Waverley Council returns to its pub origins
Regulars at the Charing Cross Hotel found themselves with some unorthodox entertainment on a recent Thursday night.
Waverley Council held its commemorative meeting at the hotel to mark its 150 years. The district’s elected representatives found themselves huddled around a tiny aldermanic table with their mayor in ceremonial robe. The gallery was packed with friendly precinct participants and volunteers from community organisations, including representatives of Waverley Historical Society and The Bondi View.
The venue was chosen to celebrate Waverley’s pub origins. Since the first elected representatives in 1859 settled on the Charing Cross Hotel – owned by John Newland, a member of the first council – as the logical location for their meetings, today’s owner of ‘The Charro’, the genial Arthur Laundy, accepted the invitation to host the council’s commemorative return to its origins.
Mayor Sally Betts welcomed everyone at 6pm, opening proceedings with the traditional prayer. After that, the conversational buzz of the Charro regulars around the bar resumed, providing a pleasant background and reminding all of their location. Historical papers suggest, however, that early council meetings were held in a separate room rather than in the bar.
There were no controversial items on the agenda for that evening and the tone was astonishingly bipartisan, with goodwill in abundance. The mayoral address pointed to the historical significance of the occasion, and Councillor Betts made reference to the council’s more recent achievements, cheerfully including matters pushed through from the “other side” of the table when they were in control. It was that kind of evening.
Then, emphasising this spirit, Labor Councillor Ingrid Strewe spoke on a beach and coastal theme and Cr Yvonne Coburn spoke of the high number of women elected to Waverley Council. In glowing tones, she spoke of the unprecedented continuity of mayoral service by Barbara Armitage, who was there in the gallery to savour the moment. Yvonne Coburn is a Liberal councillor, Barbara Armitage is from Labor. Truly a night to remember.
Crimes and scandals in Waverley will be the topic at Club Bondi Junction, 1st floor, Gray Street at 4 pm on Monday, September 14 when historical researcher John Ruffels returns to co-incide with Waverley Library’s exhibition, Kings Cross with Sand running from September 7 to 20.
– BY PETER McCALLUM
