Category Archives: Current Affairs

An Engineer’s daughter

A personal reflection on Clough Engineering

If your mum or dad is an engineer then so much of your childhood is about the built environment.

For one thing you have to wade through photo after photo of bridges and buildings to find the one photo of you as a two year old. 

Forget it if you’re the youngest.

As kids we went to the openings of bridges as often as our friends went to the zoo.

Clip of film dad took of the construction of Stirling Bridge. This is most of an 8mm film which ends with a couple of minutes at the Perth Zoo and includes the only film of my brother as a child.

At the opening of the Stirling Bridge in 1974 for example, we got to walk through the hollow centre.  Wearing matching tracksuits we ate sausages in bread and had the railing pointed out to us.

My sister Cath and I at the opening of Stirling Bridge 1974

Have you noticed the railing ‘disappears’ as you drive past it so you can see the river?

My dad was the Project Engineer.  It was his first big project and it was not without it’s challenges.  Like the day driving down Stirling Highway he noticed the crane at an alarming angle.

It might be Stirling Bridge to you, but to me it is “Dad’s bridge”, and to my children “Grandad’s bridge”.  And yes, they will point out the cool railing.

Dad worked for Clough Engineering which this week went into insolvency having been sold by the family a decade ago. I’m feeling sentimental.

Clough built this city.

Not just Stirling Bridge, but the Narrows, and Mt Henry Bridge.

I was too young for the Narrows but I can tell you they had a hot air balloon at the Opening of Mount Henry in 1982.  Dad was Director of Engineering for that one.

See the balloon in the background? Yep that’s the family photo at the opening of Mt Henry.

They built Cinema City – remember that?  Okay perhaps not one of their more notable projects.

They built Prix d’Armour – that folly of Lang and Rosa Hancock in Mosman Park, now demolished.

And Clough built the Polly Pipe.  The Graeme Farmer Freeway tunnel under Northbridge (which always flows well in both directions).  I took my kids to the opening of that one and we walked through with thousands of others in both directions.

Walking through the Polly Pipe
And you got a certificate to prove it.

I grew up with Clough.  I worked in the library one summer. Photocopying mostly.  I even went on a date with Bill Clough, the youngest son.  My dad worked for Clough for the majority of his career, ending up as Chairman, so the company feels like family which is why I feel sad about today’s news.

But the thing about the construction industry is that you build things.  Things that last even if the company is no more so I’ll still be driving around the city that “dad built”.

And you can too.

Oh and remember to check out the disappearing railing next time you’re in Freo.

Meet me at the cactus

Close up cactus

Saw the million dollar artwork for Perth yesterday.

Perth train station

Do I love it?

Am I supposed to?

Is that the point of public art?

I’ll give it this much… it stands out.

And I kind of like that about public art.

It can’t always be tasteful and classic… a statue of the great and good… usually a white male.

Oh yes the statue of Sir Charles Court is due to be unveiled soon…

Not that I’ve got anything against Sir Charles.

I danced with him once at the Shinju Matsuri ball in Broome, and I must say he was quite light on his feet.

But we need more than a statue in Forrest Place.
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We need a statement.

Does it make a difference that the artist – James Angus – has an impressive resume.

Has his art in several state galleries and collections.

Holds a masters from Yale.

It shouldn’t.

We should take each artwork on its own merits.

We should respond to it, or not, and gauge its value by the strength of the reaction it evokes.

And on that basis, well, this has to be a triumph.

If nothing else, it is certainly a landmark.

Meet you at the cactus next time we’re in Perth.

Your shout.

 

Denuded

Pine trees

I quite often drive by Karrakatta Cemetary and every time I do recently I feel sad for the pine trees, completely stripped of their foliage in that big March hailstorm.

The graves below were covered for weeks with thick mulch.

I am guessing it will be a while before they regrow.

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This is what they should look like…

Pine Tree

And hail damaged cars are everywhere too.

Headlines that make me laugh

Driving down Stirling Highway on the way to work during peak hour in the morning is not fun.

From about eight o’clock it is chockers between Eric St and Claremont shopping centre… and I mean chockers.

But there is one bright spot on the journey…

Funny sign

It’s an office where the old fire station used to be at the top of the hill just before you start the slow crawl past the two private schools whose mummies and daddies insist on dropping their little darlings off… at least I assume that’s why it is so slow… during holidays time the drive is a breeze.
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Every week or so there is a new headline…

Last week was “More Storm damage in Victoria” referring of course to the Melbourne Storm rugby league team salary cap fiasco, and before that “All batts are off” referring to the Peter Garrett home insulation embarrassment.

I can’t wait for them to change the signs and I was rewarded with my patience on Saturday when I drove past and saw their comment on the Troy Buswell/Adele Carles affair.

Cute.

The day after the rain

On Sunday, the sky was the deepest blue:

Umbrella Tree

Then yesterday Perth had the worst storm certainly since 1994 – a storm which knocked over our back fence and uprooted our tree – and probably since 1978’s Cyclone Alby.

The storm was intense where I was and I was nowhere near the centre.

In the city the hail was fingernail size rather than tennis ball sized but the hail came in horizontally and the rain was very heavy.

The thunder cracked the sky causing the ground to shudder and the lightning was intense and frightening.

I was in my car.

With the traffic a nightmare – Perth was in gridlock – I decided I would do more good if I went back to work to help out.

I got home about nine thirty.

By that time the roads were clear – clear of traffic – but covered with debris.
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We were lucky – no damage.

Groover who was in Floreat at the time of the hailstorm had parked undercover and his car was spared the very large hail that fell there.

Early Morning Clouds

This morning the sky was blue with a few Simpson like clouds scudding across the sky.

The air felt fresh and washed.

But it soon became hot and humid.

We expected more storms today but they didn’t seem to happen, well not near me.

It made for a beautiful sunset.

Sunset

Goodbye girls

What a week!

Two funerals – which to be fair were both uplifting in their own ways.  An odd mixture of celebration and sadness and seeing people at their most real.

I do like this trend of personal funerals rather than the traditional church burials – you really feel you know the person.

As for mine?

I don’t care.

Cremate me in a cardboard box and play Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach Cello Suite 1 as you throw my ashes off the ridge at Ennuin (or wherever),  that’d do for me.  It’s up to you. Funerals are for the living not the dead. 

I stopped to smell the roses on the way to work one day this week.  That’s what funerals do for you.

Smelling the roses

It didn’t smell but it did look pretty.

I wasn’t going to talk about funerals today, but I guess they have been a big part of this week.

My crazy protein diet is still on.

Tomatoes and bacon for breakfast – my favourite breakfast and one I rarely have because… well it’s bacon. 

But bacon is protein and therefore allowed.

I’m losing weight.

The girls are going.

Gee it’s been fun having them.  I can see some lingerie purchases will soon be necessary.

Sigh.

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I might even be able to bear to buy some scales.

In other news, the other day I was in the city and came across a Free Iran protest.

This I could tell from the banners. 

All the speeches were in Arabic so can’t tell you exactly what the protest is about.

It made me feel good to be an Australian.

How we allow everyone to have their moment to speak publically about issues they care about.

I think we’d all like a free Iran.

So it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow… have any plans?

I’m planning a visit to the beauty parlour – an annual overhaul?

I do hate going and have people fuss over me.

Yes I realise that that makes me less of a woman.

Let me check my care factor… oh… zero.

So I’m stealing myself for some major fuss.

Standby for a sleeker, browner, glossier Cellobella.

Just like me, but better.

Yes day

pollingplace

Today West Australians go to the polls to vote for or against daylight saving.

It’s a beautiful morning. The sky is blue, there’s no wind. It’s tee-shirt weather.

You don’t get mornings like this in summer. Or at least you do… but only if you get up REALLY early.

Of course if you have Daylight Saving you can get up a little later and still enjoy the morning before it gets too hot, but the chances of that happening in this referendum are slim.

Enjoy your mornings while you can peeps.

It’s an argument I’m surprised the Yes campaign haven’t latched onto.

I first heard it on the radio.

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She didn’t drive and in a non-daylight saving summer she normally relied on friends and family to drive her as it was too hot to walk. She didn’t like to shop in the evening as she was concerned about her safety in the near-dark and anyway the shops weren’t open! (another referendum fail)

I hope she’s got a lot of friends because she’ll probably need them next summer.

We thought on arrival at our polling place this morning at about 9.30 that we’d got the wrong place.

There were no streamers, no posters… just the sign you see above.

As we left the Yes supporters showed up.

Maybe the Nos slept in?

yes

Fire Tweets

kinglakeI’m new to Twitter and so if this sounds a little evangelical, a little newly converted, my apologies.

I’ve been following the fires in Victoria via my twitter feed, getting updates from 774melbourne and CFA.

And I really feel connected. As much from the official tweets as the more informal ones from other twitterers in the area.

I’ve also tuned into 774’s emergency coverage on the stream.

The news is grim. Many lives lost, hundreds of houses, towns have disappeared.
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At the time of writing this, 36 people have been confirmed dead.

And the fires continue.

13 minutes ago:

CFA advises people in the Dederang area to stay in their homes or head to a neighbour’s . Implement your fire plan. It is too late to leave

I hope you are safe.

Keep Cott Beautiful

Seems the Town of Cottesloe read my post about the Michael Jackson litter campaign and decided to update their signage.  Hope it works although I will miss having a giggle at the old posters.

The weather this Christmas break has been beautiful.  High 20s to low 30s.  Crystal clear days.

Not what I’d call shark weather.  You know, those oily November days where the sea is flat and grey.

And yet it has been shark weather.  A fellow got taken off Port Kennedy and yesterday on our walk the authorities pulled everyone out of the water.

It was like a scene from Jaws.  A beautiful beach day with everyone standing on the beach or the groin looking for a fin. 

Five helicopters were circling overhead.

We didn’t see the shark and walked home.

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Last night we invited our son’s friend’s parents over for a Christmas drink.

“So did Hugamuga get a good report?” they asked making small talk.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!

We hadn’t seen his report!!

That’s bad isn’t it?

He did really well I think – 3 A’s in the core subjects… and they are the subjects that count!

Thank you America!

The enduring image for me will be two women at my work embracing each other, tears in their eyes, saying to me “finally I can be proud to be American.”

It was a magic moment and I was glad to witness it in my lifetime.

Thank you.

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It feels like a new world.

And what’s that feeling I’m having… um… haven’t felt it for a while… oh I know…

hope.