NEWSLETTER – SEPTEMBER 2013

As part of our Centenary Project we will be holding a public celebration in the 4th Street Park on Saturday 28 September 2013.
We have permission to plant a symbolic tree in the park to mark the occasion, and we have chosen an indigenous tree called a Wild Peach. The planting of this tree will commemorate the people who planted our existing mature trees for us long ago, and will symbolise our own gift of many new trees to the future residents of our suburb.
We will start the day’s proceedings by unveiling a Heritage Plaque at the top of 2nd Avenue, at the intersection with 5th Street, to commemorate the Transvaal Automobile Club. This site marks where the main entrance to the Club once stood, as nothing of the original structures now remains.
A new stone plinth has already been constructed in the gardens of Hanover Gate, on which the plaque will soon be mounted.

After the unveiling we will proceed down the block to the park for the tree-planting. As part of this event we are inviting local restaurants and other businesses to set up stands and to promote and sell their wares to the public. Killarney Toyota will be setting up braais for public use, so we encourage you to bring meat and picnic baskets.
The proceedings will include a Centenary Muffin baking competition (please bake a batch of your very best muffin recipe and bring them along fresh and warm). Entry is free, there will be a prize for the winning baker, and you can all sell your muffins to the public afterward if you wish.
The SAPS will have a presence, and will be available to listen to the concerns of residents.
After the tree-planting we will take a brief Heritage Walking Tour for all those who might be interested, to visit and view the notable heritage buildings of Gleneagles, Mentone Court and Daventry Court. Whitehall Court was also invited to participate, but they declined.
We are not intending to create a huge fete or a carnival, so as not to disturb the neighbouring homes, but we would like to encourage residents to join us on the day for a few hours. It’s not every day that a suburb celebrates a centenary, and a little bit of community spirit always makes for a better community.

Rates Rebates:
The municipality has changed some laws regarding assessment rates. If your property is valued at less than R2 million, if you are a pensioner over 60 years of age and you earn less than R7,000 per month, you can get a 100% rates rebate, and if you earn less than R12,000 per month you can still get a 50% rebate. If you are over 70 years of age, you can get a 100% rebate regardless of how much you earn.
For those of us who meet these criteria, this rebate is worth thousands of rands per year. You can request the application forms by email from the NKRA at wdford@global.co.za

Improvements in 1st Street:
The trustees of Killarney Court and Gardens have made a wonderful investment in their property, as well as in the suburb generally, by creating four new large brick planters full of shrubs on their 1st Street pavement. We look forward to having these new plants brightening up the area around them.

Lhenveolan:
The owners of the Lhenveolan building in 4th Avenue, diagonally opposite Killarney Court and Gardens, briefly started a long-overdue project to repaint the exterior of the building. Our rejoicing was premature however – the work stopped after only a small percentage of the frontage was repainted. Nonetheless, all is not lost – their managing agents assure me that the project will resume shortly.

There is a Star among us:
Andrew Morgan, a resident of Killarney Village in 5th Street, was a member of the South African Junior National Rowing Team that represented South Africa in the Junior World Rowing Championships at Trakai in Lithuania in August. Five students from the St John’s College rowing crew were part of the squad. They were placed 11th overall out of the 14 nations who qualified for the finals of the Championship. The gold medal went to Germany.
Andrew was also a member of the St John’s College rowing team which won the SA Schools Rowing Championship in both 2012 and 2013.
Well done to Andrew, both for an outstanding personal achievement, and for helping to put Killarney on the global map!

Repairs come to those who wait:
After a long wait and a great deal of pleading, Joburg Water finally got around to repairing the hole they dug in 9th Street to fix a water pipe.
Many thanks to Adil and the other residents who spent many hours dealing with Joburg Water to achieve this welcome result.

Art & Jazz at the Killarney Mall:
Killarney Mall, which is built on the site of South Africa’s first Film Studio, is getting in touch with its’ artistic roots in September by holding an Art and Jazz Festival. There will be Art exhibitions from 27 – 29 September, and a Jazz performance on 29 September from 12pm to 3pm. There will also be a wine and cheese tasting.
This goes along with live jazz performances on every last Sunday of the month.