Online Exclusive: Words and images of the Rozelle Rally
On Saturday, June 16, a rally was held in the rain and cold of Rozelle to declare opposition to a proposed development on the former Balmain Leagues club site.
The Inner West Independent was there.
Apart from covering the details of the rally – the story of which is available both online and in the July edition of the paper – the Independent also spoke with members of the crowd. The following are their words alongside a collection of images from the day.
Anne and Suzanne:
Thoughts on the rally:
Anne: “I thought it was really good turnout. Really good numbers in this terrible weather which shows how much this community cares … We want the Tiger’s back but this development is way too big for this area. It will spoil the village atmosphere.”
Suzanne: “I thought it was amazing, and I think it showed the true spirit of the Inner West and Rozelle. I just think it will be absolutely disgusting if something like that were put up here. It would ruin everything that we’re about, which is a village. We are a village and we want to maintain that as well.”
Thoughts on the odds of successfully opposing the project:
Suzanne: “Very high.”
Anne: “I think now. Seeing things like this and getting it in the press and people filling in petitions. They’ve got to listen.”
Suzanne: “There’s got to be a compromise. We do want the Balmain Tigers back which is very important but not under those circumstances.”
Roy:
Thoughts on the rally:
“Well it’s pretty good considering how horrible the weather is. It shows the dedication of the people who really believe that they want to own their community. Unlike a lot of metropolitan Sydney, these people have a genuine sense of community. That’s why they move here, that’s why they live here, that’s why they choose to raise families here. And they mean it. They’re thoughtful people.”
Thoughts about the likely development outcome:
“My suspicion is that this is a political process. That ultimately they’ll scale back and say we’ll accept something smaller and that’s the reason why they increased after their original knockback.”
“It’s a political process. There’ll be a political solution in the end that’ll not satisfy the community but they hope they’ll hope they can live with it.”
