1. Driving range development: the community deserves answers about John e brown park

by Jan Bowman

By now most of South Australia has heard of the chain-sawing of Possum Park/Pirltawardli. But there is another park, John E. Brown Park (Park 27A) that is also in the firing line.

The State Government appears unwilling to answer some very basic questions about this development, particularly in relation to car parking and fencing. In the absence of clear information, speculation is inevitable.

If parking for driving range patrons is to be provided within the Park Lands, the public has a right to know where it will be located, how many spaces are proposed, and how those areas will be accessed. Likewise, if high perimeter fencing or netting is required to contain golf balls, people are entitled to know how high it will be and how much of the park will be affected.

The continued refusal to answer these questions is frustrating because it leaves the community guessing about matters that could significantly affect the character and use of this part of the Park Lands.

John E. Brown Park (Park 27A) is bounded by the River Torrens/ Karrawirra Parri, the Outer Harbour railway line, and Park Terrace at Bowden. The Park borders Mary Lee Park (27B) and Bonython Park. The Park is named after pioneering forester John Ednie Brown, whose 1880 book A Practical Treatise on Tree Culture in South Australia guided Adelaide Park Lands tree planting for decades. The park is home to the Workers Memorial Forest and the Bunyip Trail.

2. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

PARK LANDS NEWS UPDATE

There is a lot happening, and it’s easy to lose track. Here is a clear, quick roundup of recent Park Lands news.

RAGTAG “EXTREMIST GRANNY” LET OFF WITHOUT CONVICTION

The Premier called her an “extremist”. On Friday July 3rd the Judge disagreed, releasing Mij Tanith Malinauskas without conviction after her pleading guilty to unlawfully being on premises during a protest against the North Adelaide Golf Course development. She may still face a fine, court costs and a Victims of Crime Levy but we will keep you posted.

You can read more on Indaily.

Other protestors are facing Court this week. Keep in touch on facebook via the Possum Park Protection Platoon or Adelaide Park Lands Association pages.

MORE SIGNATURES NEEDED FOR PARK LANDS PETITION

GET THEM IN BY JULY 31

Around 5,000 people have signed the petition launched by Councillors Patrick Maher and Kieran Snape calling for a parliamentary review of State Government development on the Park Lands, particularly at Possum Park/Pirltawardli and Victoria Park for golf and motor sport expansion.

Under South Australian law, 10,000 physical signatures from SA residents trigger a formal parliamentary inquiry.

This petition requires paper signatures. You can download a petition sheet here.

FIVE DAY TRIAL SET FOR LEGAL BID TO BLOCK THE CHOP

A five-day Federal Court trial has been scheduled to hear the case brought by Edwin Kemp Attrill and Traditional Owner Janette Milera, challenging the State Government’s plans to clear Possum Park/Pirltawardli under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The Court has already ordered the Government to provide 48 hours’ written notice before felling any tree over 3.5 metres at the North Adelaide Golf Course site.

Indaily has further reporting. You can also donate to help cover legal costs for this courageous pair at the Save Possum Park Go Fund Me Page.

COUNCILS JOIN THE FIGHT

On 14 June, Burnside Council voted to seek a briefing from the South Australian Motor Sport Board about proposed increases in motor sport activity at the Adelaide Street Circuit. The Council also authorised its Mayor and CEO to advocate on behalf of the Burnside community and local environment regarding the impacts of motorsport.

You can read the report and minutes here.

While not exactly a call to arms, Burnside is clearly signalling concern about the escalating and destructive development pressures on the Park Lands.

Norwood Payneham and St Peters Council is considering a similar motion on Tuesday July 7. APA expects other Councils to follow suit.

JOHN SCHUMANN RELEASES A SONG FOR THE PARK LANDS

John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew have released the Rag Tag Extremist Blues, an original song written to protest the State Governments approporiation and destruction of the Park Lands. You can listen to it here on the Adelaide Park Lands Association facebook page.

They will be performing the Rag Tag Extremist Blues for the first time at a concert at the Gov on August 29 with part-proceed going to the Adelaide Park Lands Associations fight to save the Park Lands.

3. LightS’ Vision OR VISION LITE?

by Simon Kneebone

Thank you to Simon Kneebone for the use of this cartoon.

4. SAVE FESTIVAL PLAZA NEEDS YOUR HELP

Our friends at Save Festival Plaza (SFP) need your help. Following the outstanding effort of 120 submissions made in two days against The Australian Tax Office's proposed fit out and tenancy in Walker Tower 2, three of the Save Festival Plaza Alliance committee are flying to Melbourne to present to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works on Wednesday morning 8th July at the Mantra Hotel, Russell St City.

Two generous supporters have covered accommodation but the intrepid SFP team need help to cover the cost of air fares and the ongoing costs of a Freedom of Information Request.

If you are able contribute please make payments to

805 007 CUSCAL
00331035 Save Festival Plaza Alliance Robert Fa

In addition the second petition, No Plaza Tax Tower, needs a major boost, we are about to devote a lot of attention to it so please sign it as soon as you can. Be aware that donations made via the Change.org platform go to Change.org and not Save Festival Plaza. If you want to support Save Festival Plaza directly please donate to the bank account above.

Above, Robert Farnan with Geoff Hayter, land economist, Mat Monti President of the Parklands Association, and the our redoubtable supporter Senator Barbara Pocock at the recent Gathering at the Tax Office in Franklin St.

5. PARK LANDS POETRY: Seasonal Change

Adelaide poet Geoff Goodfellow has contributed his impressions of the chain saws of autumn in Adelaide.

It’s mid-May in Adelaide

& my apricot tree is beginning

to shed its leaves

while in the Adelaide Hills

autumn leaves glow with colour

& in the North Adelaide parklands

possums scurry & birds flee in fright

as the roar of heavy machinery

& chainsaws echo & reverberate

while trees fall . . .

in the wake of Mali’s ratings.

See more Adelaide Park Lands poetry here: https://www.adelaide-parklands.asn.au/park-poetry and send contributions to our Park Lands poetry editor Deb Stewart at poetryintheparklands@gmail.com

6. EDITORIAL

By David Winderlich

WHITE ELEPHANTS TO THE RESCUE!

ON THE ADVERTISER’S PROPOSAL FOR A PERMANENT GRANDSTAND IN VICTORIA PARK

The Advertiser threw a red herring into the Park Lands debate this week. Or perhaps it was one of those dead cats that you throw on the table in US politics to derail a debate. Either way, the suggestion of a permanent grandstand in Victoria Park to… “save the trees” is almost certainly a white elephant.

And a familiar one at that. Yes, the sight of a South Australian Premier seductively shaking his subsidies with a “come here big boy” air about him is hardly new.

Before long we are shacking up with an investor and letting them pawn the family heirlooms, only to be left bitter and heart broken when he heads off for Melbourne for some other easier money, leaving nothing behind but a used toothbrush

The most obvious example is the Formula One Grand Prix, our city’s global calling card for a decade. Yet it shifted to Melbourne in 1996, leaving behind a circuit footprint that still shapes land use decisions. However to their credit, the ALP Government of the time did not engage in the frenzied tree-felling so characteristic of our current leaders.

Then there is LIV Golf itself, overseas investors bringing money in to set up an event until 2031- until LIV collapsed and the State Government stepped in to ensure the biggest public investment in logging since the establishment of Forestry SA. Your taxes at work.

Paul Starick is right to remind us that Adelaide needs to grow and develop. But in a city that is five times the area of Singapore, why does so much of that development need to be crammed into the Park Lands?

Adelaideans love some major events. The Tour Down Under for example, the Fringe, or WOMAD and the glorious Gather Round have all been embraced by the local community. None of these these events require us to chop down trees and spend a lot of taxpayer money on new infrastructure.

They don’t demand Adelaide changes; they accept Adelaide as it is, and isn’t that the basis of a healthy relationship?

The Chop-the-Lot brigade also omit some startling SA achievements. Some time next year South Australia will become one of a handful of places in the world to have an energy grid powered totally by renewables. That will make it possible to electrify our transport and attract energy intensive industries. That sort of transformational development, rather than the sugar hit of sports events in our park lands, is what our leaders should focus on. That is a legacy to leave future generations.

A fixed grandstand in Victoria Park would lock the Park Lands into a structure whose relevance depends entirely on events that may not exist in five or ten years, or may be seduced to somewhere with deeper pockets or just closer to major centres of wealth. Yes, I’m looking at you Melbourne.

Red herrings, dead cats and white elephants. What else does this permanent solution of a permanent Grandstand remind you of?

An unnamed US Major is reported to have said during the Tet Offensive of 1968: "It became necessary to destroy the village to save it."

Yes. Let’s save Victoria Park by building a great, big, (well not very big by international standards), permanent grandstand. That will put us on the map.

7. Park Lands People: Lyn Arnold, THE HOPEFUL PESSIMIST

By Mij Tanith

The Hon Reverent Dr Lynn Arnold AO is a man of great compassion. After a fifteen-year career as a Labor MP, including eleven as a member of Cabinet and a brief stint as Premier, he held senior leadership roles in World Vision [1997-2007] and Anglicare SA [2008-2012]. In recent years he has chaired a number of community organisations in the fields of social justice, reconciliation and sustainable development, and is currently serving as an assistant priest at the St Peter’s Anglican Cathedral.

He has also recently been appointed Patron of the Adelaide Parklands Association. This is a timely role for Dr Arnold, as it will bring together his years of experience, his pursuit of social justice, and his belief in maintaining our unique parklands as pubic space for the enjoyment of all.

“Our Parklands must not be seen as a land bank by this or any other government,” he says. “We are unique, we are famous throughout the world in having our city surrounded by green space – public green space. And we need the overlay of World Heritage status to protect this space for future generations.”

Asked what advice he would give to Peter Malinauskas in the current stand-off between the government and the people of Adelaide, Dr Arnold makes a number of pertinent points.

“Firstly,” he says, “the lack of transparency, and the argument that plans for development of areas of Parklands are ‘Commercial in Confidence’ has led to a smell of corruption. One example is the building of a 39-storey tower block on the Festival Plaza, with the Walker Corporation paying just one dollar a year in rent for this public space. Secondly,” he continues, “surely the Premier, like every political leader, wants to be remembered for the good he has done for his constituents, and for the environment. Right now, his legacy looks to be quite toxic. His vision of turning Adelaide into the motor sport capital of Australia is not shared by the people. His plans to sell off sections of the Parklands for commercial development, and his extreme incapacity to listen to any opposing views, pose a genuine threat to democracy.”

And so, is the “Stop the Chop” campaign winnable? “Winning or losing,” says Dr Arnold, “Is perhaps not the question. There’s a concept,” he says, “called Hopeful Pessimism. Basically, it is the idea that, when it comes to activism, you don’t necessarily need to believe you can win. The chances of success might look small, but you can still hope for positive change. The more intractable Malinauskas is in his pursuit of elite sport and commercial development of our Parklands, the more he refuses to listen to our concerns, the stronger the opposition will become. And so, as this movement continues to grow, if we keep up the pressure on the government, if we refuse to give up, or feel defeated by apparent lack of success, then it is entirely possible that what may look like an unwinnable campaign can suddenly be won.”

Our patron, then, is not just a figurehead. He is a man of ideas, of passionate conviction, a man who is already fighting for the preservation of public access to all of our Parklands.

The concept of Hopeful Pessimism is explored in a book of the same name by Mara van der Lugt.

8. YES, WE STILL DO GUIDED WALKS

Walking YOUR Adelaide Park Lands: Guided Tours Through Adelaide’s Green Heart

by David Winderlich

*An APA Guided Walk in Lefevre Park / Nantu Wama (Park 6)*

Whether political campaigns leave cold, or you just need a break before throwing yourself back into the fray, Adelaide’s wonderful Park Lands provide one of the best ways to refresh and revive.

Over the next month you can enjoy either Ellis Park / Tampawardli (Park 24) on Sunday 19th July or Red Gum Park / Karrawirra (Park 12) on Sunday 2nd August.

Find out more or book here. Or you can download the Park Lands Association Trail Guides to enjoy any of our park lands at your own pace while still benefitting from the expertise of our expert guides.

9. Help Re-Green The Park Lands

by Liz Tidemann

Are you passionate about the green spaces in the park lands? Would you love to help keep them green?

One of our keen gardeners, Peter Davis, planted this section of land in Carriageway Park several years ago. He has now been given permission from the Adelaide City Council to plant around the whole rim of this old reservoir and is keen to get planting! But he needs help!

Carriageway Park is also known as Park 17 and by its Kaurna name of Tuthangga, meaning grass place. You can learn more here. The Adelaide Park Lands Association also has Guided Walks of this and all of our other parks so keep checking our Guided Walks page if you are interested.

If you are keen and able to help Peter to continue regreening and remediating this fascinating spot in the Park Lands, you can contact him via email:
pedavis@internode.on.net

Peter supplies the plants and the expertise!

Newsletter: 06 July 2026

CONTENTS