NORTH SHORE RESIDENTS PREPARE
The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 27th January 1942
North Shore residents are forming guerilla squads to patrol the bush, and are preparing to deal with a possible invasion.
These residents believe that the gullies on the North Shore and the bush in many outer suburbs could provide cover for paratroops. They want to establish a chain of civilian squads round Sydney.
Meetings have been held at Pymble, Gordon, Killara, Lindfield, and Roseville. Tomorrow night there will be a meeting at the Masonic Hall, Hornsby.
Residents of St. Ives and North Sydney will hold meetings on Friday night. Telephone calls have been received from Bondi and other suburbs asking for information.
The organiser is Mr. A. Arthur Smith, of Turramurra. He is co- operating with Mr. W. A. Wood, of Lynwood Avenue, Killara.
Mr. Smith had l8 months' experience of guerilla warfare against the Senussi in Libya. He has instructed other men who are now prepared to train new volunteers.
AID FOR SOLDIERS
Mt. Smith thinks that, instead of playing, cricket and "fooling about" on Saturday afternoons and evenings, civilians could be learning how to deal with an invader and how to hold up paratroops until the military arrive.
"We have given a lead” he said. "It is up to those interested to organise a body which will be a valuable aid to the military. What the people of Moscow and other Russian cities did we can do.”
"We don't want to hamper the authorities. We want to help them.
"We want every suburb to join in this movement. There are thousands of civilians who want to do something to prepare. They have no leadership. We are trying to give it to them.
COMMUNITY SERVICE.
HOW IT OPERATES IN KURING GAI SHIRE.
(BY R. E. T. FRIEND.)
The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 19th September 1925
The old adage "The Lord helps those who help themselves" is out of date in Kuring-gai Shire, It being more correct to say "The council helps those who help themselves."
For many years past the residents of the North Shore line from Roseville to Wahroonga, in common with the residents of all other suburbs around Sydney, have complained, loudly and bitterly of the alleged neglect on the part of the council of their streets and footways. In common with most other councils that of Kuring-gai has until recently followed the time-honoured practice of "approving" works for which no funds were available nor likely to be for many years. But the old order changeth.
The enlightened residents of the Upper North Shore line are beginning to realise the obvious. It has dawned upon them that money will go so for and no further; otherwise, that the rates they pay for will only provide a certain amount of work, and that if they desire more work there are only two alternatives- increased rates (perish the thought) or a little bit of self help. Tho latter being considered tho more acceptable, the Roseville to Hornsby Progress Federation (representing all civic bodies In the district) decided to organise a "Community Working Week."
One of the chief factors in bringing this decision about was the abnormal growth of paspalum throughout the shire. This pest had taken charge to such an extent that the council's maintenance staff was employed for a great part of Its time in vainly endeavouring to keep it within bounds, which time the roads were suffering from lack of attention.
During Community Working Week, which commenced on September 5, the primary Idea was that each resident would clean up the footway in front of his residence, between the footpath proper and the kerb, and cover this area in lawn. The planting of suitable trees or palms was also part of the scheme, the necessary plants to be secured from the Botanic Gardens through the council. In many places whore footpaths were not constructed arrangements were made for tho supply of sodwalls gravel by the council, the work of preparing the surface and spreading the gravel to be done by the residents. Where residents were unable or unwilling to take an active part in the work they, were invited to do so by proxy- otherwise, by supplying labour at their expense.
Loud and long were the giggles of the sophisticated when these proposals were made known. "Pay rates and do the work themselves? What do you take the people tor?" were typical of the comments of many people not then sufficiently educated to realise the value of such a movement in a community. One gentleman who should have known better (or should he?), being a member of the council, went so far as to roundly condemn the whole thing through the columns of a local paper (since significantly defunct) and endeavoured to ridicule as a harmless nitwit the originator of the idea.
The pessimists and scoffers are no longer heard, for they have been routed ignominiously. Requisitions for plants and gravel rolled in by every mail to the tune of over 1200 trees and palms, and many hundreds of tons of sodwalls, and on Saturday, September 5, striking evidence was available that the scheme had caught on. In every suburb concerned the people were hard at it-some individually, some In well-organised parties.
Paspalum and other weeds received rude handling, holes were prepared for trees, and many chains of fine gravel footpaths laid. Working men, professional men, merchants, civil servants, men in all walks of life, donned their gardening togs, and with mattocks, spades, forks, picks, and wheelbarrows tackled the job with gusto.
In some streets the ladies did their bit by taking around trays of refreshments for the willing workers. The council's engineer and the superintendent of maintenance paid a flying visit to many parts, instructing and encouraging.
Were this community working week a spasmodic, or even an annual event, it is doubtful whether the gains would be sufficient to make It worth while. It is not, however, the intention of those who took part to pat themselves on the back, and let it go at that. This particular working week is only considered as a sort of official commencement of continuous and permanent civic service. The lawns now planted will be kept in order; the trees looked after and pruned as necessary.
Those who did not take part will be encouraged, by word or mouth, by publicity of the advantages, and by force of example, to do so. It will be the endeavour of the federation to foster and stimulate that spirit of practical, civic pride which means so much to any community. By this means it is hoped that not only will the streets of Ku-ring-gai Shire be the most beautiful and best-kept of any in the metropolitan area, but that the council, by being relieved of the very heavy and unproductive expenditure involved annually in cleaning the footways of weeds, etc., will be able to devote more attention to roads and other important works. Once a lawn is established in front of a residence the labour and time involved in keeping it in order are trifling. The lawn mower for 20 minutes once a fortnight will do the trick, and surely no reasonable man will cavil at this.
Community service will bring about a realisation that if one is to be a worthy citizen of the blue-ribbon shire of the State it will be necessary to think not in terms of a 50 x 150 allotment, but in the broader terms of tho community as a whole. Parochial sentiment has no place in Ku-ring-gai or any other shire or municipality - or State or Commonwealth, for that matter.
KURING-GAI COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
The Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday 21st November 1928
Commanding the most elevated position on the Lane Cove-road at Gordon, the new council chambers for Kuring-gai have already become a prominent landmark upon this important northern artery.
Their erection coincides with the conversion of the shire into a municipality. The simple, yet dignified lines of architecture and the bright colourful scheme that have been adopted, have not failed to attract attention. Symmetrically planned, with projecting wings to the road, the general form is that of three sides of a square, with a turfed court in the centre. On the inner side of this court is an open vaulted loggia approached across the court by a sawn flagged pathway.
On the central axis, under the loggia is the main entrance to the building, while to the left is a public entrance to the council chamber, which occupies the whole of the left wing. In the right wing is the genera] office, a large, unobstructed room, which has direct access with a smaller open space on the immediate right of the entrance vestibule, where the public are attended to. An Inquiry cabinet stands in the centre of the vestibule, a position which commands the general office and the internal passage which
crosses the whole width of the building from the staff's entrance on the north side to the council chamber.
Off this passage are the draughting rooms, the offices of the various outside officers, and an isolated suite occupied by the town clerk, his deputy, and secretary. Owing to the fall of the site It has been possible to make the back half of the building two stories in height, and under the rooms Just mentioned are a public hall to seat about 120 people, staff rooms, and a large fireproofed compartment for the safe storage of records. The whole of these rooms are accessible from the outside, and may be completely segregated from those above.
Special care has been bestowed upon the decoration of the council chamber, a room 30ft wide by 36ft long. The walls have a cedar dado-panelling up to the window level, and panelled cedar trimmings to the windows. Tho ceiling is in fibrous plaster, coved and enriched, and the cedar furniture throughout this room has been especially designed to be in keeping with the architecture. The entrance vestibule is panelled out In Keen's cement, with an enriched cornice, over which is a vaulted ceiling sparingly picked out in colour.
The floors are of tallowwood, those to the main rooms are wax polished, and the joinery work generally is in cedar flat varnished. The walls are cement, rendered both inside and out with the surface left by the wooden float, and have been coloured In light shades to set off the bright green tone of the window shutters. The roofs are covered with Spanish tiles. The style of architecture followed has been that of the late Georges, the detail and furniture resembling Sir John Soane's work at the Bank of England.
These new council chambers were erected by Messrs. Mackenzie Adams, Ltd., contractors, of Pymble, under the supervision of the architects, Messrs. Neave and Berry, of Sydney.
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