Issy Wyner Reserve set to re-open

He was a councillor, a mayor, a unionist, an activist and an historian. Now, local legend Issy Wyner is being honoured with the reopening of the Balmain park that bears his name.

Wyner, who passed away last year at the age of 92, was a long-standing community campaigner whose contribution to the area and involvement with unions and Council once earned him the epithet “Australia’s most elected man”.

Leichhardt Council has spent over $30,000 upgrading Issy Wyner Reserve, on the corner of Mort and Curtis Streets, installing a new memorial plaque which outlines Wyner’s achievements. Other additions include new playground equipment, a disabled bubbler, seating and fencing.

Born in Marrickville to northern European migrant parents, Issy grew up with a strong sense of social justice. His father, Samuel, was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of Australia, and although both would be expelled from the party, Wyner never lost his radical sense of dissent.

After the Second World War, Wyner worked on Cockatoo Island and joined the Painters and Dockers Union, where he served as an elected official and historian every year until the union was deregistered in 1993. With colleague Nick Origlass, Issy Wyner served on Leichhardt Council as Labor councillors, and later as independents under the ‘Balmain Labor’ banner – a perpetual thorn in the side of developers and a tireless champion of open public spaces like Bicentennial Park and Callan Park.

“There was something ‘Old Testament’ about Issy. He was a hard taskmaster, even amongst his own political allies,” said Hall Greenland, one of Wyner’s close colleagues whose book, Red Hot, documents Origlass’ and Wyner’s years in politics.

Current Leichhardt Labor councillor Darcy Byrne believes Wyner and Origlass’ place in local history is unique. “They’re from an era in which the inner west was a very working class place, and certainly they’ve left a tradition of real traditional Labor values, but pursued in a very radical and progressive way,” he said.

“I think their great strength was that they were genuine locals. They worked in the community, they worked on the wharves, they knew people in the community.”

For 25 years, Issy would continue this tradition, serving as an Alderman on Leichhardt Council. Both he and Origlass pushed to implement their ideas of ‘Open Council’, whereby citizens would have far greater access and input to local government – a policy Council maintains to this day through its Precinct Committees.

Hall Greenland believes it was these years of reform which have had the biggest impact on the area.

“They were around for so long and fought so hard, that the idea is supported right across the political spectrum – which is pretty remarkable, really,” he said.

“That whole culture of openness and participation, and the kind of fearlessness taking on the state government – those kind of characteristics that they established – I these traditions are pretty important and make Leichhardt an interesting and singularly important place.”

Issy Wyner Reserve will be re-opened from 11am on Saturday, November 28, as part of Social Inclusion Week.