaged the ‘man-eater’ caught…
Pia’s house of style since 1963
PIA Passanisi celebrates 60 years of style in Fremantle. Each Thursday, the ‘retired’ hairdresser chips in to help her daughters at the Hair & Barber Room at 128 High Street.…
Muramats: Misfortunes of war
JIRO Muramatsu was 15 years old when he arrived in Cossack in 1893 - just 30 years after the town was established. His father Sakutaro arrived in 1890 and opened…
WA ‘Jaws’ anniversary
EXCLUSIVE: THE preserved remains of a 4.3m tiger shark has brought together the US family of its victim and the WA shipwreck author who salvaged the ‘man-eater’ caught at Cottesloe…
Paranoia or PR?
THE operator of Fremantle Markets took to 6PR today to talk up its bid for a 20-year lease extension ahead of the Fremantle council meeting tomorrow. Why? What would make…
What’s in a survey?
“It is reasonable to presume that 88 per cent of the respondents ought to be at least human. Prime facie, about 40 per cent of the content is so similar…
Something rotten in …
COMMENT: IN a repeat of the Japingka parking debacle, the City of Fremantle refuses to move on freeloaders camped unlawfully, sometimes for weeks, on Marine Terrace, South Mole, Mews Road,…
Freo councillor breached for ‘offensive’ parking post
COMMENT: Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge just couldn’t let it go. In a slap down decision, the local government standards panel found South Ward Cr Marijia Vujcic breached the Act last year…
Glory decision throws City plans offside
ANYONE interested in buying a soccer club? By now news that Perth Glory is in receivership has reached the disappointed masses, including in Fremantle. Despite concerns raised by StreetWise in…
Old Wives’ Tales & Superstitions – Part 1
BLACK cats. Broken mirrors. Charms. And Buddha tummy rubs for Lotto luck. Why are people superstitious? Why ‘touch wood’, avoid number 13 or flick salt over your shoulder? Part one…
Love me tender, not
BURY the Fremantle Markets business plan and take the ‘People’s Palace’ to public tender. In a ‘time to wake up’ plea to restore the Fremantle Markets building, Fremantle Society president…
Broken records & black holes
COMMENT: THE Fremantle Markets lease and CAT bus service represent lost opportunities in the wake of one of the biggest developments in the port city, Freo's Walyalup Civic Centre. Times…
Freo folk group Zagreb to tour Croatia
NORTH Fremantle folk group Zagreb is dancing on sunshine today after locking in contributions from the cities of Fremantle and Cockburn to tour Croatia next year. Vice president Raymond Pecotic…
Freo ratepayers reject City annual report – thrice
“Does the new Minister need to be made aware of the ratepayers’ rejection for a third year in a row?" UNCOMFORTABLE truths about the impact of Fremantle's failing finances on…
Murdoch family name grab for Freo icon
THE Murdoch family has in the past two weeks registered six new business names for the heritage-listed Fremantle Markets building in the event council decides against extending its lease. The…
“We have been incredibly loyal” – Natasha Atkinson, CEO Fremantle Markets Pty Ltd
FREMANTLE Markets Pty Ltd says it will be forced to move to a new location if the City chose not to renew its lease or proceed to public tender for…
Flinders shareholders question political involvement in $6b iron ore project – Part 2
WA Premiers, State and Federal ministers and senior government advisers have played a significant role in accommodating NZ and China plans to build a new iron ore mine and port…
Flinders shareholders resist China ‘Belt & Road’ investment in prized Pilbara resource – Part 1
EXCLUSIVE: Construction by NZ company Todd Corporation on a $6 billion iron ore project at Balla Balla between Karratha and Port Hedland is expected to start on June 1. This…
StreetWise’s 1400km journey for 62 seconds of ‘sunblock’
THE lights dimmed, temperatures dropped and dusty dogs turned tail today when the Moon blocked out the Sun for 62 seconds in the first total solar eclipse in WA in…
62 seconds of starry alignment
BlogThis Freo. Eclipse chasers travelling north to Exmouth to view the total solar eclipse this week get a free coffee courtesy of the busy roadhouses along more than 10,000km of…
JACK’S JOURNEY
STREETWISE first met Jack Mendes in O’Connor, at his successful Yarrick Street car dealership opposite Bunnings. Freo’s independent publication asked the Indian father of two to support the annual Freo…
ALCOA’S ‘DIRTY SECRET’
IN 2007, US environmental activist Erin Brockovich joined residents and workers who claimed Alcoa was poisoning their communities. The public health crusader who successfully took on big industry in the…
BLOGTHIS FREO
THERE’S a new blog in town @BlogThis Freo. Linked to Fremantle’s independent print and online publication at StreetWise Media (streetwisemedia.com.au), BlogThis brings readers informed comment, criticism and praise (and protest)…
MIXED VOICES, SHABBY STREETS & SPIN
THE City of Fremantle last night voted to spend $35,500 to support the ‘Yes’ campaign for a First Nations Voice to Parliament on the day the Federal Government moved to…
VIPs refused entry to Freo Town Hall
EXCLUSIVE: Former Federal Treasurer John Dawkins and his wife Maggie were left shocked and upset yesterday after City of Fremantle staff refused them entry to the Town Hall. The Federal MP…
‘Boycott Fruit Loop Freo’ – public reacts to City ‘Yes’ vote
A City of Fremantle plan to spend $35,500 on a three-month campaign to support the ‘Yes’ campaign for a First Nations Voice to Parliament has sparked public outrage on social…
YES or NO?
THE City of Fremantle wants to launch a three-month campaign to educate people about why they should vote ‘Yes’ for a First Nations Voice to Parliament. Before FPOL on Wednesday,…
TALKING RUBBISH
THE City of Fremantle has voted to dump its bulk waste collection system and replace it with a ‘valet’ verge service that will cost ratepayers $50,000 to help reduce landfill…
Murujuga nominated for World Heritage listing
MILLENIA in the making, nearly 100,000ha of land and sea at rock art-rich Murujuga in WA's Pilbara has been nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List. If the nomination…
HEART OF DARKNESS
IN 2021, Port Beach regular Paul Millachip, 57, was attacked by a 4.5m shark just 50m from shore. His body was never recovered, the father of two leaving behind a…
StreetWise Scoops
BUDGET blowouts, local government election shenanigans, serial parking offenders, ‘tent city’ political stunts and a dumpster diving councillor. There is no shortage of news when it comes to the City…
Sea Monsters
GIANT squid, albino killer whales, sea serpents and Loch Ness-like creatures have occupied Earth’s oceans, rivers and lakes for the past 600 million years. And while most ‘monsters’ on land…
The Swedes Were Coming!
PICKLED eel and kringles at Christmas, clogs, akvavit and Abba. ‘Sandgropers’ today would be enjoying a Scandinavian lifestyle had King Gustav III pursued plans to colonise the Swan River. In…
Fremantle electors call on City to ‘step up’
ELECTORS last night called on the City of Fremantle to ‘step up’ and ask the State Government to abandon its unpopular traffic bridge design proposed by MRD. They also demanded…
Depuch Island – the future of Uluru’s ‘dark sister’
EXCLUSIVE: A proposed iron ore port at the historic Pilbara ghost town of Balla Balla between Karratha and Port Hedland threatens one of the most extraordinary collections of petroglyphs dating…
Freo’s never ending Walyalup ‘journey’ – $65m and climbing
“Good governance speaks in the language of ‘we’ not ‘you or I’ … I think moving forward we need to act collectively and speak collectively, effectively as the board of…
Absent Mayor dodges call for parking apology
FREMANTLE Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge tonight twice walked out of the council chamber when asked to remove and apologise for Instagram comments accusing a High Street business and fellow elected member…
Mayor dumps on mum’s ‘attackers’ over parking breach
COMMENT: BEING Fremantle mayor has its downsides, according to Cr Hannah Fitzhardinge’s latest Instagram post: “ … that is, the impact it has on your family. Because they love you…
Budget-blown Walyalup a civic ‘success’: City of Fremantle
PARKING law changes, a new computer security policy and cats on a leash will be considered at the ordinary council meeting on Wednesday. So too the City of Fremantle financials,…
Perth Glory in lease dispute with City of Fremantle
THE ink is still not dry on the Fremantle Oval lease and the City of Fremantle and Perth Glory are calling offside on the sweetheart deal. Details of the lease…
Devil in the detail in Freo financials
THE City of Fremantle will provide detailed costings of the unfinished Walyalup Civic Centre and produce its long overdue 2021 financial statements at the audit and risk committee this week.…
City complicit in Japingka parking breaches
COMMENT: THE role of mayor includes providing leadership and working with the CEO to ensure local government affairs are in order. The Act also bestows a critical function in which…
Rock art book too ‘dangerous’ to publish
A NEW book on the extraordinary petroglyphs at Depuch Island off the remote Pilbara coast has been shelved by its WA author because traditional custodians feel its publication would be…
“I see nothing! I hear nothing! I know nothing!”
FREMANTLE Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge today ‘absented’ herself from the Japingka parking saga in which her mother is one of five people who for the past year have flaunted local laws…
City of Fremantle blind over Japingka parking contempt
COMMENT: SO much for council vigilance and good governance at the City of Fremantle. Just a week after StreetWise exposed the unlawful parking habits of Japingka Aboriginal Art tenants, it…
Mayor’s mum caught up in Japingka parking dispute
EXCLUSIVE: HOW many cars can you fit into three bays? In Fremantle, where parking breaches are taken very seriously, the answer apparently is four (pictured above). High Street tenants sent…
Walyalup project costs, debts referred to full council
WALYALUP Civic Centre's multi-million-dollar overruns, high risk staff access to supplier accounts and overdue debts, some five years old, worth $778,540. The City audit & risk committee members had a…
Transparency in local government in WA
ARE political registers necessary in local government in WA? The cities of South Perth, Belmont and Bayswater think so. They have moved to have elected and committee members declare their…
State invests $20m into historic Fremantle port
FREMANTLE Ports today welcomed the State Government $20 million budget pledge to transform Victoria Quay into one of WA's top tourism and cultural precincts as part of the Westport project…
Easter blessings StreetWise readers
A HAPPY Easter Sunday StreetWise readers. Thanks to sponsors and supporters of Fremantle's independent print and online publication, the latest edition of Freo StreetWise now available in newsagents, pubs, cafes,…
Council streams to private blog site
THE City of Fremantle has a new propaganda channel. Instead of announcing its new CEO via its ratepayer funded council website, council today chose to leak the information to a…
And the winners are …
“This is not an Academy Award, it’s a freak out ladies and gentlemen.” - US comedian Bob Hope at the 42nd Academy Awards 1970 A COMEDY: Multi-Oscars MC Bob Hope…
Claudia’s View
And the winner is … To measure the effect of a new Mayor, City of Fremantle after 10 years of woke Green progression, will probably be determined by subjective reaction:…
FOI exposes council contempt for Freo business
A CITY of Fremantle investigation has upheld only one of 19 allegations by Bob’s Shoe Store of Cr Andrew Sullivan's handling of a parking fine he promised to have withdrawn…
Cossack land owners left in the dark
THE City of Karratha wants a second crack at pursuing its ‘vision’ for Cossack after the State Government rejected a previous scheme amendment to activate the former pearling town 1500km…
Freo business icon rejects apology as ‘insincere, calculated’
INSINCERE, calculated and evasive is how Bob’s Shoe Store in Fremantle describes Cr Andrew Sullivan’s apology for his role in a disputed parking fine he allowed to turn into a…
Shipwreck pollen key to Endeavour ‘discovery’
By Carmelo Amalfi COULD microscopic grains of pollen embedded in submerged timbers at the Endeavour wreck site in the US confirm it was the ship James Cook sailed in when…
Acting CEO coached by mayor’s business ‘partners’
FREMANTLE Acting CEO Glen Dougall is being ‘coached’ by a professional development company closely associated with Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge’s leadership consultancy Integral. StreetWise can confirm Mr Dougall receives professional training,…
It’s a wrap – StreetWise 2021 in review
THE year in Freo began as it ended - with a leak. From ‘tent city’ the State Government forcibly closed on January 23 to a faulty fire pump that delayed…
Council moves to legitimise ‘tent city’ debacle
THE City of Fremantle will legitimise volunteer events such as ‘tent city’ under a new ‘Voluntary Goodwill Service Provider Policy’ to be presented to full council on Wednesday. The proposed…
Freo’s war at home
BLACKOUTS, school closures, storefronts painted black, sandbagged or boarded, anti-submarine and anti-torpedo nets installed across the harbour entrance. Even road signs within 30km of the coast were removed as the…
‘Unknown’ Sydney sailor named after 80 years
TRIBUTE: Of the many tragic tales of war at sea, none hits closer to home in WA than the loss of HMAS Sydney and all 645 crew on the evening…
Shark expert cautions swimmers after fatal Freo attack
SHARK expert Hugh Edwards today cautioned the public to stay alert over the next few weeks following the fatal attack on Saturday of a 57-year-old man off Port Beach in…
A decade too far? The promise of COP26
COMMENT: I’M with Greta. Climate talk is cheap. There may be a will to change, but the way forward has proved elusive since the historic Kyoto Protocol was signed in…
Batavia tree-ring study reveals Dutch ship ingenuity
EARLY 17th century Dutch ship builders used multi-layered hulls sourced from the best timbers in Europe to ensure they survived the rigours of ocean travel. Their ingenuity and ability to…
Freo ship blog shames Seven Media
COMMENT: Fremantle Shipping News purports to be the ‘heart of Freo’, its editor Michael Barker the only voice of reason in a sea of media irrelevance. In a self-inflated rant…
Kick in the shins for Freo shoe icon
OWNERS of Bob’s Shoe Store say a lack of leadership and engagement by Acting Mayor Andrew Sullivan over a parking fine is symptomatic of the deeper malaise affecting struggling businesses…
Quick fire Mayoral debate and Minties moments
“WE don’t do deals, we put it out to tender.” Mayoral candidate Marija Vujcic brought down the house last night when she called for Fremantle Markets’ lease to be torn…
THIS WEEK IN FREO 2017
IN September 2017, StreetWise published details of former mayor Brad Pettitt’s election campaign and his team's priority issues including the City's troubled finances, Australia Day, J-shed, Roe 8 and how…
Australia Day Festival 2022
MAYORAL candidate and South Ward festival goer Marija Vujcic says she will bring back the fireworks on Australia Day 2022. It will be the first of many events she says…
Online ‘publishers’ liable for reader comments: High Court
FACEBOOK, Twitter and Instagram users. Take heed. The High Court ruled this week (https://bit.ly/2XbPTQa) that publishers can be held responsible for defamatory comments posted by readers to their social media…
“We’re going there no matter what” – Perth Glory owner Tony Sage
PERTH Glory chairman Tony Sage says the City of Fremantle offered it Ken Allen Field as part of its proposal to move into Fremantle Oval by the end of October.…
Footy heritage ditched for a few pieces of glory
EXCLUSIVE: By Carmelo Amalfi FREMANTLE City Football Club could be forced to leave the port city if council's finance committee approves a Perth Glory proposal to move into Fremantle Oval…
Ex-State MP joins Freo mayoral race
GREENS-turned-independent Adele Carles has moved into City Ward to run for the Fremantle mayoral seat in the local government elections in October. The former State MP joins the race on…
Labor moves to consolidate council control
COMMENT: THE race for the next mayor of Fremantle will see the Labor party reassert its authority on council through the potential election of a Labor mayor in October. Three…
COVID nurse fears drink spiked in Fremantle
EXCLUSIVE: A COVID-19 nurse says her drink was spiked at one of two venues in Fremantle before she was found passed out semi naked on the road opposite Esplanade Park…
Viva le Freo!
COULD Freo have been a French colony? Bastille Day commemorates the anniversary of the storming of Bastille prison in Paris on July 14, 1789. With the end of the monarchy,…
The ‘positives’ of feeling bad in a pandemic
“ … the prospect of fatigue and headache after vaccination for COVID-19 should be viewed positively, as a necessary prelude to an effective immune response”. STREETWISE came across this article…
State tramples horse heritage link
THE Heritage Council of WA has severed a significant cultural link to generations of horse racing families in Fremantle and Cockburn after it deemed Hollis Park unworthy of joining the…
State overlooks ‘missing link’ in shared horse heritage
THE old South Fremantle power station in Cockburn is one of 10 sites entered on the State’s register of significant cultural heritage places. It is also up for sale. The…
Nasty Alert – “Watch yourself, we know the same people”
COMMENT: This image of Fremantle local Claudia Green was copied from the StreetWise website on May 27 and published without permission on the Fremantle Community Forum Facebook page launched in 2020…
Payments ‘accelerate’ weeks before Pindan collapse
CITY of Fremantle payments to Pindan accelerated in the weeks before the construction company collapsed on May 18, leaving out of pocket by up to $100 million hundreds of contractors…
A tale of two bridges
CONSTRUCTION of two new bridges across the Swan River will begin this year as part of a $230 million project to build a dedicated Fremantle freight rail line and replace…
Once upon a time in Freo – Act II
COMMENT: THE financial health of any council in WA, including Fremantle, can be scrutinised at mycouncil.wa.gov.au/Council/ViewCouncil/51. The Department of Local Government page includes information about population, rates of growth, revenue,…
Once upon a time in Freo – Act I
COMMENT: FREO’S ‘sustainability journey’ is over. The 10-year experiment in socially engineered ‘terraforming’ and feelgood politics has left ratepayers with a debt-ridden council unable to maintain precious assets and provide…
Fremantle council ‘massages’ the books
A CITY without a mayor or CEO. Increased rates, deteriorating assets and a $32 million loss the City of Fremantle wants to conceal after nearly 10 years of financial mismanagement…
WA towns honour ANZAC diggers
FARMERS, labourers, camel drivers, horsemen and one of the few indigenous members of WA’s 2/28th Battalion in WW2. Lit by the goldfields sun, their names are honoured on the war…
Megafauna mystery – size isn’t everything
GREAT or small, the future of Australia’s iconic wildlife appears uncertain in the face of climate change and human impacts such as habitat loss and environmental degradation. A new paper…
Freo squared – reconciliation or cheap politics?
COMMENT: Beaconsfield Ward Cr Hannah Fitzhardinge last year told council there had been plenty of community consultation on renaming Kings Square as part of its Walyalup reconciliation action plan. After…
‘Thunder’ bird brains rock
FOSSIL hunters are thunderstruck by the latest discoveries of a ‘demon duck’ that went extinct in Australia about 50,000 years ago. Weighing up to 600kg with a head and powerful…
Dubious deferral to convert Freo backpackers
FREMANTLE councillors have deferred for dubious reasons a City officer’s recommendation to approve a new 15-year lease agreement with tenants of the Old Fire Station Backpackers on Phillimore Street. The…
Nothing to see here? Council buries ‘tent city’ inquiry call
FEW people in Fremantle attend council meetings, particularly now with COVID on the loose. Those who can have the privilege of listening to elected members and City staff discuss important…
‘Tent city’ regrettable and political: CEO report
'TENT city’ was a regrettable event that failed to help nearly 100 homeless people camped at Pioneer Park, according to the City of Fremantle CEO. In a report to full…
Business concerns over political ‘Freo Traders’
THE Fremantle Chamber of Commerce says a ‘Freo Traders’ group that promises to save the business community has raised concerns among members over its political motives. Organised by Melville resident…
Return to sender
SAMSON veteran Arthur Stanton OAM’s email must have got lost in translation at the City of Fremantle. The 82-year-old former sergeant wrote to then mayor Brad Pettitt and his elected…
Potty posts and social kettles – Part 2
REFLECTION: StreetWise Media was launched in High Street in Fremantle in 2015, its publishing debut attended by local business leaders, historians, archaeologists, artists, students and filmmakers. Getting there took more…
Opinion versus facts – Part 1
ANALYSIS: This is not a blog. This is StreetWise Media: Fremantle’s fiercely independent magazine and online publisher. Followed and shared by thousands of 'friends' and readers across WA, StreetWise draws…
“No questions asked”: Acting Mayor – ‘Tent city’ inquiry critical
ACTING Mayor Andrew Sullivan’s defence of his role in the ‘tent city’ fiasco confirms the urgent need for an independent inquiry into why the City of Fremantle allowed the 24-hour…
Calls grow for ‘tent city’ inquiry
FREMANTLE Liberal candidate Miquela Riley says the City’s ‘tent city’ fiasco should be independently investigated if elected members and council staff knew it was a political stunt. “The suggestion the…
Acting Mayor’s ‘office’ staging post for tent city
EXCLUSIVE: TENTS and supplies for the homeless camped without council approval in Pioneer Park on Boxing Day were stored at the back of Acting Mayor Andrew Sullivan’s 'office' in Fremantle.…
Silly politicking?
COMMENT: Children seriously assaulted. Property damaged and stolen. The homeless moved on. But not a word in his last blog as Mayor Brad Pettitt about the victims left behind -…
Political stunt taints Greens Mayor
EXCLUSIVE: BRAD knew. Freo StreetWise can confirm Greens Mayor Brad Pettitt and City Ward Councillor Rachel Pemberton gave activists without authority verbal approval to set up a 24-hour street kitchen for…
Q&A with WA Treasurer and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt
Q1. When was the minister advised about the potential problems with tent city and by whom? “The activities of the Pioneer Park camp organisers became an issue as soon as…
“The motivation was political from the beginning”: Labor Treasurer Ben Wyatt
EXCLUSIVE: GREENS Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt must resign or explain how tent city organisers were allowed to camp for 30 days outside State Labor MP Simone McGurk’s office in Market…
Third time lucky for Walyalup lease?
UP for approval Wednesday is the latest recommended retail lease proposal for the Fremantle Walyalup Civic Centre - an America’s Cup-era clothing shop. City officers say a 220sqm clothing store…
Tent city bust-up exposes council homeless fiasco
COMMENT: ELECTED members will meet Wednesday after a horror week over the Fremantle ‘tent city’ debacle in which their attempts to politicise the homeless issue in WA backfired badly. As…
Blame game divides Fremantle community
STATE Labor member for Fremantle Simone McGurk has accused ‘tent city’ organisers of deliberately choosing Pioneer Park opposite her office to score cheap political points. Responding to the alleged sexual…
Bogan’s Run – 2021 Freo Charity Car Cruise
THE idea for the annual Freo StreetWise Charity Car Cruise originated at Portorosa Restaurant on Father’s Day 2015. Enjoying lunch outside with family and friends, StreetWise noticed a steady stream…
Fremantle council goes too far: WA Premier
BACKPEDDLING Fremantle Council has moved to shut down ‘tent city’ after weeks of highlighting the plight of the homeless and disadvantaged in WA. Faced with a festering political sore and…
‘Anarchists’ take over Fremantle ‘tent city’: Premier
WA Premier Mark McGowan said “anarchists” are taking advantage of disadvantaged people camped since December 23 at ‘tent city’ in Fremantle. Mr McGowan said many of the people at Pioneer…
Society throws out potential Freo candidate
A THROWAWAY comment about City Ward candidate Claudia Green during the 2017 local government elections is causing ruptures in the 49-year-old Fremantle Society. As reported in the latest edition of…
2021 Freo Charity Car Cruise
'The 2021 Freo StreetWise Charity Car Cruise on March 14 is Perth's biggest 'bog lap' raising funds for the Cancer Council. Classic and vintage car owners will muster at 10am…
South Fremantle ‘Festival of Lights
A selection of images supplied and posted by the South Fremantle Community Association which held the successful 'Festival of Lights' that attracted up to 30,000 people in November. The brainchild…
Council exposed to cyber-attack risk: auditor
By Carmelo Amalfi WHEN did you last change your computer password? At the City of Fremantle, it was November 1998. According to a damning report by the Auditor General’s Office,…
Tender history repeats over Kings Square
HERE we go again - just six months after Freo StreetWise exposed the lack of proper council process in the tender for the Kings Square hospitality space. The City’s finance…
Depuch rock art listing ‘difficult’: Minister
DEPUCH Island is unlikely to be included in the World Heritage Listing nomination of the Burrup rock art despite its international comparison to prehistoric cave art in Europe. Uluru’s ‘dark…
City falls short on financial propriety
A CLAYTON’S review of Fremantle council’s financial management practices found while “generally sound”, its procurement policies fell short of achieving best value for ratepayers’ money. The review by Avant Edge…
Uluru ‘sister’ site overlooked in World Heritage List nomination
DEPUCH Island, or Womalantha, has never been considered for inclusion on the World Heritage List even though its Aboriginal rock art and cultural importance has been known and studied since…
Rock art heritage threat ignored
A FEDERAL parliamentary committee will this week begin its inquiry into the destruction by Rio Tinto of 46,000-year-old cave shelters in Juukan Gorge, about 60km north-west of Tom Price. Unfortunately,…
Aboriginal heritage under threat
DEPUCH is a ‘punishment’ island covered in extraordinary rock art and Aboriginal legend. Described as WA’s ‘Uluru at sea’, Depuch Island is located just 3km off the historic ghost town…
Depuch Gallery
The world-famous rock art at Depuch Island. Photos by Carmelo Amalfi, publisher StreetWise Media.
Tango with a twist
“KIM, as the old saying goes, it takes two to tango. Shall we dance? Regards Bob”. This was the response by the late City of Karratha planning services director Robert…
Westport chair engineered council friendly CEO
EXCLUSIVE: Westport Taskforce chair Nicole Lockwood engineered the appointment of a close friend as CEO when she was a councillor and shire president at the City of Karratha from 2007…
Pilbara sand miner pushes back
KIM North is Pilbara’s ‘sand king’. Old school, Tonka tough, the father of two a giant in construction and earthmoving with a passion for precious metals, Harleys and choc milk.…
Local governance in the Pilbara
THE WA Corruption and Crime Commission in 2012 found the Pilbara cities of Karratha and Port Hedland were exposed to the highest risk of misconduct. Not only because of their…
Trouble in WA’s ‘engine room’
EXCLUSIVE: CLAIMS of serious misconduct at the City of Karratha are detailed in a 30,000-word submission to the WA parliamentary select committee into local government. The private submission by Pilbara-based…
Labor breaks promise to boost tourism ‘gem’
THE McGowan Government has spent not one cent of the $425 million promised in 2017 to boost tourism at heritage-listed Cossack, 50km east of Karratha. And it shows. The rundown…
Going through the motions
A MOTION to stop vehicles parking ‘unlawfully’ on historic Wilson Park was defeated tonight while a motion was passed to join a global network of cities battling climate change, including…
Lack of compassion for hottest prison in Pilbara
AIR-conditioning will not be installed at Roebourne Prison where inmates sleep, often on mattresses on the floor, in 35C-plus temperatures and eat meals in unhygienic conditions. WA Inspector of Custodial…
Cossack landowner loses heart
“I DON’T think my heart is in it anymore,” Geoff Van Waardenberg says before starting his night shift surveying rail lines out of Perth. “I find it hard to talk…
Brothers in arms honour Indigenous spirit
FIVE Indigenous brothers Edgar, Arnold, Albert, Elliott and Eric Lockyer were among thousands of Aboriginal men who enlisted in WW2 in the hope of returning as equals to a country…
Mother’s dream dashed by Cossack setback
RETIRED medico Alan Wilson, 73, says all there is of Cossack is its history. “There are not too many places in Australia where you have nothing but the history of…
Pilbara Diggers honoured in stone, bush poetry
THE legendary Lockyer brothers of Port Hedland. Onslow-born stockman poet Thomas Gray. And Marble Bar shearer Sandy Jackson. This Anzac Day, StreetWise honours the memories and service of hundreds of…
Indigenous WA Anzacs honoured at Gallipoli
CHARLES Burns was a Wyndham orphan raised since age six by explorer Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman and wife Grace. He was the first Aboriginal student to attend Guildford Grammar School. The…
Quarter century of mishandled, missed opportunities
LOCAL council has walked away. The State Government moves in as ‘absent landlord’. And private landowners once again find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Do they sell…
Cossack ratepayers abandoned by local and state governments
THEY have paid rates, fees and government charges for decades. Occasionally, they stand on their empty blocks overlooking Butcher’s Inlet at the mouth of the Harding River, and ask why.…
Street salute to WA’s North West Diggers
DRIVEWAYS at dawn. This year, thousands of Pilbara residents from Exmouth to Karratha and Port Hedland to Newman and Tom Price will honour Anzac Day - at the end of…
Anxious Pilbara Communities ‘Weak Link’
THE arrival of thousands of people on cruise ships in Fremantle has left remote communities in WA anxious over the movement of potentially infected FIFO workers in the Pilbara. Social…
Council Votes To Vacate Cossack
THE City of Karratha will walk away from managing historic Cossack and Jarman Island after councillors tonight voted to ‘hand the keys back’ to the State Government. The unanimous vote…
Cossack Owners Appeal To Parliament
COSSACK landowners today called on WA parliament to explain why they cannot develop their freehold properties after two decades of promises to repopulate the historic town near Karratha. Greens Mining…
Council takes blaise approach to virus threat
AS Channel Nine’s A Current Affair ‘exposed’ Karratha as the Coronavirus Gateway of WA’s North-West, Karratha tonight resolved to discuss boosting doctor numbers with the State Government. The program claims…
Karratha Sidelined In Regional COAG Meeting
REFUGEE housing, military infrastructure and federal assistance to stop “homes falling into the sea” are high on Port Hedland’s COAG wish list. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, state and territory premiers…
It’s Not A ‘Done Deal’: Cr Marija Vujcic
FIREBRAND Independent Marija Vujcic wasted no time chastising councillors over the Kings Square hospitality deal before she successfully convinced council to consider her motion for an independent probity audit. That…
Council Manhunt Over Chamber ‘Assault’
FREO CEO Philip St John has called on staff to identify a man who allegedly hit a council officer as he left the rowdy chamber meeting last night. In a…
Desperation Trumps Good Governance At Freo
COUNCIL attempts to justify its Kings Square hospitality lease deal raise serious questions over why it offered a ‘consortium’ of local businessmen $1.3 million in inducements including three years free…
Kings Square Pub Deal ‘Pragmatic’: Freo Mayor
COUNCIL’S decision to offer a private company a $500,000 fit-out ‘sweetener’ and two years free rent was a ‘pragmatic reality’ in a tough WA market, according to Fremantle Mayor Brad…
Charity Car Cruise
CAR lovers are invited to Western Australia’s biggest bog lap in Fremantle on February 16, 2020. StreetWise Media, in conjunction with Beardie’s Bucket, will raise money for the Cancer Council.…
Fake News Alert! Freo StreetWise To Freo’s ‘One-Eyed’ View
Dear Roel, I am disappointed we here at StreetWise Media do not live up to your standards of publishing after having showcased since 2015 hundreds of unique stories, shared by…
Milky Way ‘Orphans’ Visible To Indigenous Stargazers
A RADIO telescope near Geraldton has identified the remnants of a supernova which exploded about 9000 years ago when it would have been visible to indigenous people in Australia. University…
A Leg Up For Snake Evolution
A NEW study of ancient snake fossils reveal the legless serpents had hind legs during the first 70 million years of their evolution. They also show how it got its…
$1 For Hilton Hotel Land
LANDCORP sold to the City of Karratha 4400sqm of the CBD pegged for a $20 million, 100-room hotel - for $1. The bargain deal went through in December last year,…
CEO Claims Decade Of Bullying At Cockburn
EMBATTLED Cockburn Council has launched an investigation into claims of bullying and harassment against CEO Stephen Cain. Mr Cain claims his workplace is unsafe and on October 23 handed the…
Cockburn Deputy Mayor Admits She Lied
NEWLY appointed Cockburn deputy mayor Lara Kirkwood says she paid Councillor Lee-Anne Smith $20,000 for publishing damaging allegations about her in the media in 2018. She acknowledged having “hurt” Ms…
Council Blamed For Latest Cossack Setback
PLANNING Minister Rita Saffioti says Karratha council plans to reactivate the historic townsite of Cossack had fallen short of State planning policies. “Specifically, the City failed to demonstrate through the…
Anti-Speed Humper Takes South Ward
TENACIOUS South Fremantle businesswoman Marija Vujcic has scored a seat on council after vowing to put a sledgehammer to speed humps on South Terrace. Ms Vujcic attracted 937 votes in…
South Ward Tops Voter Turnout
VOTER participation rates in Fremantle changed little overnight - with only two votes registered in City Ward. The turn out in East Ward has dropped off with 1138 or just…
Focus On Freo’s Rich Labour History
‘IMPS’, lumpers, the 1930s rise of fascism and the shooting of four Chinese seamen who went on strike in 1942 after seeking refuge in Fremantle from attacks by Japanese warships.…
Ex-Premier Warns Candidate Of Bumper Backlash
FORMER Premier Peter Dowding has written to South Ward candidate Marija Vujcic and vowed to boycott her push to remove speed bumps on South Terrace if she is elected to…
Freo Advocacy Group Closed For Business
FREO Now is yesterday. The small business advocacy group has collapsed after its board members decided to wind up the former Freo BID (business improvement district). “We are looking to…
Cossack Candidate Plans To Revive Historic ‘Ghost’ Town
NGARLUMA and Yindjibarndi man Clinton Walker says the McGowan Government’s rejection of plans to reactivate Cossack could set back tourism development at the historic site for up to two years.…
Food Glorious Food
FOOD glorious food! Portorosa Restaurant owner Joe Napoli is cooking up a storm this summer. Grilled tender octopus, steaming mussels and pizza straight out of the wood-fired oven. Fresh made…
State Stalls Cossack Revival
COMMENT: HISTORIC Cossack will remain a ‘ghost town’ following the McGowan Government’s rejection of local council plans to reactivate the popular tourist destination, 1500km north of Perth. The WAPC and Planning…
Roadblock To Cossack Revival Disappoints City
THE City of Karratha says it is disappointed the State Government rejected council plans to reactive the historic ghost town of Cossack, 1500km north of Perth. As first reported by…
‘Port Hedland Is Back On Track’: Commissioner
TOWN of Port Hedland Commissioner Fred Reibeling says the once-dysfunctional Pilbara council is back on track after it was suspended over complaints of bullying, harassment and in-fighting. The former Labor…
Road, Speed Bumps & Port Jobs
ROE 8, Outer Harbour and Freo port jobs dominate social media threads in the lead up to elections across several south metropolitan local authorities including Melville, Fremantle and Cockburn. The…
Marija Vujcic – South Ward Candidate Freo
I ran for South Ward in 2017 as an independent and played by the rules of the game by ensuring that my candidate registration information was true and correct. The…
Westport Director Apologises For Sexist Comments
WESTPORT project director Tim Collins has apologised for making inappropriate sexist comments about his boss Nicole Lockwood. The offensive remarks about the taskforce chairman and Water Corporation board member were…
State Sinks Historic Hopes
WA Planning Minister Rita Saffioti has rejected Karratha council plans to reactivate the historic town of Cossack - leaving landowners furious. Ms Saffioti wrote to CEO Chris Adams on September 6…
Nightingale
MORTGAGE interest rate rises, coupled with increased energy costs, present financial challenges for families struggling to maintain their lifestyle of choice. Many are reluctant to commit, often unaware of how…
Forging A United Community
UNIONS played a vital role in building the social infrastructure Karratha needed after it was gazetted on August 8, 1969. Industrial chaos raged across the Pilbara. In the weeks leading…
Game Changer
OIL and gas giant Woodside discovered the North Rankin gas field about 135km northwest of Dampier just two years after Karratha was gazetted. The Goodwyn and Angel fields were discovered…
Dampier’s Pea
STURT’S desert pea flowers from spring to summer, the flaming red floral emblem of South Australia named after British explorer Charles Sturt. In the Pilbara, the stunning black-eyed pea lines…
Set In Stone
MURUJUGA is the traditional Aboriginal name for the Dampier Archipelago and Burrup Peninsula. It means, ‘hip bone sticking out’, in the Ngarluma Yaburara language. Acting on a request by Murujuga…
50 Years of Boom, Bust & Red Dog
KARRATHA townsite was gazetted on August 8, 1969. Born out of iron, salt and gas, the ‘powerhouse of the Pilbara’ 1520km north of Perth is home to some of Australia’s…
Roebourne Roots
FRANCIS Thomas Gregory regarded the Roebourne area as prime pastoral land good enough to also grow cotton on. The townsite on Ngarluma country was gazetted on August 17, 1866. Roebourne…
Hedlund – The Man
IN 1863, Swedish-born seaman Lars Peter Hedlund sailed into WA history when he entered unexplored Butcher’s Inlet in ‘Tien Tsin Harbour’ (later renamed Cossack). Explorer and pearler Captain Hedlund (after…
First Steps
THE story of Karratha’s development is tied closely to the history of settlement in the North West. From the first tentative steps by maritime explorers such as Dampier, de Witt…
FIFO: ‘Cancer of the bush’ or ‘backbone of the resources industry’?
PILBARA MLA Kevin Michael says “long-term and sustainable optimism” has returned to the Pilbara after years of neglect by the previous Liberal-National Government. Mr Michael told Parliament on Wednesday since…
Council Moves Cossack Future
KARRATHA City tonight moved to allow off-the-grid developments at the historic site of Cossack, about 1480km north of Perth. The unanimous vote to adopt town planning scheme amendment No. 44…
Europa Calls
CROSSING vast seas and oceans, ducking icebergs and wild storms and recording unique wildernesses. Bark Europa certainly clocks up the frequent flyer points, the Hamburg-built ship having earned the name,…
Powerhouse Of The Pilbara
KARRATHA City celebrates 50 years since it was gazetted a town. Freo StreetWise Magazine visited the ‘Powerhouse of the Pilbara’ to compile these stories and images of one of the…
Cruisin For Charity
CLASSIC and vintage car owners converged on Fremantle in February to raise money for the Cancer Council. Sponsored by Fremantle Ports, SCOOP Property and Finance, FreeDB Car Stereo, Portorosa Fremantle…
Roebourne Revisited
THE Inspector of Custodial Services in WA will make an ‘announced’ visit to Roebourne prison in May. He will be met at the correctional facility described as the worst in…
Nicole Robins – Federal Liberal candidate for Fremantle
Having spent almost a decade as a local government councilor and several years as a high school teacher, I’m focused on our local community and our future. I want to…
Italian Club Reno Planned
THE Fremantle Italian Club will be redeveloped and Norfolk Street extended to Mews Road under a MOU passed by the City’s finance, policy, operations and legislation committee. The memorandum of…
Outer Harbour Heritage Threat
WESTERN Australia’s earliest settlers lived and died at ‘Clarence Town’ near Woodman Point from 1829 to 1831. The State heritage-listed colonial ‘treasure’ remains undisturbed. Until now. StreetWise visited the abandoned…
The Three Secrets Of Fatima
ANGELS, flower-filled fishing boats and a fluorescent mobile cross. On May 13, Fremantle’s Portuguese community celebrates the 50th anniversary year of Our Lady of Fatima in a mass and candlelight…
Anzac Memorial Turned 90
THE Fallen Sailors and Soldiers Memorial foundation stone was laid on Anzac Day 1928. The completed monument was unveiled on Armistice Day the same year. Formerly ‘Obelisk Hill’, the site…
Roger Garwood
FREO blogger Roger Garwood started his career in Fleet Street, London before joining the French news magazine Paris Match. A familiar and friendly face in the city, Roger’s works have…
