The Ultimo Blog

It seems our neighbours in postcode 2007 have a community blog. Good luck guys!

The Glebe foreshore

With all this talk about the new Darling Harbour developement creating a continuous foreshore walk from Woolloomooloo to Anzac Bridge, the question must be asked: Why stop there? Why not keep going to Glebe? Balmain? Birkenhead Point? Parramatta? (And, the ultimate Whitlamesque pipe-dream question: Why not really piss off the private frontage tzars of the eastern suburbs by pushing on through to the Vaucluse/Bondi/Coogee walk?)

Well, it turns out there is a plan to renew the Glebe foreshore, creating a continuous walk from Rozelle to Pyrmont that should link up with that other new walk from Pyrmont to Wolloomooloo.

You don't hear much about it these days, but according to the City of Sydney website the deadline for completing the Glebe foreshore project is 2005.

The Broadway Cafe

The bar burger at The Broadway Cafe is all class, without a hint of pretence. The house beer is liquid love. The atmosphere is hip, yet our two-year-old son can happily sit on one of the wide, cushioned window sills, counting the trucks and buses.

The footpath art near The Broadway is entitled "the publican and the priest". I've heard it's refering to a friendly "battle of the sign boards" between the owner of the old Broadway Hotel and the minister at Barneys in the 60s. If you know the truth, why not contact me about joining this blog and sharing your stories with the neighbourhood? It's steven underscore noble at iprimus dot com dot au.

Light rail plan to ease Sydney's congestion

Can someone please grab Carr by the neck and shake him a few times? Yes, a detailed study could reject the light rail plan to ease Sydney's congestion for good reasons, but rejecting it out-of-hand on the grounds that Sydney's streets are "too narrow" is just shorthand for saying "we can't let any of these pesky commuters get in the way of our precious cars."

Rules were meant to be broken

When I started blogging, I set myself just three rough rules:

• Don't discuss public relations


• Don't discuss Hill & Knowlton clients


• Don't discuss their main stakeholders and competitors

But what the hey! Rules were meant to be broken, which is why I'm announcing here that blogging will be the focus of Hill & Knowlton's next Breakfast Bytes seminar.

Some of Australia's leading bloggers and communication experts will discuss blogging, marketing and public relations in a frank and engaging panel:

• Mark Jones, Deputy Managing Director, IDG Communications, who pioneered the use of blogs in IT journalism


• Frank Arrigo, Group Manager, Microsoft Australia, and a prominent corporate blogger


• Andrew Kirk, Associate Director, Hill & Knowlton, and an ex-Channel 10 and radio reporter


• Mick Stanic, proprietor of Principius, the mind behind Splatt, and a 'podcasting' pioneer

The seminar details are:

Level 1, 338 Pitt Street
Sydney, NSW, Australia

7.15-9am, Thursday 10 March
Breakfast will be served from 7.15am
The panel will begin 7.45am sharp

Spaces are limited, so if you're part of the marketing and communications industry and you'd like to attend, please register.

Golden Fang

Golden Fang Chinese Restaurant — "Fang's" to its friends — serves fresh, cheap Chinese and Malaysian food with a grin. Love it. But you've gotta get a website guys! In the meantime, I'll give them a web presence here:

Golden Fang Chinese Restaurant
10A City Rd, Chippendale, 2008
02 9280 1231

Harris Farm Markets

The freshest herbs, the cheapest coffee and exclusives like Afghan bread — Harris Farm has at all, except visibility.

In fact, unless you drive to Broadway Shopping Centre from the Ultimo end of town, you probably don't know it exists — tucked away in the west carpark. Walk there, or drive there from Chippendale, and it's invisible — unless you spot the tiny ad in the groundfloor of Broadway, or like me benefit from word of mouth.

In terms of the 4 Ps of marketing, this one has Product and Price to die for. But Place is half-and-half, and Promotion is virtually nill.

Bring the Stooges to Australia

Well I seem to remember thousands of sad-looking goths putting "We need a Cure tour" stickers on their bumper bars in the 80s to — as far as I can recall — no avail. But — what the hell! — it's worth a go. If you'd die to see Iggy & The Stooges play in Australia, sign this petition and tell your friends.

I caught Iggy at the Palace in Melbourne in the early 90s, and it was the definition of rock 'n' roll.

City Vision: Managing Change for Visionary Cities

The City Talk series of public seminars has kicked off with a bang for 2005.

Tonight's event, City Vision: Managing Change for Visionary Cities, was an inspiring demonstration of what's possible when a community values parks more than parking spots.

The former mayors of Curitiba, Brazil, and Bogota, Colombia, argued that trying to fight traffic jams by building more roads is like trying to douse fires with petrol. They showed how they built public transport systems that work, and vast networks of public footpaths and bike tracks that link homes, schools, shops and jobs.

In Chippendale, the traffic is so bad and the walking so good that we'd been thinking about ditching our only car, and this talk restarted the debate. But let's hope the serious thinking is happening where it really matters — in government.

Does a genealogist work for City of Sydney?

Walk to the corner of Paints Lane and Shepherd Lane, spelt with an E. You'll see a sign that says "Shephard Lane", spelt with an A. Does a genealogist work for the City of Sydney I wonder? Or perhaps just a sloppy speller.

NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages

Apparently, the Chippendale office of the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages is celebrating Valentine's Day with a maxi-sized multi-couple wedding ceremony. There was no comment on rumours that Reverend Moon would be officiating. Should be a real tear-jerker.

Star City

Man, I thought Melbourne's Crown Casino was awful, but Star City is absolutely freakin' hideous. It would be perfect for the World's Ugliest Interiors With Jamie Durie launch party, but not much else.

Community meeting report 08-02-08

Well, I made it to my first Chippendale community meeting. Next time I'll take a notepad to try to capture half the information that flies past my ears.

It was a disorientating experience. On the one hand, I think I'm the luckiest person in the universe to live in a suburb that borders the city. I'm a stroll from the skyscrapers, in the shadow of the most vibrant and prosperous corner of the country.

On the other hand, many of the residents at this meeting expressed concern, fear, and sometimes even anger about property development in Chippendale — development that could be viewed as a continuation of the very same growth that created the Sydney that we love.

Despite these differences, it was clear I was sitting with peers. Everyone in that room — me included — was obsessed with our neighbourhood. Enough to talk about it, write about it, even turn up to meetings about it.

The meeting addressed every matter from the CUB site to the M4 extension, but I'll write more about just one of these topics — the Notre Dame University development — in an attempt to convey the experience of being there.

At the macro level, part of the reason why I moved to Chippendale is it's nestled between two great universities — Sydney University and UTS — so the prospect of Notre Dame joining the fold only excites me. More students. More economic demand. More cafes and shops staying open late. More incomprehensible political flyers pasted to telephone poles. More half-arsed, magical bands in pubs. More life.

On this point, I felt like I was poles apart from the most vocal people at the meeting, who were basically saying "enough already".

But at the micro level — the Blackfriars St and O'Connor St level — the Notre Dame University development is bloody scary. Some of the streets around there are so narrow that you have to pull over to let on-coming traffic pass. Can you imagine what it would be like if the traffic in both directions was several cars deep? Can you imagine what it would be like if you lived there? Urg...

So I learnt something at this meeting, and if I get a chance I'll go again. But I'll never see the city as the enemy — bussle and hassle and chaos and people are what makes Sydney my home.

PS, full marks to the Notre Dame University staff-member and architect for having the guts to attend the meeting.

ABC studio audience

Quick question: what's free, a few hundred metres from Chippo, and broadcast around the country? The ABC studio audience, that's what. Tonight we saw The Glasshouse being filmed, and it was a blast. Check it out!

When the world said 'no' to war

Hey, guess what, the When the world said 'no' to war exhibition is on now at the Pine Street Arts Centre.

Upgrade to Victoria Park Pool

Apparently the City of Sydney is going to upgrade Victoria Park Pool this year. Part of the upgrade will about the environment, which is impossible to fault. The other part will be an upgrade to the children's pool, which astonishes me. It's already the most delightful wading pool we've ever used! Safe, friendly and cheap. Just lovely. Our two-year-old Jude can't get enough of it.

With Victoria Park Pool, about the only things I'd change would be opening the cafe longer and adding fresh juices to the menu.

Mardi Gras comes to Chippendale

Please, no puns about The Chippendales, but the Mardi Gras is coming to Chippo. Specifically, our very own Pine Street arts centre will host the Mardi Gras historical exhibition from February 17. See you there!

How can Life in Chippendale compete with bizgirl?

It's been put to me that blogging under my own name, gender and geography is a one-way-ticket to boredom. Thank's Kevin! How can a 30-something male from inner Sydney possibly hope to compete with the likes of bizgirl, international librarian of mystery? If you'd like to suggest a new ego for Life in Chippendale, click the Comments link below.

Do ultrasonic bug repellers work?

Frustrated by Chippendale's ever-present mosquito swarm, I was drawn to this article on The Straight Dope. The question: Do ultrasonic bug repellers work? The answer: not at all.

Looks like I'll have to stick to citronella candles and saving for flywire.