Trust News August 2014

VO LU M E 8 N O 3 AU G U S T 2 0 1 4

TRUST

news

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INSIDE >

NEW ENCOUNTERS AT OLD FARM

NATIONAL TRUST

Australia

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10 MARVELLOUS MODERNISM

12 MARGARET OLLEY’S STUDIO

MARLI RIVERPARK

Discover Australia’s National Trust heritage places and have a great day out!

National Trust members gain FREE and discounted entry* *except for special events

ABOVE  Old

www.nationaltrust.org.au

Farm, Strawberry Hill, Albany.

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Inside

my W O R D

with editor Gina Pickerin g

ISSN: 1835-2316

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New Walkways for Port Arthur

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Endeavour Fern Gully inspires forty years of care

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New encounters at Old Farm

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UWA Masters of Professional Archaeology Internship

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Melbourne’s Marvellous Modernism

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Moving Margaret Olley’s Studio

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marli riverpark

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Sir Jack Brabham AO, OBE A National Treasure

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The Treasures in our Archives

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Rewriting history at Wolston

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Revealing new perspectives

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A new way to explore Adelaide’s heritage

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Railway Heritage

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Weathering Storms

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Commemorating the ANZAC Centenary Respect, Gratitude, Pride and National Identity

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Inspiring architecture and heritage of place

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Architecture and lost identity

Vol 8 No 3 2014 Trust News is published quarterly for National Trust members and subscribers in February, May, August and November.

Publication is coordinated by the National Trust of Australia (WA) on behalf of the National Trusts of Australia and supported by the Department of Environment.

National Trust of Australia (WA) ABN 83 697 381 616 PO Box 1162 West Perth WA 6872 T: 08 9321 6088 F: 08 9324 1571 W:www.ntwa.com.au Editor: Gina Pickering gina.pickering@ntwa.com.au T: 08 9321 6088 Advertising: For advertising rates, contact the Editor.

Design: Dessein Graphics Cover: Swan River near All Saints Anglican Church, Swan Valley. G Pickering Next Issue: November 2014 Copy deadline:10 September 2014 Please help us to save our environment and circulate this magazine as widely as possible.

This magazine is printed on recyclable paper and packed in 100% degradable wrap.

The views expressed in Trust News are not necessarily those of the National Trusts or the Department of Environment. The articles in this magazine are subject to copyright.

No article may be used without the consent of the National Trust and the author.

AUGUST - OCTOBER 2014 Greetings In this edition of Trust News, 40th anniversary celebrations on railway tracks at Pichi Richi, South Australia and bushtracks at Endeavour Fern Gully at Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.

In the west, Old Farm, Strawberry Hill welcomes visitors to its newly completed attractions, while a cultural heritage plan for Perth’s rivers is shared for the first time with Noongar Elders.

We take a look at the dazzling detail of Margaret Olley’s studio, consider whether lost architecture means lost identify and protection of Melbourne’s post war modernist architecture is under the spotlight.

Enjoy

Gina Pickering | Editor

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TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2014

PERSPECTIVES

New Walkways for Port Arthur GREG HUNT MP | MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

The Budget has reaffirmed the Australian Government’s commitment to Australia’s heritage and delivered on a number of important election commitments.

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n a move that is both nationally and globally significant, restoration work at the Port Arthur Penitentiary building can continue with funding of $1.5 million from the Australian Government.

Port Arthur is perhaps Australia’s most recognised convict site and, in May, I was delighted to see firsthand the important restoration work being done on the Penitentiary and to meet the dedicated and talented people carrying out the work.

The work will stabilise the existing structure of the building and provide the foundations for new internal walkways that will invigorate the visitor’s experience of this historic place. The walkways will recreate the corridors and pathways of the original Penitentiary building, allowing people to walk in the footsteps of its convict inmates.

It is expected the stabilisation work will be effective for up to 100 years, ensuring one of Tasmania’s most popular tourist sites continues to attract visitors to the region.

The building stands at the heart of the World Heritage listed Port Arthur Historic Site which is central to Tasmania’s tourism industry and the regional economy.

The Federal Budget also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to its Green Army Program. The Green Army has

been allocated $525 million to support grassroots community groups to meet local environmental challenges, including heritage conservation issues, for the next five years.

The Green Army can assist with a range of projects including conservation work on local heritage buildings; building and maintaining heritage gardens; refurbishing a local heritage site, statue or cemetery; or establishing a heritage information display.

The Budget also confirmed the Government’s support for the conservation, development and exhibition of local cultural heritage through the Community Heritage and Icons Grants, which will have funding of $1.4 million over the next three years.

Under this new program, local community groups will be able to apply for grants of up to $10,000 to strengthen their involvement in the management of their local heritage.

In addition, the Australian Heritage Council will receive a grant of $50,000 per year for three years, and the Federation of Australian Historical Societies will receive $80,000 per year for three years to support their important work for Australian heritage.

The Australian Government understands the importance of conserving and celebrating the rich

ABOVE Port

and diverse tapestry of local and national heritage in Australia.

For the last four years community groups around the country have celebrated and participated in Australian Heritage Week.

This year more than 200 events were registered with the Department of the Environment.

Local heritage and historical societies and other community organisations put together a remarkable array of interesting events and activities.

From open days, exhibitions, heritage walks and tours, historic performances and re-enactments, Australian Heritage Week ensured the unique places, buildings, culture and heritage of our wonderful towns and communities were celebrated.

I congratulate everyone involved and encourage you to get involved for 2015. Remember every town, city and community has something to celebrate.

Finally, I would like to thank all those who took the time to provide feedback on the draft Australian Heritage Strategy. We received over 100 submissions in all. Your comments provided valuable feedback that will be taken into consideration when drafting the final Strategy, due for release later this year.

Arthur, part of the World Heritage Listed Australian Convict Sites. J Wherrett. Port Arthur Historic Sites Mr Julian Proud, Construction Manager for Tasmania, Hansen Yuncken, Mr Greg Hunt , Federal Minister for the Environment, Mr Eric Hutchinson, Federal Member for Lyons, Mr Matthew Groom, Tasmanian Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage. Australian Government INSERT

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Endeavour Fern Gully inspires forty years of care ANNA FOLEY & MARTIN GREEN | NATIONAL TRUST (VIC)

“You have to act like Thor and use your Hammer,” said Lead Teacher Sean Edwards. Eager Red Hill Consolidated Primary School’s Green Team spread out across the site and whacked stakes, dug holes and netted new seedlings as they replanted the remaining pastoral landscape with Indigenous vegetation.

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eacher Dylan Milenkovic was pleased with his students efforts “Our school learns sustainability from Prep to Year 6. It’s just great to get out of school to learn about things outside the classroom.”

It is no wonder the Gully holds a special place in the hearts of the community. Kangaroos, wallabies, possums and rare Powerful Owls are all in residence, and eagleeyed visitors can spot orchids and colourful fungi. The Gully is one of the few places on the Mornington Peninsula where Austral Mulberry (Hedycarya angustifolia) is still found.

planted over 20,000 trees and shrubs.

The National Trust’s Indigenous Heritage Advocate, Rueben Berg, is undertaking research into significance of the Gully.

The outcomes will provide an opportunity to share stories of how Aboriginal people occupied and used this landscape, and how this site fits within the context of the significant sites in the area.

In the Trust’s 40th year of caring for Endeavour Fern Gully, property manager Gillian Tolley has created a new trail that explores the natural features of the site. Using beautiful

forest as a special place that could bring people in touch with nature.

He praised the volunteer effort in restoring Endeavour Fern Gully as “an example of the kind of collaborative community projects that we should do around the country”.

The Gully has brought together people of all ages to get their hands dirty, including the Friends of Endeavour Fern Gully, Red Hill Consolidated School primary students, Franklyn Scholar Conservation and Land Management students, the Mornington Peninsula branch of

The original twenty seven hectare site was given to the National Trust in 1973 through the generosity of Mr John Douglas. It remains one of the rare examples of natural remnant rainforest on the entire Mornington Peninsula.

Through mostly volunteer efforts over four decades, the Trust has removed cattle as well as fences, installed a boardwalk trail and

flora and fauna images from artist Peter Strickland and QR codes on plaques designed by Noel Tolley, visitors and student groups can use their smartphones to learn about the special features of the site.

The Hon Greg Hunt MP, Minister for the Environment and Member for Flinders, arrived to formally launch the Gully Trail by planting a tree. The Minister praised the

the National Trust. The Minister also acknowledged property manager Gillian Tolley as a ‘force of nature’, who has been the catalyst for conservation of the Gully.

VISIT THE NEW INTERPRETIVE WEBSITE at

www.endeavourferngully.org.au. The Gully is an easy 1-hour drive from Melbourne and is open daily (excluding high fire danger days) at 195 Arthurs Seat Road, Red Hill.

Access is free – just close the gate behind you!

LEFT TO RIGHT The Hon Greg Hunt MP investigates the new Gully Trail, pictured with Martin Green and Martin Purslow. R Berg Green Team from Red Hill Consolidated School with Franklyn Scholar TAFE students and Gillian Tolley. M Green A group decision about where to plant the next tree. M Green

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New encounters at Old Farm ANNE BRAKE | MANAGER INTERPRETATION NATIONAL TRUST (WA)

Old Farm, Strawberry Hill in Albany, Western Australia was reopened to the public in April after the completion of major conservation and interpretation works. Visitors are encouraged to look more closely at onsite evidence and to consider the people who have been connected with the place over its history.

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he site was an important meeting place for the Menang people who continued to have a connection post settlement working for Sir Richard Spencer on his farm and possibly on the original government farm which was established in 1827.

Francis and Maud Bird bought the farm from the Spencer family in the 1890s when it was all but abandoned and badly deteriorated. Francis was an architect and took on the restoration of the place with enthusiasm. Several generations of the family lived there until it passed briefly to the Shire of Albany and then to the National Trust.

Archaeological excavations over time have recovered evidence of all these layers of history. Donations of objects directly relating to the site have also been made.

This material, provenanced to Old Farm, has formed the nucleus of the new interpretation. The downstairs bedroom, known in recent times as the muniments room, and by the Bird Family as ‘the dark room’, now houses objects and panels providing a direct link to the people who once lived, worked and roamed through this place.

The yellow paint scheme, chosen from paint scrape investigations, gives the place a warmer, more

ABOVE Old Farm, Strawberry Hill, Albany, Western Australia. NTWA INSERTINSERT Edith Penny Tom Perrigo at the relaunch of Old of Farm, Hill. Chloe is Bird in theisbackground.

C Anderson/Albany Historical SocietySociety ABOVE Edith and Penny and Tom Perrigo at the relaunch OldStrawberry Farm, Strawberry Hill. Bird Chloe in the background.

C Anderson/Albany Historical BOTTOM (L TO R) Interiorofofmain mainhouse houseincluding includingfeature featurewall wallrevealing revealinglathe latheand andplaster plasterwall wallconstruction constructionover overthe thegranite granitewall wallbehind. behind.C CAnderson Anderson LEFT TO RIGHT Interior

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UWA Masters of Professional Archaeology Internship VARTENY BOYADJIAN | UWA INTERN

Under the supervision of archaeologist Leanne Brass and Manager, Education and Learning, Joy Lefroy, I was involved in education programs designed to pass historical knowledge and a passion for heritage on to a new generation. A large portion of my internship was dedicated to aiding the development of a new archaeology education program, ‘Digging up the Past’, at Old Farm, Strawberry Hill in Albany. welcoming feel. The Drawing Room now houses paintings of Sir Richard and Lady Ann Spencer acquired from the Albany Historical Society.

A welcome from the local Menang people greets visitors as they enter the house. Panels installed in the entranceway also provide a brief overview of the main stages of the history of the place and encourage visitors to become ‘site detectives’, discovering for themselves some of the stories hidden in the building fabric, in the landscape surrounding the house and the objects themselves.

The work relied on continuing consultation with the local Menang people and their ongoing support for the approach the Trust is taking at this nationally significant place.

Volunteers at Old Farm report visitors are now staying longer and are more interested in and curious about what they are seeing. Plans are underway to add to the interpretation through audio visual presentations, a small booklet, upgraded website and the development of a range of public programs.

As well as a strong focus on the main stories of the site, the holistic approach which draws attention to the natural, Aboriginal and historic values of the site involved National Trust staff from conservation, interpretation, education and learning as well as the archaeology team.

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he program involved the adaptation of real archaeology and archaeological techniques into a program that was child-friendly and fun and held during the April school holidays. A series of archaeological activities including excavation, sorting and classifying artefacts was offered. There was a good turnout of budding archaeologists, aged between 7 and 14, who participated in the three day program. In pre-prepared archaeological ‘trenches,’ children learned to carefully excavate, sieve deposits, and record their findings and many took to this activity with astounding care and accuracy. The same can be said of the sorting activities, where real artefacts from Old Farm, Strawberry Hill and elsewhere were available for classification and examination.

The value of education through the sharing of our heritage will not only foster historical knowledge and interest, but also future care and interest in our history. We should all be as ready to get our hands dirty.

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Young investigators seek archaelolgical finds for the first time. J Lefroy LEFT UWA Masters student, Varteny Boyadjian, setting up a trench for excavation for the ‘Digging up the Past’ holiday program at Old Farm, Strawberry Hill. J Lefroy

LEFT UWA Masters student, Varteny Boyadjian, setting up a trench for excavation for the ‘Digging up the Past’ holiday program at Old Farm, Strawberry Hill. J Lefroyright Endeavour Fern Gully. NTVic

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MODERNISM

PERSPECTIVES

Melbourne’s Marvellous Modernism PAUL ROSER, EMILY PIPER AND FELICITY WATSON | NATIONAL TRUST (VIC)

BACKGROUND The

modernist form of Peter Muller’s Hoyts Cinema Centre ascends from the Victorian streetscape of Bourke Street.

Peter Wille, c1960s. State Library of Victoria

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PERSPECTIVES

Despite being a significant period in Melbourne’s cultural and architectural history, postwar modernism is scarcely represented on either the City of Melbourne’s heritage overlay or the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR).

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n (Marvellous) Melbourne, postwar buildings are seen as especially challenging, as they were largely designed to stand in contrast to the lowscale, decorative Victorian and Edwardian buildings they replaced.

The fusion of postwar planning and modernist architecture was an international phenomenon that shaped Melbourne’s new architectural language, and today its emergence as a heritage issue has challenged those who believe

that preservation efforts should be directed purely towards an idealised Victorian city.

In 2011, planning amendment C186 proposed to expand local heritage protection to an additional ninety nine buildings in Melbourne’s CBD, and in 2013 heritage controls were announced for eighty seven of these. The

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approved buildings all dated from the 1850s to the 1930s, however Victoria’s Planning Minister excluded ten recommended postwar places, citing a need for further study.

Buildings excluded from C186 included the former National Mutual Building (Godfrey Spowers, Hughes Mewton & Lobb, 1965) and the Royal Insurance Group Building (Yunken Freeman, 1966).

The decision ultimately left the door open for the demolition of the National Mutual Building, for which a permit was approved in February 2014.

Most recently, another Planning Scheme Amendment (C198) included the former TAA Building at 50 Franklin Street (Harry Norris, 1965). This is a crucial amendment which will represent the first postwar building to be included in the CBD heritage overlay if successful.

Another development is the ongoing debate about Total House (Bogle & Banfield, 1965). In early 2014 the Heritage Council determined to add Total House to the VHR as a notable, highly intact, distinctive and early example of Japaneseinfluenced Brutalist architecture in Victoria. The building is proposed for demolition and a permit for its redevelopment will now be required from Heritage Victoria.

In 2013 the former Hoyts Cinema Complex (1969) was successfully nominated by the National Trust to the VHR. It displays Sydney architect Peter Muller’s interest in structural engineering as a means to inspire architectural form, the use of Chinese-inspired bracketing for the wide eaves creating an unusual upside down pagoda-like form.

The exclusion of postwar buildings from individual heritage overlays has provoked widespread community and public debate.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy raised eyebrows in January with his view that “people use the term Brutalist architecture to legitimise ugly buildings, but I don’t think we should be saving ugly buildings in Melbourne”. The National Trust will continue to advocate for the protection of significant postwar architecture and challenge subjective assessments that do not take into account the significant place that Modernism, and heritage of the recent past, occupy in our built heritage.

The National Trust, in partnership with Architours Melbourne, has developed a walking tour of Modernism in Melbourne’s CBD. A link to a PDF booklet of the walking tour, as well as updates on advocacy for Melbourne’s Modernism, can be found at www.trustadvocate.org.au.

TAA Building stands proud next to Mac’s Hotel on Franklin Street. James O’Nicholls, 1975. State Library of Victoria the absence of heritage protection, the National Mutual building was approved for demolition in 2014. Wolfgang Sievers, 1966. State Library of Victoria

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Moving Margaret Olley’s Studio CHRISTINE FRANCE

One of Margaret Olley’s last wishes was that her studio should become a focal point for the Margaret Olley Art Centre to be established at the Tweed River Art Gallery, in the area where she had spent the happiest years of her childhood near the Queensland and New South Wales border.

ABOVE Interior BELOW The

view of the former Paddington Hat Factory which was, for years, Olley’s home, recreated at the Margaret Olley Centre. J Ealand. Tweed Regional Gallery Green Kitchen, Hat Factory. J Ealand. Tweed Regional Gallery

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M A RG A RE O L L EY T

A treasured legacy

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lley was a hoarder and nothing was ever thrown out. Kilim rugs were placed one on top of the other and every surface was covered. All the things that she collected were chosen for their shape, colour or texture.

They were objects which she would include in her paintings but they also created a magical interior.

Recognising that recreation of the studio would be akin to an archaeological dig, museologist Sally Watterson was appointed project manager and hundreds of forensic photographs were taken to record the rooms exactly as Olley had left them.

The Tweed River Art Gallery was designed by architect Bud Brannigan to be built in three stages. The third stage offered the perfect opportunity to house the Olley Studio as well as an exhibition area, educational workshop, library, multimedia space, storage area and a stand-alone artist-in-residence.

After visiting the recreated Francis Bacon studio in Dublin, Brannigan decided to house the studio within the new gallery by replicating the external walls and using the original doors and windows from the Paddington site. Many people were upset that the museum could not be retained in Paddington but access and parking, as well as health and safety issues, made the location difficult.

Olley had always been a great supporter of regional galleries and it was her wish to give to areas which had limited access to cultural activities.

Decisions about what to take from the studio became the priority and not wishing to sanitise the space it was decided that everything, apart from items such TOP  The

as food which could carry infestations into a museum environment should be taken. It was also agreed that archival material be housed at the Art Gallery of New South Wales archive library to ensure ease of access for scholars.

The first problem was finding somewhere to work. Every surface was covered and tracks between furniture were severely limited. Watterson decided to free up some floor space by sending a wooden swing from Rajasthan to the Tweed. This gave her room for a small table and her computer. From this point she worked around the room in a spiral from the periphery to the centre. Objects were identified, measured, photographed and numbered with all details entered into a database.

Over a two year period Watterson, later assisted by Anna Pagel, catalogued and packed 21,000 objects including 130 jugs, 50 tea pots, 57 coffee pots and 84 vases, while archival material was extracted and filed for the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

In February this year Watterson and Pagel moved to Murwillumbah and began unpacking the treasures to create a perfect replica of the original rooms complete with cigarette butts and chocolate wrappers.

Olley always had a great affection for the National Trust and the S.H.Ervin Gallery. In 1990 it hosted her first retrospective and in 1996 she was voted by the public to be a National Trust Living Treasure. It is hoped that the S.H.Ervin will benefit from her legacy with some support for a yet to be finalised exhibition program.

Yellow Room. J Ealand. Tweed Regional Gallery

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Highlighting cultural values

marli riverpark GINA PICKERING | PROJECT MANAGER

A new framework for communicating the exceptional cultural heritage values of Perth’s Swan and Canning Riverpark was presented to Noongar Elders at a special meeting in June.

marli riverpark – An interpretation plan for the Swan and Canning Rivers was developed for the Swan River Trust by the National Trust of Australia (WA) with vital input and support from a specially appointed Noongar Advisory Panel.

BACKGROUND Swan

River near All Saints Anglican Church, Swan Valley. G Pickering Noongar Elders led a smoking ceremony at the completion of the Interpretation Plan for Perth’s Swan and Canning Rivers. M Poon/NTWA TOP INSERT The plan represents a unique collaborative partnership. M Poon/NTWA CENTRE Swan River Darter. G Pickering BELOW Rod Hughes, General Manager of the Swan River Trust presents Noongar Elders Noel Norich, Marie Taylor and Alf Taylor with the marli riverpark plan.

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The South West Aboriginal land and Sea Council recommended eighteen members of the Noongar community to inform the project which was developed over sixteen months.

The panel members provided guidance from a cultural perspective, highlighting priority nodes in the riverpark including areas which required healing. They also provided content and advice on strategies within the project.

The project, undertaken by a specialist interpretation team, included an extensive audit of social values reflecting both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. More than 700 paintings, over 1200 photographs, as well as hundreds of audio visual assets, literature and oral histories collections were identified and compiled into a new cultural assets library as a project outcome.

The interpretation plan draws on a statement of significance for the Swan River developed in 2009, an audit of heritage values in 2011 and the Rivers of Emotion website project undertaken in 2012 in a partnership between the Australian Research Council, Centre for the History of Emotions 1100-1800 and the National Trust of Australia (WA).

The concept of marli riverpark is the major guiding outcome of the work. The iconic black swan, commonly associated with Western Australia, has been

tourism in Western Australia to $12 billion by 2020. The plan also identifies opportunities to develop Aboriginal enterprise in the riverpark and complement new commercial and residential development along Perth’s rivers.

Key nodes around the river have been identified to provide arrival and departure points, as well as visitor access to parking, orientation, interpretation and business. The approach is complemented by specially designed riverpark ‘furniture’ which assists in keeping the riverpark clear of visual pollution.

The project was generously funded by Lotterywest and the Swan River Trust.

The Swan River Trust Managing Director Rod Hughes said the interpretation plan would provide important input to the trails plan for the riverpark.

The plan recognises the Noongar oral tradition as a foundational interpretive

The interpretation plan is an invitation to all to consciously consider our relationship to the past in the present through sustainable ways that offer social, environmental and economic wellbeing to the entire community.

Each contributing member of the panel was presented with a limited edition hard copy of the plan by Swan River Trust General Manager Rod Hughes who described the meeting as a special occasion to mark a milestone.

There are 450 listed heritage sites in and along the Swan and Canning Rivers including the rivers themselves which determined the location of Western Australia’s capital.

central to both Whadjuk and European (Dutch, French and English) cultural understanding of the riverscape in pre and post colonial times. It links to the natural, Aboriginal and historic values of the riverpark while providing a sense of altitude from which to consider the meaning of the rivers by local and international communities.

Business has a significant place in the plan which aligns with state policy aims to grow

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approach. It champions many perspectives associated with Perth’s riverscape, offers a bilingual naming protocol and a significant commitment to wellbeing of the riverpark and the community.

LEFT INSERT­ Smoking ceremony preparations.

M Poon/NTWA RIGHT INSERT Tom Perrigo, CEO National Trust of Australia (WA) said the plan was not just about the rivers, it was about increasing knowledge within the Aboriginal and non-Aborginal communities. M Poon/NTWA. TOP­ Elder Marie Taylor provides a blessing.

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Sir Jack Brabham AO, OBE A National Treasure DR PETER DOWLING | NATIONAL HERITAGE OFFICER

The National Trusts of Australia note with sadness the passing of Sir Jack Brabham AO, OBE in May this year. Jack Brabham was a National Trust listed National Living Treasure. Our National Living Treasures are exceptional Australians who have achieved substantial and enduring accomplishments in their fields.

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ack won the Formula 1 World Championship in 1959. His name became familiar not only to those who followed international Formula 1 car racing, but also to many other Australians. He became even better known when he won the World Championship again the following year. He was seen as a symbol of what a young

Australian could do – take on the very best in the world and beat them at their own game. Jack went on to win the World Championship a third time in 1966 and the Constructors’ Championship in 1966 and 1967. He was recognised then and today as one of the most accomplished drivers and team owners in motorsport. He was the

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first driver to receive a knighthood for his achievements and services to the sport.

I never met Jack Brabham. But as a young boy in country South Australia in the early 1960s I certainly knew about him. He was a great hero to my mates and I. On each weekend we came together to hurtle down the street hills of

Brabham leaves for Italy on a Qantas plane at the Kingsford-Smith Airport on the 15 March 1960. He was one of the world’s best racing drivers in the 1950s and 1960s, winning the world championship three times. Ern McQuillan. National Library of Australia. vn3308223 INSERT Jack Brabham in his Ford racing car, 13 August 1971. National Library of Australia. vn4593895

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our town at a breakneck pace in homemade and very fragile soapboxes (billy carts to non-South Australians). We were all Jack Brabhams, winning races and becoming world champions with every ride. Never mind the spills, snapped shafts, broken wheels and axles and the fact we had no brakes to ease around corners and stop before we shot across a major road at the bottom of our hill. Sheer gravity and the momentum acquired by a strong push from a big sister powered each of us across the finish line to receive the chequered flag. Jack was the epitome of what we wanted to be. Of course, none of us became racing car drivers but back then it was all we could think about.

We listened to radio reports of Jack winning the races, talked excitedly about him and his cars in the schoolyard and flocked to the local cinema to see the Movietone news features on Saturday afternoons. Jack was certainly a big part of our lives.

John (‘Jack’) Arthur Brabham was born in Hurstville, NSW, on 2 April 1926. As a young lad he was attracted to cars and mechanics.

At the age of fifteen he left school to take up a job at a local garage and in the evenings he studied mechanical engineering. He soon branched out on his own buying motorbikes, which he repaired and sold using his parents’ back verandah as his workshop. In 1944, one month after his eighteenth birthday, Jack enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force where his skills were put to use as a flight mechanic. Following the war, Jack established himself as a talented dirt track racing driver and in 1955 he moved to Europe to compete at the highest level of motor racing. He was among the best in the world.

Jack retired from world competitive racing in 1970 but continued to be involved in the motor industry and motor sports events. In 1999, at the age of 73 years he commented that driving stopped him getting old. He continued to drive up until at least 2004. Sir Jack was given a State funeral on 11 June and will be honoured by a trophy in his name to be awarded to future Australian Grand Prix winners.

REFERENCE: www.jackbrabham.com (accessed 16 June, 2014)

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Between the lines

THE RAILWAY DOG AUTHOR:

OLWYN M PARKER

REVIEWER: MARCUS BERESFORD, NATIONAL TRUST (SA) PUBLISHER: BROLGA PUBLISHING MELBOURNE 2010 ISBN: 9781922175397 This charming short book (101 pages) tells the delightful story of a small dog “Bob”, which became something of a mascot in the mid north of South Australia in the late 19th century.

Rescued from a trainload of feral dogs transported from Adelaide to the northern farming areas, to try to deal with the growing rabbit problem, Bob was a long haired brown dog that, of its own initiative, took to riding on trains up and down the countryside. It would make occasional visits to Adelaide where it had a human friend in Hindley Street who ran a butcher’s shop. Bob was often seen on top of the engine cab or coal tender behind the locomotive as trains sped around the mid northern region.

The adventures of Bob include falling from a moving train, being kidnapped, flooding rain and more. The book reflects some of the difficulties and delights of people in the rural areas in the period (1884-1895).

Bob became the subject of photographs and postcards, including a studio print by the Art Portrait Co of 174A Rundle St, Adelaide. These images often included short verses about the dog and apparently it was not uncommon for people to have a photo of Bob on their mantelpiece!

A fine brass plate and leather collar was made in the railway workshops which read “Stop Me Not, But Let Me Jog, For I Am Bob The Driver’s Dog. South Australian Railways” Bob lived with several families in the railway towns of Peterborough and Terowie, and is commemorated in a bronze sculpture on the main street of Peterborough (which was named Petersburg prior to World War I).

Although such a book could be mawkish or sentimental, the author manages to avoid this and to keep the story moving, making it humorous, informative and touching in parts. $24.99 plus $5 postage, email sales@brolgapublishing.com.au

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The Treasures in our Archives JULIE BLYTH | ARCHIVIST, NSW NATIONAL TRUST (NSW)

Visitors to our National Trust Archives are often incredulous as they look around at the bays of library books, arrays of files, boxes and albums stuffed in every corner of the Archive, which take up much of the behind-the-scenes ground floor of the National Trust Centre on Observatory Hill in Sydney. In these days of digitisation it is rare to find a paper archive, let alone one so full of original documents and precious stories. And yes we also have elderly volunteers beavering away on computers or storing and labelling photographs and plans. Many a grateful researcher has thanked me for providing a copy of a letter or older report which answers a very specific question in their research and which has not been found elsewhere.

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he archive records of The National Trust of Australia (NSW) date back to 1945 when the organisation was established as a committee under The Forestry Advisory Council of New South Wales. Most of the records, written and photographic, have been generated by the Trust’s work protecting the state’s heritage buildings and sites, or relate to the appropriate conservation and management of Trust properties.

But often images and papers from the early years have been donated by retired Trust Councillors and committee members, such as the late Ivor Wyatt, the Hon Lloyd Sommerlad and Helen Armstrong.

These later acquisitions give a more complete history of Trust actions.

From time to time, members of the public also donate rare books and reports, images and oral memories relevant to the cultural heritage of New South Wales.

Some donated photographs date back to the 1870s, and others have been taken by photographers such as Cazneaux and Dupain. Letters on file come from some surprising sources like Vivien Leigh and Patrick White. Searchable indexes have been created to locate information and images on heritage buildings and sites, Trust properties and Trust people and architect-designed buildings, as well as on library holdings, magazine articles and other Trust publications.

The Trust Archives holds a complex collection of information which reflects the diversity of conservation issues, commitments and activities within the ambit of the Trust and others involved in aspects of conservation.

An early initiative of the Trust which began in 1946 with the listing of 43 individual buildings and places in the state, considered

worthy of preservation, grew to become the National Trust Register. The list was divided into A and B categories, according to significance. Now listing some 11,500 heritage items of all kinds, including detailed analysis of architectural, environmental and cultural significance, the Register is a valuable tool for the Trust and other conservationists needing to persuade governments and communities of the need for heritage protection.

Quoting earlier letters gives weight to our arguments in defending heritage sites. Showing early photographs of heritage places in their prime is also a valuable tool in their conservation.

So this archive of ‘old records’ has a very current use. The records on Trust properties are similarly important today, with their details of past conservation works and background information which informs conservation works and interpretations carried out today at these precious heritage places in the care of our small, under-resourced but determined organisation which has achieved some amazing outcomes.

LEFT Macquarie Watch Tower, La Perouse, c1822, photographed before the fire of 1957 which destroyed all but the tower (A-Listed) NTNSW

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N OW

and

THEN

D IV ER SE

archival collection

The Trust Archives hold a complex collection of information which reflects the diversity of conservation issues, commitments and activities within the ambit of the Trust and others involved in aspects of conservation.

TOP Mt

Gilead Windmill at Appin still stands, although not in working order. It is very visible along the ridge with other associated dairy buildings. (B-Listed). NTNSW RIGHT Ebenezer Church built 1809; the oldest existing church in Australia (A-Listed) NTNSW BOTTOM Sydney Royal Mint in 1870 (built between 1811 and 1816), originally part of the Sydney Hospital group (A-Listed) NTNSW

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Rewriting history at Wolston DR VALERIE DENNIS | NATIONAL TRUST (QLD)

Invited guests and volunteers joined the National Trust of Queensland’s Patron, Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AC, in thanking barrister Thomas Bradley QC for his generous donation to Wolston House of a copy of one of the earliest letters posted from Moreton Bay to England.

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r Bradley purchased the distinctly marked November 1841 letter, written by Wolston House’s first owner, Dr Stephen Simpson, at auction in London.

The original, to a relative of Simpson’s wife Sophia, was penned prior to his accepting the position of Moreton Bay’s first Acting Police Magistrate. It is held in the collection of the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Heritage Centre in the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law in Brisbane.

This letter provides a revealing insight into this cultured man, eighteen months resident in New South Wales, his wife and daughter now deceased. He writes of trying to establish a new life in a postconvict era Moreton Bay, where the rush for land and wealth has just begun. He hopes to establish a private hospital and writes, ‘The undertaking is no doubt gigantic

for my means, but no matter “nothing ventured, nothing gain”, a truism in this Colony, when half the great fortunes have been made out of nothing.’ In the end, he did not build his hospital. The National Trust and the community has him to thank instead for Wolston House.

On the May evening, National Trust of Queensland President Stephen Sheaffe thanked the Governor for her invaluable support of the National Trust and her passionate interest in Queensland’s history and heritage.

The Governor accepted life membership of the National Trust and a koala sculpture, designed by Oscar winning designer John Cox and decorated in lorikeet theme by Gold Coast artist Scott Maxwell. The sculpture was presented in appreciation

ABOVE Wolston RIGHT

House. S Finnigan Oldest known photo of Wolston House thought to be this 1860s image: NTQ archives

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of her close support of the National Trust’s Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and its Wildlife Hospital.

The historical guidebook Wolston House, produced with the assistance of a Brisbane City Council Community Heritage Grant, was launched on the same day. A descendant from the Simpson-related Ommaney family, Heather Taylor several years ago found nineteenth century letters from Dr Simpson, and one from John Ommaney, his visiting great-nephew, in her family history trunk. The story of Wolston House continues to weave its course through time.

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BACKGROUND Stephen

Sheaffe, Tom Bradley QC and the Governor of Queensland Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AC with the 1841 Wolston letter – sincere thanks to Gary Gardiner and Ann Garms for donating the frames. T Nemeth AVOVE Facsimile of the 1841 Simpson letter. T Bradley 19

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Revealing new perspectives SOPHIE AMBLER | WINNER 2013 NATIONAL HISTORY CHALLENGE

So aptly put by Thomas Macaulay, “A history in which every particular incident may be true may on the whole be false.”

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oth Lady Jane Franklin and her husband, Sir John, share a history of the very same inclination. ‘The Legend Behind the Man in the Square’ documents the history of the Sir John Franklin monument in Hobart’s city centre.

While hundreds of people walk past it every week, few know it has a tale: beginning and ending with his wife.

Jane Griffin was born in 1791, in a world where she would be labelled a member of the weaker sex.

Women were destined, or rather doomed, to be degraded. They were preordained for nurturing a family and to be satisfied with their embroidery.

Contrary to her demure appearance, Jane was not the typical 19th century woman. From a young age, she was determined to learn and be successful. Her thirst for knowledge spurred on her hunger for exploration, as she travelled all her life.

She set foot on every continent, except Antarctica, and rode an elephant at the age of 71. John Franklin, born in 1786, was an established explorer and naval officer and married Jane in 1828. He became Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), where the couple had greater influence on the island than they are given recognition for today.

The Franklins brought an interest in culture to Tasmania; promoting the establishment of educational institutions and fostering scientific development and natural history research.

After John and Jane returned to England, John soon embarked on a voyage to discover the North West Passage in 1847, from which he would never return.

Jane never accepted his fate. She organised and paid for five expeditions to search for him and kept the subject in media for a decade. Finally, the team was found. It was reported that the crew had likely resorted to cannibalism and a further search confirmed their deaths. Jane had two monuments erected in Sir John’s honour – one in London and one in Franklin Square, Hobart – and a bust of him placed in Westminster Abbey; implying for centuries to come, that he found the Northwest Passage. After Jane’s death in 1875, she had “Sir Leopold McClintock – discoverer of the fate of Sir John Franklin” added to the monuments.

Lady Jane Franklin had turned a possible cannibal into a legend and she too had shrouded herself in fable.

Sophie Ambler is currently a Grade 10 student at Clarence High School, Tasmania. Her winning documentary in 2013’s National History Challenge was entitled, ‘The Legend Behind the Man in the Square’ and investigated the legends surrounding Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin.

Special thanks to Sue Newitt, Alison Alexander, Sam Graudins, Angelique Bowe and everyone else who supported me with this project.

ABOVE Frames

from Sophie Ambler’s documentary The Legend Behind the Man in the Square.

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A new way to explore Adelaide’s heritage DR DARREN PEACOCK | NATIONAL TRUST (SA)

Visitors to Adelaide now have more reasons than ever to discover the city’s heritage places. A new website and mobile app from the National Trust of South Australia called Adelaide City Explorer are putting the city’s heritage into the hands of today’s digital explorers.

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here are more than 3,000 listed heritage places within the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Explorer brings the stories of landmark buildings, people, memories and hidden treasures to life through a mobile digital guide.

With a new free wi-fi network across the city area due for completion this year, information about the city’s heritage is now more accessible than ever.

Themed walking ‘trails’ offer self-guided itineraries covering between 10 and 25 sites. So far there are more than 100 stories and eight different trails to explore.

Many more are in development stages as a network of trails is created covering architectural, historical and personal perspectives on the city’s heritage.

One of the most popular trails to date is City of Pubs, a brief jaunt around a dozen of Adelaide’s oldest and finest heritage hotels, all but one still operating today. Another trail, In the Steps of Stella Bowen, traces Stella’s memories of her early years in Adelaide in the early 1900s before she left for Europe to become a painter and later the first woman appointed as an official war artist for Australia during World War II. The mobile apps are GPSenabled to support easy orientation and navigation. The individual stories combine archival photographs, newspaper stories, TOP In

audio and video recordings with textual descriptions. Each of the sites and trails includes a map with ‘live’ directions via Google Maps.

The purpose of Adelaide City Explorer is to help people take a closer look at the city’s heritage places and discover why they are important. The next stage of the program involves check-in offers for explorers to visit businesses located in heritage buildings on the self-guided trails such as hotels and cafes. Trails designed specifically for school group use are also in development.

Adelaide City Explorer was created in partnership with the Adelaide City Council and

has also been supported by the Commonwealth Government through the National Trusts Partnership Program.

VISIT THE WEBSITE AT

www.adelaidecityexplorer.com.au and download the ADLexplorer app from the Apple and Android app stores.

the Steps of Stella Bowen, is one of the trails featured on Adelaide City Explorer. NTSA shots from the Adelaide City Explorer app. NTSA

RIGHT Screen

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Railway Journey MARCUS BERESFORD | NATIONAL TRUST (SOUTH AUSTRALIA)

WAY RAIL

ary s r e v i n n A uorn in Q

The northern region of South Australia has some extraordinary railway heritage. Peterborough Steamtown offers an exceptional museum (featuring a suite of locomotives and carriages in sheds around a turntable), and the National Trust of South Australia Museum in Jamestown is located in a fine old railway station (1878).

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owever, one of the jewels must be the train route and museum operated by Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society in the 1860-80s railway town of Quorn.

This volunteer group, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, operates a three hour return service through scenic Pichi Richi Pass which is part of the original Ghan train route to Alice Springs.

It’s a journey which is an absolute delight to travel, even for the lessthan-devoted train lover. It also

TOP Steam

Locomotive NM25 at Woolshed Flat. M Beresford Railway Station. M Beresford

BOTTOM Quorn

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features the oldest (1882) intact narrow gauge railway in Australia and one of the longest such lines in the world.

From mid autumn to late spring a handsome steam locomotive (often NM25, which was originally used on the Ghan) pulls a string of superb wooden carriages through a spectacular rocky gorge to Woolshed Flat, where a basic lunch can be purchased in attractive historic stone cottages built for railway maintenance workers.

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Between the lines 12-10 cov-2_hard rock story 16/11/13 9:12 AM Page 2

Robert Irving, Ron Powell and Noel Irving

At other times, a 1940s Barwell diesel railcar operates the run (see www.pichirichi.com.au for details).

The carriages have padded benches along each side so you look straight out the windows at beautiful views and vegetation, or meet other travellers, while volunteers in smart “Car Captain“ uniforms provide interesting snippets of information about features along the route.

Quorn is a treat in itself, with wide streets of 19th century stone cottages and villas, a Town Hall (1885) with sculpted figures supporting the arch over the doorway, rows of intact heritage shops (used in a number of Australian movie productions) and four 1880s two-storey hotels best described as imposing, and with like names Transcontinental, Criterion, Grand Junction and Austral. Some of these buildings are now protected following National Trust of South Australia listing decades ago.

In World War II tens of thousands of Australian servicemen travelled on trains through Quorn to the Centre and then transported in trucks to be shipped out of Darwin. Nowadays the visitor accommodation is more limited, with perhaps the best being the fine three-storey Old Mill (1879) motel and other bed and breakfast facilities.

SYDNEY’S HARD ROCK STORY: THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF TRACHYTE AUTHOR: ROBERT IRVING / RON POWELL / NOEL IRVING Sydney’s

REVIEWER:

MATTHEW DEVINE

PUBLISHER:

HERITAGE PUBLISHING

ISBN: 9781875891160

hard rock story The cultural heritage of trachyte

2 SYDNEY’S HARD ROCK STORY

INCLUDING

A TRACHYTE WALK IN

SYDNEY

CITY

The greatest reference book on the use of stone in Australia, Building and Ornamental Stones of Australia, written by Richard Thomas Baker and published in 1915, identified Bowral Trachyte as a favourite building and ornamental stone of Sydney architects. Since that time, it has become unfamiliar to many, hopefully remedied by an impressive new book by Robert Irving, Ron Powell and Noel Irving titled Sydney’s Hard Rock Story: the cultural heritage of trachyte.

Trachyte is a hard igneous stone, widely used from the 1880s until its use declined in the 1970s/80s. It is amazingly versatile, having been used for kerbstones, ballast, road building and for a wide range of building uses. The book addresses every aspect of the stone, from the geology of the Sydney basin and surrounding areas, searches for a local hard rock to be used in conjunction with soft local ‘yellowblock’ sandstone, the discovery of trachyte on Mount Gibraltar overlooking Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW and the characters who fought to extract the stone from the earth, such as entrepreneur John Leggat.

It also covers the earliest known uses of Bowral Trachyte, including the bases of the Paddington Gates of Centennial Park (1888) and the (first) Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge (1886-1889). The ‘trachyte boom’ of the 1890s-1920s saw an increasing use of the stone for road works (kerbing, guttering, paving), grand building facades. Employing trachyte embodied strength, solidity and permanence giving rise to impressive and robust monuments.

As Don Godden writes in the foreword of the book, ‘its hard, close-grained beauty, its formed and polished surfaces, and its uncompromising arrises gave a solidity and permanence that was inspiring’ - and continues to be.

The book provides a walking tour through the centre of Sydney to highlight many outstanding examples of the use of trachyte in streetscapes, architecture, monuments and decoration, from Wynyard to Town Hall Stations. Possibly the best examples are at the western end of Martin Place, with trachyte used on a series of former bank buildings.

Towards the end of the book, they describe the gradual decline in the use of trachyte, leading to the closure of the quarries and the search for replacement stone for the conservation of trachyte buildings in the late 20th century.

Matthew Devine is an architect within the Heritage Group of the NSW Government Architect’s Office. He has worked for 20 years in the heritage industry in NSW, including with the National Trust of Australia (NSW) and the Australian Institute of Architects (NSW Chapter) and is currently chair of the NSW National Trust Landscape Committee.

VISIT www.sydneyshardrockstory.com/site/shr/ WINNER 2014

National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards book is a must for every architectural and building conservation library’. It’s also a beautifully illustrated, informative read.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS: ‘This

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Weathering Storms JENNIFER ROSS

The opportunity to restore a unique piece of architecture was a dream come true for façade engineers, Diagnostech.

The Sydney-based company was engaged by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage to undertake remedial work on the Green Cape Lighthouse which is the second tallest in NSW and Australia’s first lighthouse built in concrete1.

M

anaging Director Dennis Stephenson said the initial consultation began in September 2011 when Senior Building Consultant Ewen McDougall found himself hanging from ropes, abseiling the lighthouse tower twenty nine metres above the sea while Dennis commenced the ground inspection.

The team audited every centimetre of every structure on the property and provided a comprehensive and accurate condition report which enabled the government to determine and stage essential works. Diagnostech project managed the work, which ranged from concrete repair to replacement of the lighthouse glazing on the tower, with contractors Structural Systems.

This work was critical to the survival of the lighthouse which is located on the headland of Disaster Bay in southern NSW. The work involved some challenging access and logistics, providing the team with some valuable learning along the way.

“The first thing we learned was how the structure was built.

Originally constructed in 1883, it was made of rings of steel encased in concrete with six foot thick walls,” Dennis Stephenson said.

“We only found this out when we inspected one of the outer buildings which is now a ruin and it gave us the insight we needed to do the repairs,” he said.

Those who constructed the lighthouse faced the dual challenges of an isolated location and a local base of white clay which forced deep foundations to be dug to ensure stability for the James Barnett designed lighthouse. More than 130 years later challenges to overcome included the rising damp and the replacement of the glazing as it risked exposing the valuable lantern to the elements.

The lantern enclosure and fixings were replaced and the modern catwalk around the outside repaired.

“The lighthouse is an amazing piece of engineering and we feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work on it,” Dennis said.

1 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Cape_Lighthouse

TOP Heavy

duty plastic protects sensitive lighthouse fittings from heavy weather during works on the tower. Diagnostech lamp was removed during works and the historic lantern was wrapped then boarded with plywood for protection. Diagnostech OPPOSITE PAGE Green Cape Lighthouse, a guiding light on the southern New South Wales coast. Diagnostech BOTTOM The

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Commemorating the ANZAC Centenary Respect, Gratitude, Pride and National Identity DR PETER DOWLING | NATIONAL HERITAGE OFFICER

ABOVE  A

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group of Turkish youth paying their respects at a Turkish memorial (57th Infantry Memorial), Gallipoli, Turkey. P. Dowling 2011

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Five years ago I was sitting quietly by myself on the beach at Anzac Cove trying to understand what happened there in April 1915 when I was approached by a small group of young Australian backpackers. We talked about the Gallipoli campaign and I asked them why they came. They each told me in their own ways but the common and dominant thread in their answers was to pay their respects and gratitude to those who had been killed, and to those who had served there. They all agreed that in doing so they felt a great sense of national identity as Australians together with a sense of amity with Turkey. Two years later I found myself sitting below the monument at Lone Pine but this time three young Turkish University students, who no doubt wanted to practice their English, approached me. We also talked about the campaign and they expressed very similar feelings as the young Australians.

However, their main sentiments centred on national identity and national pride. They saw the Gallipoli campaign as a successful defence of their homeland and the genesis of the modern Turkey they knew. Nevertheless, they, like their Australian counterparts acknowledged that there was a common thread, a shared heritage, rather than a conflicting heritage between Australia and Turkey seen and experienced by them in the graves and monuments on the former battlefield.

N

ext year, 2015, Australia will begin in earnest commemorative events across the country. Anzac Day, April 25, will in all likelihood be the dominant event of the year largely because of the current national significance it holds. But what exactly will we be commemorating? Will it just be the Gallipoli campaign for 2015? Will we later be commemorating the one hundred year anniversaries of the many other major battles on the Western Front and in North Africa that Australians were involved in up until 1918?

Individuals and families who had relatives associated with the other battles will most likely see their anniversaries as special events. Then there are the military engagements, conflicts as well as peacekeeping, which Australia was involved in prior to and following the First World War; will they be part of the 1915 events? By the end of 1915 there is a risk that these other events in Australia’s military history will become secondary as commemoration fatigue sets in.

There is the question of whom we are commemorating. In the first instance it will be those who lost their lives – killed in action or who died as a result of their wounds or from infectious diseases - then those who fought and survived.

But equally we should consider and commemorate a wider range of service – women and men who served in the medical corps abroad and at home, the non-combatants, the women and men who served in the home front organisations and the families whose lives were forever affected by the conflicts

and the losses they had to endure.

Should we be discussing whether Anzac Day 2015, and into the future, takes on a more formal role in recognising a wider scope of commemoration across a wider time frame? Have we reached that point or, as our society expands in its cultural structure, do we have further to go?

I do not know the answers to these questions or what the final outcomes of the forthcoming centenary commemorations will reveal to us as a society and a nation. Come Anzac Day next year I will remember the discussions I had with those young Australian and Turkish backpackers and students I encountered at Gallipoli and their common reasons for visiting the battlefields – respect, gratitude, pride and a sense of national identity.

The National Commission on the Commemoration of the Anzac Centenary, 2011, How Australia May Commemorate the Anzac Centenary, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

ABOVE An INSERT A

Australian paying his respects at the headstone of a family member, Lone Pine, Gallipoli, Turkey. P Dowling 2005 small group of Australians at the ceremonial area, North Beach, Gallipoli,Turkey. P. Dowling 2011.

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Inspiring architecture and heritage of place CAROLINE STOKES | CONSERVATION ARCHITECT NATIONAL TRUST (WA)

A RC H

ITECT

Low technology solutions and inspiring sustainable landscape interventions were featured at the National Architecture Conference held in Perth during May.

TOP Hotel

Tierra Patagonia, Cazú Zegers, Patagonia, Chile. Rainbow Nelson and Water Bar, Vo Trong Nghia, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. Hiroyuki Oki

BOTTOM Wind

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URE

Conference inspires

GLOBAL

BELOW  Park

Royal on Pickering, Richard Hassell, Singapore. P Bingham-Hall

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Architecture and lost identity TIM METTAM | CONSERVATION PROJECT OFFICER NATIONAL TRUST (WA)

The heritage of Australia’s unbuilt iconic architectural projects is on display at this year’s Venice Biennale.

T

TOP RIGHT Minifie

van Schaik, Caught Unawares, Project 2013, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Digital Reconstruction By Ben Juckes. feli.

TOP LEFT (L-R) Leo Showell and Gianfranco Furlan volunteering at the ‘Cloud Space’ Pavilion in Venice.

L Showell CENTRE Raymond McGrath (Architect), Maurice Lambert (Sculptor), ANZAC Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Competition entry 1930. Digital Reconstruction By Tim Mettam, Elliot Lind and Leo Showell. felix BOTTOM Patrons Inside the “Cloud Space” pavilion using their smart phones and the trigger images.

L Showell

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he exhibition entitled “Augmented Australia 1914 – 2014” is the creation of the Perth led creative team felix._Giles_ Anderson+Goad, who won an Australian competition to represent Australia in Italy at one of the world’s most significant international exhibitions for architecture and design.

The exhibition features eleven historic and eleven contemporary projects that were never built and therefore explore an Australian identity through architecture that could have been.

The Australian team has exhibited its work through a smart phone app which brings to life the unbuilt projects through augmented reality, technology and animation.

The app brings still ‘trigger images’ to life in a 3 dimensional landscape context. The exhibition imagines the possibility of what could have been for Australia and is now essentially a lost identity. This includes the loss of architecture to social, political and economic forces.

The Australian exhibition of unrealised projects was fittingly presented in a temporary structure as Australia has no permanent pavilion this year. However, a new pavilion designed by Denton Corker Marshall is currently under construction with expected completion in 2015.

Although Australia may not have the same catalogue of built heritage as other parts of the world, the exhibition demonstrates that Australia’s history is not short of world class architects and thinkers.

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Discover Australia’s National Trust heritage places and have a great day out!

National Trust members gain FREE and discounted entry* *except for special events

www.nationaltrust.org.au

al Trust 2015 Nation stival Heritage Fe

Conflict & Compassion be open, s will soon Registration please go to / trust.org.au www.national ils ta de r fo ival HeritageFest

Sharing our extraordinary stories of conflict and compassion.

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