Taking 'possession' of a public space

Long have I admired those who take “possession” of a public space and make it theirs.

An example of that can be seen just off Shepparton’s Broken River Drive near the Melbourne Road bridge over the Broken River .

It was once the home of the Jackson family, but with the sale and removal of the house it became a neglected piece of river frontage until a local took “ownership” of it, treated it like his own, cared for it, beautified it to make it a place people frequently visited - there has even  been marriages there.

The City of Greater Shepparton came to appreciate its value to citizens, took it over and named it “Jackson Park”. It’s a beautiful spot, simple but   worth a visit.
In a similar case, I watched, during several annual visits to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as something similar happened.

A war memorial had been established in the small park on the banks of Maroochy River at Maroochydore and although the memorial itself appeared OK, the surrounds were in need of maintenance, some simple love and attention.

A local fellow, who was a veteran of the Vietnam War, was distressed about the state of the memorial surrounds and so decided to do what he could to make the site worthy of the people it honoured.

He mowed the lawns, weeded what garden still existed, planted some new flowers and generally broadly improved the memorial’s surrounds.

My friend, yes I met him and talked with him about what he was doing, fell foul of what might be called “officialdom”.

His volunteer work was spotted by the local council and he was told he must stop immediately as the council’s public risk insurance did not cover him and the likelihood of him being injured in a “workplace” accident was risk it couldn’t take.

Fortunately a workaround was agreed on, my friend became a part-time, unpaid council employee and he was able to continue with his work on the memorial site.

My visit to the Sunshine Coast have become less frequent in recent years, but I understand the council now recognises its responsibility for the memorial gardens and so it is now a rather pleasant spot.

Where’s this all leading to?

Not for a second did I imagine that such a sense of ownership of a public space awaited me.

It’s not so much a space, more a piece of public infrastructure.

Living not far from Shepparton’s railway station and traveling whenever I can by “human-powered transport” - that’s walking, but it can be cycling - I frequently use the southern pedestrian crossing at Shepparton’s High St railway crossing.

For some inexplicable reason people seem to think it’s good place to dispose of their rubbish - bottles, cans, food wrappings, bits of clothing and packaging from store bought goods.

Picking up and disposing of the rubbish was just a casual thing at first, but it has become something of an obsession and I get grumpy when people drop their rubbish there as this is “my” spot.

Just recently things took a turn for the worst when somebody decided they wanted to make some adjustments, commonly called vandalism, to the metal fencing put there to protect pedestrians.

At first it was just a small dent, then a whole panel was knocked loose, which for a while I could stand up and make the place look presentable, but then one of the metal posts was knocked out of the ground and a whole panel flattened.

Unsure what to do, I inquired at the railway station and a fellow behind the counter said such things were not really their responsibility and so he gave me a Melbourne phone number.

That call quickly became a long and difficult phone affair as the fellow there thought I wanted to move a boundary fence on railway property in Shepparton and after being put on hold, twice, while he talked with his supervisor, I was then given another number.

The second phone call was, in its own way, equally difficult, but I had some success and the fellow said he would organise the repair work, and even gave me a case number.

Although encouraged by what seemed like success, I imaged months would pass before anything happened, if at all.

Surprise, surprise! In less than a week a team of three men, well equipped, appeared and in just few hours repaired “my” damaged fence.

It now looks wonderful and “my” space is back in good order, and I’m chuffed.
Our Earth needs us to be more attentive to our home however, if that is too big, too complex then how about “taking possession” of tiny public space right here in Shepparton.