The warm, sunny weather was a welcome backdrop for the occasion, as were the children dressed as life-sized cockatoos and parrots, the musicians and the free bike tune-ups. Aboriginal elder Uncle Ray Davison offered the Welcome to Country, and informed the crowd about the rich cultural heritage of the Darlington area. People admired the extra greenery, as well as the wide footpaths with new brick paving.
These improvements had been long advocated for by locals and the REDWatch community group, which wanted to “ensure the upgrade would handle the large number of pedestrians and occur on both sides of the street to provide a village feel”.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore reminded the crowd that the Darlington upgrade has also provided underground power lines, extra lighting, and better stormwater drainage. It was apparently the drainage that caused some delay in the upgrade’s completion.
The highlight of the event for most people was the unveiling of a seat with a plaque dedicated to one of Darlington and Redfern’s local legends, Trevor Davies. Etched into the plaque is an inspiring poem written by one of Trevor’s oldest and dearest friends, the Rev. Dorothy McRae-McMahon. Here is an extract from the poem: “Such a mixture of determination/ and vulnerability he was./ A “one-off”, and yet a man of the people.”
Ms McRae-McMahon praised Trevor’s capacity to relate to people in the community – “Everybody knew him; he knew everybody,” she said. Trevor was the founder of what would become this paper, the South Sydney Herald, a monthly outlet to continue his legacy of engagement with people in the local area – what former Mayor of South Sydney Tony Pooley called “Trevor’s stomping ground”.
As one of the founders of REDWatch and a member of the Labor party, Trevor was a huge champion of Aboriginal people, underdogs and the poor. “He would give you the shirt off his back,” remarked Susan, one of Trevor’s sisters. Trevor’s other sister Annie spoke of her brother’s love of newspapers since the age of three, and how he accepted everyone and had no fear or embarrassment about “stepping over the line”. Trevor’s brother Ivor shared a story of Trevor buying food for the homeless and reminisced about Trevor’s efforts to engage with people and get to know them. Many locals recalled Trevor’s marvellous sense of humour and his passion for social justice and activism. In all likelihood, Trevor was a resident who would have been relieved to see Darlington upgraded.
