Heritage in Trust February 2014

NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA Heritage in Trust

(ACT)

February 2014

_________________________________________________________________

Plaque erected by Westlake children at 'Westlake', Yarralumla, ACT

Anthology: The vanished suburb made visible In 2011 Pip Buining and Louise Morris received a Canberra Centenary grant to develop a ‘theatrical journey’ through Westlake and in 2012 they received an Arts Grant from the ACT Government for the production. The project focuses on the intangible heritage associated with tangible remnants bringing both to life through an interpretive project which will be performed later this year. Here they describe what the project seeks to do and how it is being developed.

Pip Buining begins on page 2.

[See also the separate article on page 27, on the Trust’s series of self-guided walk brochures. The brochure on Yarralumla, Tour 2 of 2, includes Westlake. Eds.]

Over the hill and down into the hollow There’s a path we all follow To this place we still call home Ronnie O’Rourke, on the plaque shown above

Inside Heritage Diary p 8 Heritage Festival 2014 p 10 Travels with the Trust p 12 Happy motoring! A tribute to Chris Wain p 18 Reid - Heritage Suburb p 21 Trust self-guided tour brochures p 27

Heritage In Trust

February 2014

From the editors Welcome to the first edition of Heritage in Trust for 2014.

In this bumper edition we return to the theme of heritage suburbs with John Tucker’s article on Reid. Another older area of Canberra, Westlake, is the subject of an article (Anthology) about an innovative theatrical journey which celebrates the history of this early suburb.

Tents and a hall were erected, followed by 61 cottages built in 1923 for married tradesmen building the infrastructure for the new federal capital of Australia.

These families lived at Westlake for 50 years until the 1960s when the families were relocated, the houses sold and removed. Westlake is now parkland, nestled between the lake and the embassies of Yarralumla.

The Canberra and Region Heritage Festival takes place from Saturday 5 to Monday 21 April, and the Trust is once again offering a range of excursions. A particular focus is the Yarralumla Nursery Open Day on Sunday 6 April, celebrating the nursery’s 100th anniversary. See pages 10 - 12 for more details.

Former President Eric Martin writes about Chris Wain’s time as Executive Director, and there is interesting news from the Heritage and Grants Committee about new projects and activities. The Tours and Events Committee is looking for new members. If you can help, contact Mary Johnston (contact details on page 16) or Liz in the office.

As the audience is guided through Westlake, the remnants of a community are waiting to be discovered, fragments of hidden memories can be glimpsed, shadow spaces inhabited by workers and their families are littered with broken conversations. A forgotten community is suspended in time, whispered stories are waiting to be heard.

As always, we look forward to hearing your views on Heritage in Trust or on heritage issues in general. Email info@nationaltrustact.org.au or write to the Editors with your views and suggestions.

Anthology will explore the boundaries of micro storytelling. Originally inspired by the first anthology, The Garland, compiled by Meleager of Gadara (1st century BC), and then by Edgar Lee Masters, Spoon River Anthology, the story will be told through the poetic form of the epigram and will be fused across art forms - combining performance, installation, poetry, sound, film, live music, dance, song and tea.

What is Anthology?

Pip Buining

Anthology eulogises the lives of the unsung transient workers, past and present, who have built our nation’s capital.

Anthology is a theatrical journey through Westlake, now known as Stirling Park, Ngunnawal land, a traditional pathway and the site of one of the camps created to house the workers building the new city of Canberra.

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Anthology sees the site as a microcosm of our collective experience - of people drawn to Canberra to meet and work. Since the inception of the city its main attraction has been transitory work: a city created by workers for workers. Anthology is a timely exploration of the role work plays in all our lives, how it defines us, segregates us and unites us.

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How did Anthology begin?

Tread Lightly, Stranger!

Here, among the Faithful Dead An old man lies, Sleeping the sleep That all must sleep Meleager, The Garland

The seed for Anthology was planted in 2008.

Wandering through the cemetery at St John’s in Reid, Canberra, I began to wonder who these people were, what brought them to Canberra and how their lives were intertwined. This thought, combined with two poetic Anthologies I was currently reading, inspired the idea to create a theatrical experience that would use short vignettes to eulogise lives lived – to give voice to the ordinary Canberran life.

Contents Anthology: Westlake - the vanished suburb made visible____________________________________ 1 From the President _________________________ 5 Obituary of Volunteer, Mrs Jean Pound ________ 6 Trusted Recipe ____________________________ 6 Christmas at Huntly ___________ _____________ 7 Heritage Diary _____________________________ 8 National History Challenge 2013 results________ 9 2014 Heritage Festival_______________________ 10 Travels with the Trust – local and interstate_____ 12 Travels with the Trust - International _________ 13 Trust Tour Reports - Lake George_____________ 16 Happy Motoring! A tribute to Chris Wain _______ 18 Heritage Happenings _______________________ 19 Meet your new councillors ___________________ 20 Reid - Heritage Suburb ______________________ 21 Trust Self-Guided Tour Brochures _____________ 27

Louise Morris and I had worked together creating installation journey theatre before and Anthology provided the perfect opportunity for us to extend and develop our artistic relationship. We have gathered together a ‘dream team’ of Canberra based artists including Kimmo Vennonen (Sound), Sarah Kaur (Video), Matt Scott (Technical Artist), Joe Woodward (Performer), Canberra Dance Theatre’s GOLD Dance Ensemble, training performers from Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art and the Canberra band Hashemoto.

In 2011 the Canberra Centenary organisation granted seed funding to develop the project and then in 2012 we were thrilled to receive an Arts Grant from the ACT Government for the production. The development took many unexpected twists and turns, but the most serendipitous was when I made contact with Ann Gugler. Ann lived in Westlake from 1941-1959 and has worked tirelessly to collect the stories of the ‘Westlake children’ and document the existence of the ‘vanished suburb’. Louise and I walked the land of Westlake and felt it was vital to tell Ann’s story because as she herself has stated…“When one is forgotten, one ceases to exist”i.

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Anthology will be factional, a mix of fact and fiction – drawing on the lives of those who lived in Westlake, whilst weaving in and re-imagining our own stories, the stories of our artistic team and other stories we stumbled across in the development. At the heart of the project is the universal experience of humanity so eloquently expressed by Warren Denning:

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And strangely but truly there are people living here, living quite ordinary lives… and they are living and loving and laughing and quarrelling and dying and singing and cursing and betting and eating and sleeping… just like people anywhere else.ii

Inspirited Landscape - The Installation Of Anthology Louise Morris The opportunity to collaborate with Pip Buining to devise and install Anthology provides a rich, investigative environment to examine post-traumatic representation in contemporary Australian culture. The project, even in its early stages, promises to allude to the power of immersive, site-sympathetic performance as a regenerative force in the 21st century.

The practice arm of my PhD research focuses upon two interconnected pathways: Anthology at Westlake, and a second work, involving the installation of an immersive event in an urban ruin. Both investigations draw upon Mary Zimmerman’s notion of An Archeology of Performanceiii. What lies in wait for artists in sites, in places…to be uncovered…with its final form revealed through careful excavation? Both projects centralise memory, rituals of remembrance and the importance of place as vital to the regeneration of community through processing and transcending both personal and cultural trauma.

Making the invisible…visible This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned towards the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe, which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed.

But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings and with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. This storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned while the pile of debris before him grows skyward.

This storm is what we call progress.

Walter Benjaminiv

What Benjamin articulates so beautifully here is the inherent conflict one faces attempting to give voice to the past whilst being simultaneously propelled blindly forward by the winds of change. What is so deeply intriguing about Stirling Park is that, although I spent my childhood growing up and playing in the area, I had never heard of this mysterious ‘Westlake’. In fact most individuals who would call themselves ‘Canberrans’ have not. The storm of progress has swept it from the collective memory of the city. The politics of this storm and the effect upon the individuals both Indigenous and non-Indigenous who bore its impact have remained (quite deliberately) hidden.

It has not been erased however. Upon arrival, one instantly feels that the landscape is ‘inspirited’ v and walking the site with Ann reveals a fascinating pile of debris or what Shelly Hornstein has described as ‘absent architectures’vi. As artists, we are privileged to have the opportunity to listen to the complex interrelated voices of this place and locate into an intimate topography the objects and stories revealed to us.

Principally responsible for the visual installation sympathetic to the site, I am forever fascinated by the ways in which architecture captures and triggers memory, and as such, plan to ‘ghost’ or partially recreate structures and objects that once existed on the site. An ancient story-place…a living room…part of a

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February 2014 From the President

kitchen table…a child’s bedroom...The intimate interiors of the forgotten, past domestic structures partially exposed in the exterior landscape of the present.

We cannot halt the storm of progress…or make whole what has been smashed but ‘Westlake’ and the stories of its original inhabitants as well as its settler children invite us as guests to find the stillness within its eye…to excavate some of the debris…and most importantly to listen and remember.

We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding (the last of his Four Quartets)

Pip Buining and Louise Morris Pip Buining is a Canberra-based Theatre Practitioner and freelance Teaching Artist. In 2005 she moved to Canberra to be Artistic Director of Canberra Youth Theatre until 2009.

Louise Morris grew up in Canberra and is Associate Lecturer in Drama at the School of Communications and Creative Arts, Deakin University.

Photographs provided courtesy of The Centenary of Canberra 2013. For more information, dates, times and tickets go to: www.anthology.net.au

_______________________ i

See also Gugler, A. A History of Human Habitation of Stirling Park Yarralumla, March 2004.

True Tales from Canberra’s Vanished Suburbs of Westlake, Westridge and Acton. Written by the children of Westlake, Westridge and Acton. Compiled by Ann Gugler (Austin) 27 Westlake. ii Denning, W. Capital City: Canberra today and tomorrow, Publicists, Sydney, 1938. iii Zimmerman, M. An Archeology of Performance, Theatre Topics Volume 15, Number 1, March 2005 pp. 25-35. iv Benjamin, W. Gesammelte Schriften, R. Tiedemann and H. Schweppenhauser (eds), Frankfurt/Main, 1974-1991, vol 1, pp2578. v Read, P. Haunted Earth, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2003, pp10-11. vi Hornstein, S. Losing Site: Architecture, Memory and Place, Ashgate, Surrey and Burlington, 2011, p81.

Hello Members Welcome to 2014. I can report that our finances continue to slowly improve thanks to some generous donations from our members and continued tight control of our administrative expenses. A wholehearted thanks to our donors from all of us and a reminder that all donations are tax-deductible.

We recently received confirmation that funding for the National Trusts Partnership Program for 2013/14 has been confirmed by the Department of Finance which is great news. Unfortunately changes to the program in recent years have meant that individual Trusts no longer receive any untied contribution towards everyday administrative costs; however, our hardworking Heritage Committee has contracted to undertake some project-based work in the areas of Nationally Significant Trees, Education, National Trust Heritage Festival and Online Heritage which will result in additional funds coming into our reserves.

Another important area of revenue for NTACT is the impressive tours program that our energetic Tours Committee puts together for the benefit of members and non-members. The Committee does a great job in ensuring that there is plenty of variety so that all tastes are met, and the modest cost goes a long way towards shoring up the Trust’s financial position. So….take a good look at the upcoming program and see if there is something of interest to you and come along and enjoy a great day or afternoon out. I know I will be.

Scott McAlister President

Do you have a friend travelling overseas?

Tell them about the advantages of joining the National Trust including free entry into over 2000 National Trust properties around the world.

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People and Places Obituary: Mrs Jean Pound

Trusted Recipe

The National Trust (ACT) is saddened to report the death of Mrs Jean Pound.

Jean joined the Trust on arrival in Canberra, from Queensland, in 1980. She immediately became a volunteer and joined the ranks at Lanyon.

When the system changed for the volunteer guides and the shop at Lanyon closed, she joined the growing number of volunteers at the Old Parliament House Shop, where she continued until 2008. Jean was well loved by all the volunteers and customers, and we always looked forward to her home baked ‘goodies’ on her rostered day. She was always willing to try something new and often remarked on how much she enjoyed working in the shop as it put her in contact with the younger generation.

As a result of a successful grant during the Year of the Volunteer in 2000, Jean became the ACT National Trust’s inaugural ‘Volunteer of the Year’.

The Trust council would like to extend their sympathy to Jean’s family.

Dianne Dowling

At the opening of Old Parliament House sausage rolls were on the menu. I have not been able to obtain the exact recipe but here is one compliments of my old high school cookery book, Mrs Irvine’s Central Cookery Book. These days with computers, the metric conversions are easy; also the blender has taken the place of the mincer.

Sausage Rolls Ingredients 6 ozs rough puff pastry (frozen puff pastry will substitute) ½ lb mince meat (approx. 250g) ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon mixed herbs 1 tablespoon tomato sauce ½ small potato 4 ozs bacon 1 thin slice of small onion ¼ teaspoon pepper little nutmeg 1 tablespoon Worcester sauce Method

YOUR 2014 TRUST COUNCIL Scott McAlister - President and Treasurer Lisa Norman - Vice President Eric Martin AM Peter Lundy Jim Nockels John Tucker Mary Johnston Graham Carter Dianne Dowling Grahame Crocket

1. Make pastry and chill while preparing filling.

2. Put meat, bacon, potato and onion through a fine mincer and mix in all the other ingredients.

3. Roll pastry thinly and cut into strips 4 inches wide.

4. Place filling down one side of strip.

5. Moisten edge and roll towards it. Cut rolls 1½ - 2½ inches long. Glaze with egg yolk and pierce with a fork.

6. Bake in a hot oven (about 200⁰C) for 5 minutes, then reduce heat for another 25 minutes.

Biographies of the new Councillors are on page 20.

Dianne Dowling

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New members The National Trust (ACT) warmly welcomes the following new members: Lesley Band Prue Castles Lee Walker and Dan Clayton Meridie Fricker following new members: Bridget Godwin Geoff O’Regan and Varena Hardy Andrew and Tanya Johnson Gary Kent

Kym Duggan and Janice Larkin Susan Larque Sandra and Steve Lawry Jenny and Luke McFarlane David and Heather Minol Marilyn and Raino Perring Laura Van Rens Ray Vran and Paula Williams

KEEP UP TO DATE Are you up with the latest National Trust happenings? Maybe you have been missing out on our E News bulletins! Make sure you are on the E News list and are kept up to date with events, have access to National Trust media releases and opportunities to contribute to the valuable and important work of the Trust.

Email info@nationaltrustact.org.au with the subject heading of: Subscribe to E News The Gabriel Quartet from Canberra Girls Grammar played a soft classical collection, a fitting background to the beautiful garden surroundings. The delicious finger food was provided by committee members and councillors. All in all Trust members enjoyed a lovely afternoon, rounding off the Trust year.

Christmas at Huntly and Volunteer of the Year Photos: Graham Gittins and Linda Roberts

Christmas drinks and volunteer recognition were combined into one function at Huntly, courtesy of John Gale, on 8 December 2013. Presentations were made to longstanding outgoing President, Eric Martin, long-serving Councillor and Secretary, John McDonald, former Executive Director, Chris Wain, and to all volunteers who assisted with the National Trust Centenary of Canberra Rally, all of whom received certificates as joint winners of Volunteer of the Year 2013. Lisa Norman, Vice-President of the Trust, acted as MC and introduced guest speaker, Lucy Quinn, who spoke on her book Treasures of Canberra and the stories behind the objects selected.

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Trust Office opening hours Please note that the Trust Office is open Monday to Thursdays only, from 9.30am to 3.00pm.

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February 2014 Heritage Diary 2014

A selection of heritage-related events of interest to NT (ACT) members Details of National Trust (ACT) outings are provided in Travels with the Trust, starting on page 12 while National Trust Heritage Festival events are described on pages 10-12.

Date and time Event and location Organiser Contact Until 10 March 2014

Mapping our World – Terra Incognita to Australia – display of international and Australian maps that inspired the idea of Australia. National Library of Australia (NLA)

NLA

www.nla.gov.au

Until 17 August 2014

Canberra: Then and Now – an exhibition of historic photos matched with modern day photos. National Library of Australia (NLA)

NLA

www.nla.gov.au

Wednesday 19 February 6.30 for 7.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – Vanuatu research 2013: field schools, printing presses and Lapita pots. Professor Matthew Spriggs Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

Contact Helen Cooke on 0408 443 243 or helen.cooke@anu.edu.au

Sunday 23 February 1-5.30pm Saturday 1 March 1.30-4.30pm

Far South Border Walk POSTPONED – NEW DATE TO BE ADVISED Hall Village walking tour

National Trust

6230 0533

National Trust

6230 0533

CAS/CAR lecture – Looking for the Proverbial Needle?

The Archaeology of Australian Frontier Massacres. Mirani Litster, PhD Candidate, Archaeology and Natural History, ANU Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

Wednesday 19 March 6.30 for 7.00pm

Contact Helen Cooke on 0408 443 243 or helen.cooke@anu.edu.au

Saturday 5 to Monday 21 April

Canberra and Region Heritage Festival – the theme for the 2014 festival is Journeys

ACT

6205 0255 or www.environment.act.gov.au

Saturday 5 April 1.30-4.30pm

4th Ainslie Open Houses and Gardens

National Trust

6230 0533

Sunday 6 April 10.00am-3.00pm

Yarralumla Nursery Open Day

National Trust

6230 0533

Saturday 12 April 10.00am-3.00pm Saturday 12 April 2.00-3.30pm Sunday 13 April 11.00am

A walk to Yankee Hat Aboriginal Rock Art

National Trust

6230 0533

Walking Tour of Magna Carta Place

National Trust

6230 0533

Renaissance music by Polifemy Albert Hall

National Trust

6230 0533

Sunday 13 April 1.00 - 4.00pm

Narrabundah Pre Fabs Walk

National Trust

6230 0533

Monday 14 April 1.30-4.00pm

ANU Classics Museum visit

National Trust

6230 0533

Wednesday 16 April 6.30 for 7.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – Human impact and subsistence change: Prehistoric ecological interaction at the Teouma Lapita site ca. 3000-2600 BP. Stuart Hawkins, Archaeology and Natural History, ANU Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

Contact Helen Cooke on 0408 443 243 or helen.cooke@anu.edu.au

Saturday 19 April 10.30am-1.15pm

Three Cornerstones walking tour of Oaks Estate and Robertsons’ House Walking tour only – 10.30am-12.00 noon Robertsons’ House inspection only – 12.30-1.15pm

National Trust

6230 0533

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Heritage In Trust Wednesday 7 May

February 2014

Bus trip to Miss Fisher's Costume Exhibition Old Government House, Parramatta Details TBA CAS/CAR lecture – The archaeology of Rossel Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea: Prehistoric development of a unique and isolated island culture. Ben Shaw, PhD Candidate, School of Archaeology & Anthropology, ANU Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

National Trust

6230 0533

CAS

Contact Helen Cooke on 0408 443 243 or helen.cooke@anu.edu.au

Wednesday 20 August 6.30 for 7.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – 'Common Indians', 'Negroes', and 'New Hollanders': Dampier, Buffon, and the 'Varieties of the Human Species' in the South Seas. Bronwen Douglas Department of Pacific & Asian History Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

Contact Helen Cooke on 0408 443 243 or helen.cooke@anu.edu.au

Wednesday 17 September 6.30 for 7.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – topic to be confirmed Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

Contact Helen Cooke on 0408 443 243 or helen.cooke@anu.edu.au

Wednesday 15 October 6.30 for 7.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – Vanuatu historic mission. James Flexner, School of Archaeology & Anthropology, ANU Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

Contact Helen Cooke on 0408 443 243 or helen.cooke@anu.edu.au

Wednesday 19 November 6.30 for 7.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – topic to be confirmed Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

Contact Helen Cooke on 0408 443 243 or helen.cooke@anu.edu.au

1-16 November

Colours of Autumn, Japan

National Trust

6230 0533

Wednesday 21 May 6.30 for 7.00pm

Note: CAS is the Canberra Archaeological Society CAR is the Centre for Archaeological Research

2013 National History Challenge results The National History Challenge is a research-based competition for students. In 2013, as usual, the National Trust sponsored the Australia’s Heritage category of the competition. The names of the ACT award winners are set out below. Students from Narrabundah College won four of the five awards made in the ACT in 2013, including Jack McDermott who won both the Asia and Australia category (at both ACT and national levels) and ACT Young Historian.

At the national level, the Australia’s Heritage category winner was Sophie Ambler from Clarence High School in Tasmania.

The theme for the 2014 challenge is Changing Perspectives. More information can be found on the web at http://historychallenge.org.au.

ACT winners, 2013 National History Challenge ACT Young Historian Year Level 11-12 Asia and Australia Australian Wartime Experiences Museum exhibit P-8

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Jack McDermott Billie Hall Jack McDermott Naomi Appleton Clare Taylor

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Narrabundah College Narrabundah College Narrabundah College Narrabundah College Campbell High School

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2014 National Trust (ACT) Heritage Festival Events

National Trust of Australia (ACT) 4th Ainslie Open Houses and Gardens

Saturday 5 April 1.30pm-4.30pm A conducted walking tour around Corroboree Park crescents, inspecting three different (new in 2014) 1926-27 cottages, specially designed by Federal Capital Commission and private architects, and various once productive, now mature gardens close-up. Hear fascinating stories of the residents who created a community while building the national capital.

Afternoon tea is included. Walking (approx. 1 km) at a comfortable pace will be involved, including across grassed or unpaved areas. Limit of 30 adults.

Meet: Baker Gardens Pre-school Cost: $25 members, $35 non-members Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or online at www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/events

Yarralumla Nursery Open Day

Sunday 6 April 10am-3pm Help celebrate the Centenary of the Yarralumla Nursery and its vital role developing Canberra's unique character and identity as a garden city. This heritage-listed nursery was part of a larger nursery and arboretum comprising Weston Park and Westbourne Woods. Join special tours through the nursery and enjoy displays, activities and refreshments in the park adjoining the nursery. For many Canberrans their first contact with the Nursery was through the Free Plant Issue Scheme, which began in 1930. This had the effect of controlling the species planted, resulting in a unified plant palette in the city and preserving the 'Garden City' concept.

Venue: Yarralumla Nursery, off Banks Street, Yarralumla Cost: Suggested donation $5 per car, gold coin for walkers & cyclists No booking required.

A walk to Yankee Hat Aboriginal Rock Art Saturday 12 April 10am-3pm Yankee Hat Aboriginal rock art site is located within the Gudgenby Valley of Namadgi National Park in a complex of boulders situated at the foot of Yankee Hat Mountain. Carbon dating of the campsite deposits in the Yankee Hat rock shelter shows that Aboriginal people began using the shelter more than 800 years ago. However, evidence from nearby archaeological sites suggests that people were camping in the area, and presumably painting, as long as 3,700 years ago.

Meet: Meet at the Namadgi Visitors Centre where carpooling arrangements will be made for the drive to the commencement of the walk.

Cost: $25 members, $35 non-members Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or online at www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/events

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Walking Tour of Magna Carta Place

**National Trust of Australia (ACT) and the Magna Carta Committee of Australia**

Saturday 12 April 2-3.30pm A guided tour of Magna Carta Place, Langton Circuit, Parkes, led by members of the Committee, who will explain the history of the Monument and the meaning of the images on the wings or walls of the Monument, as well as the rubbing plaques on the Monument pillars. Following the tour, participants may wish to visit the Museum of Australian Democracy in Old Parliament House, or walk to New Parliament House and see Australia’s 1297 edition of Magna Carta on display in the Senate exhibition area.

Meet: Magna Carta Place, Langton Circuit, Parkes. Magna Carta Place is adjacent to the Senate Gardens of Old Parliament House. There is usually plenty of nearby parking.

Cost: Gold coin donation Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or online at www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/events Public Enquiries: 6295 1436 or 0418 604 221

Renaissance Concert at Albert Hall

Sunday 13 April 11am The National Trust (ACT) will present a concert by Polifemy, a Canberra-based, female vocal ensemble, which will provide a program of Renaissance music in the wonderful acoustics of the Albert Hall.

Venue: Albert Hall, Commonwealth Ave, Canberra Cost: $10. Tickets available at the door

Narrabundah Pre Fabs Walk

Sunday 13 April 1pm-4pm This guided walking tour of the Narrabundah Pre Fabs, built to provide accommodation for workers who came to Canberra in the post WWII period, will provide an insight into the history of these pre fabs, a group of 365 family homes built to minimal standards from 1948 until 1951. They provided urgently needed accommodation for building workers and their families who came to get Canberra up and running in the post WWII days. It will include pre fabs in their original form or where redevelopment has preserved the outside form. The author of the book, Homes for the Workers - the History of the Narrabundah Pre Fabs, Alan Foskett, will lead the walk which will finish at a cafĂŠ at Narrabundah shops.

Meet: Narrabundah Shops, Boolimba St, Narrabundah Cost: $25 members, $35 non-members Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or online at www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/events

ANU Classics Museum

Monday 14 April 1.30pm-4pm Established in 1962, the ANU Classics Museum is one of Canberra's cultural gems. The collection spans the Mediterranean and beyond. The objects are beautifully displayed since the Museum's refurbishment. They range from fine Roman glass tableware and jewellery, ancient pots dating back 5,000 years, beautiful glossy Greek vases, Greek coins from the time of Cleopatra, and Roman coins depicting Julius Caesar, to domestic ware and interior decor from Pompeian villas destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius. The tour of the Museum will be followed by afternoon tea.

Meet: A D Hope Building, ANU Cost: $25 members, $35 non-members Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or online at www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/events

Three Cornerstones Walking Tour of Oaks Estate and Robertsons' House

Saturday 19 April 10.30am-1.15pm The Oaks (1836), Queanbeyan Railway Station (1887) and the Robertsons' house (1912/13) provide three cornerstones marking the developmental history of Oaks Estate. Viewed in its present day context, as a cross-border precinct at the junction of the Molonglo and Queanbeyan Rivers, they provide insight into the transition between the region's colonial and federal eras and the links between Canberra and Queanbeyan in that transition.

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Join Dr Karen Williams for the walk and a visit to the Robertsons' House, the only known construction workers' 'humpy' in the ACT, or just visit the Robertsons' House.

Meet: Meet at Gillespie Park, corner of River and Railway Streets, Oaks Estate for the walk or at Robertsons' House, 9 Hazel Street, Oaks Estate at 12.30pm for the guided inspection.

Cost: Gold coin donation Booking not required.

Travels with the Trust Local and interstate tours Far South Border Walk Postponed - date to be advised Join historian and high country expert Matthew Higgins as we delve deep into Namadgi National Park. The approximately 8km walk is on moderate terrain and will start at the Mt Clear Campground. We will head south along a fire trail to the NSW border passing ruins of early European settlers. This part of the border was surveyed in 1915 by Freddie Johnston and his team. We will return via Westermans and Brayshaws Huts. Refreshments will be provided.

Bring water and wear sunscreen, a hat and sturdy walking shoes.

Meet: Namadgi Visitors Centre, Naas Road, Tharwa, to then car pool and drive the 35km to Mt Clear Campground.

There is some dirt road.

Cost: $25 members, $35 non-members Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or online at www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/events

Hall Village walking tour Saturday 1 March 2014, 1.30pm – 4. 30pm Hall Village is named after Henry Hall who obtained a land grant of about 3,500 acres in the Ginninderra district in 1833 and was the first resident landholder of the district. The village dates from 1882 and was developed using a rectangular grid layout which still exists today. Hall has a distinctive village character which this tour will explore. The National Trust (ACT) has previously visited the cemetery and churches of Hall so this tour will concentrate on other heritage features of the village. It will be led by Tony Morris, a long term resident of Hall with direct family ties to early settlers taking up or purchasing land in the district. Tony will be able to relate some aspects of early village life from details given to him by older and past family members. We will finish with afternoon tea provided by the Hall Progress Association in the school grounds.

Meet: TBA Cost: $25 members, $35 non-members Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or online at www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/events

Miss Fisher's Costume Exhibition Wednesday 7 May 2014 A bus trip to see this exhibition at Old Government House, Parramatta is planned for Wednesday 7 May. Details, including cost, are still being finalised.

Register interest: 6230 0533

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Travels with the Trust International Tours Colours of Autumn – Japan 1 to 16 November 2014 If there are ‘must do’ times to visit Japan they are spring and autumn. Colourful leaves (koyo) are to the Japanese autumn what cherry blossoms are to the Japanese spring. The viewing of autumn leaves has been a popular activity in Japan for centuries and today it draws large numbers of travellers to famously beautiful ‘koyo’ spots, both in the mountains and in the cities. Some of the most famous Japanese gardens have been designed with the blending of autumn colours in mind.

 Nara, Canberra’s ‘sister city’ and a former capital of Japan, is also associated with beautiful temples and gardens

Kinkaku -ji Temple

Each year, starting in mid-September, the autumn colours move southwards from the northern island of Hokkaido until they reach the lower elevations of central and southern Japan towards the end of November. Some trees around Tokyo and Kyoto remain colourful into early December.

Our tour is designed to ‘hit the high spots’ of central Japan’s spectacular autumn and to visit some of the most important historical and cultural sites.

Highlights  Tokyo: the Capital of Japan and one of the world’s biggest and busiest cities, but also the site of the Imperial Palace and some of the most famous temples and gardens  Mt Fuji and Hakone  Kyoto is, of course, one of the most famous places in Japan for viewing the colours of autumn, especially the brilliant reds and golds of Japanese maples in the gardens associated with Nijo Castle and numerous temples, including the famous Golden Pavilion and Kiyomizudera temple. Be warned however, there is never enough time in Kyoto to see all there is to see!

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Gardens of Todaiji Temple

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Yoshiki -en Garden, Nara

Hida Mura village, Takayama

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Matsumato and Takayama are up in the mountains and Hida Mura on the outskirts of Takayama is quite spectacular in autumn as well as giving international visitors a chance to see and experience traditional Japanese culture.

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Hiroshima and the Peace Memorial Museum Kurashiki and Himeji Castle (the best of the original castles of Japan) Ride the famous ‘bullet’ trains – the Shinkansen Stay in a traditional ryokan hotel and relax in an ‘onsen’ (hot spring)

Himeji Castle

Kokubunji Temple

Inclusions:  Accommodation in 3-4 star hotels with private facilities  Sightseeing noted above, tour leader and English-speaking local guides  Entrance fees to museums and historical sites listed  Land transport on coaches and bullet trains  All breakfasts, 2 dinners, 3 lunches  Tips where required

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February 2014 Renaissance to modern times. A focus of the tour will be visits to UNESCO World Heritage places.

Exclusions:  Airfares  Beverages with meals  Laundry and telephone Group size: minimum 10, maximum 16 Cost: (ex Tokyo) is expected to be between $7200 and $7500 (twin share) - single supplement extra The tour leader will be Michael Hodgkin, President of the Australia Japan Society (ACT), and the travel agent is Philip Dalley of Travelmakers of Kingston (ph 02 6223 2780).

Reservations: To seek more information and lodge an expression of interest, please contact the National Trust (ACT) Office on 02 6230 0533 or info@nationaltrustact.org.au

Germany A History and World Heritage Tour May-June 2015 for approx. 21 days

The tour will be at a leisurely pace. We will be based 4 to 5 nights in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin and Munich where we will have time to explore these cities and from there venture into the heart of the country to visit the historical, archaeological and cultural places that represent the development of Germany over a period of 40,000 years. We will also have free time in these cities to explore by ourselves and to experience the food and the shops.

Some of the highlights will include: the site and museums of the first identified Neanderthal skeleton, the Roman border area of Saalburg, Heidelberg and the Rhine Valley region, Lübeck, the Viking settlement of Hedeby, Dresden, World Heritage Gardens, Museum Island in Berlin, Potsdam and San Souci, Wittenberg where Martin Luther challenged Roman Catholicism and began the Reformation, the Celtic-Roman Museum in the heartlands of the early Celts at Manching, Nuremberg, Bamburg and more.

Historical archaeologist, Dr Peter Dowling will be the group leader and Dianne Dowling will be assisting the group throughout the tour, and we will have an accredited English speaking guide with us at all times.

Come with us. Get in Early - Contact the ACT National Trust on (02) 6230 0533 Monday – Thursday or Travelscene Canberra City (02) 6247 6544 Monday – Friday

The ACT National Trust is organising another of its historical and UNESCO World Heritage tours in 2015.

(Tour costs are still to be finalised.)

The Theme: A tour covering the history and culture of Germany from the Neanderthal period of the deep past, the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Celtic and Viking periods, the Roman period through the

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Tour inclusions  Professional English-speaking escort for the entire tour and sightseeing with local tour guides where applicable  Return economy class airfares flying Singapore Airlines from Australia to Europe if required  Twin/double share 4-star accommodation throughout the tour including hotel taxes, service charges, state and local taxes  Breakfast daily, some lunches and dinners as per the itinerary  Air-conditioned coach, as per itinerary  All touring, as stated in the itinerary  Sightseeing as outlined in the itinerary with inside visits (including admission charges)  Gratuities to the tour manager and coach driver • Tips to baggage porters and hotel staff

Tour cost not included • Meals not specified on the itinerary • Excess baggage charges • Meals not specified in the itinerary • Beverages including tea and coffee except at breakfast and hotel dinners, wines, liquor, soft drinks, etc • Items of a personal nature such as phone calls, laundry, mini bar, internet access, etc • Gratuities to local guides • Transportation to/from hotels or venues if travel is separate to that of the group

WANTED! National Trust members for our Tours and Events Committee As the name suggests, the Committee organises tours and events, including Heritage Festival activities and the National Trust (ACT) Christmas party, for members and guests. We welcome new members willing to help organise, assist at events and escort tours.

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If you don't want to join a committee but have a great idea for a tour or event, please let us know and we will see what we can do.

For more information contact Mary Johnston, phone 6238 1381 or maryjohnston@bigpond.com or leave your details with Liz in the National Trust (ACT) office.

Trust Tour Reports Lake George – A tour, 17 November 2013 On a perfect day in November a group of National Trust members and guests were treated to a full-day tour exploring the natural and cultural history of Lake George.

There is a lot to learn about Lake George, but there is really no mystery.

Between 5 and 10 million years ago, during the geological periods of the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene times, the Molonglo Gorge was slowly forming. The Molonglo River, which had flowed through a relatively uniform landscape on its way towards the Murrumbidgee River, was slowly cutting into the bedrock of a tectonic uplift. The uplift was being caused by a large landmass being pushed up between two roughly parallel fault lines - the Queanbeyan Fault and the Cullarin Fault. The uplifting mass formed between these two faults is something familiar to all of us who live in the Canberra Queanbeyan area - the hills immediately to the east of Queanbeyan where we drive along the Kings Highway towards the coast and the high escarpment on the western edge of Lake George where we drive along the Federal Highway towards Goulburn.

This immense block is still slowly rising and the Molonglo River is keeping pace by cutting into it, forming the Molonglo Gorge but still following its course towards the Murrumbidgee.

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The uplifting land mass also had another effect. The Lake George basin as it was before the uplifting began was drained by several streams. The slowly rising land mass acted like a gigantic dam wall blocking off the regular flows and trapping water within the basin. Lake George had formed. One of the major streams draining the basin, the ancestral Lake George River, has its traces in what is known today as Gearys Gap. The uplifting and subsequent damming effect has created what in geomorphic terms is called an endorheic lake - an enclosed lake with no outflow of water to rivers or oceans. The uplifting process is still occurring now and Lake George will continue to be trapped within the basin for some time to come. The main causes of fluctuations of the water levels that we are familiar with are caused by local rainfall draining into the lake bed and evaporation. No mystery!

As you drive to Goulburn along the Federal Highway or along the Kings Highway towards Bungendore cast your eyes over this large valley formation. You will then see just how expansive it really is and how large Lake George could become if there was enough rainfall to fill it up. Around 30,000 years ago the water in the lake did reach a peak which would have covered the present townships of Collector in the north and Bungendore in the south, extending over Gearys Gap and flowing into the Yass river catchment. Can you imagine standing on the high ground above Gearys Gap seeing the expanse of water stretch beyond the northern and southern horizons? Such a phenomenon would have been seen by the Indigenous people of that time – their descendants now call the lake Weereewaa.

30,000 years too late! But from Gearys Gap lookout we were able to see some of the vastness of this inland lake. The lake has been an attraction for many years.

Since it was first ‘discovered’ by the European colonists in the 1820s the lake has been a focal point of attraction. The early settlers saw it as excellent grazing lands enriched by deep sediments and a source of water for their stock. Others chose to visit the lake to appreciate its aesthetic views and others came to sail on its waters. But tragedy has stalked the waters of the lake. In the 1950s ten lives were lost in two separate accidents. The first was an outing in a boat which led to the drowning of a family including two young girls.

Barely eighteen months later five cadets from Duntroon Military College were caught in one of the storms which crossed the lake whipping up waves which in the shallow waters can be treacherous. There is a monument to the young family portraying the tragedy on the shore below Gearys Gap. With these incidents in our mind we followed the shoreline to visit the historic property of Douglas.

Graeme quotes in his book: Douglas or Douglas House, on the Lake Road on the western shore [was] originally an accommodation house for tourists visiting the lake. It was the brainchild of Bungendore’s John McMahon who ‘saw tourism and hospitality as business propositions’, but was actually built by Daniel Leahy, a member of a family with ‘wide local interests…’

The house was opened for business on Christmas Day 1883. The tourist business, it seems, was not all that successful and the property went through several ownerships and is now a private residence.

We were led on our tour by Graeme Barrow, author of the recent publication on Lake George – Magnificent Lake George, The Biography. The first stop was Gearys Gap, but sadly there was little water to see – we were

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We followed along the lake road to visit another property with a hut ruin and a vernacular shearing shed, remnants again of the hopes and aspirations of early settlers intending to make their living along the lake shores. Further to the south we visited the ruins of the substantial stone house of Grantham Park, Currandooley. This area of Lake George was first used as grazing lands in 1827 following the reports of excellent grazing lands made by the early explorers who passed

by Lake George on their journeys to the Molonglo and Murrumbidgee Rivers. Patrick Hill Osborne shared this idea later when he was overlanding cattle through what is now Currandooley: ‘… there was a fine property for a gentleman to retire to … game abounded on the Lake and its surroundings’, he claimed. But he, along with those who were to set up their grazing enterprises, did not understand the idiosyncrasies of the Lake - the rising and falling of the water levels. They saw a great expanse of water and assumed it would always be so.

Currandooley was formed when two established estates within the Lake basin, Grantham Park and Mount Ellendon were combined. Today, the ruin of the former homestead is again a testimonial to the ambitions of this time of rural expansion.

Graeme Barrow describes the ruins: The ruins are about 200m from Butmaroo Creek and are a remarkable sight. There were ten or more rooms enclosed by stone walls about 43 cm thick and still upright, but crumbling in numerous places… Four separate rooms may have occupied the interior space with a passageway down the middle. The walls of the rooms could have been built of slab because there is no indication stone was used.

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Our tour of the Lake came complete with a stopover in Bungendore and lunch on the quiet lawns of a former accommodation house, The Beehive (1859), home of National Trust Councillor Eric Martin and his wife Geraldine. And, after tramping through fields on the lakebed and investigating ruins, there was an afternoon tea and tour of Ashby (c. 1836), the home of another Councillor, Mary Johnston and her husband, Richard.

We all learnt a lot about Lake George (Weereewaa) on this tour, some of it familiar, much of it new, but all of it interesting, adding to our understanding and appreciation of its natural and cultural history. One thing I came away with is that, like all good tours should do, it left me wanting to learn more about this fascinating lake.

Peter Dowling Photos Di Dowling Reference: G. Barrow, 2012, Magnificent Lake George. The Biography, Dagraja Press, Canberra.

Happy Motoring! A tribute to Chris Wain As noted in the December 2013 edition of Heritage in Trust, the completion of the Centenary of Canberra Rally meant the end of Chris Wain’s contract as Executive Director with the ACT National Trust. Chris’s contribution was recognised at last year’s Christmas party, and on 20 December some colleagues met with him for a farewell lunch in the Trust offices. Chris was given a framed Rally poster and a special Centenary number plate. Former President of the Trust, Eric Martin, writes about Chris’s time with the Trust.

Chris Wain joined the ACT National Trust as Executive Director in January 2011, following three years as the

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CEO of Volunteering ACT. Before that he had worked in the not-for-profit sector in Adelaide and Brisbane.

Chris’s main role with the Trust was to help consolidate the Trust’s position in changing circumstances, especially in relation to financial support.

Chris was successful in obtaining a first time grant from the ACT Government, but unfortunately this grant was not continued despite considerable effort by Chris.

Chris also raised the possibility of the Trust managing a historic property portfolio, working with the ACT Government, but this has proved difficult to realise.

However, the possibility is still being considered and discussions are continuing.

During his three years with the ACT Trust, Chris’s single biggest task was managing the National Trust’s main contribution to Canberra’s Centenary celebrations – the Centenary of Canberra Rally which saw more than 250 vehicles take part in a trip from Jervis Bay to Canberra over the weekend of 19-20 October. Chris has a keen interest in all things historic including a real passion for vintage vehicles, especially motorbikes, which was evident in the expertise he brought to this task. The rally was a major event in the 2013 calendar, promoted the National Trust and saw a number of new members join the Trust.

Chris brought a different perspective to the work of the Trust, raised the profile of less traditional areas of our heritage and put forward new possibilities for the Trust, all of which will have a lasting legacy. The Trust thanks Chris for the considerable contribution he made to the Trust and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.

Chris Wain with his framed rally poster

Heritage Happenings From the Heritage and Grants Committee

ACT Heritage Act Review In the July 2013 edition of Heritage in Trust, I reported that the Trust had co-ordinated a letter to all Members of the Assembly, pointing out that the draft amendments to the ACT Heritage Act did not adequately respond to the recommendations of the 2010 Marshall Review. The Trust met with Ministerial advisors and subsequently provided a further detailed submission.

Among the points made in the later submission were the following: 

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Eric J Martin, AM 

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The Trust believes the issues raised by the Bill warrant wider and more detailed public consideration than originally suggested.

The current proposals do not include a detailed response to the specific recommendations of the Marshall Review and no justification is advanced for the most significant legislative changes.

The Trust considers that all submissions should be made public and tabled in the Assembly at the time the Bill is listed again, together with the Government’s responses to the concerns expressed and to all the Marshall recommendations.

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and made separate to the decision of the Heritage Council and not at the same time.

The proposed ACT law would create call-in provisions which would allow for additional nonheritage considerations hidden from public gaze, with inputs from interested parties not known, no formal public advice from an objective source, and no facility for external review or appeal in these circumstances.

To read the full submission, go to the Trust website and click on Publications and then Submissions http://www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/heritage-advocacy

Blundells Cottage – a role for the National Trust

Blundells Cottage, Canberra, photo taken by User:Petaholmes

The National Trust has initiated discussions with the National Capital Authority to explore the possibility of a role for the National Trust in assisting in the management of Blundells Cottage. There are initiatives being developed to conserve, interpret and promote Blundells Cottage including:    

a need to catalogue the collection re-landscaping and rearranging the setting new facilities, and new education programs.

If any member of the National Trust has an interest in Blundells and may be interested in volunteering in any capacity please contact the National Trust Office and provide contact details and area of interest.

New projects for the Committee Heritage in Trust

The Heritage and Grants Committee has agreed to participate in four projects under the National Trusts Partnership Program. The objectives of the projects are as follows: Nationally Significant Trees – Population of Database  To migrate all remaining existing significant tree records held by the National Trusts onto the National Trust Register of Significant Trees, and commence populating new records.  To promote new significant tree records to this Register both from within the National Trusts and from the public.

National Trust Heritage Festival – Delivery of Heritage Festival in conjunction with Australian Heritage Week  To hold an annual nation-wide heritage festival of diverse and celebratory heritage events.  Improved community awareness of Australian Heritage Week through National Trusts Heritage Festival cross promotion; where there is alignment.

Education – Development and implementation of programs linked to Australian Curriculum Objective  To develop and implement Australian Curriculum education programs, with the generic theme of ‘valuing heritage’, linked to National Trust places, supported by a National Education Workshop and reinforcement of Australian Heritage through the National History Challenge.

Online Heritage – Development of Smartphone applications and content 

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To consolidate and expand the National Trusts’ capacity to make effective and efficient use of online communication technologies.

To raise knowledge, awareness, understanding and commitment to the conservation and interpretation of Australia’s unique Aboriginal, natural and historic heritage.

Eric J Martin, AM

Meet your new Councillors Three new Councillors were elected at the AGM last year. Each has provided a brief biography.

Graham Carter OAM came to Canberra in 1970 and worked in many diverse policy and project areas of both the Commonwealth and ACT Public Service including

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Defence, Public Works, Housing and Treasury. A particular area was Asset Management and he co-wrote the national asset management guidelines and developed an innovative performance measurement model.

Members and Volunteers Committee and continues as a member of the current Tours and Events Committee.

She has also been part of the team processing the magazine for several years. She now brings this experience on to the Council.

In his real life he has had a long involvement with hockey and sports administration generally. He was Secretary of Hockey Association for over 20 years and instigated the development of the National Hockey Centre, which is recognised as one of the best facilities in the world. He served as President of the Hockey Centre for over 20 years. For the last 15 years he has been a Director of ACTSPORT, the peak body for sport and recreation in the ACT. Currently he is also a Director of Community Sport Australia, which is the peak national body.

Reid – Heritage Suburb

Together with his wife Lee he moved to Reid in 1983 where they have restored a heritage-listed home.

Grahame Crocket completed a diploma in architecture before working overseas, returning to complete a degree in Architecture (NSW) and a post graduate degree in Town Planning (Sydney). He then worked in the NSW State Planning Authority implementing the Sydney Region Outline Plan and moved to Canberra in 1974 to join the Cities Commission for the Growth Centres program. He subsequently completed a degree in Arts (ANU) and a graduate diploma in legal studies (Canberra). After the Commonwealth abandoned its interest in regional growth centres, he worked in various departments culminating as Chief Architect (Heritage and Environment) in the then Department of Housing and Construction, with stints in Melbourne and Sydney.

Grahame retired in 1993 but re-joined the Commonwealth public service after consulting for the Australian Heritage Commission and working for the Australian Heritage Council in the Commonwealth Department of Environment. He retired finally in 2012 as the Commonwealth began to focus on its economic and other administrative priorities. He is very familiar with assessing places for inclusion in the National Heritage List and advising on impacts to National Heritage Places.

Dianne Dowling has had over thirty years’ experience in the retail and hospitality industry in Canberra. She has been a member and volunteer of the National Trust for over 15 years and was the Manager of the National Trust Shop in Old Parliament House prior to its closing.

She was one of the original members of the Trust’s

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Reid is a fascinating, diverse suburb of significant historical interest and heritage value. Located in Canberra's Inner North and adjacent to Civic Centre on its eastern side, Reid is bounded by six important roads: Limestone (formerly Pialligo) Avenue, Ainslie Avenue, Cooyong Street, Coranderrk Street, Constitution Avenue and Anzac Parade. Formerly known as South Ainslie, Reid was gazetted as a Canberra suburb on 20 September 1928. It is named after Australia's fourth Prime Minister1.

Reid's heritage value includes pre-European Indigenous artefacts2, a colonial church, schoolhouse and graveyard,3 significant sites in Canberra's early history, some of which are now lost4, Canberra's first PostFederation urban church5, part of the early Canberra railway6, one of Canberra's first Tennis Clubs and Infants' Preschool7, and a largely intact group of 1920s and 30s residential houses exemplifying the ‘Garden City’ movement in a grid street pattern which originated from Walter Burley Griffin, the architect of the Federal capital. All of this is located in an area of some 485 hectares, on the edge of Canberra's Central Business District.

The National Trust (ACT) has published a brochure for a self-guided walk through Reid entitled A Heritage Tour of Reid which identifies many of the heritage sites in this article. [See the separate article following on the Trust’s series of self-guided tour brochures. Eds.] The Heritage of Reid by Shibu Dutta, a noted architect and author, published by the Reid Residents' Association Inc in 2000, provides an informative and highly readable survey of heritage-significant buildings, places and sites in one of Canberra's oldest suburbs – Reid.

Pre-Federation Heritage (Indigenous) Indigenous heritage in Reid is scant and not well recorded. The area to the north western end of

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Booroondara Street, according to one elderly resident of Reid, was a billabong and reputedly used by Aboriginal people as a food source. The billabong fed into the area now known as Glebe Park which is located in a small part of the former St John's Glebe8. This was mainly lowlying land close to the Molonglo River and was donated

by Robert Campbell to the St John the Baptist Church for use as a farm. An article in a Canberra newspaper published in the 1980s recorded that Aboriginal grinding stones had been found in Booroondara Street9. The Ngunnawal people mainly occupied the area around Canberra.

St John's Church. Photo: wikipedia

Pre-Federation Heritage (Colonial) Most of the surviving built heritage from the Colonial period is well known. It includes St John the Baptist Anglican Church construction of which commenced in 1841, the church graveyard (first burials date from 1844), St John's Schoolhouse Museum (opened in 1848 and subsequently rebuilt and enlarged in 1865) and the St John's Church precinct, an area of about two acres, including the later Rector's residence (built 1926). All are very significant in Canberra's history and heritage and are entered in the ACT Heritage Register. The prominent Victorian architect Edmund Blacket is strongly associated with the church. He designed the church's sandstone tower which was rebuilt between 1864 and 1876 and the spire which was added 1878. St John's Church has been a focus for the religious and social life of the Canberra region since the 1840s and is still a prominent landmark located close to the corner of Anzac Parade and Constitution Avenue, Reid. More information on the church precinct can be found in the Statement of Significance included in the entry in the ACT Heritage Register at the ACT Heritage website: http://www.environment.act.gov.au/heritage/heritage_r egister.

Built heritage from the Colonial period that has not survived is less well known. It includes the former Ainslie Post Office, the former Glebe House, and part of the former road from St John's Church to its intersection with the Queanbeyan-Murrumbateman Road, which traverses the present suburb of Reid.

The former Ainslie Post Office, located near to the south-eastern boundary of present day Kanangra Court in Coranderrk Street, Reid, served as Canberra's second Post Office from 1863 to 1913. A brass plaque installed by the former ACT Historic Sites and Buildings Committee in the early 1980s marked its precise location. The plaque has since been removed by vandals. It has not been replaced. The Post Office is depicted in an oil painting by Joseph Wolinski done in 1912. The painting is held in the National Library of Australia's Pictures Collection.

Ainslie Post Office 1912. Photo: www.archives.act.gov.au

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Glebe House was a symmetrical, two storey, red brick building with a balcony designed by Canon A D Soares. It was constructed in 1873 on land donated by the Campbells and was part of the Glebe. It was originally known as the Parsonage and later as the Rectory10 for St John's Church until 1926. The Rev Pierce Galliard Smith, Rector of St John's, lived there from 1873 to 1906. He planted the elms, oaks, willows and other trees around the house which are now mainly seen in Glebe Park. From 1926-28 Glebe House was the location for St Gabriel's Church of England Girls' Grammar School. For the next 25 or so years it was a boarding house. It was finally demolished11by the ACT Administration in 1954 to make way for Ballumbir Street (now part of Cooyong Street). A brass plaque on a stone plinth behind St Peter's Lutheran Church, in Boolee Street, Reid, on the Cooyong Street boundary of the Monterey apartments records the location of Glebe House. An Irish Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), believed to be an original tree planted on the site, stands adjacent to the plinth.

Post-Federation Heritage The South Ainslie Methodist Church, later the Reid Methodist Church, and now the Korean Uniting Church, located at the corner of Coranderrk and Doonkuna Streets, Reid, was the first church to be completed in the Federal Capital Territory, opening for worship on 8 October 1927. It was constructed from donations collected from Methodists all over Australia. The architect of the church was Mr J C R Mills of Concord, NSW, and the builder was Mr R E Midson of Epping, NSW. The cost of construction was £5,150. The church design was described in 1927 as "of the Gothic decorative period and [with its square Norman tower] resembles a type frequently seen in English villages�.

Surmounting the tower was a removable cap, to be removed when funds and opportunity permitted the construction of a steeple. The church is entered in the ACT Heritage Register.

Former South Ainslie Methodist Church. Photo Trevor Bunning Brass plaque commemorating Glebe House Photo: www.archives.act.gov.au

The old road from St John's Church to its intersection with the Queanbeyan-Murrumbateman Road, near to the present day corner of Ainslie and Limestone Avenues, traversed the suburb of Reid. Almost no trace of the road remains. According to the late Tom Greaves12, who resided with his wife at 71 Coranderrk Street, Reid, this road ran through their back yard.

When digging his vegetable garden he removed a line of rocks which he believed marked a side boundary of the former road.

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Reid is admired for its largely intact collection of 1920s and 1930s houses which comprises the Reid Housing Precinct which is entered in the ACT Heritage Register. It consists of around 300 mainly single storey detached houses which were constructed by builders for the Federal Capital Commission (FCC) and its successor, the Department of the Interior (DOI). The lack of privatesector interest forced the government to construct the major portion of new housing within Canberra throughout the inter-war period.

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FCC type 7 house, Block 10 wthin Reid Housing Precinct, 1927-28

developed internationally through the 1900s and many of the principles were integral to Walter Burley Griffin’s winning design for the new Federal Capital of Australia.

Key features are the presence of central landscaped reserves overlooked by housing, generous verge widths, generous block sizes and front setbacks". Careful siting of dwellings and a design harmony in architectural styles were also important as was a planned hierarchy of street plantings which contributes measurably to the aesthetic quality of the streetscapes. Detailed information on the Reid Housing Precinct is contained in the 1970 report prepared for the ACT Heritage Unit by the Faculty of Environmental Design of the University of Canberra entitled Reid Conservation Area Conservation Plan. The report and draft conservation plan were never acted upon by the ACT Administration.

There are two community buildings in Dirrawan Gardens, Reid, that are socially and historically significant in Canberra's post-Federation development.

The Reid Tennis Club, Reid Preschool and the churches formed the focus of social life in Reid in its early years from 1927.

Reid House within Reid Housing Precinct. Photo: ACT National Trust

Griffin's detailed 1916 plan for Reid was substantially modified by John Sulman, a trained town planner who came to Australia in 1885. Sulman was appointed Chairman of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee (FCAC) in 1921. His ideas on residential street widths, street planting, rear lanes, internal open spaces, detached housing, rounded street corners and corner blocks were incorporated into his Committee's ideals for Canberra which were gazetted in a 1925 plan. This 1925 plan is the basis for the present day layout of Reid.

The heritage precinct comprises most of the suburb of Reid and reflects 'Garden City' planning principles. It is immensely important. English ‘Garden City’ planning, in combination with American ‘City Beautiful’ principles, underpinned the initial planning of Canberra by the FCAC, the FCC and the DOI between 1920 and the Second World War. The ACT Heritage Register Statement of Significance records that "the philosophy behind Garden City planning was to create healthy working and living environments for urban residents. It

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Reid Tennis Club and its tennis courts date from 1928.

The inaugural meeting of the Reid Tennis Club was held at Ainslie School with the view to formation of a tennis club in Reid. Two courts were opened on 9 February 1929 by Sir John Butters, then Chief Commissioner of the FCC. The next year a pavilion was erected for the use of members at an annual rental of £10. The first club championship was played in November 1929.

Membership of the Club was initially 71 persons, increasing to over 106 members in December 1947 – then the largest tennis club in the district. Current membership is around 120. The plantings in the reserve around the tennis courts date from 1934.

Reid Club House Photo: Reid Tennis Club

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Reid Preschool is historically important as the first preschool to be built in Canberra. It was conceived originally as a Play Centre and strongly supported by residents and the then Reid Progress Association which subscribed a loan to assist in its construction Work began in May 1945 and the “pioneer preschool unit”, as C S Daley13 described it, opened in November 1945. The official opening was 30 November 1946. Thirty four children were enrolled at the Preschool from its inception. Further information is contained in the excellent book, Alive to the Needs of Children – Stories of Reid Preschool, published by the Reid Preschool Parents Association in 2005.

Reid Preschool

The former railway in Reid ran from Kingston, crossing the Molonglo River on a trestle bridge and terminating in Civic in present day Garema Place. The railway embankment runs parallel with Amaroo Street, Reid, and is marked by an avenue of trees and shrubs on its south-western side, separating it from the Canberra Institute of Technology Reid campus. It was constructed in 1920 and was used for only 20 months as the trestle bridge was swept away in floods in July 1922. The railway was a single line and of a light gauge. The train speed was limited to 4 miles per hour near St John's due to its proximity to the church. The steel rail was pulled up and used for scrap in 1940 and there is now little if any visible evidence of the actual railway line. Walter Burley Griffin's plan for Canberra included a railway to Civic although his plan was later modified by the government. A heritage nomination has been made for the site of the railway in Reid.

Photo: Ainslie School

The Reid Bus Shelter at the corner of Doonkuna and Coranderrk Streets dates from the late 1920s. It is a largely timber structure with a galvanised steel clad pitched roof. The Bus Shelter, which is a similar design to those in Deakin and Narrabundah, has been entered in the ACT Heritage Register. The Shelter was a meeting place and arrival point in Reid and played an important part in the early social activity of the suburb.

Railway site. Photo: http://weekendwalks.files.wordpress.com

Heritage under Threat

Reid Bus Shelter Photo: http://weekendwalks.files.wordpress.com

Heritage in Trust

The ACT National Trust has included the Reid Housing Precinct as one of Canberra's places that is 'heritage at risk', together with other early housing precincts in Canberra. Unsympathetic ACT planning regulations 14, house demolitions15, inadequate heritage compliance at times16, and commercial and re-development

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pressures are all taking their toll on this fragile environment.

Example of inadequate heritage compliance: only the front brown section was retained, the roof is of new construction

The proposed Amendment of the ACT Heritage Act 2004 which ignores some of the more important recommendations of the 2010 Marshall Review of the ACT Heritage Act and overturns previous heritage policies of the ACT Government is another potentially serious attack on heritage values in the ACT19.

The failure of progressive ACT Governments to put in place a comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for Reid and other heritage-listed housing precincts in Canberra, although this was recommended in the case of Reid in a government- commissioned report of 1970, is yet a third example of what many residents consider to be a neglect of heritage conservation in Canberra.

Reid houses demolished 2010 and 2011

The proposed redevelopment of the Allawah, Bega and Currong (ABC) Flats in Reid and Braddon, which includes two 15 storey towers and at least a quadrupling of the existing population of the public housing site as well as the removal of about 180 mature trees, is an example of public planning that is insensitive and which, additionally, may have seriously adverse effects on nearby heritage-listed places18.

Heritage in Trust

However, there have been some positive developments in municipal administration and services. In 2013 the preparation of a CMP for the assets of Roads ACT in Reid was finally approved, the dilapidated wooden Reid Bus Shelter was repaired and repainted after representations by the Reid Residents' Association Inc, and an approved modern reproduction of the original radial wave light fittings attached to wooden light poles has begun to be installed by Territory and Municipal Services (TAMS). TAMS is to be congratulated for these recent heritage-sensitive actions.

Conclusion No other predominantly residential suburb of Canberra has such a rich and varied collection of heritagesignificant buildings, places and sites as Reid. With a population of around 1,600 persons, an average age of

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39 years, and residential accommodation split between townhouses, flats and units (65%) and houses (35%) 20, Reid is very much a living suburb that embraces sustainable change. It also celebrates its heritage worth and values, even if these are not always recognised or appreciated by those entrusted in Canberra with responsibility for their conservation.

The Reid Residents' Association Inc, which traces its origins back to 1944, will continue to urge governments, municipal regulators, residents and others to preserve and conserve the important heritage of the ACT and Australia which is found in the suburb. To this end, the Association, amongst other things, organises in conjunction with the National Trust (ACT) an annual 'Reid Open Houses and Gardens' event, which is now in its ninth year. Participants can inspect the private homes and gardens that are opened, meet the owners, learn about the history of the properties and the changes made, and understand more about the uniqueness of the early housing precinct which is now more than 86 years old.

ACT National Trust self-guided tour brochures and phone apps an update To date, the ACT National Trust has produced 20 brochures enabling self-guided heritage walks in the ACT, the latest of which is the Southern Border Walk which was published late last year.

The Trust is now close to finishing work on an iPhone app which will deliver five of the walks, with links to more information, using a smartphone. Users will be able to download the app free of charge. It will guide users around each walk using the phone’s GPS, providing information about the area and in some cases historical photographs of elements of interest. The app has been co-developed with Imagine Team Solutions and was made possible with an ACT Heritage Grant.

As Canberra enters its second century as the Federal Capital, residents of Reid earnestly hope that the heritage of Reid will be preserved for future generations of Australians to admire and enjoy.

John Tucker John Tucker has lived in Reid since 1979 in a heritage-listed house which he and his wife, Esther, have restored. He is a member of the Committee of the Reid Residents' Association Inc and since 2010 has been a member of the National Trust (ACT) Council.

Photographs courtesy of Graham Carter unless otherwise stated. End-notes are on page 29.

The Phone app Blandfordia 5

Photo: Imagine Team Solutions

The walks included in the app are:  Commonwealth and Kings Park  Reid  Blandfordia 5  Southern Centenary Border Walk  Northern Centenary Border Walk.

Reid Heritage Suburb signage

Heritage in Trust

This app builds on the smartphone app on the Merry Go Round launched last year. www.nationaltrust.org.au

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It is hoped that this Walks app will be launched in February or March. Further details will be provided in ENews and on the Trust’s website. The accompanying brochures have also been revised and are being reprinted, and should be available at the same time as the new app.

In addition to the five walks contained on the app, the Trust’s brochures cover a number of suburbs and town centres:               

Acton Ainslie Barton – Lake Burley Griffin Side Barton – Manuka Side Belconnen – Around Lake Ginninderra Belconnen – Beyond the Lake Gungahlin – Northern Gungahlin Gungahlin – Southern Gungahlin Hall Village – The Heritage Walk Hall Village – the Heritage Drive or Bike Tour Military Heritage in the ACT Tuggeranong – through the Valley Tuggeranong – Tharwa and Lanyon Yarralumla – Tour 1 of 2 Yarralumla – Tour 2 of 2

National Trust of Australia (ACT) Office PO Box 1144 Civic Square ACT 2608 Telephone 02 6230 0533 Fax 02 6230 0544 Email info@nationaltrustact.org.au Net www.nationaltrust.org.au ABN 50 797 949 955 Opening times: Office Location:

9.30am to 3.00pm Monday to Thursday 1st Floor, North Building Canberra City [above Canberra Museum & Gallery], entry from Civic Square

Patron The Hon. Margaret Reid AO

President Scott McAlister

Office Manager Liz McMillan info@nationaltrustact.org.au

About Heritage in Trust The e-magazine, Heritage in Trust, is produced and edited by Maree Treadwell and Wendy Whitham assisted by Dianne Dowling and Mary Johnston.

Heritage in Trust is published quarterly as an electronic magazine in conjunction with the national magazine Trust News in February, May, August and November.

The editors invite articles and letters from Trust members with an interest in the heritage of the ACT and these should be addressed to The Editor, Heritage in Trust, at info@nationaltrustact.org.au.

Deadlines for copy for the remainder of 2014: 17 April, 18 July, 17 October.

Self-guided tour brochures

Members can collect hard copies of the brochures from the office in Civic or download them from the Trust website http://www.nationaltrust.org.au/act/walkstours-trails. Click on Places to visit, then Walks, Tours and Trails.

The views expressed in Heritage in Trust are not necessarily those of the National Trust of Australia (ACT). The articles in this e-magazine are subject to copyright. No article may be used without the consent of the ACT National Trust and the author.

Wendy Whitham Wendy Whitham is currently editor of Heritage in Trust, and a longstanding member of National Trust (ACT).

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Christmas at Huntly

Endnotes to Reid - Heritage Suburb 1.

Photos: Graham Gittins and Linda Roberts 2.

3.

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Sir George Houston Reid, GCB (1845-1918), a former Premier of NSW, Prime Minister of Australia and later Member of the British House of Commons.

Aboriginal grinding stones have been located in Booroondara Street, which was formerly a billabong near the present Glebe Park.

St John the Baptist Anglican church, constructed from 1841, St John's Schoolhouse and St John's cemetery.

The former Ainslie Post Office, next to present Kanangra Court, and the former Glebe House, near Monterey.

The Reid Methodist Church, completed in 1927 – now the Korean Uniting Church, Reid.

St John's Glebe was an area of 100 acres (40 hectares) used as a farm to support the Rector of St John the Baptist Church, and was acquired by the Commonwealth in 191213 for national capital purposes.

The Reid Tennis Club was founded in 1927 and Reid Preschool dates from 1945 – both are heritage-listed.

More information can be found in A H Body's detailed history of St John the Baptist Anglican Church: Firm Still You Stand (1986).

The newspaper article cannot be identified by the author although he recalls seeing it in the 1980s.

Glebe House was the second St John's Rectory – the first was the cottage of the pioneer settler J J Moore at Acton.

Prior to 1873 Glebe House was known as St John's Rectory.

Bricks salvaged from the demolition were used in the construction of the Acton Football Club clubhouse at 79 Franklin Street, Forrest – in existence until 1994.

Tom Greaves was an entomologist with CSIRO and informed the author in the early 1980s. The rocks were rounded by the action of water which showed they had been collected and placed in a rough line by human intervention. His property is located where the former road is believed to have existed.

C S Daley was Assistant Secretary (Civic and Administrative) in the Department of the Interior.

These include the ability to use a residential house exclusively for business purposes providing that for at least one night a year it is occupied; renting of virtually an entire back yard of a residential property for paid parking; dual occupancy regulations; conducting an on-going commercial accommodation business in a residential house, etc.

Substantial demolition of heritage-listed houses in Reid continues: for example, currently, 44 Euree St, Reid.

There are numerous examples of departures from the "Specific Requirements for the Conservation of the Precinct" which are contained in the Entry to the Heritage Register in respect of Reid. Mandatory requirements that have not been observed or policed at all times include: Blocks shall maintain the visual characteristics of the original development; New recreation facilities shall only be permitted which are consistent with a Conservation Management Plan that has been endorsed by the ACT Heritage Council; Trees shall be protected during development; Vehicles, equipment and materials shall not be parked or stored within the drip line of trees or on the reserve or parks; Not less than 40% of the area of a residential block shall be retained as planting area; Verges shall be retained at their current widths and remain grassed; Verges shall not be used for the long term parking

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of vehicles, trailers or other equipment or for the storage of building and landscaping materials or garden refuse; Not more than one verge crossing shall be permitted where blocks have a single frontage; etc.

The recent ACT Draft City Plan will bring a part of Reid into the Canberra Central Business District.

The ABC Flat redevelopment project is an unprecedented planning proposal for a residential suburb. The ACT Government is the proposer, planner, developer, regulator and approver. The so called 'consultation' on the project proposal is widely considered to have been a sham by those who participated in it. There are several aspects of the proposal which bode ill for nearby heritage precincts and places. First, no independent expert study has been undertaken of the impact on surrounding heritage-listed precincts and places, although the proposal involves increasing the population of the site by a factor or 4 or 5 times the current residential population of about 600 persons. Second, the recent ACT Draft City Plan and a proposed new Precinct Code for the site will make it part of the Canberra Central Business District and permit mixed uses, including offices, shops, cafes and other uses in a hitherto low to medium density residential suburb. Third, new infrastructure requirements for the site (eg water and sewerage mains) will necessitate the excavation of part of Currong Street, which is heritage-listed and which is lined on both sides by 90 year old Atlas Cedars. Unlike the heritage impact assessment that was done in the 1980s for natural gas reticulation in Reid and its potential effects on mature street plantings, no independent study has been done or is currently planned for this project.

The National Trust (ACT) has identified a number of serious concerns with the ACT Government's proposed Amendment Bill to the ACT Heritage Act 2004 and has set these out in a submission to the ACT Government. These concerns are shared by eight other Canberra community organisations. More information is available from the National Trust (ACT).

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 Census data.

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