At the time of my retirement I was a Federal Court judge. Under the Australian Constitution, Federal Court judges have to retire at 70. Unlike many of my colleagues, who often keep working until the very last day, I retired a year and a bit before the expiry date because I had other plans.
It allowed me to act on an idea I had been sitting on for decades — to start an e-magazine. When I lived in Toronto in the late 1970s, citizens were up in arms about a range of huge developments in the downtown area. A guy started up a regular hard-copy magazine informing everyone about just what was happening.
It helped to galvanise a community and engaged them in urban planning and architecture issues. I thought, “This is what I want to do one day.” So in 2017, I started up the Fremantle Shipping News , an online magazine all about Freo that covers urban planning and architecture, but so much else — breaking news, funky Freo Today shots, our environment, arts, culture.
Even shipping news! We also have an anonymous footy writer called Snaps Truly who has picked up a huge cult following. I also have a regular chat with Notre Dame politics professor Martin Drum and make feature podcasts with Fremantle identities. The Shipping News was an immediate success.
People were fascinated by it. Our readership grew quickly and gathered contributors from many walks of life who had one thing in common: a passion for Fremantle. We have a particular interest in planning, development and heritage i.