Valhalla sells for office space

by Garry Maddox, Sydney Morning Herald

"A SYDNEY film icon, the Valhalla cinema in Glebe, has screened its last movie after being sold to a property developer. It had been passed in at auction late last year, but the arthouse operation has sold for $2.95 million to W Property for conversion into offices.
The cinema closed last August with its long-time owner and manager, Chris Kiely, blaming the popularity of DVDs and the poor quality of recent releases. Mr Kiely said he was relieved to finally sell. "The sadness was last year when the realisation hit that it could never be a goer again," he said. The new owners plan to retain the exterior and foyer in an office development aimed at the "creative sector" including architects and the film industry.
Built in 1937 and used at times for theatre and music, the Valhalla thrived as an avant-garde cinema for film buffs in the 1980s. "In those days, we were getting 300 people for a double feature," Mr Kiely said.

Read the full article from The Sydney Morning Herald here.

Road rage attacker cleared of manslaughter

"A Sydney man whose actions led to the death of another motorist has been found not guilty of manslaughter but guilty of a lesser offence.
Benny Sarkis, 60, died in December of last year, after he suffered fatal head injuries during an altercation with another motorist on Glebe Point Road, in Sydney's inner west.
He struck his head on the ground as a result of being punched once by 36-year-old Maka Afu. The two men were arguing after their cars almost collided.
Afu, from Marrickville, was standing trial in the Sydney District Court charged with manslaughter.
The jury has found him not guilty of that charge, but guilty of the alternative offence of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Afu's bail was revoked and he will next be in court for a sentencing hearing in November."

Read the article from ABC News here.

Iemma relocates car imports to Port Kembla

"New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has announced details of a plan to relocate car imports from Glebe Island in Sydney to Port Kembla by 2008.
The move will generate jobs and economic opportunities for the Illawarra.
Mr Iemma says Glebe Island has 5,000 car spaces while opening a new birth at Port Kembla will provide 14,000 car spaces, securing future expansion for the next 40 years.
"Glebe Island just simply doesn't have the space and it makes good economic sense to invest in the future of the Illawarra by transferring that service and that facility to the Illawarra," he said. The move is expected to generate 1,000 direct and indirect jobs in Wollongong, with the Government investing $140 million to upgrade the port. ..."

Read the full article from ABC News here.

Historic Sydney cinema wins protection

"The art-house Valhalla Cinema at Glebe in Sydney's inner-west has been placed on the National Trust Register.
The piece of cinematic history was passed in at auction last week and is still without a buyer.
The trust's deputy conservation director, Graham Quint, says the listing recognises the site's architectural significance and its social significance as a venue for alternative cinema and for film-makers to view their craft.
"It's ironic there are quite a lot of 1930's cinemas surviving in country New South Wales and we are down really to the last few in the city of Sydney, and particularly the cinemas that are so vital to providing alternative movies and other cities have them and we really do need to retain them in the city of Sydney," he said."

Read the article from ABC News here.

Curtains close on Glebe's Valhalla Cinema

"The Valhalla Cinema in the inner Sydney suburb of Glebe has been screening art house films since 1979, with many famed directors showing their first films there.But this week the Valhalla will screen its final offering, and its closure appears to be the start of a trend for those Australian cinemas which have been willing to spurn high revenue pictures and instead screen non-mainstream movies. From the Valhalla in Sydney, Brendan Trembath reports. ..."

Read the transcript from the ABC's "The World Today" here.

'Nowadays it's much harder to get noticed'

The Sydney Morning Herald's first website was designed in a Glebe boatshed, home to pesky pigeons and the office of Thomas Ashelford, who explains all to Des Devlin.
In 1995 the Herald launched its first internet site, the weekly Computers section. How did you become involved?
Ingrid Spielman and I had started a web design company called Ether which ran a music website called Wood and Wire. We were getting a lot of traffic, particularly from the US and, for some bizarre reason which I've never understood, Finland. We had received quite a bit of coverage in the Herald, where we were described as "Australia's first popular website" - so that created a lot of local interest in our site. ...
Back then your company would have been one of a handful working locally. Describe your operations.
We had a space in the old Blackwattle Studios - a massive boatshed at the end of Glebe Point Road which had been converted into artists' studios. It was actually very badly suited for anything involving computers, as the power was always blacking out, and there were pigeons that insisted on pooping on our computers.
Each desk had one of those huge super-soaker water pistols on it so you could shoot the pigeons to discourage them. It did have fantastic harbour views however."

Read the full article in the Sydney Morning Herald here.

Carr flags end of Sydney Harbour as port

"Sydney Harbour will no longer operate as a container terminal, under a major overhaul of the New South Wales State port system.
Premier Bob Carr used his address to the state Labor Party conference to announce that stevedoring leases at Darling Harbour East, Glebe Island and White Bay, would not be renewed when they expire over the coming years.
But he says the plan is good news for Newcastle and Port Kembla, with both regions expected to pick up a greater share of trade.
Mr Carr says the decision to stop using Sydney Harbour as a container terminal would free up 33 hectares of unbroken foreshore.
"[It's] land for open space, housing employment and waterside entertainment," he said.
He says there will also be an expansion of Port Botany, but says a commission of inquiry will be set to examine the plans before any approval is given."

Read the article from ABC News here.