Notes of Substance

With Spring now upon us, Melbourne is heading deep into the midst of AFL footy finals. We are also in the middle of magpie nesting season. And that means talk of magpies swooping. (For a Collingwood fan, this has extra significance, but I digress.) Already the images of attacking maggies are circulating on social media—there's this  Buzzfeed tweet , and Google searches filled with helmetcam swoop pics . There’s even a magpie attack map where hapless humans can drop a pin where the magpie tried to drop in on them. There are dates, times, exact locations, but more than that, there are also magpie stories. Stories of swooping aggressors, sure, but stories of people making friends with magpies, feeding them, and learning to live with them. My great grandfather wrote stories of the magpies in the Australian bush, taking shelter in the highest trees to avoid predators, rain and floods. ‘The Magpies chose the tallest tree/That anywhere their eyes could see/Where ...

Little seems to evoke inner city community outrage as much as a battle over public open space, particularly where dogs are involved. At Elsternwick Park, emotions have become unleashed, as dog owners and sports fans vie for contested territory. It’s a typical weekend morning and Elsternwick Park is filled with people. There are parents with children at the playground, people kicking the footy, walkers, joggers and fitness groups. There are also people wielding clipboards, seeking signatures to preserve one of the area's largest off leash dog parks. Bayside Council’s proposal to rejuvenate open space into two ovals is causing residents to drop the ball, with reports of ‘aggro’ encounters between park users, and suggestions of a misinformation campaign. The 14.9 hectare park has provided space for passive recreation, off leash dog walking and sports, like hockey and Auskick, over its many years. But some residents are concerned that the proposal to fence and light ovals ...