Source : Perth Now news
If you go for a little stroll down the road from Croydon train station in Sydney’s inner west, you might end up coming across a small, red brick home made distinct from other houses on the street by its lovingly maintained garden.
If you knock on the front door, you’ll be greeted by a small Greek woman with kind eyes, dark hair, and a propensity for repeatedly offering you coffee or tea as she ushers you inside.
From the moment you begin speaking with her, you’ll understand the deep love she has for the house, made clear by the carefully oriented and neatly organised trinkets, heirlooms, family photos and vintage furniture placed throughout.
Marina Strougaris, 63, has spent her entire life in the suburb of Croydon.
Her parents met each other in Greece before moving to Australia in 1969 and purchasing their first and only home on Norton St, where Ms Strougaris still lives to this day.
The house itself, a red brick one-storey building with a beautiful garden lovingly tended to by Ms Strougaris and her husband, is 115 years old.
Speaking to NewsWire in her backyard, Ms Strougaris said the one constant through every stage of her life had been her home.
“I have standout memories of living here. When I was growing up, we used to have family gatherings. My dad would dig a pit and do lamb on the spit, and all my cousins and aunties and uncles would come. We all literally grew up together,” she said.
“When my daughter was born, we used to have a door in the back fence between us and the neighbours where the kids would communicate and run back and forwards through. There are so many great memories.
“I look around at the lemon trees and the orange trees that my dad planted back in 1969 … if this place goes, it feels like a part of me will be gone.”
Inner West Council is consulting with the community on the second stage of its Fairer Future plan, which outlines potential changes to the area’s urban landscape to better cater for population and housing targets set by the NSW government.
The plan outlines various locations where council hopes to expand roadways, build new green spaces, and demolish existing homes to insert medium and high-density apartment buildings.
According to the blueprint, which can be viewed online, properties owned by Ms Strougaris and seven of her neighbours have been slated for potential acquisition.
In the event that Ms Strougaris and her neighbours voluntarily sell their homes to Inner West Council, they will all be demolished to make way for an expansion to a nearby local park.
“They want to take seven homes, including mine and my neighbours, and turn it into a green area. Practically the whole block is going to be demolished and rebuilt,” Ms Strougaris said.
The plans are only in their draft stage, and based on statements from Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne, they don’t appear to have full-throated support from councillors.
“The independent architectural experts who have developed the draft Fairer Future housing plans have identified a small number of sites where properties could be purchased in the future to provide new parks and open space,” Mr Byrne said.
“There is no compulsory acquisition proposed, and none of these purchases have been endorsed by councillors.
“My view is that ratepayers’ money is best used to continue to improve existing parks rather than purchasing very expensive property to create small pocket parks. This is the perspective I will be bringing when councillors vote on the draft plans.”
That being said, if the plans are approved, the first nail in the coffin of Ms Strougaris’ home will undoubtedly be hammered in.
Ms Strougaris’ heritage lies firmly within the walls of her home, but with many young families in the area only having been in Croydon for a few months or a few years, she fears their lack of connection to the area may ultimately put more pressure on her to sell.
“A lot of family have said to me the house is just four walls and I shouldn’t worry about it, but to me this house is my parents’ legacy,” she said.
“They came here to a strange country, not knowing the language, not having any family here and they made something. They were both really proud of this home.”
Feedback on the plans can be submitted to council until October 28.
