More than just a park: the heart of a community

One of the proudest Pyrmont residents at Saturday’s official opening of Pirrama Park will be City of Sydney Councillor Marcelle Hoff.

Prior to her election Cr Hoff played a major role in the community’s struggle to save the former water police site from private development.

The result is a vibrant, open community space that was milling with people on the afternoon City News spoke with Cr Hoff.

“This park has brought the community together exceptionally well in a lot of different ways,” she says.

“The park of course is beautiful, but more than that … is the sense of belonging that has happened for a lot of people.”

Cr Hoff says she became motivated to help save the former water police site shortly after moving to the area.

While riding a bus she was speaking to a disabled public housing resident about the proposed development and learned that her dwelling would be overshadowed.

“She lived next door to another lady who had a terminal illness and they both spent a lot of time in the sunshine in the winter time on their tiny front balconies,” she says.

“[But] they were terrified that if they said a word about losing their winter sunshine that they would lose their housing.”

After learning that the site was public land, she formed a group with fellow community members to keep it in public hands.

“We decided then and there that we were not going to negotiate,” she says.

“We would either accept … public open space, or we’d ‘die in the ditch’.”

Cr Hoff acknowledges the support the group received from the Union movement, including prolific union leader and environmentalist Jack Mundey, who she says the community would “really like to see involved” in Saturday’s official proceedings.

She also acknowledges several other groups, usually with diverse interests who came together to support the cause.

“You really do need unilateral support,” she says, “Which is why we actually had The Greens on side, we had the Liberal Party on side [and] we had the unions on side.”

Of the completed park, she says “I’ve watched it being built which has been magic, and I’ve watched all of these vast numbers of people using it which is incredibly satisfying.

“[But] I think the best thing that came out of it … was that community building element that existed from very early on when the campaign brought together people from public housing, people from Jacksons Landing, unions, Church groups … all those people came together with a common cause.”

Cr Hoff says this sense of community is vital to Pyrmont.

“If I was to say I was proud of anything it’s proud of this community that I belong to,” she says.

A Councillor since 2004, Cr Hoff says she will continue to speak for Pyrmont.

“I truly believe that if you have the capacity to do something then you have the obligation to do it,” she says.

But she says equally important is to do things the right way.

“[In] the campaign to save the water police site, for me it was really important not to ‘play the man’ in this battle down here, it was really important that we ‘play the ball’,” she says.

“A lot of people don’t seem to buy into that need of behaving with grace and dignity – you can still battle and have your campaign – but you do them on the issue.”

Saturday also marks the official opening of an upgraded portion of Harris Street as well as the yearly Pyrmont Art Festival.

For Cr Hoff the Art Festival represents another example of “a bringing together of the community.”

“It [also] brings a lot of people into the area which of course enhances the business for the people around Union Square,” she says.

“The opening of Harris Street and the Art festival and the launch of the park, they’re an integrated activity that again points to this wonderful community, this wonderful village.”