Recently I’ve been reading Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols written in 1951 about a 5 acre rundown Georgian estate he bought after WWII.  An avid gardener he wrote: I noticed something else.  At each end of this lovely little wall there were two brick pillars. They stood there, perfectly poised, exactly the right height, exactly […]

In 2018 we completed an oral history project in Haberfield, NSW. The aim was to map, document and showcase the neighbourhood’s cultural diversity through interviews with gardeners and photographs of gardens. The gardeners were recruited through the Haberfield Association, among participants of the annual Haberfield Garden Competition, and other social networks. We approached oral history […]

Home Gardens of Haberfield sought to explore the nexus between gardens, place-making and senses of belonging and community and to document gardening practices. Our methodology for this project included iterative walks to help us identify human and non-human participants and issues of concern. As we walked we also documented gardens and streetscapes with photography, and […]

Cities in Java have many obstacles to walking. Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, is no exception: Footpaths are difficult to find, non-existent, or in disrepair. Traffic is ruthless. Maps are inaccurate. The weather is oppressively hot. Despite this situation, jalan-jalan (walking without a specified aim) is still the best way to explore the city and […]