Penny Somerville
Penny Somerville is Principal Project Officer for the Kelvin Grove Urban Village project with the Department of Housing, and has been involved with the project since 2000.
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Transcript
A Tale of Two Cities Villages
I was brought up on a farm in a village called Goolmangar, which is about 15 kilometres north-west of Lismore in northern New South Wales. Goolmangar is a typical rural village, although it only has a shop and a hall, and that’s about it. The farm is about 180 acres in size, and while I had a terrific childhood and love going back to visit, I really think I’m definitely a city girl now. I started on the Kelvin Grove Urban Village project in September 2000. It was then called Gona Barracks project and I was to work on it for just a 10 week period, but I’ve been on it ever since. I’ve had some very interesting experiences while I was on this project; however one memory that sticks out in my mind was the night we won the Premier’s Award for Sustainable Environment. Actually, it was the morning of the awards that sticks out. As usual, I went on an early morning walk. Part of the route that I took included walking down a rather steep grassy hill. I tended to run down it because it was easier for me, but this morning I was being extra careful because I’m extremely injury prone. Last count I’ve had three sprained ankles and an operation on my wrist. Anyway, as I gingerly made my way down the hill I thought, wouldn’t it be terrible if I sprained my ankle this morning. And just as the thought left my head, I slipped over and landed hard on my left shoulder. I remember hearing two pops and then felt agonising pain. The upside of this pain was we won the award that night, which was a huge shock, as works on site had only just begun. The thing I like most about working on this project is the people I’ve met and continue to meet. I’ve also watched the site grow from a disused army barracks to mountains of dust to roads being formed and now buildings under construction. We now also have the first residents moving into the village, which is a huge thrill. I’ve had some changes in my life since starting on the project. For one thing, I was still in my twenties when I commenced. I’ve lived in three different suburbs, bought a house and now settled in Red Hill, which is about a 15 minute walk from the site. It’s funny to think that I started my life in a village and now I’m back in one. I’ve lived, breathed, and lost sleep over this project for the last five and a bit years and I hope to see it out to the end.
