Decision details

By Councillor Scott

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          on 19 June 2019, the Glebe Society celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Glebe Society first met at Glebe Town Hall on 19 June 1969 to address ‘problems threatening Glebe as a pleasant place to live’. The Society has been at the heart of Glebe and Sydney life since its inception and has been at the forefront of fights to maintain and progress Sydney as a liveable City;

(ii)         the Glebe Society has long been involved in effectively resisting destructive construction works that would have ripped communities like Glebe in half. This included moves against the North-Western Expressway, which would eventually be abandoned in 1977 after a five-year battle where the Society:

(a)        participated and coordinated with the Builders Labourers Federation and allied resident action groups in July 1972 in instituting a ‘Green Ban’ on the historic Lyndhurst site which would have been destroyed by the Expressway. The historic site remains today; and

(b)        participated in the Fig Street protests against the expressway in 1974;

(iii)        the spirit of this fight remains alive today with the Glebe Society’s ongoing opposition to the WestConnex project;

(iv)       more recent achievements include the campaign to restore the heritage buildings at the Tramsheds and ensure the adjacent Harold Park be used in part for the public good:

(a)            in 2016, the Tramsheds opened after extensive renovation and adaption; and

(b)            in 2018, Harold Park, including picnic area and children’s playground was opened to the public;

(v)         the Glebe Society remains a shining example of positive resident activism. The Society’s achievements, hardly limited to those listed here, have contributed immensely to both Glebe and the City of Sydney as a whole; and

(B)        the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the President of the Glebe Society, Verity Firth, expressing that view.

Carried unanimously.

S129266