Erasing history
My husband and I were both brought up in Williamstown prior to the West Gate Bridge and have a very long family history in Williamstown. We read the article [Developers eye Captain’s house, Star Weekly, November 12] with great interest and apprehension as to what will become of this house.
We decided to drive through Williamstown before going home and noticed the sign “Williamstown Historic Port” which, in hindsight, is a bit of a joke because we were both appalled at the amount of destruction of historical houses along The Strand – torn down and replaced with ugly white concrete and glass monstrosities.
This destruction of history and character is throughout the town – some older areas are barely recognisable and look like any new outer Melbourne housing estates!
Progress is inevitable, but why are we so intent on erasing all our history? In the ’60s, I saw the beautiful mansion Maritimo razed and replaced with awful units, I saw Whelan the Wrecker pull down beautiful buildings in Melbourne – and now I wonder if we have learnt anything about preserving our history.
The little sea port I remember from childhood is being erased from existence. What is even sadder, no one seems to care.
… Christine, Werribee
Survival instinct trumps all
I have come to the conclusion, as I am sure many Australians have, that the only sacred thing to our present herd of federal and state politicians is their own survival.
They have a propensity to not cut back any spending on sport, but they neglect pensions, education, research and health – all the things that make our quality of life.
A state MP has promised that if Labor wins the election, it will spend millions upgrading the Geelong football complex while disregarding the need for essential services.
In recent months several nursing homes have closed. In a lot of cases, these homes are where our elderly and frail, and some mentally disabled, are just waiting to go to God. Politicians open Parliament with
The Lord’s Prayer. Instead of reciting it like a lot of parrots, they should take a few moments to understand its contents and put their moral values first.
… John Patterson, Williamstown
Hospital before footy
I fully agree with the article in last week’s Star Weekly [Our hospital before footy, October 12] about money being spent on upgrading a footy oval, as opposed to spending it on Footscray Hospital. With the amount of developments going on in the western region, surely the hospital must take priority. I had a short stay in Footscray Hospital last year and was appalled at the conditions the wonderful staff had to work under.
Don’t we suffer enough in the west?
Janice Hoffmann
