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ABC News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Boonji Spaceman sculpture unveiling angers fans of 'the kebab' in Perth
A gleaming blue, 7-metre-tall astronaut has been unveiled in Perth's CBD, taking pride of place outside Council House. Designed by US artist Brendan Murphy, the sculpture called Boonji Spaceman was a donation by the artist but City of Perth took on costs of transportation and installation, believed to be between $150,000–$250,000. The acquisition was championed by former Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas who stepped down from the council in March after being elected to state parliament. Mr Zempilas has long championed branding Perth as the City of Light — as it was dubbed by astronaut John Glenn in 1962 when the people of Perth turned on their lights to acknowledge his mission to become the first American to orbit the earth. It was that story and meeting Mr Zempilas that persuaded Murphy to donate one of his spacemen to Perth after the pair were introduced by gallery owner Paul Gullotti. "I'm not in the business of giving my work away. I'm one of the top-selling artists in the world," Murphy told Mark Gibson on ABC Radio Perth. "[Mr Zempilas and I] had a couple of great chats and Zoom calls, and Basil was really inspired by my work. "When that happens that means a lot to me, and this history of John Glenn identifying Perth as the city of lights, that really connected the dots for me." When the council voted to accept the donation last year Mr Zempilas said it was "an incredible opportunity" to bring a real tourist attraction that fit Perth's story to the city. But not everyone was pleased with the idea, particularly as the site allocated was previously occupied by another popular piece of public art — the Ore Obelisk, affectionately dubbed "the kebab". The 15-metre-tall sculpture was designed by City of Perth town planner Paul Ritter and erected to celebrate Western Australia's population reaching 1 million in 1971. Featuring different geological specimens of rock, it symbolised the expansion of mining in the state in the 1960s and 1970s. The sculpture was dismantled and placed in storage in 2021 following "engineering reports that it was unsafe and posed a risk to public safety", a spokesperson for the council said. Helen Curtis, who runs a public art consultancy, launched the "Save the Kebab" campaign to restore and bring back the Ore Obelisk. She was annoyed to find the council had allocated funds to the Boonji Spaceman. Now that the spaceman is in place she is continuing her campaign to reinstate the the kebab. "There is a huge groundswell of people from the arts, design, the history professions. "But also the broader Perth community and even people who worked in parks and gardens at the City of Perth are showing support for the campaign." Ms Curtis said the Boonji Spaceman was not unique to Perth, as Murphy had already installed versions of the sculpture in London, Oslo, Dubai and Antigua. The Perth version of the Boonji Spaceman is called Lightning. "This is not about parochialism at all," Ms Curtis said. "If the City of Perth is into Instagrammable tourism attractions then we can do that here ourselves. "Let's look after what we have first, right? That should be our priority. The Ore Obelisk — why didn't the City of Perth look after that? She said if the city wanted tourist attractions it should commission local artists to create original work. Murphy said he was surprised to learn that his spaceman had caused controversy. "I had no idea any of this existed until recently," he said. The artist rejected claims his work was not connected with the story of Perth and was simply a copy of work he had created elsewhere. "First of all I'm not an American artist. I'm an artist, and my role … is to bring people together and to try and create works that inspire people," he said. "Having put [the Boonji Spaceman] in other cities around the world I know the effect it has. "I've seen it bring people together and … in most cases, I think people will be proud because it's a very forward-looking, forward-moving sculpture. It's very contemporary." Murphy said the words written on the sculpture had been personalised for Perth, based on conversations with locals and research on the city's history. The words "ambition" and "City of Light" appear on the spaceman's chest. "I'm hopeful and pretty confident that everyone will come together once they experience the sculpture and I think they'll be proud of it," Murphy said. City of Perth said the Boonji Spaceman would remain in its Stirling Gardens location for a year before being moved to another, as yet unnamed, location in the city. It did not say how much it would cost to restore the Ore Obelisk but said it required significant work, including replacing all the conglomerate rock elements.
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Basil Zempilas: Burswood Park racetrack is a project with no business case and a waste of $220 million
1. The spaceman has landed. Sixty-three years after John Glenn's historic flight on the Friendship 7 spacecraft, Perth has a glorious tribute to our city of light origin story. The 7 metre Boonji Spaceman, a gift to the City of Perth from American artist Brendan Murphy, stands tall on St Georges Terrace from today. Statue erection, like space flight, is difficult and at times dangerous work but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Just like the residents who turned their lights on for Glenn back in 1962, Perth's ability to pull off the remarkable should never be underestimated. 2. This week in Parliament I asked the Premier what is the point of community consultation if that community consultation is going to be ignored? That is precisely what is happening with Rita's racetrack at Burswood Park. This is a project with no business case, no community support and no transparency. The WA Liberals do not support this reckless, wasteful use of $220 million of taxpayer money on a project which simply does not stack up. 3. For 24 years Ken Gibbons has run the Community Cinemas at Burswood Park. He's been told he has to move the much-loved summer favourite to a new location, which he says won't work, to make way for changes associated with the ill-conceived racetrack. A racetrack prioritised over community, that's what's happening here. 4. Eleven weeks after the election, finally the big day has arrived for the five new members of the Liberal's Legislative Council team. Congratulations and welcome to Anthony Spagnolo, Michelle Boylan, Phil Twiss, Michelle Hoffman and Simon Ehrenfeld. See you at work members. 5. And with that, it's farewell and thank you to our retiring MLCs Donna Faragher and Peter Collier. Both have enjoyed magnificent 20-year parliamentary careers and both have made enormous contributions to the people of WA. We thank them for their service. 6. How they choose to operate in Canberra is their business, but the working relationship between the WA Liberals and the Nationals WA is as strong as ever. Our alliance is constructive, co-operative and united in a shared mission to hold the Cook Labor Government to account. 7. The best thing Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt can do for the people of WA is approve the extension of the North West Shelf development. Actually, there's one thing better he can do: approve it tomorrow. 8. Walyalup is a great name for the Dockers to adopt during and around Sir Doug Nicholls Round. But the club's name is Fremantle. Saturday's win against the Giants was a beauty but it shouldn't be the catalyst for a permanent name change as some are suggesting. 9. The Eagles black and gold WA Day jumper looks great. First in, best dressed, right? 10. Vale Adam Selwood. A lovely man, always so kind, he didn't deserve this pain. Nor do his family and friends. My sincere condolences.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
National Air and Space Museum to reveal more renovated galleries on July 28
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. From John Glenn's Friendship 7 to Blue Origin's New Shepard, space capsules and more are set to return to or debut on display with the opening of five "reimagined" galleries at the National Air and Space Museum this part of a still on-going, seven-year renovation of the museum's flagship building in Washington, the Smithsonian has announced that it is ready to premiere more of its exhibitions following the reveal of eight of its halls on the building's west end in 2022. The next launch, scheduled for July 28, includes two galleries highlighting some of the most historic and newest space artifacts in the national Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall, which visitors will first see after proceeding through the museum's newly-redesigned Jefferson Drive entrance along the National Mall showcases some of the museum's most iconic objects, including Glenn's Mercury spacecraft and an Apollo lunar module configured to appear as Apollo 11's "Eagle" looked in 1969 when it landed the first humans on the moon. The displays in Milestones were the first to be redesigned in 2016 — in time for the museum's 40th anniversary — but then the hall was closed and the artifacts were removed again so that the area itself could be exhibits also include a North American X-15 rocket plane, the Gemini 4 capsule from which astronaut Ed White performed the first American spacewalk in 1965 and a moon rock that the public can touch. Also opening on July 28 will be the new "Futures in Space" exhibition, which takes over the location of the relocated "How Things Fly," next to the Milestones of Flight Hall. "Futures" will display artifacts new to the building to address topics like "who decides who goes to space?" and "why do we go?" Debuting with Futures in Space are a Virgin Galactic "RocketMotorTwo" engine that powered pilots Mark Stucky and Frederick "CJ" Sturckow into space on a suborbital test flight on board the SpaceShipTwo "VSS Unity" in 2018 and an aluminum grid fin that helped SpaceX land a Falcon 9 rocket's first stage in new is a mockup of Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule, a pressurized cabin used to fly cargo and clients beyond the boundary separating Earth and space. Jeff Bezos, the company's billionaire founder and its first passenger, has pledged to replace the replica with a flown capsule once it has retired from flying. Other areas of the National Air and Space Museum reopening at the same time include three aviation-themed halls — "Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight," "World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation" and the Allan and Shelley Holt Innovations Gallery — and the the Lockheed Martin IMAX remaining eight galleries still under renovation are scheduled to open on July 1, 2026, the 50th anniversary of the National Air and Space Museum and in time for the United States' 250th anniversary. Among them are the interactive "At Home in Space," which will engage visitors in how humans live and work in space and venture beyond Earth orbit, and "RTX Living in the Space Age Hall," revealing how innovations in space technology have transformed our lives on the "National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe" exhibition will show how advancements in astronomical tools changed our understanding of the universe. Also opening next year, wrapping up the renovations, are the "Textron How Things Fly," "Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air" and "Modern Military Aviation" galleries, as well as the "Flight and the Arts Center."Free timed-entry passes are required to visit. Passes for the July 28 opening and beyond will be available on the National Air and Space Museum website June 13. Follow on Facebook and on X at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Deseret News archives: Mercury 7 crew introduced to the American public
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced the 'Mercury Seven,' its first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald 'Deke' Slayton, to the world. That day, in a gathering in the ballroom of the Dolley Madison House on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., the astronauts were seated at a long table on a makeshift stage, and NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan introduced them in alphabetical order: 'Malcolm S. Carpenter, Leroy G. Cooper, John H. Glenn, Virgil I. Grissom, Walter M. Schirra, Alan B. Shepard, and Donald K. Slayton … the nation's Mercury astronauts!' After a brief photo session, for the next 90 minutes the new astronauts responded to numerous questions from the reporters gathered in the ballroom. For most of the men, this was a new experience as they had little prior exposure to the media in their previous jobs as test pilots. By the time the event concluded, it was clear to them that their lives had changed forever, and public attention would be as much a part of their jobs as training for and flying in space. Chasing the USSR in the space race, the Americans had some catching up to do. But catch up they did. Twenty-three days after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin traveled into space, Shepard made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Freedom 7, with five of those minutes in space. Years later, the commander of Apollo 14, Shepard took a golf club to the moon and hit two golf balls on the lunar surface to demonstrate lunar gravity. Within three years, Glenn orbited the earth. A long public service career followed. A couple of months later, Carpenter followed him around the globe. Schirra went into space three times, and perhaps was more known in later years as a TV analyst of space missions. Grissom was the second to fly in space, later dying with astronauts Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee on Jan. 27, 1967, during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission in Florida. Cooper piloted the longest and last Mercury spaceflight, Mercury-Atlas 9. During that 34-hour mission he became the first American to spend an entire day in space, the first to sleep in space and the last American launched on an entirely solo orbital mission. Slayton became NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut Office and Director of Flight Crew Operations, responsible for NASA crew assignments. He also helped develop the Space Shuttle. The original seven were immortalized in Tom Wolfe's 1979 book 'The Right Stuff,' which became a 1983 epic historical drama film. 'Meet the volunteers for U.S. space trip,' read the headline in that day's Deseret News. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the Mercury 7 astronauts: 'Astronaut John Glenn's reason why the Project Mercury mission was a success' 'Scott Carpenter, one of original Mercury 7 astronauts, dies at 88 (+photos)' 'Wally Schirra, space pioneer' 'Space pioneer Alan Shepard' 'Astronaut John Glenn's reason why the Project Mercury mission was a success' 'Liberty 7 capsule pulled from ocean after 38 years' 'From shuttlecock to shuttle' 'Stamp honors 1st American in space 50 years later' 'Former astronaut, U.S. Sen. John Glenn of Ohio has died at 95″ 'Aviation pioneer ready to ride into space' '1959 memo pushed Utah in 'space''
The Independent
23-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Mea Culpa: Where no man has gone, still
Last week, we reminded readers of when America first sent a person into orbit. At least, we did in the body of the article. In the caption for the accompanying picture of astronaut John Glenn entering his spaceship in 1962, we told readers he was 'bound for Mercury'. Thanks to Richard Lewis for pointing out that this was wrong. Of course, no country has yet attempted to send a human the 192 million miles from Earth to the sun's closest neighbour. It was later in 1962 that Nasa sent an uncrewed probe to fly past Venus for the first time. It wasn't until 1974 that they got near Mercury, still with no crew, with the Mariner 10 spacecraft. Wild claim: The introduction to a liveblog on our site began: 'Ukraine needs to 'tone down' its criticism of Donald Trump, the White House has claimed, after the US president launched an extraordinary attack on Volodymyr Zelensky.' We said 'claimed' where we should have said 'said'. The White House adviser we quoted was offering an opinion. A claim is a statement presented as truth without evidence. We should be careful to keep that meaning in place for when we need it. Lowest of the low: 'Battered British army is at its lowest nadir since 1940', read a headline in Friday's Independent. 'Nadir' means the lowest point, so the adjective here does not add any meaning. Removing the adjective would have left us with a headline that made no sense, so the fix would have been to replace 'nadir' with 'point'. We repeated the tautology in the article text, where the same fix could have been applied. Thanks to Iain Brodie and John Harrison for flagging this one. Out the back: In an article recounting Rachel Reeves's questionable grip on the facts of her early career, we said the revelation of her inaccurate CV claims has forced the chancellor to 'back-peddle'. This mistake left the impression that Reeves was involved in some sort of illicit sales role (incidentally, not a claim she had made). We meant 'backpedal' – a term for retraction which has outlasted the need for a hyphen. Dismissed: We made two poor choices in one troubled News in Brief item about a woman receiving a payout after being unfairly dismissed while pregnant. We said she had 'been compensated nearly £94,000'. We meant she was 'compensated by nearly £94,000'. The need for this rule is best demonstrated by replacing the cash figure with a word for something a person may be compensated by. 'She was compensated a redundancy package,' for example. Further down, we said a judge had ruled that the woman's 'pregnant condition' was the reason for her sacking. 'Condition' was added unnecessarily here as its plural form is so often added to 'weather'. We disparage it in both cases. 'Pregnancy' would have been clearer. Marching on: In a report on a football match, we said Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham was given his directions by the referee. We chose to say that 'the referee marched the midfielder', which lands somewhere between two well-known phrases that fit the context. Bellingham could have been 'given his marching orders' or been 'marched off the field'. Stephen Hall suggests we may have been trying to innovate and avoid turning to cliched phrases. We thank him for being generous. The phrase we used had less to offer than either of these. It lacked the whimsy of the former and the clarity of the latter. In the same article, we said Bellingham's marching orders came after he 'protested the refereeing'. As has been noted before in this column, the standard British English is to 'protest against'. Though the 'against' may be dropped eventually due to American influence, for now, we come down on the side of the status quo.
