Glebe Community Set to Make History

23 June 2008

Through the efforts of the Glebe community, the City of Sydney has won a coveted $30,000 grant from the National Trust (NSW) to help gather oral histories from the Glebe community as part of its Wireless House public art project in Foley Park, Glebe.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said that the National Trust of Australia (NSW) working with American Express awarded the City of Sydney the prize to help fund this important conservation and interpretive public art work.

"This award was made as part of the National Trust (NSW)'s prestigious Partners in Preservation program. It comes after the City's decision last year to save the Wireless House after we listened to the concerns of the local community. I thank the Community for their active particpation in nominating the Wireless House to receive this award."

As part of the art work, the City will install a wireless broadband internet connection in the park. This will mean that people can sit in the park, near the historic Wireless House and log on to the internet with their laptops. They can also hear oral histories of Glebe that will be provided by locals.

"I am very happy that the City has been able to preserve the Wireless House. In these days of broadband internet and mobile phone technology, the Wireless House is a unique and fascinating part of the history of the 20^th Century. Now the Glebe community can contribute to that history by giving us their stories and recollections."

The Wireless House which sits inside the HJ Foley Park on Glebe Point Road was built in 1934 to provide radio broadcasts to the local community. A wireless set was donated at the time by Grace Bros to be operated in the Wireless House so that local people who could not afford to buy such equipment (they were extremely expensive at the time) could come and sit in the park and hear the radio programs of the period.

Local citizens wishing to take part in the project and have their stories included in the artwork should contact Julia Burns at thewirelesshouse@gmail.com

Media Contact - Duncan Fine 0410 335 258

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Glebe's Wireless House

The "Wireless House" which sits inside the HJ Foley Park on Glebe Point Road was built in 1934 to provide radio broadcasts to the local community. A wireless set was donated at the time by Grace Bros to be operated in the Wireless House so that local people who could not afford to buy such equipment (they were extremely expensive at the time) could come and sit in the park and hear the radio programs of the period.

It was very popular especially during World War Two, commonly drawing crowds of up to 100 people, and no other example of such a facility is known to exist today.

The concept for a Public Listening room is highly unusual and appears to be without precedent in Australia and perhaps internationally. From the very beginning (22 November 1934) the press hailed the development as unique in Australian municipal history.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on its popularity with the community: "Since the official opening last Saturday, large crowds including many unemployed, have congregated to enjoy the programme".

Locals would gather around the Wireless House (a small plain brick building) to hear broadcasts. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, men would often listen at dawn for reports of where work was available at the docks in Darling Harbour.

Whilst the Wireless House lacks architectural charm, it retains an historical and cultural merit that transcends the local historical context, locating its value as a rare example of the provision of a social and cultural facility, at a national and potentially at an International level.

Public Art

The Wireless House Art Project at Foley Park by Dr. Nigel Helyer proposes the 'sonic activation' of the park through the 're-purposing' of the Wireless House. The artist's proposal for the Wireless House seeks to draw on archival material by accessing old radio recordings and also recording actors reading historic material. People in the park can enjoy the historic material in a number of ways:

* activating sensors on the Wireless House to trigger audio material;

* using FM radio reception which can be received by mobile phone and standard FM radio receivers;

* through the City of Sydney's free internet connection and

* by downloading of podcast material to mobile phones and future portable digital devices.