Big trouble in Little
AUTHORITIES are under increasing pressure to reinvent Geelong’s mall after a spate of publicised incidents and calls from city leaders to act.
The Little Malop St mall has a long and chequered history — with numerous leaders trying and failing to transform the strip into the vibrant heart Geelong needs.
In 1992, Norlane schoolgirl Clare Morrison, 13, was seen in the mall at midnight on a Friday, but was found dead at Bells Beach, little more than seven hours later.
In 1995, Ricky Balcombe, 16, was stabbed to death in the afternoon outside the Market Square lifts near the mall entrance by Karl Hague.
In 2006, a woman, 22, was raped in the mall. Her attacker, Luke Benjamin Gill, was eventually sentenced to 17 years’ jail.
In January, a 20-year-old was stabbed, allegedly by a 16-year-old, at the Moorabool St bus stop.
Leaders have long debated what to do with the area — even former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has weighed in, calling on the State Government to release a secret report charting the future of the mall.
“No plans have been released and it seems to me that once again the socalled promises from outside of Geelong to Geelong are words and not deeds,” Mr Kennett said.
“This is an absolute stunt because there is no substance to it.”
But violence, anti-social behaviour and trouble in malls is not unique to Geelong.
In Ballarat, Bridge St mall traders have repeatedly called on authorities to fix the mall — with violence frequent at the bus stop and vacant stores marring the landscape. Darwin’s mall is equally plagued. In 2016, retailers told the NT News ws they were forced to call police to their ir premises three to four times a week to deal with a situation that was out of control.
In 2011, Townsville’s then troubled mall was reopened to traffic, which traders said at the time improved accessibility to the area.
New Zealand’s Palmerston North Square was crime riddled before architects, including Frank Stott, employed safe prevention principles that leaders, including Geelong’s Fiona Gray, say transformed the space into a vibrant, attractive area.
Renew Newcastle — a mall project to transform Newcastle’s derelict mall has been lauded as a success but this week organisers announced it was no longer viable.
General manager Christopher Saunders said the project had been a catalyst for renewal, creating change from the ground up leading to the activation of 82 properties with 264 participants.
Mr Saunders said 174 participants had gone on to operate successful businesses. Sixteen studio-based enterprises were now starting to seek new premises, he said.
Bill Votsaris — credited with assisting the transformation of the other end of Little Malop St — said for the Geelong mall to succeed council must take a “proactive role”.
“Council needs to work with us (business owners and community) instead of being bystanders,” Mr Votsaris said.
He said he hoped to inspire other business owners to redevelop the Market Square end of the mall as he had done for the west end.
“You can’t leave buildings in a derelict state and expect the area to be activated,” he said.
Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood said council and authorities were doing all these could to fix the mall.
“We have been looking at other malls — but Newcastle and Geelong is an apple and oranges scenario,” Cr Harwood said.
“We are doing what we can to get a better outcome — but we haven’t got a better outcome yet.”