Hall is not for sale
IT is interesting that Lake Macquarie City Council continues to think that they can demolish parts of Morisset Memorial Hall (‘Designs on Morisset centre’, Lakes Mail, August 10). This is simply not possible, because the entire hall is heritage listed by both the council and the NSW government. It is also listed on Monuments Australia.
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Since April, 2010, council has been told on many occasions that the hall cannot be purchased, but they have consistently ignored all proof given to them.
Many notable people attended the opening of the hall on Armistice Day, 1927, demonstrating that this memorial hall was highly regarded and built as a thank you to those men prepared to go to war.
It appears that the Morriset residents – many of whom worked at the Morisset Hospital - decided (with no outside financial support) to build a much larger hall than their old School of Arts which had been destroyed by fire.
This would allow sufficient space for hospitalised returned servicemen with emotional and/or psychological problems to come to the hall, see pictures, attend balls, be out of hospital when appropriate, and mix with the community – which occurred and was an important part of their rehabilitation.
I know of no other town in NSW who built their memorial hall for this, as well as other reasons.
This is unique, historically interesting, and of heritage importance.
Finally, Lake Macquarie Council seems to be unaware that the 1926 NSW Goverment Land Grant for the Hall prevents any businesses from being built anywhere on this land. Lake Macquarie Council has been allowing various businesses to rent the shops and offices on library land. They cannot do this on the Morisset hall land.
- Val Badham, Public Officer Morisset Memorial Hall
Punishing motorists
RECENTLY, needing to travel south by rail and finding the Morisset Station car park completely full, I parked my vehicle on the patch of land between Macquarie Street and the car park.
When I returned, I found a warning notice under the windscreen wiper stating that the vehicle was illegally parked on a council reserve, and required to be removed immediately or I would receive a penalty infringement notice exceeding $88.
There is no sign or indication anywhere that this land is a council reserve, and that parking is prohibited, so how is one to know?
Further, how does the council think it can enforce such a penalty without any sign or notice?
It is not at all unusual to see 20 vehicles parked on this land as the allocated car park is completely full early, nearly every day. If forced to park on the street, then these motorists are potentially at more risk.
I write this letter as a warning to any car owner who may park there: Council will target you as another source of revenue.
- Arthur Muldoon, Bonnells Bay
True cost of power
THE letter claiming renewable energy supplies are now costing less than coal-fired energy makes for a good headline (‘Renewable power cheaper’, Lakes Mail, August 10).
But when details are searched, government subsidies of renewable energy supplies and sources are costing $3 billion a year for at least the next 30 years.
Good God! You can build a coal-fired power station for around $3 billion that will last 50 years. For all those wishfull thinkers it's the taxation on coal paying for renewable inefficiencies.
Places such as California, with probably the largest renewable program, are costing more in subsidies than the state can actually afford. The old saying is: If you spend enough money, anything is possible. But how much? And who pays?
- Carl Stevenson, Dora Creek