Planets don’t align for Waverly Council

The council that supports Sculpture by the Sea has rejected a proposal from Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and artist Christopher Lansell to install a temporary model of the solar system along the Coastal Walk, claiming it would increase pedestrian traffic.

Waverley Mayor Sally Betts defended the council’s decision.

“We have so many ‘things’ along our famous walk.  We didn’t feel that the walk could carry additional walkers coming to see the installation for educational purposes,” she said.

Mr Lansell created a similar model in St Kilda, Melbourne, installed in 2008 after a successful temporary exhibition.

“In Melbourne they were so supportive, they pushed really hard to get it through. The public response was phenomenal and the council received calls saying they wanted a permanent installation,” he said.

“I felt like Waverley Council were a bit backward in their thinking. This is something to enlighten citizens and open them up to the universe and they are worried the footpaths might be crowded for a couple of days.”

Mr Lansell received a grant for the project from Science Connections Program (SCOPE), an initiative of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research to support National Science Week events.

The exhibition was to represent the size of the planets and their distance from the sun, on a scale of one to one billion, and would run for one weekend in August during National Science Week, with Triple J’s Dr Kruszelnicki conducting guided tours.

According to Mr Kruszelnicki the project aims to “introduce people to the awe and wonder of the universe and show how small we are”.

Advised of the council’s call, Dr Kruszelnicki said he was concerned for Mr Lansell.

“The poor bugger, he really wanted to do this project; he must be heartbroken.  The decision doesn’t make a lot of sense”.

Mr Lansell said the result was “exceptionally disappointing” as he’d been in talks with the council for two and a half years about the project.

The largest planet, the sun, would have been 140cm and the smallest, the dwarf planet Pluto, would have been just 0.24cm – the size of a large grain of sand.

The Sun was to be positioned at Bondi Beach, with the 10 planets and moon placed south along the Coastal Walk, finishing at Coogee Beach, which falls under Randwick City Council.

According to Waverley Council meeting minutes, Randwick Council had given preliminary support for the project and would have agreed to the installation if Waverley had given its approval.

The rejection of the submission was not unanimous. Greens councillors Mora Main and Dominic Wy Kanak voted in favour of the request “I supported this proposal as an educational initiative which was to be temporary, and considered that the planets could be located away (inland) from the main walkway and promenades.  However, it was voted down by a council majority,” Councillor Main said.

A spokeswoman for Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, said: “It would be disappointing if this event did not go ahead.”

Mr Lansell hopes the project will still proceed somewhere in Sydney.

“The funding is still there. If another council was interested I’d be eager to talk to them,” he said.

– By Nerissa Penfold