By Carmen Tommasi
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The wild, wild west is unruly at times. This is where I feel at home. When newbies venture into the West they tense up. This apprehension clouds their judgement. It’s too early for them to digest what lies beneath the surface. At night the wild west can be noisy. Sirens blare or doof doof music whizzes by. In our street an angry woman frequently walks by shouting out profanities. Lunar New Year fireworks erupt with whistling rockets rising up to the sky. In the dark night there is silence you wait to hear more… Westies live close to each other. Leave the back door open and different languages are heard. On warmer nights we’d hear Vietnamese men singing. Their drunken cat like voices would rise up followed by raucous laughter. We named them the South Vietnamese army choir sadly they moved away. Get off at Footscray station you’re confronted by an array of different senses. Nearby stood Nick the Greek’s doughnut van. Nick was known by all, he had a glint in his eye. When quiet, he played Greek music dancing with those around. View the Olympic Nick donutumentary on YouTube. It shows the warmth felt for this man. Opposite is Footscray Market in need of a face lift midweek it feels like a western ghost town. Cross over to Hopkins street nestled between Asian restaurants is an Italian gem. Since 1956, T. Cavallaro & Sons Pasticceria have been baking delicious Sicilian sweets. This tiny store packs a punch, folks happily wait in line to collect their famous cannoli.
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Down the road lies Franco Cozzo’s mural and furniture store now a facade, turned into a Western saloon. Franco would be pleased. Many jokes were made about Franco; he loved them all. What did Franco Cozzo say when he stepped in a bucket of grey paint? Foot is grey! In the wild west we have the Footscray Community Arts Centre. Saved by local artists, unionists and other community activists. The primary goal that it be a space for all. Step inside the gallery and you encounter a large window overlooking the Maribyrnong river, the city skyline pokes out above these warehouses. It is a most beautiful visionary window. Like a painting displaying the industry that the west still serves. Walk along the tracks below and more treasures are revealed. Yes, the wild wild west has countless unsung legends. In 1937, William Cooper a resident of Footscray petitioned King George V to prevent the extinction of his people and for them to be elected in parliament. We are obsessed with possession yet don’t recognise dispossession. We know so little of this lands hidden his-story and yes dear reader it is up to us to seek this out. Footscrazy station is a transport hub with tentacles that crisscross the tracks carrying a wide array of travelling cultures. Romper Stomper was filmed in Footscray some say our own Clockwork Orange. Have we moved on from that violent racism? Sometimes Anglo travellers snarl like wild boars, muttering ‘go back to your country’. When in fact, we are all migrants to this land. Other travellers embrace these new faces. Hoping that one day, they will feel at home in the wild, wild west.
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The Westsider our kitchen table newspaper reports which local councils endorsed the motion to support Palestinians in Gaza and those that didn’t. Or when over 600 people successfully rallied to have a Neo-Nazi gym shutdown. I wonder is their presence better served above ground than underground? The paper offers other local delights. In the west we have Willy beach picturesque anytime of the year. However, to experience a community beach travel to Altona pier. Here you will see eskies, picnic rugs and people enjoying Olympic styled games. Tona beach is vibrant and full of life. On the other side of the Yarra at a polite dinner party a woman remarked: Oh, you live in the West? That Williamstown High rise has to go. It’s an eyesore. I looked at her in disgust wanting to blow my smoke in her face thinking why is it that public housing has to go – to make way for people like you! We need to fight to keep those towers alive. Let’s have a TV home renovation program for public housing Why shouldn’t housing tenants have comfortable seaside views? Should they be demolished those tenants would be flung far and wide. The wild wild west does not have rolling hills to speak of. Frequently it throws up putrid dusty, truck filled roads. Like the chilling Bone Crusher company or trucks entering free concrete tipping sites. It is industrial, it is grungy and steel is our common landscape. The west has shown me what to fight for and the communities that reside here make me feel at home.
