Historical note

In December, 1993, the Victorian Government announced that Melbourne had gained the right to hold the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, with the Formula One race to be staged on the roads around Albert Park Lake. The first race was held in March, 1996.

Formed in February, 1994, Save Albert Park's (SAP) aims are threefold:- to stop the holding of the Grand Prix in Albert Park, to restore the park as parkland for the community of Victoria and to endeavour to protect Albert Park from the impact of the Grand Prix.

A number of actions, including rallies, demonstrations and other events have been staged by Save Albert Park. A well run telephone tree was used to mobilise members to participate in actions or events. Some of the park protests occured in 1995 with the aim of delaying construction works in the park and preventing the destruction of trees and parkland. These actions resulted in the arrests of a large number members of the organisation for trespass. The charges relating to the arrests were dismissed by the Magistrate under the Act because the relevant Minister of the Victorian Government had invalidly exercised his powers granted by the Act. As a result, the Victorian Government enacted the Australian Grand Prix Act, 1994, see: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/hist_act/agpa1994229/, which grants the Australian Grand Prix Corporation extensive powers to occupy and undertake works in the park and removes the event from the jurisdiction of the Victorian Supreme Court. Some of the rallies have been held overseas in London.

The organisation has a large membership base and during the years covered by these records, comprised an Executive, a Council and a number of working groups, including amongst others, the Legal Group (with at one time 40 lawyers, two QC's and a former County Court judge), Parkwatch Group, Strategy Group, Outreach Group, Political Lobby Group, Letter Writing Group, Information and Research Group, Medical Group, Ideas Group, Sponsor's Lobby, Image Group, Art Group and a Media Liaison Group. SAP has an office and the day books contained in this collection are filled with comments and notes relating to events occuring during the shifts as recorded by volunteers staffing the office, make interesting reading. A number of fund-raisers, including exhibitions, were organised by the Art Group.

The first newsletter was published in May, 1994. Other publications have been produced by the group, along with many media releases, letters to the editor and you can find a large number of these documents in this collection.

A vigil near Albert Park Lake was maintained by SAP members for just over 11 years, from November, 1994, until late March, 2006. A large umbrella and banners were erected each day. SAP members involved in the vigil were also encouraged to record any events in the park and the demeanour of visitors to the site. A mobile telephone was part of the equipment so that urgent calls could be made in the event of a perceived potential or unpleasant incident. The vigil diaries in this collection contain many interesting observations of events occuring during the shifts.

Save Albert Park has produced post-race reports and these reports provide attendance figures at odds with official estimates.

By all accounts, Save Albert Park will still be in existence until the Australian Grand Prix is removed from Albert Park.

Bibliography

'No entry: protest in the park, a photo essay' by Nina Landis; foreword by John Pilger ; introduction by Iain Stewart; Grand prix - Albert Park by Robert Richter. (South Melbourne, Vic., Save Albert Park, 1995)

'Parkwatch post-race report on the ... Australian Formula One Grand Prix' by Save Albert Park (1998- )

'Save Albert Park' Internet website at: http://www.save-albert-park.org.au/

'The age' newspaper, 15 August, 2014, pp16-17

Wikipedia 'Australian Grand Prix' at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Grand_Prix.