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GUEST OBSERVATION
Few activities that bead our everyday lives have earned such dubious notoriety as commuting. That the words “hell” and “nightmare” are sometimes invoked to describe journeys to and from work indicates just how disparaged this part of our lives often is. The commute has often been depicted in dystopian terms, standing for all that is stressful and wearying about our contemporary daily routines.
These journeys are often so deeply routinised that we rarely stop to think about them. Researchers have explored topics such as the link between commuting and our well-being – with the former significantly compromising the latter.
And there are statistics, such as journey times between cities. A survey in London, for instance, reported that on average British workers spend one year and 35 days commuting 308,607 kilometres in their lifetimes. Other studies indicate the average worker in Britain spends 139 hours a year commuting, the equivalent of 19 standard working days.
This information provides a bird’s eye view of our commutes. Aside from such high-level diagnoses, little is known about how commuting is transforming urban life. Zoom in, and we can begin to appreciate how the journey to and from work is a strange, liminal sphere of everyday life, fizzing with all manner of events and encounters that, for good or ill, make a difference to who we are.
Liminal spaces
Overhearing a strange conversation in hushed tones. Seeing the first rays of early morning sun while listening to a favourite artist. Momentarily catching the eye of the person sitting over there, again. Half-noticing the person in the car pulled up next to us at the lights has tears running down their cheeks.
These seemingly inconsequential encounters are significant because they can transform us in subtle but powerful ways. They might take us out of ourselves, looping our own dramas into the lives of others, intensifying our sense of connectedness to worlds beyond our own.
All the encounters we experience on our commutes, all the travelling environments we move through, impress on us and leave their mark. Even if we are not conscious of how an event has affected us at the time, we might come to realise, sometimes much later, how forceful that event was. Over time, and through repetition, what we experience becomes part of who we are, and who we are comes to be part of the environments we move through.
What this means is that, rather than passively transporting us, commuting journeys and transport systems are actively changing us.
In the mid-20th century, when city suburbs were growing rapidly, philosopher Henri Lefebvre was worried that the corresponding lengthening of commutes was a sign our free time was being taken away by the demands of work. Yet far from a work-induced zone of “dead time”, as has often been the assumption of economists, commuting is a time when we engage in all manner of activities, for work and play, that shape who we are.
Our commutes are crammed full of activities both enabled and constrained by the environments we move in. Scratching beneath the surface of these activities reveals a myriad of motivations, from the stubborn bargains we might make with ourselves to put our commute to productive work, to the less volitional and more happenchance sense of being lulled into swiping through a carousel of social media feeds on our phone yet again.
My recently published book, Transit Life: How Commuting Is Transforming Our Cities, is based on four years of researching commuting experiences in Sydney. Rather than evaluating whether these things are innately good or bad, the research taught me that, much like a prism, commuting refracts so many other parts of our lives.
How commuting changes us
A woman I interviewed told me her new commute was much shorter than her old one, so she would have to sit for a few minutes in her car once she arrived at work. She felt she had got there too quickly and craved more transition time.
Another woman told me she’d grown tired of the sensory bombardment of driving to work. She chose to switch to the train, which extended her commute by an hour and ten minutes. But this gave her time to plough through novels.
Then there was the man who did a commuter cycling course to reduce the profound anxiety he felt about biking to work in perilous traffic. This ended up being the catalyst for his choice to pursue a new career helping other would-be cycle commuters navigate traffic.
Another woman bemoaned how her lengthy commute by car and then train took away from time she could otherwise be spending at home. Yet she spoke very affectionately about the sense of community that had built up over years in her train carriage, and how people looked out for each other, making sure they hadn’t slept beyond their stop.
To claim commuting is either a negative or positive activity belies its fundamentally indeterminate nature. Commuting can tire, deplete and cost, but it can also enliven, excite and energise. Both poison and cure, the commute is a zone in which the tensions and contradictions, the diverse influences and desires that are our lives, come to the fore.
The multitude of events and encounters experienced in our own commutes might prompt us to ask questions of ourselves that strike to our core. Why did that person’s actions agitate me? What was it about today’s journey that made me feel at peace?
A one-off confrontation in transit might rattle and frustrate us, but repeated exposures to a threatening environment might change our constitution much more markedly. One long journey to work now and again might be bearable enough, but doing it repeatedly over years might reconfigure our drives and desires more fundamentally.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100323/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Our commutes come to question us in ways that can shift our values, make us rethink just what it is that matters to us, and allow us to re-evaluate what our work, relationships and communities might mean to us. Stuck in traffic, it might only be when we are feeling at our most constrained, or at our lowest ebb, that a new way of going on in life might present itself.
David Bissell, Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow, University of Melbourne
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-everyday-commute-is-changing-who-we-are-100323" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

How the everyday commute is changing who we are: David Bissell

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McGrath’s domination in the recent annual Real Estate Business Top 100 Agents ranking with 27 of the Top 100 agents in Australia was spotlighted when the listed estate agency reported its latest financial update.
<a href="/news/mcgrath-on-track-to-reach-forecast-earnings-despite-weakened-overall-property-market">The financial results</a> showed some signs of consolidation and recovery despite the weakened overall property market.
"Importantly, 37% of the female agents in the Top 100 ranking work with our company,” said Geoff Lucas, CEO of McGrath Estate Agents. 
Betty Ockerlander (pictured above) leads the agency's female agents in the sales list.
REB put her annual sales tally at $215 million, which ranked her the 15th best selling agent on the <a href="/news/alexander-phillips-lead-narrows-at-top-of-the-highest-selling-residential-estate-agents">top 100</a>.
The McGrath Epping agent has been president of Epping Rotary as well as the long standing position as the secretary of the Epping Chamber of Commerce. She also has a strong connection with the local schools.
Operating her own agency for over 20 years within Epping, North Epping, Eastwood and Beecroft, she is now ranked as the #3 agent in McGrath Australia 2017.
Around half her sales were through auction. 
Ockerlander's highest recorded sale price over the past year was $2.7 million for 15 Barellan Avenue, Carlingford, a four bedroom house which sold by auction in March.
Lorraine Crawford (pictured below) was in 32nd place with $170 million in annual sales.
She is based at McGrath's head office in Edgecliff specialising in the suburbs of Bondi Junction, Queens Park, Waverley, Bondi and Millers Point.
She has worked and lived in these suburbs over the past 11 years, having been involved in sale over the past 17 years.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/7/31/lorraine.jpg" alt="">
Her record sales have occurred in suburbs including Queens Park, Bondi Junction and Malabar.
Lorraine's highest recorded sale price over the past year was $6.3 million for 46-48 Argyle Place, Millers Point, a five bedroom house.
Teena Vaughan (pictured below) was the third best selling McGrath agent on the REB top 100, with over 20 years experience.
She secured $124 million in sales. Her highest recorded sale price in the past year was $4.5 million for 4 Hillside Crescent, Epping, a six bedroom house sold by private treaty last December.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/7/31/teena%20.jpg" alt="">
McGrath's top selling agent was Matt Steinwede with $271 million in sales followed by Peter Chauncy with $207 million in sales.
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Women leading the McGrath agency recovery

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Property fund manager Clarence Property's latest investment offer for its flagship Westlawn Property Trust (WPT) has closed over subscribed for $22 million.
It received strong support from investors in South East Queensland (SEQ) and Northern New South Wales (NNSW).
Over 60% of the capital raised came from new investors with approximately 55% of those funds from self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).
Both new and existing investors have backed Clarence Properties' strategy of purchasing assets in high growth areas in the Noosa to Yamba corridor.
WPT has more than $290 million in assets from Yamba to the Sunshine Coast, including shopping centres Yamba Fair and Byron Fair and the 480 lot Epiq master planned community at Lennox Head.
The fund provides investors the opportunity to tap into successful developments and assets like Epiq Lennox, which sold out of its first three stages, each within a week. 
Clarence Property managing director Peter Fahey (pictured above) says WPT continues to have a strong presence in NNSW and SEQ.
"The fund has a history of solid performance and has not failed to pay a monthly distribution to investors in its 24 years, so we have a reputation for reliability. A number of our investors have been with us since inception," he said.
"Many investors opted to re-invest in the latest offering because the Trust has a strong base for growth, with a number of key development projects commencing this year and several new acquisitions of blue chip commercal retail and commercial property recently made in Brisbane." 
These acquisitions come hand in hand with the recent appointment of ex-Colliers International Gold Coast Director Darrel Irwin as a Director of Clarence Property, who will assist in growing the WPT investor base in the Gold Coast and Brisbane markets. 
Irwin was previously Colliers Gold Coast director-in-charge and special projects national director for 13 years. 
WPT is expected to launch to the market its next offering for investment later this year. 
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Clarence Property's Westlawn Property Trust closes oversubscribed for $22 million

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Many predictions about the “future of retailing” have been made. These range from the supposed dominance of certain technologies, to increased use of data and analytics, the rising need for personalisation and customisation, and the transformation of physical spaces.
The challenge with specific predictions is that these are susceptible to becoming obsolete fast. Future technologies are likely to make the current cutting-edge redundant, and the methods by which customers can customise products are likely to look very different in the future.
However, when you take a step back, some common themes emerge from these predictions, such as convenience, customer experience, business intelligence, and personalisation. It’s these themes that will really shape the future of retail.
Many specific predictions about the use of new technologies, for example, link back to the notion of providing convenience to shoppers, or learning more about customers.
Predictions relating to the rising use of data and analytics are about becoming more intelligent in interactions with customers.
While the specifics of each theme may change, their impact is likely to stay. For example, convenience in the future may relate to payment technologies, store opening hours, or other as yet unknown methods. Whatever the case, the drive for convenience is likely to persist.
While some themes are easily identified, others are less obvious; including fragmentation, flexibility, and transparency.
Fragmentation
At a population level, PWC describes fragmentation as the widening gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” and the impact this has had on consumer behaviour. Similar fragmentation is driving the future of the retail industry in a number of ways.
A common prediction is that retail space (including stores and centres) will become smaller. Yet some retailers are opening new flagship stores and some already large centres have been expanded.
Fragmentation is also occurring at the retail level. Mega-retailers like Amazon and Alibaba are holding strong positions in many markets. At the same time small, niche and independent retailers are gaining exposure through outlets such as Etsy and 100 Squared.
The major question arising from this theme is what will happen to the middle? Already department stores like Myer have struggled to find a place. They lack the range and scope of the largest retailers, but don’t have the independence and flexibility of niche operators.
Flexibility
Flexibility is about retailers adapting to changing trends and consumer demands. This is clearly seen in current trends and future predictions related to personalisation and customisation.
Allowing customers to customise products requires flexibility to adapt product or service offerings. At the same time, more flexibility is expected with physical spaces.
Traditional large store footprints are giving way to small and flexible showrooms. A new format of “super-neighbourhood” shopping centre is expected to focus on flexibility for local communities.
This theme has interesting implications for the future. How can stores and shopping centres be designed and managed to provide flexibility? How will the need for flexibility impact the already challenging relationships between retail tenants and landlords?
Finally, how far can flexibility in product and service design really go? Will retailers of the future be able to let consumers design anything they want with no boundaries?
Transparency
The idea of transparency has gained a lot of attention with discussions about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. However, a similar theme is impacting retail.
Consumers have unprecedented access to information about stores, brands and products through online channels, mobile devices and consumer-to-consumer sharing.
This challenges retailers to be transparent and honest with product or service offerings, as misrepresentations are easily identified.
How can retailers best manage the need for transparency while still maintaining a competitive advantage? Alternatively, should retailers and shopping centres look to discourage consumer information-gathering? Or can transparency be leveraged to create mutual benefit for consumers and retailers?
What next?
Australian retailers have had a tough time in recent years. Online shopping is growing steadily and major international companies like Costco are also expanding.
This has turned retail into a global competition.
No-one really knows what the future will hold, as confident as some predictions may sound. However, considering the underlying drivers of current trends, as well as future predictions, there are some key factors to consider. The real value comes not from focusing on only one driver, or the latest buzz trend.
It is important to consider how these multiple trends overlap. For example, providing more flexible services might help satisfy the need for greater customer experience, as well as convenience. Alternatively, greater transparency might help cope with the fragmentation of the industry.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100518/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">The challenge for the retail industry is to develop specific strategies for the future based on these driving forces.
Jason Pallant, Lecturer of Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology
This article was originally published on The Conversation. 
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The factors driving the future of retail: Jason Pallant

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A Lower Plenty four bedroom house with a full size squash court on a 4061 square metre allotment has been sold off market for $3.3 million.
It was sold by Tom Kurtschenko from Jellis Craig.
It had last sold at $1.4 million in 2004.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-lower+plenty-117240995" target="_blank">Situated at 127 Bonds Road</a>, the home comes with four bedrooms, formal living, formal dining, casual living, timber kitchen, rumpus with bar, home office and library. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/7/31/lower%20plenty%203.jpg" alt="">
Other features include the gym, squash court with fully equipped home theatre, sauna and spa and four car garage.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/7/31/lower%20plenty%204.jpg" alt="">
The house has the rear access to Heidelberg Golf Club.
Lower Plenty is about 16 kilometres from Melbourne's Central Business District. 
The suburb's median house price sits at <a href="/developments/lower-plenty-vic-3093">$948,000</a>, according to CoreLogic. 
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Lower Plenty trophy home with squash court sold for $3.3 million

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A Chinchilla three bedroom brick unit has been sold by mortgagee for $115,000.
It was sold by Trina Martin from Surat Basin Real Estate.
It last sold in 2008 at $242,500.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-unit-qld-chinchilla-126812230" target="_blank">Positioned at 2/100 Zeller Street</a>, the fully furnished unit comes with three built-in bedrooms, large open plan living, two bathrooms and a single lock-up garage plus additional guest parking. 
Other features include internal laundry, large kitchen with breakfast bar and courtyard.
The expected rental sits at $200 to $220 per week.
Its last advertised rental was $180 in 2016.
Its peak asking rent was $450 in 2010.
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Chinchilla mortgagee sale at half last sale price

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Meriton has been fined $3 million for manipulating the online reviews on the travel review website TripAdvisor over its serviced apartment experience.
The Federal Court found Meriton breached the Australian Consumer Law by not forwarding the guests' email addresses to TripAdvisor when there were service disruptions such as broken lifts and hot water outrages at their apartments.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sought a $20 million fine, saying Meriton had committed "1000s" of masking breaches.
Meriton suggested a fine between $330,000 and $440,000 was more appropriate.
The court also restrained Meriton from filtering, selecting or limiting the guest email addresses it supplies to TripAdvisor for the next three years.
Meriton will also have to set up a compliance and training program.
Justice Mark Moshinsky said the breaches took place over a period of 11 months on the world's largest travel website.
"Meriton's conduct had the effect of reducing, in the minds of consumers, awareness of the prevalence of service disruptions at the Meriton properties.
Further, Meriton's conduct created an unduly favourable impression about the quality or amenity of Meriton's serviced apartment," he said.
The fine came as Meriton's senior management were aware of and sanctioned the practices, he said.
"Because so many consumers use the internet and online sites to gather information about products and services, it is imperative that corporations engaging with the internet and online sites comply with the Australian Consumer Law," he said.
Meriton deceived consumers by preventing guests from receiving TripAdvisor's email prompting them to leave reviews if the apartment management suspected the guests would give an unfavourable review.
Meriton did this by inserting the letters "MSA" - which stands for Meriton Serviced Apartments - to guests' email addresses provided to TripAdvisor, if the guests made a complaint, which made the email addresses invalid.
In total Meriton added "MSA" to over 14,000 email addresses in 2015 across 13 of its services apartment properties.
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Meriton fined $3 million for manipulating TripAdvisor reviews

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McGrath is on track to achieve its targeted $1 million in full-year earnings for 2018.
In a note to the ASX this afternoon, the listed real estate agency said it would achieve earnings before interest and depreciation of $5 million but would then have $4 million in one-off expenses.
There will also be a further $35 million write down of goodwill for the company-owned agencies, which the business acquired in 2015 ahead of its float, leading to a net loss for the full year.
The $35 million write-off is in addition to the $21.8 million impairment to company-owned agencies incurred at its half year.
There was also another $1.1 million goodwill impairment of property management rights.
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<div>"The past 12 months have been very challenging for McGrath," McGrath chief executive Geoff Lucas said.</div>
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<div>"While reduced sales volumes during 2018 impacted the performance of the business, I am pleased with the recent initiatives and the positive rebuilding of the business we have seen."</div>
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More details on the conditions and outlook will be provided at the annual results presentation on August 20.
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<a href="/news/who-is-aqualands-jin-lin-the-second-biggest-shareholder-in-the-mcgrath-estate-agency">Aqualand</a> will eventually take a 15 per cent stake in the company.
Shares in McGrath were trading unchanged at 38¢ at market close.
<div>
"Since I returned to the company in February, we have done a lot of work looking at the coalface of the business and stabilising staff and operations," Fairfax Media reported Lucas saying.
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<div>"I'm pleased that it is paying off and we are generating interest in our recruitment of new staff."</div>
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McGrath on track to reach forecast earnings despite weakened overall property market

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A Warrawee five bedroom house designed by architect Augustus Aley has been sold.
It was offered by Carl Ferris and Donna Ferris from McConnell Bourn, without public price guidance.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-nsw-warrawee-128677922" target="_blank">Located at 8 Yosefa Avenue</a>, the 1920s Spanish Mission villa has been transformed into a laid back style, sophistication and contemporary family living.
The first level of the house comes with the monochrome kitchen with ample bench space, formal and relaxed living rooms, and lounge with fireplace.
The second floor features parent retreat with own balcony and additional fifth bedroom. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/7/23/warrawee%201.jpg" alt="">
Additional extras include selected fixtures and fittings throughout the home, including rich hardwood floors, large light filling windows, plantation shutters, high patterned ceilings plus an array of pendant lighting.
The outdoor features landscaped backyard, paved alfresco terrace, gourmet veggie garden and tranquil water fountain as well as grassy lawns.
It is within walking distance to Warrawee Station and Knox Grammar, and also minutes from village shops, local eateries, buses plus local reserves.
The suburb's median house price sits at <a href="/developments/warrawee-nsw-2074">$2,576,000</a>, according to CoreLogic.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/7/23/warrawee%203.jpg" alt="">
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1920s Spanish Mission-style Warrawee gem sold

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GUEST OBSERVATION
There are jackhammers everywhere. A new Parramatta is emerging out of the rubble, seeking to make real its tag line: “Australia’s next great city”. Thickets of new residential and commercial towers are rising – testament to the city’s ferocious ambition – overshadowing what remains of the squat, 1970s office blocks built during Parramatta’s previous development boom.
There are many today who loudly proclaim Parramatta’s centrality to the story of Sydney. Mike Baird, when premier of NSW in 2015, called Parramatta nothing less than “the infrastructure capital of the world”, its fortunes tied closely to those of the state and the nation. The west is booming, as the New South Wales government releases huge tracts of land in the north-west and south-west of Sydney for development, and developers are cashing in on Parramatta’s rise.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229562/original/file-20180727-106530-15gurnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229562/original/file-20180727-106530-15gurnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
It’s been claimed Parramatta is the infrastructure capital of the world. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.flickr.com/photos/redwolf/39847046615" target="_blank">redwolfoz/Flickr</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY</a>
National Australia Bank is setting up its new headquarters at the A$2 billion development that is Parramatta Square. A new light rail network is on the way. Western Sydney University has completed its A$220.5 million high-rise campus. A new A$1 billion health precinct at Westmead is coming.
So, Parramatta is a city on the make. And the numbers tell us why. The NSW government’s population projections show Greater Sydney growing by more than 1.5 million people over the next two decades. The City of Parramatta’s population is forecast to grow by over 75,000 over the next decade alone.
Presented as objective fact, too often it’s forgotten that such numbers are primarily expressions not of a certain future but of a recent past, projected forward in time. Today’s population projections are comprised, to no small extent, by yesterday’s migration policies. They are not an inevitable future, but an intentional one, a story about where we want to go.
Western Sydney attracts a high proportion of Australia’s migrants. Parramatta, in particular, is a city being radically reshaped to meet the volume of demand projected off the back of this recent, record-breaking intake. Between the 2001 and 2016 census dates, the city welcomed almost 20,000 more Indian-born residents and 16,000 Chinese-born arrivals.
Over the same period, the number of Parramatta’s Australian-born grew by just 6,000. Today, the proportion of Parramatta’s population that identifies as Australian by ancestry is just 13%, compared to 23% for Australia as a whole.
Clearly, Parramatta’s A$10 billion transformation is preparing the city for a future that will be culturally distinct from its past. Australia’s next great city is emerging as a beacon of our nation’s hopeful, cosmopolitan future, built on growth, multiplied. But what kind of city will it be?
What makes a city
A city, after all, is more than the sum of its speculative real estate invest- ments and projected demand. Cities, as Leonie Sandercock reflected in her essay Practicing Utopia, are “neither organisms nor machines. They are flesh and stone intertwined. They are ‘built thought’.”
Surely, to be great a city must capture our imaginations. It must offer, all at once, a place to get lost in and a place in which to belong. In great cities we seek both refuge in the crowd and a sense of connection with something bigger than our selfies.
The greatest cities of the world also immerse us in experiential encounters with the archaeology of other eras. They are storied landscapes. Walking through these cities, we quite naturally absorb the daily integration of archaic infrastructures – horse troughs, cobblestones, ceramic piping – with the computationally connected services of our emergent present.
It is through the remnant traces of past eras that we can imagine a sense of physical connection with those who came before us. We hear a lot about the challenges that population growth brings to Australian cities. Mostly, we are conditioned to thinking of these challenges as infrastructural, or monetary.
But as our new, denser urban forms are rapidly realised, with forests of cranes and thickets of high-rise apartments replacing the sleepy suburbs that once represented the Australian dream, we’re also going to need to rebuild, as it were, the narratives of place and of belonging that define our cities.
As Robert Hughes once said, delivering a <a href="http://www.teachingheritage.nsw.edu.au/section07/d_ntref_hughes.php" target="_blank">National Trust lecture</a> in 1998 on Australia’s forgotten histories:
"An urban culture that predicates itself chiefly on an obsession with development is not worth having. A city needs deep memory, without which it becomes merely a stage set."
It is the accumulation of stories and experiences inscribed in built form that gives a place its distinct identity. Such stories are not only for the culturally sensitive: they drive real-estate investment too. When a city is rebuilt from scratch, we risk losing these stories and connections.
Australian cities have never been particularly good at celebrating the stories of people and place that have shaped them over time. Is this still true? More and more, our planners, designers, architects and developers seek to use the resources of the past to cultivate a contemporary sense of place. Decades of urban sprawl and featureless, automobile-dependent suburban landscapes have led to a renewed push for the creation of “liveable” urban identities that celebrate place and community.
The art of city building is now the art of place-making. In this context, local heritage becomes an asset; an important contributor to both economic and cultural vitality. You can see this in the prices paid for the converted warehouse buildings and sugar mills dotted across the suburban landscape.
So, if it’s going to be Australia’s next great city, the radical rebuilding of Parramatta is also an opportunity to ask questions about how we make use of the past as a resource for building the future.
Parramatta – a gathering place
So often celebrated within historical accounts as the “cradle of the colony”, Parramatta’s history has been synonymous with the story of Australia’s beginnings as a nation.
This, after all, is where Australia’s identity as an agricultural nation was first forged. Having followed Arthur Phillip down the river in search of arable land, it is where early convicts successfully proved not only the economic viability of the fledgling colony, but their worthiness as free citizens. It is likewise in Parramatta that the British government first tested its limits of moral and administrative governance in its new colony through the building of not only the first Government House, but also of prisons, factories, asylums and “native institutions”.
This heroic story about Parramatta’s colonial foundations continues to be told through sites like Experiment Farm, the Parramatta Female Factory and the many other colonial administration buildings that remain. You walk into the Parramatta Heritage Centre and you will learn much about this story. And yet, cleaving to the notion of European founding, somehow standing in for the beginning of time, has in turn obscured other narratives.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229558/original/file-20180727-106521-1mh522t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229558/original/file-20180727-106521-1mh522t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The Parramatta Female Factory continues to tell Parramatta’s colonial story. <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Parramatta_Female_Factory.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>
Parramatta’s founding is a big story, particularly when it helps forge the identity of Australia as a largely Europeanised nation. But the cradle story has also contributed to a certain blindness about the experiences of people in Parramatta since the days of Phillip and his men. It excludes millennia of Aboriginal occupation, their custodianship of the environment and continuing urban presence, as well as the great diversity of people who have arrived here from nations across the globe.
Rich as it is, Parramatta’s story requires considerable rethinking and public conversation in order to bring it into a stronger relation with the present. As Australia’s next great city appears in view, this dialogue is beginning to happen, and new evidence is being found within the rubble. A cultural plan for the new CBD released by the City of Parramatta in 2017 acknowledges that Parramatta “always was, always will be, a gathering place”.
An archaeological analysis recently undertaken by Comber Consultants as part of the redevelopment of Parramatta Square has tentatively found the area may have been used as a gathering place for at least some 5,000 years. Such discoveries prompt a reassessment of the nature and experience of early interactions between settlers and Aboriginal peoples.
This gathering place likewise witnessed the “Battle of Parramatta” in 1797, when a hundred Aboriginal warriors led by Pemulwuy arrived in formation down George Street. They were fighting against the many injustices inflicted upon them by the new arrivals. Pemulwuy would be shot, his warriors dispersed.
A rich history
The City of Parramatta commissioned us in 2017 to offer an account of Parramatta’s many “waves of migration”, a project inspired by this revived notion of Parramatta as a gathering place. We found that not all the convicts who first settled here were European. Africans and Indians were among the first convicts.
The different nationalities caught up in the convict system reflected a number of diverse political struggles being fought at the time of European arrival in Sydney. Political activists from around the world included the Scottish “martyrs” of 1794 and 1795, Irish rebels of 1798 and 1803, trade unionists and insurrectionists from Canada, military prisoners from India and rebellious slaves from the West Indies.
In the early years of Parramatta’s settlement there are records of the presence of various Maori, Afro-Americans, Indian, Chinese, Maltese and others. There is a long association in Parramatta with Maori connecting to the colony through trade, shipping, whaling and missionary activity.
Parramatta was also central, we found, to the story of Australia’s embrace of immigration after the second world war. The formation of a federal department for immigration after the war, and massive growth of European migration from the late 1940s through the 1960s, would alter the fabric of Australian life in decisive ways.
Parramatta, where experiments in European food production were first tried and tested, is also where our early experiments in migrant support took place. It was here that many new arrivals from war-torn Europe first settled. An American naval base hospital, established in Granville Park in 1942, was used after 1945 as one of the first hostels for migrants. Other migrant hostels were located in nearby Ermington, Dundas and Villawood to accommodate displaced persons and recent migrants.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229560/original/file-20180727-106499-3zqqsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229560/original/file-20180727-106499-3zqqsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The US naval base hospital in Granville Park was used to house migrants after 1945. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/holroydlibrary/3382868089/in/photolist-6a1gFb-69W5Wx-69W5PT/" target="_blank">Holroyd City Library/Flickr</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY</a>
We saw that over the 20th century processes of “chain migration” would shape Parramatta fundamentally. Chain migration – the term used to describe how migrants follow others from their town to a new host destination – was most strongly practised by Lebanese and Greek communities.
We learned of the significance of two women from the Lebanese village of Kfarsghab, Rosie Broheen and Zahra Youssef Assad Rizk, who were among the first to have settled in Parramatta, after arriving in Australia in the late 1890s. Since their arrival, families from the Kfarsghab village continued to migrate to Parramatta, a process that intensified as part of the post-war wave of migration to Sydney. Chain migration was actively supported by Australian migration policy at this time, which placed strong emphasis on family reunion.
By 2008, an estimated 10,000 people in Parramatta could trace their ancestry to the village of Kfarsghab. Indeed, the importance of Parramatta to this community was commemorated when the main street of the village in Lebanon was renamed Parramatta Road. Another Lebanese village of importance to Parramatta is the Maronite village of Hadchit in northern Lebanon. There are now about 500 Hadchiti households in areas such as Westmead and Harris Park.
We found great gaps in knowledge about the continued presence of Aboriginal people after the initial years of contact (gaps that are beginning to be filled). One woman we spoke to said she was sick of hearing about “her culture” being thousands of years old while not being listened to in the present.
And so, while we did gather together diverse stories of migration and movement in and around Parramatta – sometimes free movements, some under adverse circumstances – what was ever-present was the invisibility of lives not previously deemed of any real importance to the evolving story of Parramatta and its role in accommodating different ideas about Australia’s place in the world.
Keeping place
In commissioning our research, the City of Parramatta Council has sought to fill some of the gaps in its historical knowledge of migration impacts on the city. It plans to acknowledge and celebrate these many experiences – of both gathering and dispersal – through interpretive artworks within new developments like Parramatta Square. There are hopes for a “Keeping Place” that acknowledges stories of Indigenous lives, including their dispossession.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100652/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Through ongoing practices of interpretation, documentation and story-telling, as well as continuing dialogue about the most appropriate future uses of significant historical sites such as Parramatta Park and the Parramatta Female Factory, we hope Australia’s next great city can also be a place where new cultural imaginaries of place can be celebrated. Looking beyond the exaggerated localism of much local history and the “foundational narrative” of colonial beginnings, Parramatta is a place where many different versions of becoming Australian can be cultivated and explored.
Sarah Barns, Engaged Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University 
Phillip Mar, Research Associate in Cultural and Social Research, Western Sydney University
This piece is republished with permission from <a href="https://griffithreview.com/editions/who-we-are/" target="_blank">Who We Are</a>, the 61st edition of Griffith Review, via <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. 
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Reimagining Parramatta: a place to discover Australia's many stories

Buyers considering a residence at boutique Gordon townhouse development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/lume-gordon-43-47-dumaresq-street-gordon-nsw-2072">Lume</a>&nbsp;now have another reason to bring forward their decision.

For a limited time, purchasers of a residence at Lume will receive a BMW iX3 50 electric SUV, valued at more than $120,000, as part of their purchase. The offer is designed to add value for buyers while complementing the lifestyle envisioned for the architecturally designed Upper North Shore development.

Scott Timmins, Development Manager at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/winim">WINIM</a>, said the partnership was created to provide buyers with a compelling reason to act.

"In today's market, buyers need a compelling reason to act now, and the BMW partnership was designed to create that catalyst. We wanted to add genuine value for our future purchasers. Choosing the all-electric BMW iX3 50 also reflects the values behind LUME, forward-thinking design, innovation and a more sustainable way of living. It's a premium incentive that complements the lifestyle our buyers aspire to and rewards those who commit early."

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Delivered by WINIM in partnership with Burtonwood Investment Partners, Lume comprises 14 architecturally designed two, three and four-bedroom townhomes created for families seeking the space of a freestanding house with the ease of modern, low-maintenance living.

The three-storey residences, designed by award-winning architecture practice <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a>, have been tailored for families and multi-generational living, featuring private internal lifts, flexible lower-level spaces, generous open-plan living and entertaining areas, media rooms, and landscaped outdoor spaces with custom outdoor kitchens.&nbsp;

Inside, engineered oak flooring, bespoke dining joinery with integrated wine fridges and backlit bars, sculptural porcelain bathrooms, Parisi freestanding baths and Astra Walker tapware create interiors that balance functionality with refined finishes.

Each townhome has been designed to combine generous internal spaces with sustainability initiatives such as EV charging infrastructure, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>'s landscaped communal areas, centred around a restored creek line and native planting, encourage residents to connect with nature and spend more time outdoors.

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Rothelowman's Gary Tsui said the architecture was conceived to respond carefully to its Upper North Shore setting.

"Our vision was to create elegant, uplifting homes that draw on and positively contribute to the local character through meticulously considered design and an interaction with the surroundings."

The communal landscape has been designed as more than an open space between homes. Arcadia's Ben Newell and Kate Phillips said the adjoining reserve provided an opportunity to create a distinctive natural retreat for residents.

"Just as waterways carve their way through Ku-ring-gai's landscape, a raised boardwalk weaves through the reserve, connecting the homes to this tranquil oasis."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374892]

Located just 300 metres from <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/gordon-nsw-2072">Gordon</a> Village and Gordon railway station, Lume offers convenient access to Sydney's CBD while placing residents close to some of the North Shore's leading schools, including Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College and Knox Grammar. Lane Cove National Park, Gordon Golf Club and a range of cafés and restaurants further reinforce the family-focused lifestyle on offer, with the BMW iX3 50 complementing everything from local trips around Gordon to weekend drives and city commutes.

Construction is underway with completion expected in mid-2027.

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Joel Robinson

Boutique Gordon townhomes now come with a BMW iX3 50

Two apartments have sold for more than $10 million at EADE Byron Bay, setting some of the highest apartment prices ever achieved in the coastal town and underlining the growing appetite for luxury beachfront apartments in Australia's most popular coastal locations.

The $210 million project by Vitale Property Group has now secured more than $70 million in sales, led by residences that changed hands for $12.75 million and $11.75 million.

The record-breaking transactions reinforce the shift occurring in Byron Bay's premium property market, where affluent downsizers and lifestyle buyers are increasingly opting for high-end apartments over large beachfront homes.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/eade-byron-bay-29-shirley-street-byron-bay-nsw-2481">EADE Byron Bay</a> occupies a rare 6,000 sqm absolute beachfront site on the corner of Shirley and Milton Streets overlooking Main Beach and The Wreck surf break, just 350 metres from Byron Bay's town centre.

The 25-residence development is the first beachfront apartment project approved in Byron Bay in more than a decade and is currently under construction, with completion expected in May 2027.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359521]

The project has attracted a mix of local Byron Shire residents downsizing from larger homes, alongside interstate buyers from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane seeking a permanent coastal lifestyle without compromising on space.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hayball">Hayball</a> and with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/alexander-co">Alexander &amp; Co</a>, EADE comprises&nbsp;10 garden apartments ranging from 284 sqm to 622 sqm, nine with private pools, five full-floor apartments and 10 rooftop residences with private plunge pools, expansive outdoor entertaining areas and uninterrupted ocean views.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359527]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/vitale-property-group">Vitale Property Group</a> Managing Partner Chris Vitale said the project's combination of scale, location and limited future supply was driving buyer demand.

"There isn't another beachfront holding in Byron Bay of this size and position that could be developed again," Vitale said.

"Buyers are responding to the scarcity and the irreplaceability of a site of this calibre and to floorplans they can't find elsewhere in the market.

"We are seeing buyers place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of the location. The sales achieved to date demonstrate that discerning purchasers recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay.

"Many are coming from larger homes in the Byron region, or from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and are after the space, security and convenience, without the upkeep of a house."

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[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359523]

The Byron Bay project follows Vitale Property Group's delivery of the Mondrian Hotel and Private Residences at Burleigh Heads, with EADE continuing the developer's focus on luxury coastal developments.

Residents will have access to a resort-style swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna, cold plunge pool, concierge services and dedicated workspaces, while the project is targeting an 8-Star Green Star rating.

EADE Byron Bay is being exclusively marketed by Projx Australia in conjunction with WHITEFOX Projects.

WHITEFOX National Projects Director Phillip Rand said demand had been driven predominantly by owner-occupiers.

"We are seeing buyers at EADE place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of this location," Rand says.

"The sales achieved to date demonstrate that purchasers at this level recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay."

Residences at EADE Byron Bay are currently priced between $4.75 million and $15.95 million.

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Vitale breaks Byron Bay records with EADE sales flurry 

When buying an apartment, most people compare the big-ticket items first. Floorplans. Kitchens. Balcony size. Natural light. The view.

But there's one everyday consideration that often doesn't come up until after moving in: how parcels are delivered.

As online shopping has become part of everyday life, parcel deliveries have shifted from an occasional event to a regular occurrence. Australians spent a record $82.6 billion shopping online in 2025, with almost one in every four retail dollars now spent digitally.

For apartment residents, that can present a challenge.

If nobody is home to accept a delivery, parcels may be redirected to a nearby Post Office, left in a building lobby or common area, or require building management to step in. In higher-density buildings, where dozens or even hundreds of residents may receive deliveries each day, parcel management has become an increasingly important part of everyday living.

That can create a range of frustrations. A missed delivery often means making time to collect a parcel elsewhere, while packages left unattended in foyers or mail areas can create clutter and increase the risk of theft. What seems like a minor inconvenience can quickly become a recurring issue for residents who shop online regularly.

It's one of those details that rarely features in a display suite but can have a noticeable impact once residents move in.

As a result, buyers are beginning to look beyond traditional apartment features and consider how a building supports day-to-day convenience, including whether there are secure options for receiving deliveries.

Australia Post's Parcel Lockers provide one solution.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CkF2oKmlACg?si=C50sDaoUUn2nuLmq" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Rather than having a parcel delivered directly to an apartment, eligible deliveries can be sent to a nominated Parcel Locker. Once the parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS and can collect it using a QR code or one-time PIN at a time that suits them.

The Parcel Locker network now includes more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with installations at Post Offices, shopping centres, transport hubs and an increasing number of residential developments. By providing a secure collection point, Parcel Lockers help reduce missed deliveries and avoid parcels being left unattended in common areas.

For developers, parcel infrastructure is becoming another way to improve the resident experience. Rather than relying on concierge staff or leaving parcels in communal spaces, secure collection points help streamline deliveries while preserving the presentation and functionality of shared areas.

For buyers, it's a reminder that the best apartment features aren't always the most obvious.

A generous floorplan or quality finishes might help narrow the shortlist, but the conveniences that simplify everyday life, whether that's EV charging, secure bike storage or reliable parcel delivery, often become the features residents appreciate most once they're living there.

The apartment feature many buyers don't think about, until their first missed delivery

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hg-developments">HG Developments</a> is doubling down on Maud Street in Newstead, filing plans for a new apartment tower just a few doors down from its under-construction Aire Newstead development.

Recently submitted to Brisbane City Council, the proposal is for an 18-storey building designed by bureau^proberts, which has drawn heavily on Brisbane's subtropical design principles while referencing the suburb's industrial heritage.

A total of 64 apartments are planned for the amalgamated 1,518 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/17-21-maud-street-newstead-qld-4006">17–21 Maud Street</a>, a short walk from the Brisbane River and Newstead Riverwalk.

<img alt="First look: HG Developments plans 18-storey subtropical apartment tower for Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a400c7fd-bd15-48f8-a63b-10ede92efe00" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Maud%20st%20bldg.png?VersionId=.0vPmjpbC7CNP7kqGWa6L7rGIwsNExaw" />

"The building is defined by a series of vaulted motifs that reinterpret the arches, colonnades and layered facades evident throughout Newstead's historic built fabric," the Urban Design Report states.

"Combined with recessed glazing and generous balconies, these elements create a layered building envelope that provides shade, weather protection and opportunities for natural ventilation whilst establishing a distinctive architectural identity."

The proposal comprises 64 two, three and four-bedroom apartments across 18 residential levels, positioning it alongside a growing number of taller residential projects transforming Newstead's northern precinct. The tower incorporates extensive subtropical landscaping, with cascading planter boxes, deep planting at street level and a landscaped rooftop recreation area.

<img alt="First look: HG Developments plans 18-storey subtropical apartment tower for Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1d8140f4-8b98-45cd-b1b8-1efe8c8e266b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Maud%20st%20podium.png?VersionId=VAZtbCoD44YCJ57N99fQCAKeSJx7ldZs" />

Bureau Proberts has prioritised passive environmental design throughout the project, with generous balconies, recessed glazing and operable façades helping reduce solar heat gain while maximising natural ventilation. River views become available from the upper levels, while the building has been orientated to capture prevailing breezes from both the Brisbane River and the west.

The architects say landscape is intended to be integral to the building rather than an applied element.

"Vertical greenery, cascading planter boxes and elevated gardens are woven throughout the architecture, softening the built form and strengthening the connection between residents and the subtropical environment."

"Through the integration of landscape, high-quality materials and passive design principles, the development delivers a refined residential address that celebrates Newstead's heritage character while contributing positively to Brisbane's evolving subtropical identity."

Newstead has remained one of Brisbane's most active apartment markets in recent years, with a number of developers continuing to back the inner-city suburb.

HG Developments is currently delivering the 40-apartment Aire Newstead at 25 Maud Street. Fortis recently launched the 65-apartment <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/crest-walker-newstead-12-kyabra-street-newstead-qld-4006">Crest &amp; Walker</a> on Kyabra Street, while builder-developer BPG and Don O'Rorke's Consolidated Properties are both expected to launch their respective Newstead projects before the end of the year.

HG Developments doubles down in Newstead with second Maud Street apartment development

Walk past a new apartment development promoting its sustainability credentials and it's easy to picture rooftop gardens, mature trees, landscaped courtyards and residents surrounded by nature.

But in many cases, that's not actually what those sustainability ratings guarantee.

Australia's leading environmental rating tools have played a significant role in improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of buildings. Yet despite their focus on reducing emissions, many don't require developers to include trees, biodiversity or meaningful green space.

In other words, a building can achieve one of the country's highest sustainability ratings while containing little more than concrete, glass and hard landscaping.

That disconnect has led to the emergence of a new movement across Australia's property industry: nature-based cities.

The concept goes beyond designing buildings that consume less energy. Instead, it encourages developers to treat nature as essential infrastructure, integrating biodiversity, tree canopy, living landscapes and green spaces into projects from the earliest stages of planning.

Research has consistently linked access to nature with better physical and mental health, cooler neighbourhoods, improved biodiversity, stronger climate resilience and more connected communities. As Australia's cities continue to become denser, advocates say those outcomes should be considered just as important as energy efficiency.

Nature Based Cities (NBC) was established in 2022 to help accelerate that shift.

Founded by Hamton Executive Chairman Paul Hameister OAM, the not-for-profit was created after research highlighted a significant gap in Australia's sustainability framework. While existing environmental rating tools rewarded energy performance and emissions reductions, they placed little emphasis on the inclusion of living landscapes.

"We've always wanted to do more, and we know other developers who want to do more, but the ESD rating tools just aren't there," Hameister says.

"In Australia, you can have a five-green-star rated building that's concrete and glass with not a blade of grass.

"The focus is on reducing emissions, which is laudable, but there hasn't been enough attention paid to protecting and re-establishing nature. We need both for the health of the environment and for communities."

Since its launch, NBC has developed independent design guidelines and accreditation frameworks that encourage developers to prioritise ecology, biodiversity, tree canopy, walkability and living landscapes alongside traditional sustainability measures. The organisation first focused on medium and high-density residential developments before recently expanding into precinct-scale communities and masterplanned neighbourhoods.

Jan Talacko, founder of sustainability consultancy Ark Resources and a member of the Nature Based Cities Advisory Council, says the initiative addresses an area that has largely been overlooked by the property industry.

"Throughout my 25 years of working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the property sector, I've always favoured a pragmatic approach to sustainable design which encourages initiatives that not only meet environmental expectations but also improve amenity," Talacko says.

"Whilst we are making steady progress in relation to energy and carbon emissions from buildings, there has been much less emphasis on encouraging biodiversity and tackling the urban heat island effect.

"The Nature Based Cities initiative responds to a gap in the suite of tools currently used by the property development sector, which don't provide sufficient incentive, or recognition, for the integration of landscaping and greenery."

For apartment buyers, the shift is also changing the questions worth asking.

Rather than assuming a sustainable building will naturally include abundant green space, buyers are increasingly being encouraged to look beyond environmental ratings and ask what nature is actually being delivered. How much tree canopy will the development create? Has biodiversity been considered? Are landscaped spaces designed for people as well as appearance?

As Australia's cities continue to grow upwards and outwards, the next generation of sustainability may not simply be measured by lower emissions, but by how successfully developments bring nature back into everyday urban life.

Staff reporter

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