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News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Urban planning guru Sam Austin reveals hidden Aussie bushland city near Sydney
Like some Mayan mystery, a fully designed city lies hidden in the Australian bushland just two hours north of Sydney. Located in present-day North Arm Cove, just north of Newcastle in the Hunter Valley, the city includes a complex web of housing lots with plans for train and port terminals and administrative buildings. 'And even crazier, it almost became the country's capital,' urban planner Sam Austin revealed in a widely-watched social media post this week. 'From a satellite photo, you might assume it's just bushland. But hidden under the trees is a fully designed city.' The lost city, which was to be called Port Stephens City, was designed by legendary architect Walter Burley Griffin, the urban planner who designed Canberra. Mr Austin, speaking with NewsWire from Canada, said he spotted the outlines of Port Stephens City seven or eight years ago while 'playing around with Google Maps'. 'I was just playing around came across it and thought, 'wow, what is this?' he said. 'Why is there this weird subdivision patch hidden in the trees? I did some googling and discovered North Arm Cove and thought it was absolutely fascinating.' Canberra pulled investment away from Port Stephens City and it was never developed. The area, which sits within the Mid Coast Council area, is now a 'paper subdivision', meaning it has been legally divided into lots, but has never been physically developed with roads or power infrastructure. 'It's really fascinating. There are examples like this all over NSW,' Mr Austin told NewsWire. 'They are called paper subdivisions. A lot of big paper subdivisions were made 100, 150 years ago, by various surveyors, with the intention of creating new towns across the country.' Mr Griffin envisioned a 'garden city' for Port Stephens City, similar to Canberra's design, typified by expanding concentric rings of development all connected via train. 'You can see that really clearly in the Port Stephens city design,' Mr Austin said. 'It has a very central rail terminal and then you can see a concentric circle design that extends out of it.' North Arm Cove has remained dormant for decades, but there is gathering interest in developing the area in light of the country's sharpening housing crisis. But any development will likely be complex and expensive. There is no road, power or drainage infrastructure in North Arm Cove and the council has stated repeatedly it would be 'prohibitively expensive' to build there. It is not zoned for residential development, but a potential change in zoning to 'environmental living' could crack open the door to more housing. There are about 4000 lots in North Arm Cove, with about 1000 of them owned by the council. Mr Austin also expressed some caution about new development in what he called 'pristine bushland'. 'I much prefer to see urban consolidation, or development around existing settlements, particularly given there is very strong ecological value in that area,' he said. 'I do have some reservations on broad scale development in essentially pristine bushland, which is what it is.'
SBS Australia
5 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Legendary Australian film critic David Stratton dies aged 85
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ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
The dangers of e-bikes revealed
SIMON LOVE, REPORTER: Saturday morning in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Commuters on their way to a Collingwood thrashing of Port Adelaide at the MCG had drama of a different kind as an electric bicycle on board smoulders - and then explodes. JOSHUA FISHER, FIRE RESCUE VICTORIA DEPUTY COMMISSIONER: We've got that violent eruption of fire now that fully engulfed the e-bike, the train carriage is filling with smoke. I think we're just really fortunate that it wasn't a packed morning commute. What we could've seen is people seriously injured and at worst. dead. SIMON LOVE: For the first time Victoria's Department of Transport has released to 7.30 onboard footage. Jenny Oxley was on a train going the other way and witnessed the e-bike burning JENNY OXLEY, MONASH UNIVERITY ACCIDENT RESEARCH CENTRE: I didn't even think about an e-bike to be honest. Obviously, there was something really on fire and smoking. SIMON LOVE: Coincidentally she is the Deputy Director of Monash University's Accident Research Centre, looking into the effects of e-bicycle trauma. What was it like when you saw it? JENNY OXLEY: We just saw all this black smoke billowing out of the train and everybody's jumping out. JOSHUA FISHER: E-bikes and e scooters when they fail and particularly when they go into a process of thermal runaway, they are dangerous. Particularly if you're an enclosed space where you can't safely evacuate the immediate area. SIMON LOVE: Joshua Fisher from Fire Rescue Victoria says the incident was a wakeup call. JOSHUA FISHER: People are carrying these devices on public transport quite frequently. What we're concerned about though is poor quality or damaged e-bikes, e-scooters that are entering onto the public transport network. SIMON LOVE: Victoria and New South Wales are now canvassing views on a complete ban of e-bikes and scooters on any public transport service. The threat of fires isn't the only risk. Crashes are also on the rise JENNY OXLEY: We're seeing, compared to five years ago, there's about a 600 per cent increase in the number of hospitalisations. We're seeing a lot more head injuries, fractures, and some torso injuries. SIMON LOVE: Victoria Police recently launched an operation specifically targeting e-bikes. Collisions have been increasing - 79 in 2023, up to 144 last year and there's been at least 113 in the first seven months this year. In the Melbourne CBD alone police issued 289 fines in a two-month period. GLEN WEIR, VICTORIA POLICE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER: We get lots of complaints from people, particularly in the CBD and inner suburbs of people riding on footpaths, people not giving away to pedestrians, not obeying red lights, that sort of thing. SIMON LOVE: Victoria's top road traffic cop, Glenn Weir says delivery companies with competitive targets are partly to blame for the culture of modified e-bicycles. GLEN WEIR: No one likes a cold pizza. It's a competitive market but I've written to the CEOs of all the companies, and they've all responded and they're all, they're committed to the safety of their riders and they've got to find that balance between commercial competitiveness and safety. SIMON LOVE: But if you think that the use of electric bikes and scooters are an issue just in central business districts, think again. There were deadly consequences right here on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. RAYMOND LOTHIAN, BROTHER: He didn't even get on to the road. He was just there, standing waiting for cars to go past. SIMON LOVE: In May Raymond Lothian's brother Bill, died after being hit by an e-bike. The pair were inseparable in the port town of Hastings. RAYMOND LOTHIAN: Everyone saying how sorry they were and how much they miss seeing us together. SIMON LOVE: You miss that too, right? RAYMOND LOTHIAN: Yes. But yeah, it was just all because of someone's stupidity. SIMON LOVE: Raymond Lothian wants a complete ban on electric bicycles. RAYMOND LOTHIAN: If they're not banned, or whatever they should be governed like a car where they're registered and checked. SIMON LOVE: Police will allege the e-bike involved in Bill Lothian's case was modified. GLEN WEIR: Modification kits to existing technologies are really dangerous. SIMON LOVE: Will you allege that occurred in this case? GLEN WEIR: We will allege that occurred in this case. SIMON LOVE: Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir says aftermarket modifications including kits which can be purchased simply online, are a major issue especially on a certain type of bicycle. GLEN WEIR: The ones that have no pedals on them and they're throttle controlled. Now they can't be more than 200 kilowatts, but we're seeing people purchase aftermarket kits to enable them to go really fast. I mean that is just a recipe for disaster. SIMON LOVE: Firefighters say the installation of the kits are also a major fire risk. JOSHUA FISHER: What we see is people watch one YouTube clip next minute, they're a trained technician. It couldn't be further from the truth. SIMON LOVE: Last month a Victorian coroner called for greater regulations, including registration of e-bicycles after the death of 41-year-old Nitin Prabhu in January last year. He was thrown off his powerful e-bike. Despite wearing a bicycle helmet, he died of head injuries. The coroner also recommended that Victoria Police obtain a dynamometer, which a device which could test power outputs and top speeds of e-bikes and e-scooters. The coroner found 'that the proposals were escalated to senior management of Victoria Police but were denied, due to cost.' GLEN WEIR: So it's a little bit more complex than that. We do have the capacity to measure, but it's a large piece of equipment that is used by major collision investigators for a whole range of things. It's not something that's portable in the field. It is a capability that can be used, but there are many others. SIMON LOVE: And can you say what some of those ways are? GLEN WEIR: I won't declare what they are for obvious reasons, but our people are really, really adept at it. SIMON LOVE: Parliamentary inquiries into e-bike safety and regulation have been set up in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. COL BLANCH, WA POLICE COMMISSIONER: The manufacturers, the importers and the retailers need to be very clear about what you can or can't sell, what you can and can't import. SIMON LOVE: Is it time for a ban on certain imports? GLEN WEIR: That is certainly something that we are looking at discussing with the Commonwealth, but it is really hard to regulate or enforce your way out of something like this. Banning things is not necessarily the easiest way to do it. SIMON LOVE: Glenn Weir can understand the appeal and intends to lead by example. GLEN WEIR: I will probably buy an e-bike when I retire because it's a great way to get around. But I'll use a properly compliant bike in the proper manner, and I won't put myself at risk. If everyone did that, we'd be fine. SIMON LOVE: Look forward to seeing you riding your bike into the sunset, Glenn. GLEN WEIR: There'll be no lycra, I can promise you that.
