Special express edition #321
Fitzroy Street toilet block gets green light
Grand Prix until 2035 despite dubious benefits
Queen’s local heroes
School holiday ideas
Please recommend TWiSK to your local friends
Forward TWiSK to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here.
TWiSK is always free, proudly independent and totally self-funded
Two great music films @ Astor
Tuesday 21 June, 7:30pm
Love In Bright Landscapes [M] – The story Triffids front man David McComb
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Road To God Knows Where [M]
Info
Steve Hackett @ Palais
Thursday 23 June
Bringing in a bigger show, not only will be Steve being performing “Selling England By The Pound” in its entirety, but Steve will also be including his favourite Genesis live album
Tix
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis on the big screen @ Astor
Thursday 23 June until 13 July
Check out the other Elvis films also playing at the Astor
Info
Southside Live @ South Beach Reserve
24 June – 3 July (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays), 6 pm – 9 pm
Six evenings of free outdoor music on the St Kilda foreshore. A diverse range of acts focused on a youth audience.
Full program
The Audreys @ Memo
Friday 24 June, 7.30 pm
Led by sultry songstress Taasha Coates, The Audreys have graced almost every major festival in Australia and played more gigs than they can count. $48/$32
Tix
Jack Howard & The Long Lost Brothers and Sisters @ George Lane
Friday 24 June, 6:30 – 11:30 pm
Best known for his musicianship with legendary Hunters & Collectors, Jack also has a rich body of work outside Hunters & Collectors.
Tix
Free gigs @ St Kilda Sports Club
Saturday June 25, 8 pm
Member Artist Night with Black Beer White Lies & Underground Velvetz
Sunday June 26, 7 pm
The Tarantinos
Russell Morris ‘Black & Blue Heart’ @ Memo
Saturday 25 June, 7.30 pm
Russell Morris – Black and Blue Heart. The new album produced by Nick DiDia and Bernard Fanning. $65 / $45
Tix
Tendrils – Feat. Charlie Owen & Joel Silbersher @ George Lane
Saturday 25 June, 6.30 pm – 11.30 pm
Charlie Owen will be performing a set of material drawn from his many collaborations over the years including Tex, Don and Charli, Beats of Bourbon, amongst many others.
Tix
Seven amazing women @ St Kilda Cemetery
Sunday 26 June, 2 pm
Claire Barton has prepared a gravestone tour featuring seven amazing women in the diverse fields of art, agriculture, police, motor sport, writing and medicine.
Enjoy the afternoon gently walking, afterward a warm coffee and cakes. $15
Bookings essential
Email info@foskc.org, ring 0451831102 or go to https://foskc.org
Motor City Sounds – Soul Music Revue @ Memo
Sunday 26 June, 3.30 pm a
Motor City Sounds recreate the essence and atmosphere of Motown and Soul from the 60s and 70s, with authentic arrangements and instrumentation. $40 / $20
Tix
Australian Welsh Male Choir @ All Saints
Sunday 26 June, 3 pm
The Australian Welsh Male Choir is a choir of approximately 60 members singing in the spirit of the great male choirs of Wales. $25 / $20 Students free
Tix
Jimi Hocking (The Screaming Jets) @ George Lane
Sunday 26 June, 4pm – 8 pm
An impeccable guitarist Jimi will not only wow fans with his dynamite fingers on the fret board, but he will also woo fans with his charismatic story telling.
Tix
Woonungarah Chinnup @ South Beach Reserve
Sunday 26 June, 4 pm
Amos Roach Directs and performs in this latest seasonal offering of the Kulin Nations songs and dances.
More info
Soon
Artist Speakeasy > How To Write An Exhibition Proposal @ Linden
Saturday 2 July, 3 pm – 4 pm
Applying for an exhibition and promoting yourself as an artist can be a highly competitive process. Join Linden New Art’s Liam James and Karl Halliday for a comprehensive how-to and introduction to the strategies for writing an effective proposal and artist statement. Free
Tix
Maggie Diaz Photography Prize for Women 2022 @ Brightspace
Entries Close: Monday 1 August $37
Entries are now open for this prize that honours the American born photographer, Maggie Diaz.
The $5000 prize is open to photographs by all Australian and International women.
More info
School holiday activities
Teeny Tiny Stevies @ South Beach Reserve
Monday 27 June and Tuesday 28 June, 10.30 am
Free
More info 
Bluey Live Interactive Experience @ South Beach Reserve
Wednesday 29 June, Thursday 30 June and Friday 1 July
Session #1: 10 am, Session #2: 11 am, Session #3: 12 pm
See Bluey and her little sister Bingo on stage for three Live Interactive Experiences daily.
Get ready to play Magic Asparagus, Magic Xylophone, Keepy Uppy and more with your favourite Heeler duo.
Free
More info
School Holiday Program @ Hotel Esplanade
28 June, 29 June, 5 July & 6 July
Round up your mini-mes because the Espy School Holiday Program is back. Tickets are $45pp (extra child – $30pp) and include a session with three activities, kids lunch (includes soft drink or juice) and an adult’s drink.
Recommended ages: 4-10
Children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian at all times.
More info | Tix 
Youth acting workshops @ Melbourne Actors Guild
4 – 7 July, 10 am – 2 pm
The Melbourne Actors Guild in Acland Street is hosting youth acting workshops these holidays. Learn how to harness your energy, create character and act with others in these fun and easy to follow workshops. Over the two days you’ll enjoy drama games, script work and group activities to develop your acting and creativity. $65
Info
Holiday fun @ Port Phillip libraries
Across all the libraries, including these sessions at St Kild:
Castle Building Workshop St Kilda
Cosmic Boom! St Kilda
Dreadful Dragon St Kilda
Literary Yoga St Kilda
Winter Short Story Writing Competition
More info
Holiday programs @ Gasworks Arts Park
Always a creative program.
More info
Grand Prix at Albert Park until 2035
The Victorian government has signed a new 10-year contract to keep the Grand Prix and other races at the Albert Park Circuit until 2025.
This prompted long-term opponents of the race, Peter Logan and Peter Goad of Save Albert Park, to question again the economics behind the event.
“Premier Andrews must have failed economics because all of the claims on the grand prix don’t add up. With a billion dollars lost on this event already he has just added another billion dollars of state debt by committing future governments to a contract extension to 2035.
“Staging grand prix in Albert Park has proved the most costly way to conduct a car race and it is disastrous for real sport, with grounds occupied for months and trashed during that time.
“Premier Andrews lacks vision as a leader by foisting this massive loss making event on us for many years to come.”
Local sports groups are not happy Dan
Hugo Armstrong, President of the Albert Park Community Sporting Tenants Association, told 3AW that it was a “pretty sad day” for some residents.
“It just causes absolute havoc for the thousands of people who play community sport, or just engage in passive recreation in and around Albert Park,” he said.
Listen to his interview on 3AW with Tom Elliot 
Locals celebrated in Queen’s Birthday Honours
Sister Brigid Arthur, playwright Ray Lawler and superannuation supremo Ann Byrne were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Sister Brigid is most well known for her tireless and focused work with the Brigidine Asylum Seeker Project based in Albert Park. Her Order of Australia was for distinguished service to social welfare, particularly asylum seekers and refugees, and to Catholic education.
Ray Lawler: theatre pioneer
Elwood resident Ray Lawler received an Order of Australia for distinguished service to the performing arts as an actor, playwright and director. Ray is now over 100 years old but still remembered for his breakthrough 1955 play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.
Ann Byrne: super supremo and local activist
Ann Byrne has been a powerful force in superannuation and the local community. She headed Unisuper for many years and a been a tireless advocate for women in superannuation. She also played a leadership role with the Oxfam board. More locally, she has been on the executive of Community Alliance of Port Phillip since 1997 and on the board of Linden since 2020.
Toilet block to go ahead despite
an extra $300K needed for sewer connection
Toilet block to go ahead despite Council voted to proceed with construction of a new public toilet on Fitzroy Street despite receiving a petition from over 1,000 people concerned about the location. Also disclosed at council was an estimated $300K sewerage connection in addition to the $495K originally budgeted (Source: Council budget 21/22 p54).
Decision made after divisive discussion
Councillors Bond, Copsey, Pearl, Martin and Baxter voted for the toilet, while Councillors Clarke, Cunsolo and Sirakoff voted against, with Council Crawford abstaining.
Councillors spoke to the decision in detail. You can listen to the video record of that part of the meeting here.
Start at 1.39 hours.
Moving the motion to go ahead at the controversial site, Cr Bond said the much needed toilet had been talked about for over 14 years during which time 4 petitions have been received and 18 locations investigated. He said ‘Kicking the can down the road after 14 years was not an option”.
Cr Martin, himself a former primary school principal, said the toilet was not a threat to the school. At length, he described how schools deal with their neighbourhood. ‘I’ve visited the site and looked at where the children play,’ he said.
Councillors Clark and Sirakoff focused on the chronic social problems in the area and said that a new public toilet was not going to improve the situation. Cr Sirakoff said “drug dealers use Fitzroy Street as their lounge room and now we want to give them a toilet too.”
There was an undertone of acrimony during the meeting
Later Cr Clark posted on Facebook that ”comments by some councillors were disrespectful, devoid of reality and completely dismissive of parents, traders and residents’ concerns.”
Who’d have thought a toilet would need a sewerage connection?
But don’t hold your breath or cross your legs, the technicalities of the $300K sewerage connection could take six months to resolve.
Greg Day
Happy to chat anytime 0418 345 829
Content suggestions and community questions are always welcome.
gday@archives.gdaystkilda.com.au
Recent editions
Monday 13 June – Sunday 19 June
Monday 25 April – Sunday 1 May
Monday 18 April – Sunday 24 April
Monday 11 April – Sunday 17 April
Monday 4 April – Sunday 10 April
Mac Matters: TWiSK election news
This Week in St Kilda respectfully acknowledges the Yaluk-ut Weelam Clan of the Boon Wurrung.
We pay our respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge and uphold their continuing relationship to this land.