At the commencement of the new TGSI committee year an appeal from a carer/mother of an intellectually disabled young Glebe adult came to our attention. The appeal was to assist them by providing transport (car & driver) one day per week (all costs reimbursed) to take both people to the Southern Highlands for therapy. Several Glebe Society members volunteered their time and this activity began shortly afterwards, however due to several difficulties it changed to be occasional assistance on an ongoing basis. It is pleasing to find there are people in our midst who can and will make time to actively support other community members.

On that note it was also gratifying to receive many Christmas gifts for families at the Elsie refuge again last year. About 60 gifts, covering all the age/gender combinations of known family members then in residence were delivered to Elsie on 23 December 2016. Additionally there was a very large number of ‘Trauma Teddies’ provided by Edwina Doe and the Red Cross knitting group she belongs to. Thank you to all our members who have made this possible. The Christmas appeal is now firmly included on our ‘community calendar’ and it will be made in October/November each year. It has also been suggested that there are other families, resident in special facilities in Glebe, to whom this community generosity may be extended this year.

Ably represented by John Gray, TGSI has been engaged with the GlebeCAN project, a joint enterprise of FLAG (Forest Lodge and Glebe), Glebe Community Development Project and Sydney University. In essence it had the objective of identifying how social services might be more effective and needs better met.

The resulting ‘Shaping the Future of Glebe’ Forum, held at the University of Sydney on August 30, 2016 involved about 50 participants. The consensus reached moved the process towards creating a Collective Impact model of community development, involving the creation of vital community partnerships, with the need for more IT savvy data collection and outcomes reporting, which may lead to priority determinations and new sources of funds. UTS and City of Sydney have agreed to work jointly on City data, including well-being indicators and Glebe village data. This long term but vital project is continuing.

The long anticipated Glebe Tram Mural was completed in January and officially unveiled by Lord Mayor Clover Moore on Wednesday 8 March . We are indebted to community elders Sadie King, Barbara Brilley, Kay White, Steve Perry, former resident Mick Kelly and resident historian Max Solling for their contributions of memories and audio recordings to the finished multifaceted project. Thanks also goes to Adele Horn, daughter of the late Ruth Russell, for allowing her mother’s recollections to be included; to another Glebite, Max Solling Jnr who did the hard yards in preparing the wall and to the owners of the property, the Younans, for allowing the Society to celebrate our heritage in this way. Most importantly however, a very big debt of gratitude is owed to Kelly Wallwork, the artist who brought the concept to life so authentically on the Hereford St façade of 168 Glebe Point Rd. If you haven’t already done so, go online to www.glebesociety.org.au/trams to listen to the oral history recordings.

The idea recently raised, of a Glebe Exchange Platform, aimed at recycling good usable domestic items no longer required in people’s households, the collection of these and their redistribution through the social service organisations in Glebe, to Glebe community members in need has been under discussion by the committee. Several difficulties which need to be overcome before this project is commenced are receiving attention, and it is anticipated that it will be launched in the next committee year. To that end I’d like to welcome two new members to the Community subcommittee. They are Diane Hutchinson and Nick Hespe, and I look forward to working with them to continue the objectives of the Community group; to whit, increasing community building for the whole of our suburb.