Eastlakes
On 13 August 2021, the Geographical Names Board officially approved Bayside Council’s request to rename Eastlakes Reserve as Jack Mundey Reserve. Mundey was neither a local resident, councillor nor mayor. Yet sixty years ago, he led a movement that saved these four acres of land as a park for the local people. Source: Alison Wishart, curator Bays Council.
Parkes Developments Pty Ltd began development of the old Rosebery Racecourse in 1968. On 7 November 1971, unit residents at Eastlakes gathered for what would be their first protest against further construction on a nearby site. The owners of the firm originally promised tenants this three-and-a-half-acre area on Evans Street would remain as parkland, reportedly charging those with views of this site a higher price. Residents approached Jack Mundey and the BLF, who called a meeting of workers on another Parkes Developments site; Hotel Metropole. By unanimous vote, the workers agreed to a ‘stopwork’ if the Eastlakes development went ahead and a green ban was officially placed on the Eastlakes site by the BLF in December 1971.
In February 1973 the Botany Municipal Council approved another Eastlakes development plan from Parkes Developments which involved the construction of four eight-storey residential unit blocks. Eastlakes residents once again gathered in protest, rejecting the the development plan as it would only further complicate existing traffic and parking problems. They sought to enlarge the original green ban from 1971 to cover any home unit development in the Eastlakes area and by early March they had once again enlisted the support of Jack Mundey and the BLF.
The result of all of this was to ensure that the land now known as Eastlakes Reserve was kept free from further development and instead kept as park land. In August 2021, Bayside Council was successful in their application to the Geographical Names Board to rename 'Eastlakes Reserve' to 'Jack Mundey Reserve' to honour Mundey's legacy and the Green Bans Movement. Signs have been replaced and an interpretative sign and renaming plaque has been installed.
The project was funded by the NSW Government's Community Building Grant. An exhibition at George Hannah Memorial Library and formal unveiling ceremony was held in late 2021. “Parks for the People! Eastlakes, Jack Mundey, and the Green Bans” exhibition at George Hannah Memorial Library and Gallery, from 6 December 2021 – 17 May 2022.
The developer Parkes Development warrants further research. In the ABCTV documentary, Juanita: A Family Mystery (part 2), a speaker mentioned that Parkes Development was one of the developers in Victoria St and affiliated with Abe Saffron.
See Juanita: A Family Mystery at https://iview.abc.net.au/show/juanita-a-family-mystery/series/0/video/DO2017H001S00
Eastlakes residents press for parkland, Sydney Morning Herald, November 8, 1971
Child's plea - for trees and a park, Sydney Morning Herald, November 9, 1971
Residents seek union black ban, Sydney Morning Herald, March 5, 1973
Bans big setback to Sydney, Sydney Morning Herald, April 5, 1973
Mayoral Minute, Vale Jack Mundey, 27 May, 2020
The Suburb of Eastlakes, Extract from Conroy History
Alison Wishhart, “Parks for the People: Eastlakes, Jack Mundey, and the Green Bans”, Overland, 2022: https://overland.org.au/2022/06/a-park-for-the-people-jack-mundey-and-the-eastlakes-green-ban/comment-page-1/
Note Overland is an open access journal.
Research provided by Alison Wishart (Bayside Council) and Isabella Maher
“Parks for the People! Eastlakes, Jack Mundey, and the Green Bans” exhibition at George Hannah Memorial Museum, Mascot Library, from 6 December 2021 – 17 May 2022.
Bruce Petty, The real wreckers in the building industry!, 1971. Cartoon used by BLF on their Christmas card to members in 1971. Courtesy Trades Hall Collection.
In October 1971, when the new Eastlakes residents witnessed trenches being dug and crates of bricks being delivered to the only remaining open space in the area, they contacted Botany Council to object to the disappearance of their promised park.
A public meeting was held on 7 November 1971 where locals asked the BLF to support their campaign to save their small green space in the heart of the estate. The BLF agreed and work stopped on the next set of housing units, which were purported to cost $1.5 million.
Aerial photograph dated 6 October 1971 of Eastlakes and surrounding suburbs. Courtesy and © State of New South Wales (Spatial Services, a business unit of the Department of Customer Service NSW). For current information go to https://www.spatial.nsw.gov.au/.
Parkes Development Pty Ltd, Plan of Redevelopment of Rosebery Racecourse, April 1963. Bayside Council Local History Collection
