JUNE 2019 ISSUE 153 PRICELESS WWW.DOCKLANDSNEWS.COM.AU : Docklands_News ■ Alma is "framed out" ■ So long and goodbye! Page 2 Page 5 ■ What if Melbourne was ■ Meet the new City underwater? of Melbourne CEO Page 3 Page 6 More spark in Firelight this year The Firelight festival returns to Docklands at the end of this month bigger and better than ever. Now in its third year, the festival celebrates Chamber president Johanna Maxwell told the winter solstice by bringing Melburnians Docklands News: “Firelight is now into its to Docklands on June 28, 29 and 30 between third year and based on the growth from 5pm and 10pm for fire, light and warmth. year one to year two with 52,000 people attending over the three days last year, we All the favourites are back this year – the expect the numbers to continue to grow and Firelight “gates”, the numerous crowd- showcase Docklands.” warming cauldrons, flame jets, fire sculptures and water-based fireworks. “2019 continues to grow in entertainment and activation with fire, light and sound But, undoubtedly, the highlight this year will being the focus. Our Docklands business be the introduction of magnificent water-jet community will be providing food and and laser shows from the “white pylons” beverage offerings outside and are focused in Victoria Harbour adjacent to Harbour on warmth and tasty treats.” Esplanade. “Stretching around the harbour – NewQuay The five-minute shows every hour are being Promenade, Harbour Esplanade and produced by renowned, Sydney-based laser, Victoria Harbour Promenade – provides a light and liquid special effects firm Oracle- huge area for different viewing of the laser Liquid. The firm is known and respected shows and fireworks. Victoria Harbour will world-wide for creating many world firsts in be surrounded by fire, light and warmth.” revolutionary innovations such as the largest outdoor falling water screen and winning the “The Docklands Chamber of Commerce is international first place award for delivering a funding partner in this event and is very the world’s most innovative application of proud to be involved in delivering this event laser projection. to the Docklands community.” Brightening up sick kids The Docklands Chamber of Commerce Two sets of fire sculptures, representing family day out and run annually. has been campaigning for a permanent sky and earth, will be placed on NewQuay Melbourne Star Observation attraction of this kind for many years now Promenade and Victoria Harbour The VIP event at Melbourne Star was a and will be keenly observing the reaction to Promenade. Wheel was pleased to host members’ day out where children, teenagers the displays. the Starlight Children’s and their families were given access to And the entertainers will be back, with three complimentary activities around The District In its regular update in the edition of live stages, roving music performers and fire Foundation Extravaganza Docklands, including a flight and morning Docklands News, the chamber says: “The performers as well as warming and exciting event on Saturday, May 4. tea at Melbourne Star. Activities included Docklands Chamber has been pushing for food choices. Archie Brothers, Glow Golf, Artvo, ice skating this type of activation for years as a way and Kelly Sports. to build momentum behind a permanent A five-minute fireworks show, accompanied With the aim of brightening the lives feature in our harbour, so let’s hope it creates by music, will be held each night – probably of seriously ill children, the Starlight To keep up to date, visit www.starlight.org. the same excitement.” between 8.30pm and 8.45pm. Extravaganza events are an impressive au or www.melbournestar.com What to do Where Where to to stay Eat /Drink Beauty, Health Docklands Where & Fitness Services to Shop 2 DOCKLANDS NEWS ISSUE 153 Alma is “framed out” “Alma Doepel” restoration enthusiasts gathered to celebrate a significant milestone on May 2. Suite 108, 198 Harbour Esplanade PO Box 23008 Docklands 8012 The small crowd heard some well-chosen Tel: 8689 7980 words from those involved before witnessing www.docklandsnews.com.au shipwrights install the final piece of the 116-year-old vessel’s new frame. Advertising Hyper-local print works for advertisers Speaking at the “framing out” ceremony, in our digital world because local Sail and Adventure restoration director Peter people are interested in local news. Harris said the final rib was the culmination of a four-year replacement program. To sell to the Docklands community, speak with Shane Scanlan: “Now we can start the planking and caulking M: 0419 542 625 Tel: 8689 7980 stage,” he said. “In just a year we hope to [email protected] have the hull back in the water, and in just two years, the ship fitted out and re-rigged.” Reader contributions are welcome. Send letters, articles and images to: The three-masted topsail schooner has been [email protected] under restoration for eight years now here in Docklands at Shed 2 on North Wharf Rd. The deadline for the July edition is June 27. Mr Harris dryly remarked about the time- consuming nature of such projects. Publisher: Hyperlocal News Pty Ltd “Sometimes people ask my advice. They ABN: 57 623 558 725 say, ‘Peter, I’ve got this idea about building Editor: Shane Scanlan a wooden boat’. I say: ‘Go home, have a lie down, and hope the feeling passes’. ‘If you Journalist: Meg Hill come back in a year and the feeling is still there and you have a business plan in your Follow us on Twitter hand, then let’s have a chat’.” @Docklands_News “Because it’s all very well to dream about Like us on Facebook maritime heritage, building ships and all of Docklands News those sort of things, but if you don’t have a business plan, it isn’t going to work,” he said. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily shared by the publisher. Right: Speeches at Alma’s framing out ceremony. MOVE YOUR PROPERTY INTO THE HANDS CONTACT LINA D’AMBROSIO [email protected] OF PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMITTED TO M: 0430 929 851 CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SATISFACTION W: 9001 1333 Please support our advertisers because without them we would have no Docklands News ISSUE 153 DOCKLANDS NEWS 3 What if Melbourne was underwater? By Meg Hill A Melbourne Knowledge Week (MKW) event posed the question “What if Melbourne was underwater?” To which the answer was given: it was, it is and it will be. It wasn’t what everyone was expecting. Although the discussion was around the impact of climate change, it was mostly about rivers and floodwater. One audience member spoke in the discussion to point this out: “The obvious thing for me are rising sea levels”. Which is definitely one aspect of it. According to the Climate Risk website, if ocean levels were to rise at current predictions, most of Docklands would be underwater by the end of the century. But it’s not entirely a different issue. Most of the increasingly volatile weather that causes overland floods is because of the same changes in climate that cause sea levels to A little bit of our part of Melbourne was underwater on May 10. And … no, the Deliveroo delivery didn’t get through. It was a very soggy delivery to say the least! rise. There were three panellists, including David see would be a place of water.” The last part refers to floods caused by She’s done research into the new field of Sornig, the author of Blue Lake: Finding intense rainfall over a short period of time. legal rights for rivers, and said one of the Dudley Flats and the West Melbourne Swamp So although Docklands today has an A decent event of this size happened in interesting things in Melbourne is how our and general expert on the history of the artificially-created Victoria Harbour and December last year when we had over 30cm relationship with the Yarra has changed. Docklands area. a man-altered course of the Yarra, it was of rain in less than 15 minutes. already naturally one of the region’s water MKW’s 2019 theme: “So, what if …”, posed “We used to be embarrassed of our rivers, centres. hypothetical questions about the city and Punt Rd was underwater, Swan St, Port but now we embrace them,” she said. Melbourne, East Melbourne, and definitely its future, but answers broke down a pre- Karen White, another panellist, is a “water “In the context of this conversation around parts of Wurundjeri Way. supposed binary between past and future. professional” who combines science and climate change there’s a tendency to frame policy. “My take on it is to think about how Karen said Melbourne Water statistics found this as apocalyptic, but it’s a future we Melbourne was underwater, and Melbourne “My premise is that Melbourne does go that there were currently 30,000 properties in already have.” was a watery place before it was called underwater on different occasions,” she said. Melbourne at risk of flooding, and that only “But it’s also a future we have to understand Melbourne,” Mr Sornig said. 50 per cent of people who lived in a flood in the context of the past we have been living “Melbourne can flood three different ways, risk area knew that they did. “If we look back to just before the colonial one is flooding from rivers. It can also flood with, and that the Aboriginal people have period, if you went up and stood on what because of tidal influx into the river and The third panellist, Dr Erin O’Donnell, is a been living with for tens of thousands of became known as Batman’s Hill and looked rising sea levels, and it can also flood from member of the Birrarung Council – the voice years.” towards what is now Docklands, what you’d overland flow.” of the Yarra.