Sydney, Australia is an iconic city, full of unique things. But why does the Harbour hog all the icons?

Come to the other side of Sydney, Gadigal Wangal Country, with long-time inner westie Bernie Hobbs. Hear histories and stories of... Reverse Garbage, Marrickville - Leichardt’s Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Co-operative - The Witches Houses of Annandale - The GreenWay from Lilyfield to Hurlstone Park - Callan Park, Balmain - Street art and murals (Everywhere in the inner west) and Bonus episode: Dogs of the inner west!

Produced by Jane Curtis with support from Inner West Council. Sound engineering by John Jacobs. Artwork by Dylan Tonkin.

The history and stories of Reverse Garbage , a creative reuse centre in Sydney's inner west.

Why did a bunch of schoolteachers start Australia’s first green social enterprise?

What was it like in the 70s and 80s?

What's the connection between Reverse Garbage and Sydney Mardi Gras?

Why is the social impact of Reverse Garbage as important as their environmental impact?

And, their most popular and weirdest donations....

Read the Show Notes Transcript in Google Drive

History and stories of the GreenWay - a 5.8km long green space that runs down the guts of Sydney's inner west.

In this episode, meet an original 'guerilla gardener' and and hear

• how a 'creepy canal' was transformed by the community and local councils
• the fight to get it finished...with the help of a special hat, and
• how people use the GreenWay, and why it's good for us?

Read the Show Notes.

A group of spooky homes in Sydney’s inner west are an unmissable landmark.

• How did these gothic mansions get here?
• What school song are they in?
• Why might they be Australia’s ‘first real estate display homes’?
• How did they become the setting for a best-selling YA novel?

Bernie Hobbs is a long-time inner westie, and an award winning science writer and presenter on TV and radio.

• Jane Fox: Assistant Principal at Annandale North Primary School
• Vanessa Berry: Writer and artist who works with history, memory and archives. One of her books is Mirror Sydney: An atlas of reflections.
• Belinda Murrell: Award-winning, internationally published author who’s written over 35 books for kids and teenagers.
• Dr Stephen Gapps: Historian, author and museum curator with a particular interest in the Frontier Wars. One of his books is The Sydney Wars: Conflict in the early colony 1788-1817.
• Norma Perry: Former Witches House resident and co-author of the AURA Journals on the history of the Witches Houses and the history of Annandale.

Read the Show Notes for extra information and photos.

Produced by Jane Curtis. Sound engineering by John Jacobs.

Artwork by Dylan Tonkin. Editorial Brains Trust for this episode was Rosa Ellen and Kate Lawrence.

The inner west is home to Sydney’s street art. Find out..

• How a world-famous, graffiti health campaign started here?
• Why the inner west has the most murals in Sydney?
• How its most iconic mural was painted? (illegally, in the middle of the night)
• What stencil inspired a top selling kids book?
• The other street art - stickers, pasteups, yarn bombing...
• And how it all still challenges us...

Guests

• Tour guide, author and photographer Melinda Vassallo
• Not Quite Newtown: Author Peter Warrington and photographer Rachel Williams
• Writers Bonnie Huang and Tom Martin
• Artists: Juilee Pryor, Sharon Billinge, Lotte Smith, Rebecca Enya Loury, Kim Siew, Zachary Bennett-Brook, and Hugues Sineux

Hosted by Bernie Hobbs. Produced by Jane Curtis. Sound engineering by John Jacobs. Artwork by Dylan Tonkin.

Read the full Show Notes

Callan Park is where you’ll find Callan Park Hospital for the Insane - closed but still standing. It's the biggest green space in the inner west. And it’s got a chequered history.

Find out..

• Why this spot was chosen for mental health?
• How ‘green therapy’ came and went?
• What is the crocodile of Callan Park?
• How the community fights to keep it going?
• And how the quality of our parks impacts mental health.

Guests

• Hall Greenland, President of Friends of Callan Park
• Drew Roberts, Shared Knowledge
• Deborah Lennis, Inner West Council Cultural Advisor
• Roslyn Burge, historian and author
• Peter Gray, former patient and member of Friends of Callan Park
• Jenna Bateman, former mental health nurse at Callan Park and CEO of Mental Health Coordinating Council 2000 - 2017
• Stephen Gillespie, Coordinator of Glovers Garden community garden
• Emma and Kimmy, members of Glovers Garden community garden
• Xiaoqi Feng, Associate Professor in Urban Health and Environment at UNSW

Read the Show Notes

Hosted by Bernie Hobbs. Produced by Jane Curtis. Sound engineering by John Jacobs. Special thanks to Roslyn Burge. Brains trust was Kate Lawrence. Artwork by Dylan Tonkin.

Sydney, Australia is an iconic city, full of unique things.

But why does the Harbour hog all the icons?

Come to the other side of Sydney, Gadigal and Wangal Country, with long-time inner westie Bernie Hobbs.

In Season 2, hear stories and the history of:

• 🐶 dogs in inner west Sydney
• 🖼️ Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative, an Australian first
• ⚡Petersham Bowling Club, a community club reborn without pokies
• ✈️ The flight path and the third runway, and
• 🌊 Australia's most wonky and toxic river (but we love it), Cooks River

Written, researched and produced by Jane Curtis.

Sound by John Jacobs.

Presented by Bernie Hobbs.

Artwork by Dylan Tonkin.

Inner west Sydney is one of the doggiest places in the Australia.

Even our most famous resident, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, meets world leaders with First Dog Toto.

This episode is about the stories and history of dogs in the inner west.

Hear about...

• the original dog, dingoes
• dogs in the Frontier Wars of Sydney
• hunting dogs of the early colony
• Sydney's most valuable dog of the 19th century, the Kangaroo Dog
• how Australia's policy of poisoning dogs started here
• the world's first dog-friendly cafe
• Leichhardt Dog Training Club, run by volunteers
• the three dogs of Newtown, and
• who is Maggie of Maggie's Rescue?

Guests

Guy Hull: breed historian, dog behaviourist and author, including The Dogs That Made Australia (2018).

Stephen Gapps: public historian specialising in the Frontier Wars and author, including The Sydney Wars 1788-1817 and Gudyarra - the First Wiradyuri War (Bathurst War) 1822-4.

Richard Byrnes: artist and art teacher

Michael Lloyd Jones: co-owner of Cafe Bones, Leichhardt Sydney

Lisa Wright: founder of Maggie's Rescue, Marrickville Sydney

Production

Jane Curtis: writer, researcher and producer

John Jacobs: sound

Bernie Hobbs: presenter

Dylan Tonkin: artwork

Thanks

Big thanks to everyone at the GreenWay who was interviewed about their dog in GreenWay Edge arts festival 2021.

This podcast is mostly a labour of love. We’re very grateful for Inner West Council’s Community History and Heritage grant, and to Inner West Council’s Living Arts, which supported Jane to be a ‘producer in residence’ at the Greenway Edge arts festival.