Bulletin Board

Lifting the Leadership Bar …

How do you totally engage the mind and body of a young man/woman aged between 16 and 18 years?

Easy, invite him/her to a week-long camp … a “Big Camp” … an experience to share with 100 ‘peers’.

This is no ordinary camp – the Lord Somers Camp … established way back in 1929 by the Governor of Victoria, Lord Somers. Three decades have disappeared since I first spoke at the seaside camp. Always wonderful to be invited back … to any group that I have engaged with!!!  Thanks.

I was soon confronting an image of my younger self, sporting ‘big hair’ – a mullet cut, long sideburns and a ‘droopy’ moustache – how did we ever believe it was okay to look like that?

The core program “Big Camp” … aims to challenge the perceptions that young people hold about themselves and others.

By introducing the teenagers to a broad range of peers … it helps to dismantle social barriers, increase understanding and acceptance of diversity.

The pre-lunch guided tour soon had me witnessing an old- fashioned tug-of- war … much grunting, lots of team encouragement, perspiration … and the ‘team’ chant from the victors. Yes, I comfortably locked arms in song …

First dark blue devils … then a lighter shade of blue group welcomed me into the fold.

You never know your potential until you get way outside of your comfort zone … to stretch … to test your limits … that is the courage to succeed.

Already by Day 3 a serious expression of bonding and collaboration existed.

Next ‘pairs’ tackled a commando-like “assault” course … inspirational images as mate supported mate to overcome challenging obstacles – both mental and physical.

Throughout the demanding week, participants work together to compete as a team, push boundaries and develop friendships that last a lifetime.

They leave camp with a greater understanding of their own and others’ potential and also gain new insights into how they can have a profound impact upon their communities.

Camps are organised for both young men and women of similar age …

Lunch was rowdy and loud. Mess hall spontaneity … much banging of plates, stamping of feet and team chants.  Be noticed.  Order was maintained by the “King” and “Duke” of the Slushies.  A ‘force’ to be reckoned with … top hats, bare torso, stubby shorts, heavy boots and bells. They kept a keen eye out for misdemeanors.

An opposing force to energise against!!!

I spoke after Brigadier Patrick Kidd, who shared experiences gained while on tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He said, “There will always be someone weaker than you … we need to look after these people”.

Yes, humanity, humility and empathy are traits of all great leaders!! Unforgettable wisdom.

My brief was to inject humour/mischief. The audience demographic was so young that:

1. No-one would have witnessed my bowling action at the MCG … except on YouTube!
2. Football – forget it … ancient history!
3. Radio … sorry, wireless … ABC circa 1981 … naaah!
4. Wide World of Sports … finished in 1998 … no! 
5. Maybe Billie Birmingham’s 12th  Man tapes … how can a silver cyber surfer, grey haired old bloke, with 5 broken noses, who hails from across the Bass Strait and talks with a slow Tasmanian drawl, connect with these kids?

First, it is customary to stand up on a chair to acknowledge the introduction!  Failing to do so will be greeted by a louder decibel count of unruly reaction – spotlight on sport!!!

Now they know what the guest looks like.

10 minutes was the duration (window of opportunity) allocated to me – tight time frame!

“Slushies” demanded and got silence.

Before I returned to my seat I found myself hypnotizing a chook, like Plucka Duck from Hey, Hey it’s Saturday. First lay the chook (human) on it’s back, then draw an imaginary chalk mark from a metre beyond the chook’s head along the floor to the bright orange beak. Incredibly my hypnotic hand turned the dressed up chook into a mad, barking dog.  It was not the first time the free-range chook had gate-crashed proceedings that day and disrupted proceedings.

The accompanying voice-over described my action as I bowled my way down the aisle between benches, in the direction of a tripod mounted movie camera.  A slow stride down memory lane – right arm over left ear, with the feet crossed at the point of delivery … still biomechanically perfect.

I was then presented with the Lord Somers version of a Green Baggy … well, not so baggy … none-the-less, a nice close to an indelible day.

Back to the media hut where aggregation of digital stills and video was well underway.

Thanks to the 100 young men and women, plus everyone who volunteered their services, to make 2013 an awesome camp … congratulations, Mal Cater (President and Camp Chief) and John Prosser.

www.lordsomerscamp.org.au

Everyone walks away so much better for the experience … everyone able to say, proudly … “I’ve accepted the challenges and have lifted the bar on personal leadership.”

Trust you find the leadership mind map useful? Click to expand it

Have you endured a camp like this?  What did you get from the journey?

Sport Spotlights shine on the great shake-up

A game-changing time in Australian sport is remembered.

The Sydney Morning Herald – February 10, 2013 Daniel Lane

Still in the picture … Max Walker takes a trip down memory lane at the Bradman Foundation lunch
Photo: Sahlan Hayes

MAX WALKER remembers well when the day/night commercialism, colour and rock-concert-like excitement dawned on cricket and he described it as a golden time – in more ways than one.

Walker, one of Kerry Packer’s 54 rebels who left the establishment for a reported $20,000 – a fortune in 1977 – remembers when coloured clothes replaced whites, games were first played under lights, kids wore T-shirts with images of David Hookes and Viv Richards emblazoned on them and stars were paid to endorse products and commercial slogans. There was also the “C’mon Aussie, C’mon” advertisement that became an anthem.

Walker, one of the most popular cricketers of the WSC era, said the commercial aspect appealed to him and allowed him to display his talents via a pesky kid who nagged him about the flies and heat in the old Aeroguard insect spray commercial.
“The kid in that commercial is about 42 now and has his own agency,” said Walker at Thursday’s Bradman Foundation lunch to open the WSC gallery at the Bradman Museum in Bowral. “The commercial was made in 1977 and is referred to as ‘iconic’ now, but it also showcased my potential to be a success on television.”

“I might’ve been the fourth or fifth in line of the talent they could have used, or I might’ve been the cheapest but the right people saw it. WSC was a great stepping stone for a lot of us. You look at the other guys and Hookesy got into radio, Ian Chappell became a commentator and so too Tony Greig.”

The West Indies, who were paid $18 to play a first-class game, couldn’t believe what they were paid by Packer and their fearsome pace bowler Michael Holding revealed through WSC his bankbook had a comma inserted in it for the very first time. However, it came at a price as Walker recalled how he felt to walk on to the hallowed SCG for the first one-day game played under lights in 1979 dressed in the Aussie team’s gold outfit.

“We were in a canary yellow, gold, wattle,” he laughed. “I felt like a Logie the first time I walked out on to the ground. We had flares 28 inches wide so there was a fair bit of a draft coming up the trouser leg.”

Rick McCosker, whose effort to bat in the second innings with his broken jaw swathed in bandages is an enduring memory of the 1977 Australian Centenary Test, remembered the actual cricket as true tests.

“Those two years were tough physically and mentally because we played against the best cricketers in the world every day and there were no easy games,” McCosker recalled. “There was no going back to a club game or a a Shield match because we were banned.”

The early days were a concern as crowds of only a few hundred turned out. Doug Walters, the one-time king of the SCG Hill, remembered how the promise of a massive top up from the gate takings seemed empty.

“Part of our deal was we would get, after Kerry got his money back, whatever millions he’d invested, we’d be on a percentage of the gate two per cent, one-and-a-half or whatever,” Walters said.

There were tough times of a different variety as Dennis Lillee revealed in a documentary. WSC tested friendships and loyalties.

“I remember an incident very clearly when I walked into a supermarket and a guy I played cricket with for some 10-years ducked his head in the aisle as I was going past,” Lillee recalled. “I had to pull him up and say ‘hi’.”

Australian skipper Michael Clarke, who attended the Bradman Foundation’s gathering to honour WSC, wasn’t born when cricket went to war. However, Clarke insisted he appreciated the trappings of success he and his peers enjoy are due to the Ian Chappell-led group of players who had the courage of their convictions.

“We need to be grateful to those people who went before us,” he said. “Without WSC the game wouldn’t be where it is today; the Twenty20 is this generation’s version of WSC. It’s easy to walk into the game of cricket and take things for granted – you fly business class, stay in five-star hotels, make good money but none of that happens without the likes of Kerry Packer and the players who took the risks.

“We’re getting better as a group of respecting our past. The past players coming back into the rooms helps. I think it’s important for the players to come [to the Bradman Museum] and see the gallery and realise how much things changed because of WSC.” For Len Pascoe, a fiery fast-bowler, Clarke’s acknowledgement made the consequences of his decision to count for something more than being just about money.

“It helps when the Australian captain, and someone of Michael Clarke’s calibre, recognises what we did,” Pascoe said. “We’d been vilified during the period as mercenaries and wrecking the game when we actually sacrificed a lot. We sacrificed up to 20 or 30 Tests. Later on in life, when you look at the Tests [record] you don’t see 30, 40 or 50 matches; you don’t take 200 Test wickets. That’s the disappointing aspect.”

However, McCosker put one popular notion about the importance of WSC to rest.

“Cricket would always have survived, even without WSC, it would because it’s a game ingrained in our society,” he said. “The game of cricket always has been, always will be.”

A Marriage of Two Sheds

Life is a collection of indelible moments and the people we meet along the way.

What is the most exciting, unordinary and memorable Christmas function you attended last year?

How about lunch in a woolshed? Interesting concept?

The seemingly never-ending strip of bitumen from Melbourne to Wycheproof, followed by kilometres of winding, dusty, gravel road was an energy sapping drive. Almost 4 hours start to finish. A long, long way to drive for lunch. Destination was Kulwin Park.

Orange dust and a vivid blue sky framed a rusty old corrugated woolshed at the end of our journey. An interesting venue indeed. The capacity to house 1,000 sheep below the well-trodden floor-boards come shearing time indicated significant scale and was an interesting fact to discover early in our visit.

Logistically it consumes a day and a half of frenetic, perspiring, stooped and back-breaking activity to complete the task of shearing every sheep in the shed… A scene captured so engagingly on canvas by the emotive Tom Roberts masterpiece of 1894 (The Golden Fleece, on display at the NGV)

If you get the opportunity to stand in front of this iconic painting in Melbourne you’ll understand exactly what I am describing.

As is the norm in a rural farming community, the hospitality was outstanding. Within minutes my wife, Kerry, and two daughters were shaking large, strong weather-beaten hands and facing broad beaming smiles.

Catering was completed a-la-Masterchef – ‘pressure test’ – the night before, by a wonderful family. Obviously a second occupation beyond the farming demands from dawn to sundown! Denna Pellegrino, Chef Extraordinaire – take a bow! So too everyone who made the day so enjoyable!

“Ok, tell me about this memorable lunch”, you say.

Natural, filtered, moody light washed the room used to serve up the Christmas feast. Lead-light windows punctuated the unlined metal walls. The Christmas tree was creatively constructed using several pieces of rough-sawn off-cuts. A vertical post supporting a triangulation of branches and stud braces, hammered together with flat-head nails. Like an unpainted timber stop sign, decorated with white tinsel. So low-tech but a real eye-catcher within the space. Our hosts were dear friends Murray and Joy Stapleton.

Murray welcomed everyone involved in this close-knit, supportive rural gathering. He used beautiful word pictures together with a wonderful generosity of spirit in describing his ‘thank you’s’. A privilege to be part of this unusual occasion.

Maybe it was my over-stimulated imagination, but I sensed the unmistakable aroma of stale sheep droppings gently wafting from the adjacent workroom… a natural extension to the shearing shed environment.

The walls enclosed an authentic Australian outback ‘spiritual’ feel. The red and coloured glass in the transplanted lead light windows positioned in the end wall, delivered ‘surreal’ fingers of light and focus.

Murray smiled, larger than Luna Park (now celebrating its own centenary in December 2012) as he introduced my family. Full of mischief he suggested it would not be polite if his mate “Maxie” didn’t get the opportunity to share a few stories.

So there I was … up the hill into the breeze on well trodden set of ageing floorboards with an old ball and not a microphone in sight. Might be a challenge?

Several “Tangles” stories later and I was offering the floor back to Murray, a cranial-facial surgeon of incredible skill. He is also one of those people who possesses a rare talent to tell compelling stories.

I first met Murray through our mutual association with ROMAC (Rotary Overseas Medical Aid for Children) almost 30 years ago. He is one of the miracle-makers who unconditionally gives his time and expertise to a cause, which continually changes the lives of young children from various parts of the world. These youngsters cannot access the sort of medical services that we, in Australia, take for granted. Murray’s signature is his surgeon’s knife, an empathy for mankind and the stories he shares.

It has been a wonderful, yet at times emotional, journey of learning and a great friendship has developed. Murray is also a master photographer … but this subject deserves much, much more time. It requires many examples and conversations of how, when, where and why? Maybe I will interview Murray about this, another of our common passions.

Because of the sheer magnitude of time that must be committed to the land … the opportunity to be exposed to the captivating talents of another guest on Murray’s table is most likely minimal.

Next, a diminutive Chinese woman, Shu-Cheen Yu, with the voice of an angel, dressed in silk, stepped forward.

How incongruous, this unique outback theatre! No acoustic design, no microphone, in a shed clad in decades-old rusty corrugated iron. The air-conditioning was the simple process of opening wide sliding clapboard doors. This merely changed the direction of the breeze, if it existed at all. The day was warm, pushing towards 30 degrees.

What followed was extraordinary! Unique! Unforgettable!

This tiny, world-renowned, opera singer who only two days earlier had flown in from Shanghai, literally ‘lifted’ this remarkable farm shed roof with renditions in four different languages …Ave Maria, Silent Night and others … In between, a babe in arms cried herself to sleep. How inclusive.

Shu-Cheen performs to sell-out audiences six months of the year in China. The other half is dedicated to Australian crowds. The Chinese ‘cowgirl’ song she playfully shared was appropriate to the venue and occasion. It made us all smile… hopefully it sowed the seeds for good crops down under.

This was a spontaneous cultural bridge Shu-Cheen Yu built, linking a rural landscape to the hyper fast mega cities of the world and their jaw-dropping majestic theatres with cutting edge acoustics and expensive décor. To actually hear the sopranos incredible voice… www.shucheenyu.com.au

After demolishing sweets, a photographic opportunity ‘hugging’ the unique Christmas tree with Shu-Cheen was in order. More handshakes, photographs, autographs and fabulous stories from new-found friends. Many thanks.

What a lunch. What a shed. What a venue for something out of the ordinary! Maybe even a wedding? It would be memorable to tie the knot inside a structure born out of the marriage of two barn sheds, each a century old, knitted together with craftsmanship and love which will now stand in embrace for the next 100 years!

It should be noted that one shed travelled in a dismantled state, via semi-trailer, for more than 100km to be together with the other. As in all marriages, from two they become one.

A huge “thank you” to Murray and Joy and their wonderful circle of friends. Happy New Year!

Photographs are by my daughter Alexandra, to see more of her work please visit http://www.behance.net/alexwalker …

Lights Please!!!

How many switches does it take to turn on 25,000 light bulbs?

This is the aggregate of colourful Xmas lights Ray and Elizabeth Wiltshire have accumulated over the past 16 years. That’s a lot of lights. In fact, each year 90 to 100 hours of ‘setup’, test and re-testing is necessary for a successful ‘Showtime’.

A three phase power supply is divided into 9 equal switch points. Then it uses a multitude of adapters scattered across the property. 45 multi-outlet power boards connect the complex electrical layout. All of this equates to a serious power surge at sunset. Xmas 2012 marked the end of their generous and personal tradition of celebrating the festive season. Almost $20,000 has been given to the Children’s Hospital as a result of donations being made by visitors to the display.

My family and I have especially enjoyed Ray and Elizabeth’s wonderful friendship and hospitality each year we visit. 
One memorable evening, Karen Knowles, seated on a piano stool, sang to an intimate audience in the Wiltshire lounge room…. Beautiful talent… Very special.

Three years ago my daughter Alexandra discovered her passion for drawing with artificial light using a still SLR camera. Experiments around long exposures and camera body movements delivered extraordinary images. Not just reflective sharp photographs of the illuminated snowman, loveable reindeers or Father Xmas himself. She has created light drawings, using light trails to create patterns with an unearthly glow on a pitch-black background. I have included some of her work alongside this post, but if you would like to see more, please visit http://www.behance.net/alexwalker … website coming soon!

My favourite of the figures were… the decade-old almost human rotating Mr Snow Man, the reindeers, Santa Claus himself plus the angels. What a contrast between what I saw/captured and what Alexandra imagined she could create! From the street the lights were magnetic. Compelling drivers to ‘pull over’, stop the car and walk a little to witness young faces fill with joy. A consistent chatter of discovery another ‘find’ identified in the darkness of a stranger’s front garden.

This is Xmas spirit…

Happy New Year to Ray, Elizabeth and extended family. May 2013 bring you much health and happiness. Maybe, at this years end you can visit my place. A much simpler set up in the Walker household… Only one switch to light up the lounge room and one to turn on the flashing lights on the decorated Christmas tree in the corner.

Look forward to reciprocating Ray and Elizabeth’s hospitality.

Trust that everyone embraced the spirit and are feeling refreshed for the new year ahead – whatever challenges we face…

Powermove Presentation …

Life’s a Pitch

Sometimes, when I get to a workshop, they are very rewarding sessions. The team meeting at Powermove was one such event.

IMAGINATION + ASSOCIATION = POSSIBILITY

We talked about the ideal company and the reality of what the Powermove business is TODAY …

We discussed change, set backs and opportunities. We discussed dreams … I showed my dream from the backyard of The Empire Hotel in Hobart (a skinny kid with legs like fluorescent light globes) to the centre of the MCG. I produced my baggy green cap from a brown paper bag and shared my journey … my emotions … my dreams.

I brought it to life with story telling … story telling, unique, authentic and unordinary is the glue … it sustains and nourishes relationships which in turn defines TRUST … a trust to do business …

On this day I used old-fashioned chunky felt pens on butcher’s paper to create a cross section diagram of a small business. The Sigmoid Curve … I discovered in a book called “The Empty Raincoat” by futurist Charles Handy … a wonderful tool when embracing change. Also used The Change Pyramid which is a great trigger to drill down on each element of a business.

Today we live in an information society full of technology, mobile phones and computer screens. People are the bottom line. Our ability to communicate with one another will be directly proportional to the sort of success we can hope to achieve.

I recently was described as a “silver cyber surfer” and as “high tech Tangles” … now, haven’t they got a ring to them? Nevertheless, today I’ve moved from fountain pen, to felt pen and paper, to the magnetic attraction of the smart phone and tablet.  Hence the conversations around QR Codes, mobile web platforms, APPs, media streaming to mobile phones and back end analytic dashboards were of interest to the group.  A different way of thinking.

NatRoads – Conference 2012

“We go the distance”

At a conference the delegates should

• experience the unforgettable
• be educated … take home value
• be entertained
• be encouraged to come back next year

Not only did ‘we go the distance’ this year at the NatRoads Conference 2012, Sanctuary Cove, but we will travel next year to attend … so valuable was the content presented. NatRoad opened the bowling with a leg spinner extra-ordinaire … a smiling verbal assassin … who laughs loudly and often before he delivers the spin.  Kerry O’Keefe is a unique Australian voice … outwardly hilarious, inwardly he runs very deep.  I roomed with “Skull” on tours to the Caribbean and New Zealand whilst playing Test cricket for Australia.  A very funny man. What a breakfast to ‘engage’ the attendees – sponsored by BP.  Thanks to Pat Brunet The ‘official welcome’ and vision of Nat Road 2012 was beautifully articulated by President, Mr Geoff Crouch, and reinforced by the CEO, Mr Chris Melham’s, words.

My role was to be the bus driver (MC) for the duration, to make sure everyone was picked up (introduced) and dropped off (thanked) at the correct times along the route (programme).  A verbal GPS tracker that energized proceedings!

Major question:   What is a conference without a good coffee?

Answer: A major challenge!

Tucked away at one end of the compelling trade exhibit area was the tell-tale aroma of a master barista at work pulling lattes, double espressos, cappacinos and long blacks. This bartender of fine coffee became my new best friend … I literally ‘flew’ out the door … with several ‘double’ espressos on board.  Thanks mate.

Apart from the impressive line up of plenary or platform speakers we listened to, there was the chance to meet many wonderful people ‘manning’ the display booths and describing their businesses and services. After coffee I was inspecting the big rigs in the car park … so much chrome … so many wheels … and sitting so high in the saddle.

Special awards were made and digitally captured in the shadows of an awesome mega truck.

I love photography .. I carry my camera with me always.  The geometry and colour was difficult to ignore.  So too reflections … so too, reflections.

Next, interview the winners .. for articles, magazines and/or radio.  Spread the word … educate and enthuse a wider audience. I’m not shy.  I like to have my photo snapped with ‘super stars’ … like this big rig.

Ok, back to the real reason for attending NatRoad 2012 – to learn.

More rich content … many notes.  As Master of Ceremonies I take notes on every speaker … a real privilege to sit in the engine rooms of amazing companies and associations and listen to discussions on the likely impact of strategy … and concepts created for a successful future outcomes.

A lot like attending university – the take home ideas are always of value.   I have an insatiable appetite for what makes people, businesses and teams tick.  A legacy from my father, Big Max.  He would often say … “the faintest pencil is better than the best memory in the world”.  And, he is right.  Write it down. Happy Hour was not negotiable each day – a ‘must attend’. A chance to relax, network and listen to stories … make new friends.

Bill Madden of Beaurepaires, the major breakfast sponsor, shares my love of photography.

The extra-ordinary woman who was charged with co-ordinating the whole event was Ms Danielle Abou-Takka Congratulations, Danielle … your eye for attention to detail made the event so memorable and user friendly for everyone. AWESOME!!!

Another day … a chance to ask questions … discuss … what is next?

Back to collecting coloured dots and meeting more people … discussing business and services …

More coffee … More people to meet … More stories … More exhibits … More laughs … More photos …

Now back to the formal platform speakers … Gary Hodge, Director of the Pacific Institute, closed the conference …

The Gala Dinner … sponsored by PACCAR, PACCAR Dealers and Cummins was a sensational end to some brilliant time shared.

Grainy film of the “Waltzing Matilda” attempt on the world land speed record on a gravel road in Queensland was memorable footage. See more here>

Country and Western singer, Tania Kernaghan, in honour of her famous dad, Ray, sang one of his favorite songs … “Keep truckin’, Sue” .

What’s in a QR Code?

Most days I like to dump my thoughts on paper, always freehand with a intuative need for colour to bring the page to life. Todays blog post subject is, QR code use … and the need to make understanding them easy.

For further information, you might like to read on cracking these QR codes.

Read article online

Download article (PDF)

Adelaide Oval Redevelopment

The Adelaide Oval is one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world. It will enhance its reputation even more when the current construction is completed.

Once again, Aussie Rules football will be a magnet to crowds – AFL football will be scheduled for season 2014 … Why was it ever displaced? Andrew Daniels, CEO Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority, emphasized the advantage of football so close to the CBD … a venue with heritage.

Footy Park, AAMI Stadium, will soon become a historical reference point … like VFL Park in Melbourne’s outer suburb of Glen Waverley … it never became the VFL demographic centre of Aussie Rules. Rightly, that is the MCG.

Always difficult to shift the demographic centre of the great game to a centre bounce ‘out of town’. Also, Convenience, with a capital ‘C’. Foot traffic … Everyone will benefit … especially the Casino, as Adelaide Crows and Port Power fans spill back into the city after the siren.

Why am I writing about this iconic cricket ground in the shadows of a landmark church? Not because I was once run out controversially by 20 yards without leaving the crease in an England v Australia Test Match in 1974/75, or because I shared a commentary box with both Richie Benaud and Alan McGilvray. No. It is as an architect. Yes, in another life I was a qualified architect … in fact, I practiced for 10 years. And I love the Adelaide Oval.

After speaking at a monthly SANFL luncheon at AAMI Stadium, seated between Leigh Whicker, Executive Commissioner, South Australian National Football League, and former Premier of South Australia, John Olsen, I was invited to pull on the hard hat for a site visit weeks later.

David Johnson, Managing Director of Mott MacDonald Australia and New Zealand, was kind enough to make the visit happen.

Triple M radio personalities, Mark Ricciutto, Brownlow medallist, and Chris Dittmar, squash champion, also made the tour of duty.

I arrived at the building site overdressed … it was like a muddy archeological dig site or a bombsite … littered with nearby machinery and pile drivers … gaping ulcers of red clay … large puddles of trapped rainwater … no place for a pinstripe suit!!! A good look massacre. Photo opportunity.

We began at the rear of the old scoreboard at the cathedral end, where a fabulous meeting point (deck) is being constructed … maybe there should be a large flat screen/electronic scoreboard housed in the back of the historic old number cruncher? That way the fans would not miss a wicket or goal … and wouldn’t spill a drop!!!

The Triple M boys were capturing sound bytes at an extraordinary rate … so much to say … from the knot of people clustered under the branches of the much loved trees. From here we could see the completed $30 million Western Grandstand – seating 14,000 spectators over 4 levels.

The member’s facilities include a 650 seat dining room … a far cry from the old dressing rooms at the back of the George Griffen, Sir Edwin Smith and Mostyn Evans stands.

Russell and Cox, architects, have collaborated to produce a grandstand that is both elegant and refined … given the heritage that underpinned the site. Still to come … the current project’s 2 new grandstands, lifting the capacity of the ground to 50,000.

We made our way past where the Victor Richardson gates used to be, past a well protected century old tree (part of the heritage and design).

The ground has been re-ovalised – not following the accumulated footprints consolidated over the past century of evolution. Instead, crowds will be up to 15 metres closer to the centre wicket action. This vision is essential to making Adelaide Oval a cutting edge stadium on the world stage in the 21st century.

Here architect and engineers carry iPads around the site – not rolls of drawings. At the top of the screen and image of a grandstand cross section, detailing engineering will appear. Scroll left or right … more detail … different views.

We have travelled a long way from tracing paper and rapidograph. To change a mistake, we used a razor blade and burnished the surface with a rubber. Now, CAD machines create quick time virtual reality “fly throughs” … it is an exciting age of technology for architects, engineers, designers, photographers and artists … so too sport and the stadiums that house the contests.

Soon we are standing in a position to use line of sight to imagine the concrete walkway which will carry pedestrians back to the city.

I’m told dressing rooms will be housed beneath where we stand … city end. Players will walk past sightscreens and/or goal posts to tread the hallowed turf.

The scale of the concrete footings at the base of each light tower is stupendous to the layman’s eye … but image the cantilever/topple effect to stabilize? These lights will be better than any other facility in Australia … maybe a batting advantage not appreciated under lights before? … surely we can play a Test match over 4 days under day/night conditions? Don’t let’s get involved in this conversation.

Before long we are standing at ground level close to the end wall of the new Western Grandstand … 5 connected bays … covered by 5 diagrid roof shells. Each highly engineered steel structure spans 30 x 30 metres and is supported at a mere 6 point.As we make our way back past the kiosks, bars and museum with the practice wickets on my left … images of M.H.N. Walker right arm over left ear hole, bowling to Ian and Greg Chappell or Doug Walters before padding up to Lillee, Thomson or the late Terry Jenner come to mind. The Jeff Thomson collision with Alan Tusner v Pakiston – a sickening thud.This feathering of the roof structure gives it a softness and elegance not always pursued … Well done.

I challenge everyone to take the time to follow the progress of this beautiful project. It will change the dynamics and infrastructure available to a sporting event life in Adelaide.

Maybe the contractors/clients can place a few QR codes containing both oral and pictorial history, in the form of video tapes, to the hoarding enclosing the site? Maybe architects and engineers will comment about their design and construction concepts? Turn cyclone mesh fences into television screens via a mobile smart phone?I believe, completed, this stadium will be at the cutting edge of technology – a place to attend, become a member of and spend at the venue … all with smart core technology.

www.adelaideovalredevelopment.com.au