Short Stories

At this point, the question isn’t whether the North Adelaide Public Golf Course development within our Adelaide Park Lands will go ahead. It is underway and will continue. These Park Lands are on the Australian Heritage Register because they have outstanding heritage significance to Australia , assessed against nine national criteria by the Australian Heritage Council. Just another thing we can thank Midnight Oil frontman and then Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett for, who in 2008 formally approved the Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout for inclusion on the National Heritage List.  So how can we stop the beds from burning, face the facts, and set a fairer precedent for every other project that will follow, including the MotoGP works at Victoria Park? Because what we do now will matter for every future development proposal.  1. Stop tree removal until August National Heritage status makes the Park Lands a matter of national environmental significance unde...

I burst into tears when the jeweller handed me my late mother’s ring. When I brought it into the shop, it was dull and broken from years of wear. From years of daily abrasion. Stones loosen; settings weaken. Looking at it now, the star-split band is soldered, mended like a scar. Connection restored. Healed. Once three, now two, stones stay intact. Two grey-blue stone eyes like my mother's. Dad bought this friendship ring for Mum 45 years ago. A promise ring. The promise of things to come. When we were kids, my sister would admire Mum’s rings and wanted to wear them all the time. My childhood memories are connected to Mum wearing this particular ring. Calisthenics classes and concerts. Netball training. Birthday parties. Sleepovers. Cooking with spices. Sewing clothes and curtains. Shopping with our eyes first. Conversations at the kitchen table. Laughing at jumbled words and mixing up languages. Crying over bloodied knees and hurt feelings. I didn’t like wearing rings then, when I ...