Trust News February 2016

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DIRK HARTOG ANNIVERSARY

NATIONAL TRUST

Australia

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HERITAGE FESTIVAL

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GOODFELLOW’S TREE KANGAROO

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SEARCHING FOR AEI

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ISSN: 1835-2316 Vol 10 No 1 2016 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: Night Parrot, Heritage Festival 2016. Mulga Next Issue: May 2016 Copy deadline:10 February 2016 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.

my W O R D

with editor Gina Pickerin g Welcome to a new year and I hope it brings you the best.

This year’s first edition of Trust News Australia brings a fascinating emotional context to the 400th anniversary of Dirk Hartog’s landfall on the Western Australian coast and explores some contemporary links for Dutch Australians.

The 2016 Heritage Festival heats up and you’ll find some national highlights within, to put in your diary.

There’s a rare pipe organ restoration project from South Australia and in Queensland the opera goes underground with beautiful results.

The National Trust in Victoria celebrates 60 years and the Australian Submarine AE1 keeps her secrets after a strategic search.

Enjoy

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New Beginnings

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Great Expectations: The emotional story behind Dirk Hartog and the VOC

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Bridging the distance

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Heritage Festival Highlights

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Grounds for Reconciliation on Wadjemup

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Experiencing heritage through music

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Restoring a significant discovery in South Australia

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Towards a National Trust

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New addition captures hearts

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Australasian Research Connections

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A Memorial to Explosive Detection Dogs

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Creating the gallery for “Cooktown’s War”

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Temperance in the mid West

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Clarendon A Roof over our Heads

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Excavations at Gallop House

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Submarine AE1 keeps her 101-year secret – for now

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A Bicentenary at the NSW Government Architect’s Office

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Rose refuge at Saumarez Homestead

Gina Pickering | Editor

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PERSPECTIVES

Launch of the Australian Heritage Strategy GREG HUNT MP | MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

In December I was thrilled to launch the Australian Heritage Strategy, which details the Australian Government’s action plan for the heritage sector over the coming decade and beyond.

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ne of the commitments made in the strategy is to explore the potential for a national heritage lottery. Details of exactly how the lottery could work are currently being considered and the Government will consult with states and territories, heritage groups and the community on a potential design.

Lotteries have been run successfully in the United Kingdom for many years, providing an additional source of sustainable funds for ‘good causes’.

Under the UK legislation, money raised by the lottery supports works to such iconic places as Stonehenge, Dover Castle and Hadrian’s Wall, as well as providing funding for hundreds of local and regional heritage projects. In the UK’s last financial year alone, the National Lottery set aside a staggering $760 million (£390 million) for heritage.

The Australian Heritage Strategy was launched at the official opening of Sydney Opera House’s new Welcome Centre. The iconic World Heritage listed Opera House is recognised as one of the world’s great buildings and was largely built using funds generated through a lottery run by NSW. The whole Australian community could benefit from a national lottery set up to conserve, promote and protect Australia’s rich and diverse heritage places.

Providing lottery funds for Australia’s great national heritage

would not replace but be additional to the Australian Government’s ongoing funding programs for Australia’s heritage places. The lottery could also make a major contribution towards achieving the vision and aims of the Australian Heritage Strategy.

The strategy’s central vision is that our natural, historic and Indigenous heritage places are valued by Australians, protected for future generations and cared for by the community.

It considers ways in which Australia’s heritage places can be better identified and managed to ensure their long-term protection and provides a nationally driven strategic direction for heritage management in Australia, across all levels of government and the community, for the next ten years.

ABOVE Proceeds

Actions outlined in the strategy are designed to fulfil three high level outcomes of national leadership, strong partnerships and engaged communities.

The Strategy makes it clear that heritage identification, protection and management is a shared responsibility with state and local governments, community groups, property owners and managers, businesses and individuals.

Australia’s natural, historic and Indigenous heritage underpins our sense of place and national identity, makes a positive contribution to the nation’s wellbeing, and provides financial benefits to local and regional communities through tourism.

A strong and dynamic heritage sector is a fundamental pillar of the Government’s vision for Australia.

from the bespoke Sydney Opera House Lottery supported the construction of this National and World Heritage listed property. Department of the Environment, 2003. M Mohell

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PERSPECTIVES

Twenty five not out GINA PICKERING | EDITOR

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om Perrigo is an unlikely champion of heritage in Australia.

Originally migrating from Montana in the USA in 1975, he took the reins as CEO of the National Trust of Australia (WA) twenty five years ago. It’s been a colossal commitment with a fair share of legacies, ministers and milestones. While Tom retired from his position in December 2015, a conversation with him reveals a new heritage plan ahead in a national capacity.

GP: Twenty five years is a long time to do anything, what kept you here?

TP: Partly due to the fact of the geographical isolation of WA and the amazing people that I have worked with has seen me develop a lifelong commitment. The first years were incredibly frustrating and painful as the organisation moved from management by volunteer to management with volunteers.

This was very challenging both for the volunteers and the team at the Trust.

GP: You’ve brought in significant funding over your time at the Trust.

TP: I think it is around 60 million dollars over 25 years.

GP: You have influenced heritage in WA by bringing that money through the Trust and back out into the community.

TP: The National Trust is an organisation that works for others not itself and I don’t think this is well recognised. However, over the last few years, there have been significant public outcomes and the Trust is repeatedly approached by others to assist.

GP: What makes the Trust effective?

TP: Our flexibility of acting between government and with both the corporate and community sectors to deliver sustainable public outcomes. Government bodies cannot do what we can do.

GP: Do you have some regrets?

TP: Put simply, there are always regrets, but at the same time it is what it is. I regret not knowing more about how painful and challenging change management is, whilst at the same time acknowledging the brilliant leadership and support I have had around me.

I always regret not doing more, especially for some places in rural Australia but at the same time a lot was achieved, which sees the WA National Trust as having more sustainable heritage places than any other State/Territory in Australia.

I regret the failure of government to understand heritage and the great tragedy of seeing separate heritage legislation in Australia in the year 2016.

GP: You’ll still have a presence in the heritage?

TP: Yes. I will continue to work on special projects for the Trust in WA and have been invited to help the Trust movement grow nationally by becoming the CEO of the National Trusts of Australia. It is a role of support and facilitation and I am seriously looking forward to it.

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PERSPECTIVES

Great Expectations: The emotional story behind Dirk Hartog and the VOC SUSAN BROOMHALL | AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE HISTORY OF EMOTIONS, THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

2016 marks the four hundredth anniversary of an important event in this continent’s history. On 25 October 1616, Dirk Hartog, captain of the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) vessel, Eendracht, made the first known European landfall on the Western Australian coast, at what is now Dirk Hartog Island, near Shark Bay. For the past five years, researchers at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions have been investigating the powerful role of emotions in the activities of the VOC around Australia during the seventeenth century and how they continue to shape the course of this continent and its peoples in profound ways.

ABOVE Aelbert Cuyp, A VOC Senior Merchant (probably Jakob Martensen), his wife, and slave, with Batavia Castle and VOC fleet at anchor in the background, c1640 - c1660, oil on canvas, h 138cm × w 208cm. © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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PERSPECTIVES

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n 1602 the VOC was established by the Dutch States to exploit Asian trade and to compete with the Portuguese and Spanish — then the most advanced explorers and traders in Europe. VOC officials were keen to trade anything that could make them a profit, not just back home, but also between ports in Asia. But Centre researchers have also highlighted how powerful feelings about an obligation to spread Christian doctrine informed the VOC’s engagement with this region, and how it was discussed in its records. Here, Company men’s interpretation of the emotions of local peoples about VOC activities were a key part of their judgment about the susceptibility of these people to evangelising.

Company documents were filled with expressions of emotions: joy, pride, elation, satisfaction on the one hand but also envy, fear, anger, sorrow, shame and guilt about both Company success and failures. Centre staff have analysed how the extensive documentary practices of the VOC were carefully ritualised to reinforce the power dynamics of the Company hierarchy, resolved conflict between Company members, and suggested inclusion and integration of the Company’s disparate and diverse employees spread across the globe to its glorious, righteous mission. They aimed to present themselves as humble and industrious, and were careful to recognise God’s all-important role in the protection of their nation.

Trialling the new Brouwer’s route, a quicker, southerly route to Batavia (Jakarta), which they hoped would return profits even faster for the Company, placed many ships on a direct path to the western coast of Australia. The great Southland had been fabled since classical times to be replete with gold and peopled with giants. For all their practicality, the directors of the VOC held a glimmer of hope that such tales might be true. Instructions to captains charting the west coast after Hartog required their crews to look out for gold, and to observe carefully the nature of inhabitants, what they wore, how they administered themselves, their industries, housing, village layouts as well as their produce. The VOC merchants needed to understand a people to know their desires and passions – what might they want and what would they be willing to trade for it? As they would soon discover, encounters on this continent would not be so easy and they would be deeply emotional for all concerned. The Centre’s research demonstrates just how important the responses of indigenous peoples to the objects that Europeans proferred, and the emotional reactions of the Europeans to these indigenous responses, were in shaping the VOC’s perception of this continent and its eventual decision not to pursue settlement here.

ABOVE Melchior

d’ Hondecoeter, The Menagerie, depicting two white sulphur-crested cockatoos from Australia together with a grey parrot from Africa and a purple-naped lory from Indonesia, c. 1690, oil on canvas, h 135cm × w 116.5cm. © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

LEFT Willem Blaeu and Johannes Blaeu, Terrestrial globe, 1645 – 1648, wood (plant material), d 68cm × h 110cm × w 100cm × d 100cm. © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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400 YE AR ANNIV ERSAR Y

A shared histo

ry

Bridging the distance FRANK BUCHNER

This year’s four hundred year anniversary of the first step taken on the shores of Western Australia by Dirk Hartog, marks a longstanding presence of the Dutch in Australia boosted by a massive influx of Dutch migrants from the 1950s onwards.

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ridging the Distance builds on the current focus of shared history between the Netherlands and Australia, subsequent to this special year and aims to be an innovative part of these celebrations. However, there is also an urgency in this project as it might spark an interest among the younger generations to discover their own family migration story before the first generation of Dutch migrants has disappeared.

Over 300,000 Australians claimed Dutch ancestry at the last Census. Most of them however are younger generation migrants, who feel completely Australian and maintain only a feeble connection

ABOVE The

to their ancestral roots. This generation is also the most active in making connections on social media.

It was the grandparents of this generation who took the big step to leave everything behind and build a new life Down Under; a decision which had serious consequences for the lives of their families. The Dutch in Australia quickly became known as the ‘invisible migrants’.

Impacted by a strong assimilation policy, the Dutch migrants were quite eager to fit in.

However, the third generation seems to be more interested in their Dutch heritage than their parents ever were. The objective

is to further strengthen this desire to find out more about their Dutch roots.

Bridging the Distance sets the challenge to search for (second) cousins on the other side of the world, harnessing this generation’s drive to connect. The newly established connections will subsequently be recorded as double portraits and interviews, delivering stories of both the past and present, brought to life through the eyes of the third and second generation.

100,000th emigrant from the Netherlands embarking for Australia, 1958. Netherlands National Archief

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VICTORIA

Heritage Festival Highlights ELOISE HAIRMAN | HERITAGE FESTIVAL MANAGER NATIONAL TRUST (NSW)

Celebrating 36 years in 2016, the National Trust Heritage Festival gives you an opportunity to ‘Discover and Rediscover’ some extraordinary events.

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s part of this year’s festival theme, ‘Discovery & Rediscoveries’, we commissioned the artist Mulga to create seven characters to use as mascots. These illustrations depict the ‘Lazarus’ species, which are Australian animals believed to have been extinct, only to be rediscovered alive. These critters were researched and reassessed with the help of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Taronga Conservation Society Australia.

The Heritage Festival features events which explore regions, their customs, architecture and landscape. The National Trust Heritage Festival begins nationally on the 16 April coinciding with Heritage Week.

For updated events throughout every region of Australia visit our website www.nationaltrustfestival.org.au Here are a few highlights from around the states to mark in your diary.

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BACK TO CHILTERN When: 16 April Far removed from the dramatic expansion and development of our large national cities, remains a network of small regional towns, featuring significant architectural examples of nineteenth century settler societies. The National Trust and Chiltern Tourism and Development Inc will host a community-wide festival to celebrate the cultural heritage of its people and place, offering tours, talks, exhibitions and displays. The festival will provide a launching event for the 2016 Victorian Heritage Festival.

REDISCOVERING THE OLD HUME HIGHWAY 31 When: 28-29 May The Hume Highway remains a familiar presence in many people’s lives, yet few identify the roadway as a cultural landscape rich in historical, social and technological change. In partnership with Old Hume Highway 31, the National Trust of Victoria will hold a car rally for pre-1986 vintage and classic cars to rediscover the Old Hume Highway and visit the historically diverse townships bypassed by the modern highway. The rally will wind its way from Melbourne to the Murray along this iconic route.

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H E R I TA G E F E S T I VA L

NSW WRITTEN IN STONE Where: Macleay Museum, Sydney University Museums When: 4 January – 30 June For Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today, stone tools are tangible evidence of occupation, ingenuity, resilience, and survival. This exhibition shows the remarkable diversity and proficiency of stone tool production across the Australian continent. With so much of our contemporary lives being written in the digital ether, what tangible evidence of our present society will exist in a thousand years’ time?

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axes from Ropes Creek, NSW Acquired by George Masters before 1891.

TF.133, ETF.129, ETF.149. Photo © Carl Bento, 2013

CONVICT FOOTPRINTS ON THE OLD GREAT NORTH ROAD National Parks and Wildlife Service and Convict Footprints When: 7, 8, 14 & 15 April, 7 & 14 May Convict Footprints is a unique ‘living history’ theatre production which won a National Trust Heritage Award in 2015. Set insitu on the Old Great North Road, Wisemans Ferry, it tells the stories of the convicts and officials who built the road. Takes a tour of the newly completed road in 1830.

GUY WARREN AT 95: GENESIS OF AN ARTIST Where: S.H. Ervin Gallery Friday When: 15 April – 29 May To celebrate the milestone 95th birthday of artist Guy Warren in 2016, the S.H. Ervin Gallery is presenting an exhibition of works from the 1950s & 1960s produced during his London years and early after his return to Sydney. Curated by Barry Pearce.

TASMANIA

QUEENSLAND

DISCOVERING HISTORY THROUGH MUSIC Where: Clarendon House When: 28 May A fusion of music and art will bring spectacle to Clarendon House, 7kms from the historic town of Evandale as the major event of Northern Tasmania’s Heritage month. UTAS Wind Orchestra will play in the outbuildings with bagpipes on the portico. New to our visitors will be the Frockery, highlighting the wonderful collection of clothes amassed through the years by the Trust.

GREAT HOUSES OF IPSWICH Where: Ipswich When: 7 May Three outstanding heritage residences will open their doors for the day in Queensland’s oldest provincial city, Ipswich.

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DISCOVER OUR OLDEST TREASURES MISS TRAILL’S HOUSE & GARDEN When: 24 – 25 April Discover some amazing treasures at this National Trust property in Bathurst. This exhibition features objects from the National Trust collection such as: • 1691 King William Delft plate • 1870 Sydney Gold cup • The Lee’s Invitation to opening of Parliament in Melbourne 1901 • 18th century Suzani Rug • 1880 Silver and Ivory Presentation Trowel • 1840 baby shoe and 19th century linen and laces • A selection of Victorian albums • Aboriginal artefacts REDISCOVER THE WIRADJURI COUNTRY Where: Wagga Wagga, NSW When: Weekends in April and May Join guide Wiradjuri man Mark Saddler for a full cultural experience including Wiradjuri language and special Aboriginal places.

Visit cultural places of significance, and learn about Wiradjuri artefacts, scar trees, native wildlife and fauna and bush tucker. Morning tea and lunch will be supplied.

RESONANCE EXHIBITION Where: Miegunyah House Museum, Newstead House, Old Government House, Brisbane When: 21 April – 15 May Discover or rediscover local histories through new artwork located at three of Brisbane’s significant historical houses. Curator, artist and local historian talks will complement the exhibition program.

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South Australia

NORTHERN TERRITORY REDISCOVERING MYILLY POINT OPEN HOUSES Where: Myilly Point When: 22 April All four houses will be open for inspection at Myilly Point from 5.00pm. Enjoy a barbecue, bar and music from the Blues Brothers.

Activities for children on site, artists in the gardens and the launch of a new book let on the Precinct.

GHOSTS IN THE CEMETERIES Where: Gardens Road and Goyder Road, Darwin When: 18 April Become reacquainted with people from the Territory’s colourful past. This year we will have two events one in each of the heritage listed cemeteries.

TALC HEAD PICNIC Where: Talc Head When: 23 April In the last century, Darwin residents would often travel across the harbour to Talc Head and Mica Beach to picnic and swim. The year the National Trust will recreate the adventure, travelling on the old pearling lugger, Tumlaren.

VICTORIANA: OLD FASHIONED DAY OF PLAY AT BEAUMONT HOUSE Where: Beaumont House grounds When: 17 April Take the children to the Victorian era for a day of old fashioned games. Enjoy stories, music and dancers, feed baby farm animals, and try some parlour and outdoor games from long ago!

CHERISHED GLASS: REDISCOVERING LOST STORIES IN STAINED GLASS Where: Meet at Ayers House When: 20 April From sacred buildings and universities to businesses and homes, Adelaide’s collection of stained glass windows is among the most diverse and intriguing in Australia. Come on a guided walk and discover the stories behind our city’s cherished glass.

ACT

Western Australia

YARRALUMLA FORESTRY HERITAGE PRECINCT OPEN DAY Where: Yarralumla Forestry Precinct, Banks St, Yarralumla When: 3 April A lesser known heritage place in Canberra is the focus of this year’s Open Day. For forty years, Canberra was home to the Australian Forestry School. While the site contributed to the development of forestry, it’s also significant for its architectural design, contribution to the townscape and its place in the early social history of Canberra.

URBAN POLARIS Where: throughout Canberra at selected heritage and historic locations When: 16 April The Urban Polaris is a seven hour navigating and cycling event. Teams of two must find their way around a series of control points spread throughout Canberra at selected heritage and historic locations.

Each control point is given a point value that competitors accumulate during the day. The team with the most points at the end of the seven hours is declared the winner. A great day out riding with friends taking in Canberra sites.

SOUND FROM THE GROUND Where: East Perth Cemeteries When: 29 & 30 April Be part of a powerful an unforgettable musical experience at East Perth Cemeteries, Sound from the Ground.

Guitarists Dr Jonathan Fitzgerald and the Perth Guitar Quartet present a world premiere original composition by Duncan Gardiner alongside international music repertoire at evocative St Bartholomew’s Church.

GALLOP HOUSE Where: Gallop House, 22 Birdwood Pde, Dalkeith When: 16 April The launch of the Heritage Festival will be held at Gallop House, Dalkeith followed by open day tours of the new fit out to host a composer in residence.

Archaeological artefacts from recent on site digs will provide an insight to this landmark National Trust property on the Swan River.

www.nationaltrustfestival.org.au Established in 1980, the National Trust Heritage Festival is the longest running community festival in Australia. It is celebrated annually in April and May through a national program of events. With 1445 events in 2015, the festival engages local communities in their history and the importance of recognising a shared heritage. The Heritage Festival events are organised by Aboriginal groups, local historical societies, councils and other cultural organisations. We are looking forward to the 2016 festival events and experiencing these new discoveries (and rediscoveries)!

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Grounds for

Reconciliation on

Wadjemup

ANNE BRAKE | CONSERVATION MANAGER ROTTNEST ISLAND AUTHORITY

Young Whadjuk men danced to thank the spirits for keeping them safe during the construction of a new path around a burial ground of their ancestors and other Western Australian Aboriginal men.

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ottnest Island/ Wadjemup has a very sad history. It is the largest deaths in custody site in Australia. Almost 400 of the more than 3,700 Aboriginal men from across Western Australia incarcerated on this former island prison are buried in ground adjacent to their prison, known as the Quod.

Loremen, warriors, leaders, teachers, elders were taken from their country for crimes which had no meaning to them or were associated with their own lores of payback and retribution.

These men were taken to Fremantle and then transported to Wadjemup to serve sentences often found to be illegally harsh and lengthy with desperate conditions, ongoing deprivations and cruel treatment. Many never returned home.

ABOVE  Preparing RIGHT  Whadjuk

for the smoking ceremony, Rottnest Island Burial Ground. RIA/Anne Brake men performed several dances to say thank you to the spirits for keeping them safe during the project. RIA/Anne Brake

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As well as the individual trauma, the impact on communities was devastating with the loss of knowledge and leadership reverberating across generations.

The pathway is the first part of a three-phase project to show respect to and make accessible information about the tragic history of Wadjemup and in particular the burial ground.

Many know the island today as a tourist playground. Its beautiful beaches, crystal clear water and

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Anne Brake Heritage Conservation Manager, RIA (Anne is on secondment to the RIA from her position as Community Engagement Manager, NTWA)

Solutions) was full of praise for the young men who worked on stage 1 of the project. Karen chose a team of young Whadjuk men carefully ensuring protocols were followed at all times. Before they could come onto the Island, team members had to seek permission from their elders, a number of whom came onto the Island while the project was under way. As well as learning construction and landscaping skills a number of culturally appropriate activities

gave the young men the chance to learn more about the history of the island and their own culture.

It was the team’s idea to invite the Rottnest Island Authority and the Rottnest Foundation to a special ceremony to say thank you to the spirits for an accident free project and for giving them cultural and spiritual support. The day included a smoking ceremony in the burial ground to clear away bad spirits. A celebratory barbecue followed.

There is still much to do if Wadjemup can truly be a catalyst for genuine reconciliation and healing and this project demonstrates how future ventures could ensure Aboriginal people are given the opportunity to manage country in a culturally appropriate manner with direct benefits to Aboriginal community.

relaxed lifestyle draws visitors from across the globe to enjoy its holiday atmosphere. Although the Rottnest Island Authority has and will continue to highlight the island’s sad history, many leave completely unaware of the enormous impact this tiny island has had on Aboriginal communities across the state. But this is changing.

The State Government, through the Rottnest Island Authority has funded the recent stage 1 works and the Rottnest Foundation has been successful in receiving a ‘Community Spaces’ Lotterywest Grant which will support the implementation of stage 2 in the New Year.

Karen Jacobs, a Whadjuk woman and Managing Director of IES (Indigenous Economic CENTRE Pat

Barblett at the presentation. Pat has been a key player at Rottnest for many many years – RIA and RF Amaranti (CEO, RIA), Karen Jacobs (Director IES and Whadjuk Elder), Jeff King (President RF), Pat Barblett (ex RIA Board, ex RF President) BOTTOM RIGHT Aboriginal prisoners outside the Native Prison Hospital, 1898. Rottnest Island Authority Collection CENTRE RIGHT Paolo

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Experiencing heritage through music STEWART ARMSTRONG | GENERAL MANAGER HERITAGE AND ADVOCACY NATIONAL TRUST (QLD)

Music provides wonderful opportunities to bring memorable experiences and new audiences to our important heritage places. National Trust Queensland has recently enjoyed being involved in two very different events that combine music and heritage.

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t was a happy co-incidence that brought National Trust’s Stewart Armstrong and Bruce Edwards from the Underground Opera together. A miner by day and opera entrepreneur by night, Bruce had previously produced Opera concerts in unusual places such as the Jenolan Caves and Mt Isa Mines. He was now searching for a unique venue in Brisbane’s CBD. Stewart meanwhile, had been concerned about the future of Brisbane’s extraordinary brick service reservoirs built in the 1870s-1880s.

After several years of planning and preparation, ‘Opera in the Reservoir’ opened in August 2014 to a surprised Brisbane audience.

Most locals didn’t realise that these disused brick vaulted subterranean structures even existed, right in the city centre, beneath their feet. These reservoirs had been constructed to improve the water pressure to the new substantial residences being built along Spring Hill and had been in use until the 1960s.

O ve r t h e n e x t m ont h , Underground Opera performed more than 30 concerts, while the Trust opened the reservoir for special public tours during the day.

It was during the follow-up ‘Carols in the Reservoir’ season that the idea of bringing similar performances to other interesting above-ground heritage places took shape, leading to the formation of the talented quintet ‘Soirées Musicales’.

‘Soirées Musicales’ is an independent project involving four principal artists with Opera Queensland, soprano Annie Lower, tenor Mattias Lower, baritone Leon Warnock, soprano Rachael Griffin, and pianist Peter Roennfeldt.

In October 2015, ‘Soirées Musicales’ recreated two intimate musical gatherings from another era at Brisbane’s Old Government House. With elegant 19th century music and vocal ensembles by Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms, the repertoire, historical setting and

ABOVE Brisbane’s RIGHT Annie

use of Lady Chelmsford’s original 1906 Bechstein piano immersed the audience in the atmosphere of an ‘at home’ concert.

“Our imaginations were captured by a 1906 newspaper cutting describing a ‘house concert’ hosted by the Governor and his wife, Lady Chelmsford,” said principal artist Rachael Griffin.

“We discovered that early Queensland Governors’ wives often had a role in the cultural life of Brisbane by hosting ‘at home’ concerts such as this,” she said.

The concert described in the article was the occasion of the first performance of the Bechstein piano that Lady Chelmsford had ordered for Old Government House.

In 1985 Governor Sir James Ramsay gifted the piano to the National Trust which undertook its full restoration and returned it to its original home, where it is today.

The Undergound Opera Company is planning several more concert seasons in the reservoir in 2016.

heritage listed Spring Hill reservoir transformed into a performance venue. Underground Opera Company Lower performs at the Underground Opera. Underground Opera Company

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Restoring a significant discovery in South Australia JOHN MAIDMENT OAM | CHAIRMAN, ORGAN HISTORICAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA

A very early domestic pipe organ, built by renowned London organbuilder Henry Bevington and perhaps one of the oldest in Australia, is now on the way to a full restoration.

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eaumont House, in the Adelaide foothills, is home to an extraordinary collection item, one whose history is slowly being uncovered. Recent research has revealed that this apparently humble musical instrument may have a very special significance.

This organ, which was kindly donated to the National Trust by The Hon Patrick O’Neill, is starting to reveal some more of its secrets as preparations commence to restore it to working order.

O’Neill recalls: “My father (who was Prime Minister of Northern Ireland 19631969) inherited this Bevington organ from a cousin of his by the name of Evelyn (Eva) Chichester.

Following her death, I remember it being installed at our home in Gtebe House, Ahoghill, County Antrim in an unplayable condition.

Eva had, I understand, inherited it from her own father and she used to be the organist in the Church of Ireland parish church, in Newcastle County Down. My father told me she used it to practise the hymns on this Bevington organ at home.”

The organ passed to Patrick through his father before he brought it to Australia from Northern Ireland, first to Sydney and then to Adelaide in 1983.

“My mother-in-law, Lady Downer, was on the Beaumont House committee and offered to place it on display there, along with the square piano. I was then faced with the choice of putting it into storage or handing it over to the National Trust. The National Trust showed some interest in taking it on and words were muttered about restoration…”

Now that restoration is again on the horizon, the significance of the organ is now being fully appreciated.

Henry Bevington founded one of the most famous organ building enterprises of the nineteenth century, Bevington and Sons.

It appears, from the nameplate, that this is the earliest example of its work known in Australia, and perhaps one of the earliest surviving examples anywhere, as it bears the name Henry Bevington, not the more usual Bevington and Sons. Judging by the style of the casework, it can be dated at around 1820-1830.

The e l e g a nt m a h o g a ny casework is in a Regency style and the organ displays some unusual features including a front cloth panel to disguise the pipes, stop controls via iron pedals and an ivory wind indicator.

In order to undertake the conservation and restoration work required, a fundraising appeal has been launched through the South Australian Heritage Foundation.

Once the work is funded and completed, this remarkable organ may once again delight those who gather around it.

TO DONATE TO THE BEVINGTON ORGAN FUNDRAISING APPEAL VISIT

www.saheritagefoundation.com.au All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

TOP Beaumont

House Bevington organ being played by Eva Chichester. NTSA Bevington organ at Beaumont House. J Maidment RIGHT Pipe work from the organ is intact but in need of restoration. J Maidment LEFT 1820’s

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Towards a National

Trust

ALEXANDRA HILL | PROJECT MANAGER-TRUST DEVELOPMENT NATIONAL TRUST (VIC)

From at least 1934, the Victorian public had been concerned about the destruction and general security of significant community heritage assets. On 31 May that year, The Argus newspaper reported the removal of parkland and permanent reservations from community use and quoted the report of the Town Planning Association:

LEFT

Como House & Garden, 1950s. NTVic Como House & Garden today. NTVic

ABOVE

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ictoria needs a national trust, such as the National Trust of England for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, on which nature-loving bodies and local communities would combine.”

With a focus on environmental and cultural heritage, the Trust grew from this call, but it took some time. It wasn’t until 1954 that the Town and Country Planning Association of Victoria took the bit between its teeth and started active development of such a trust. A subcommittee was established for the Preservation of Historic Buildings, including SP Calder, Donald Ward, and Robin Boyd. Advice was sought from other Trusts in Australia and the first Trust in England on how each had been formed. The Committee then recommended to the Association that “the launching of a National Trust could have a greater appeal to interested bodies and the public, if an historic property of some significance could be quoted as a possible acquisition by an established Trust for permanent preservation.”

In late 1954, the Committee started to discuss Como as such a property, however they weren’t quite sure how to approach the owners, Miss Armytage and Mrs Fitzpatrick. Como was known to the Committee through Robin Boyd, whose father Penleigh, and grandfather Arthur Merric Boyd, had taught the young Armytage sisters to paint. Now aging and with no children of their own, the sisters must have been concerned about the rising trend to demolish grand homes such as theirs. By Christmas, Daryl Lindsay, then Director of the National Gallery of Victoria, had been approached by the Committee to suggest the idea to the Armytages. Lindsay’s conversations with the sisters continued throughout 1955 until, in August, Daryl and his wife Joan Lindsay, Robin Boyd and other members of the Committee and Association were “received at Como”.

Robin Boyd published an article on 4 October 1955 in the leading Melbourne newspaper, The Herald, announcing that, on 10 October, a meeting would be held to “discuss the formation of a society or trust for

the preservation of historical and meritorious buildings in Victoria.”

This was to become the formation meeting for the National Trust in Victoria.

Called by the President of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects (RVIA), Harry Winbush, the meeting was attended by a broad range of significant organisations and individuals, including the RVIA, Municipal Association of Victoria, Australian Planning Institute, Victorian Artists’ Society, Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Contemporary Arts Society of Australia (represented by John Reed), National Museum of Victoria, and Town and Country Planning Association of Victoria.

The meeting unanimously supported the establishment of a society “for the purpose of preserving for the people of Victoria buildings, natural features, monuments and records of significance to the community” and elected a provisional council.

On 23 May 1956 the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and formally began its role as community activist, custodian and educator. This vision for the organisation as one for preserving landscape and cultural heritage was concisely outlined by Robin Boyd in his address at the first AGM on 9 September 1957. He encouraged the Trust to change societal understandings of beauty in order to preserve our landscape, to move away from an English antecedent of attractiveness towards an uniquely Australia one; an “untouched, undisciplined, uneuropean dignity, a sort of Australian dignity even after 180 years, we have not yet learned to appreciate.” And from here the Trust accepted the vision and expanded it to include a shared heritage embracing the 40,000 years of traditional ownership by Koori peoples of the place now known as Victoria.

TOP Charles

Armytage, great-great-grandson of Charles Henry Armytage, hands the Governor of Victoria, Sir Dallas Brooks, the keys to Como, on 20 August 1959. NTVic CENTRE National Trust Chairman Dr Graeme Blackman and Janine Coombs, Chairperson of the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, plant a tree at Ebenezer Mission, which was handed back to the Land Council by the National Trust in 2013. NTVic RIGHT The Argus, 31 May 1934.

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New addition captures hearts JENELLE STAFFORD | CURRUMBIN WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

The Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has a new addition in its Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo family. The male joey was born in January this year to parents Simbu (father) who is six years old and Bagi (mother) who is fourteen years old.

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agi was born at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in 2001, then spent about eight years at Melbourne Zoo as part of the Global Species Management Plan before returning to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in 2012.

This is Bagi’s second joey since returning to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and she is proving to be a great mother. The joey is interacting well and eating his ‘greens’. As he gets older, mother Bagi is allowing her joey to explore the enclosure for extended time and he now spends most of the day outside the pouch.

Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroos are native to Papua New Guinea and are listed as Endangered due to habitat loss and hunting, meaning captive populations are vital for the continued survival of this species. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is proud to be a key player in this successful breeding program and each admission fee supports the conservations programs at the Sanctuary.

ABOVE

Taking a peak at the surrounds of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. J Stafford ABOVE Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroos Simba and mother Bagi. J Stafford

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Australasian Research Connections GINA PICKERING | EDITOR

The successful collaboration between the National Trust of Australia (WA) and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (1100 - 1800) (CHE) was showcased in Auckland, New Zealand in November 2015. The Australasian Consortium for Humanities Research Centres brought together research centre directors and leaders of major Australian, New Zealand and Canadian collection and cultural institutions, to discuss new work directions and potential partnerships.

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ecently completed short movie Jellyfish Chronicles: emotional connections to the Swan and Canning Rivers and the interactive website Rivers of Emotion: an emotional history of Derbarl Yerrigan and Djarlgarro Beelier / the Swan and Canning Rivers produced in 2012 were showcased by National Trust Interpretation Officer Gina Pickering.

Both projects investigate emotional links past and present to Perth’s rivers and give a voice to the ways the environmental impacts on individuals and community values. The new audio visual production is a result of CHE’s Artistic Outreach Associate program funding and support from National Trust education officers. Directed and shot by Gina Pickering, the production explores fears and fights, meditative and healing qualities of jellyfish and jellyfish as a form of ammunition.

The production includes an original music composition from year 8 musicians from Methodist Ladies’ College in Perth and a pilot education program developed by National Trust of Australia (WA).

The symposium provided an opportunity to discuss the current research projects of research centre projects and provided an opportunity to understand further the Maori and Pakeha (non-indigenous New Zealanders) cultures and included a visit to a Marae (a Maori cultural meeting place) and viewing of intricate Maori eel carvings.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VIST www.historyofemotions.org.au/research/research-projects/jellyfish-chroniclesemotional-connections-to-the-swan-and-canning-rivers/ http://www.nationaltrust.org.au/wa/RiversofEmotion

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TOP AND CENTRE Learning to appreciate tentacles at the National Trust of Australia (WA) Jellyfish workshop. G Pickering BACKGROUND Aurelia aurita in the Djarlgarro Beelier/Canning River. G Pickering BOTTOM Maori Elder Taiaha Hawke explains the symbolism of the Morae to Dr Tom Bristow from the Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (1100-1800), University of Melbourne and Professor Daryle Rigney, University of South Australia who attended the Auckland symposium. G Pickering

TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2016

CONNECTIONS

A Memorial to Explosive Detection Dogs

is a tunnel with embedded paw prints which depicts the rigorous training the dog must undertake.

To the side, behind the soldier, is a duffel bag with a ubiquitous tennis ball on top ready to be thrown and retrieved.

The memorial, titled Elevation of the Sense was created by Ewan Coates and commissioned by Doug Thompson and his late wife, Monique. It was modelled on Sapper Darren Smith of 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment (2CER) and his beloved dog, Herbie, who were killed in the Mirabad Valley, Afghanistan together with Sapper Jacob Moerland, by a remotely detonated mine they had detected and were approaching.

The memorial is a dedication to all the dogs and their handlers who work in the perilous situation of explosive detection. On the base of the memorial are inscribed those dogs who have died: Razz 21 Sep 2007 Herbie with Sapper Darren Smith 2CER 07 Jun 2010 Merlin 31 Aug 2001 Andy 23 Nov 2007 Nova 23 Oct 2009 Lucky 04 Jul 2011

PETER DOWLING |HERITAGE CONSULTANT DI-PETAIA RESEARCH

An unusual group gathered on the grounds of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra in October last year. They stood facing an equally unusual but poignant bronze memorial. The group consisted of the usual uniformed military personnel and well-dressed civilians but with an amalgam of military and civilian dogs within the group.

The ceremony that took place was to dedicate a new memorial to the Explosive Detection Dogs and their human handlers.

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nimals have been used in military campaigns for many hundreds of years. Horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, pigeons and even elephants and reindeer have been used for transporting equipment, carrying messages to and from the front lines and taking fighting troops into the midst of battle. The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) used dogs in the trenches of France during the First World War and in 1944 the 1st Australian Dog Platoon, RAE, began to use search dogs. In modern-day conflicts Explosive Detection Dogs (EDDs) and their military handlers have provided critical support to the Australian Defence Forces in peace-keeping and conflict regions during operations in South East Asia and ABOVE AND RIGHT  Explosive

the Gulf countries. The dogs help their handlers find the treacherous improvised explosive devices (EUDs) ammunition and weapons.

Strong relations develop between the human handler and their dogs and this deeply emotive bonding is expressed in the bronze sculpture of soldier and dog. The memorial suggests the end of a busy, dangerous but successful day detecting hidden mines and making the operations just a bit safer for the combat troops who follow. Both dog and handler can now relax and enjoy warm contact with each other. The dog is atop a rocky outcrop which depicts the variety of foreign landscapes in which both canine and human work. At the base of the sculpture

A plaque on the wall behind the sculpture is inscribed with an Ode to the Explosive Detection Dogs

Detection Dog and Handler Memorial, Australian War Memorial, Canberra. P Dowling

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My eyes are your eyes to watch and protect yours, My ears are your ears to detect evil minds in the dark, My nose is your nose to scent the danger of your domain.

And so you may live, my life is also your life.

CONNECTIONS FUND

Brings neING to Exhibiwt fife ion

Creating the gallery for “Cooktown’s War” JOANNA WILLS | MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND, QUEENSLAND MUSEUM

Like many museums across Queensland, the National Trust’s James Cook Museum received funding from the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program. Designed to showcase the museum’s First World War collections, the grant also included time for colleague Museum Development Officer (MDO) Ewen McPhee and I to provide onsite advice, reconfigure the gallery space and install the exhibition.

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hen Kate Eastick took over the reins as the museums new curator, however, she decided to refocus the exhibition to tell stories from the home front and the local community, and identified a different space for the exhibition.

This change responded, in part, to some of the stories and objects Kate uncovered during her research. An unexpected find, for example, was a hand crocheted square. She was also keenly aware of Cooktown History Centre’s Behind the Lines Exhibition, which provides detailed biographies of Cooktown’s soldiers and their wartime experiences.

Cooktown’s War creates an additional narrative layer to Cooktown’s war stories and reveals the impact of the First World War on Cooktown residents. And by working with members of the History Centre, the exhibition demonstrates the benefits of two of Cooktown’s premier collecting organisations pooling resources and knowledge. Shared photos and research have meant

that details about rifle clubs, Chinese business owners and war loans have been placed on display. Difficulties surrounding Indigenous enlistment are explored through archives and portraits of brothers Charles and Norman Baird who were among Queensland’s Indigenous soldiers from the region. Stories of Red Cross fundraising initiatives and women’s patriotic activities have been woven into the exhibition framework through evocative photographs. Kate also included a contemporary story using a uniform and images from the 100 years commemorative march held in Cooktown last year.

Changes to the project meant that Ewen and I also made adjustments. The alternative gallery space saw Ewen install a new hanging system and different types of framing mounts and mats were required. By coincidence, Cooktown’s timber honour board, already on the display, is located outside the gallery. This, and a

poster created to promote the exhibition, created a nice entry to the gallery. Photos and posters were removed from damaged frames requiring conservation.

Of course, label making is always a feature for this type of project, but I can advise that the degree of difficulty definitely increases as the temperature and humidity rises!

MDOs have to be fairly versatile and responsive in the field. As James Cook Museum had recently had a serious pest issue in its Indigenous display cabinets, we took time from the exhibition to reline the cases with unbleached calico and then reinstall all the objects that had been treated prior to our arrival.

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new look for the National Trust’s James Cook Museum, Cooktown. hand crafted positive spin on the first world war. James Cook Museum RIGHT (L - R) Jo Wills, Kate Eastick and Ewen McPhee at the front of the James Cook Museum, Cooktown CENTRE A

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Temperance in the mid West MELISSA HETHERINGTON | PHD CANDIDATE

By 1856, the battle against the ‘demon drink’ was being waged in Western Australia and temperance societies were attempting to solve the ‘problem of drunkenness’ that was the bane of the Swan River Colony. Charles Watson Gray, son of Henry Gray, the man who built Gray’s Store and established ‘H. Gray and Co.’ in the Midwest, introduced the Independent Order of Good Templars, a total abstinence society with origins in New York State, into Western Australia.

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hat do you do with your alcohol bottles when the Temperance movement comes to town? Why not get rid of them by simply throwing them over the back fence. A small team of Archaeologists, students and graduates from UWA, Notre Dame University and Flinders University (Adelaide) recently joined Melissa Hetherington for three weeks of archaeological excavations at Gray’s Store, one of the National Trust of Australia (WA) properties in Greenough.

The archaeologists excavated three trenches in the yard surrounding Gray’s Store in November 2015, aiming to find evidence of activities that took place in and around Gray’s Store during the nineteenth century.

One trench was located over the back fence, where scattered glass and metal indicated people had been throwing their rubbish in the past.

Large fragments of glass bottles were found, particularly alcohol bottles

BACKGROUND An

iconic and timeless view from the front of Gray’s Store. K Gilmore excavation team (R-L) Melissa Hetherington, Emily Paskov, Anthea Vella and Rebecca Foote view the inside of Gray’s Store warehouse. K Gimore. A fragment of Holloway’s Ointment for Gout and Rheumatism was found in the trench over the back fence. M Hetherington. Excavating in the outbuilding; the old forge at Gray’s Store. M Hetherington. Some finds from the outbuilding at Gray’s Store included large buckles, horseshoes and metal slag, which suggests it was the old forge where buggies and carts were made and/or repaired.

M Hetherington. Pip Hunter (UWA) and Anthea Vella (Flinders University, Adelaide) clear off the topsoil in a trench. M Hetherington

LEFT TO RIGHT The

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LEFT Andrew

Hutchison (Curtin University) lowers a GoPro camera down the well, to create a digital reconstruction of the well shaft. M Hetherington

Between the lines JOHN JEFFERSON BRAY: A VIGILANT LIFE AUTHOR:

JOHN EMERSON

REVIEWER: MARCUS BERESFORD NATIONAL TRUST (SA) PUBLISHER: MONASH UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING 2015

The Bray family are a classic colonial immigrant success story. Beginning as shoemakers, one became a State Premier, and the subject of this biography was Chief Justice of South Australia from 1967 to 1978.

As the Bray family moved up in the world, they bought a house at 60 Hutt Street Adelaide, the rear of which was designed in 1847 by important colonial era architect George Strickland Kingston (1807-1880). A grander front section was designed for the Brays in 1880 by fashionable architect Rowland Rees (1840-1904). This house was occupied by the family until the 1970s and is heritage listed. It has been adaptively re-used as offices, with townhouses built in the grounds some decades ago.

This biography is an intriguing work, providing a rather unflattering window into the legal profession and the society in South Australia of a previous generation.

John Jefferson Bray appears to have been a brilliant scholar, obtaining prizes and a Doctorate in Laws where other august persons have failed. His period as a lawyer included acting on behalf of the editor of The News, Rohan Rivett, when the government of the day brought a highly controversial legal action against the newspaper for seditious libel. In the process the Adelaide establishment and an older generation began to lose their stranglehold on public life in South Australia.

Dr Bray’s appointment as Chief Justice was marked by a significant intervention involving files held by the SA Police Special Branch. This later led to major political controversy, involving the sacking of a Police Commissioner and ultimately the resignation of the Premier Don Dunstan.

Bray’s personal interests included poetry and the Greek and Roman classics. A number of works in both genres were published. He was very strong about respect for individual rights and integrity. Heavy drinking was a feature of much of his life.

Of particular interest in the book is how a person of that generation and social situation may have dealt with his sexuality. Apart from the surprise of a possible son from a “threesome” early in his life, the biographer argues Bray may have lived in a quite asexual way until the late 1970s.

What else could he have done as the Chief Justice when homosexuality was still illegal in SA until 1975? However, his generation knew about his homosexuality as far back as the 1930s, so this interpretation seems unlikely – more likely Bray was extremely cautious and discreet.

that could be dated between the 1860s to the 1880s, as well as broken ceramics and other domestic rubbish mixed with ash from the kitchen fire.

A second trench was located near the back door to the house to see what kinds of objects people dropped along this walkway when families were living in Gray’s Store.

Evidence of a nineteenth century drainage system was uncovered, which would have caught rainwater off the roof and filtered it into the bricklined cistern located at the back of the house.

The team also excavated the remains of an old outbuilding recovering large buckles horseshoes, iron blanks, numerous iron nails and large amounts of charcoal and metal slag. These artefacts led the team to believe that this was most likely a forge associated with the store.

Andrew Hutchison from Curtin University and Tom Whitley from University of Western Australia also joined the project, to further develop techniques for the digital reconstruction of Gray’s Store and the other buildings located on the corner of Company Road, including the Wesleyan Chapel and the Temperance Lodge.

The new finds will be analysed over the next few months with excavations continuing in 2016.

This project is part of an ongoing collaboration between the National Trust of Australia (WA) and the University of Western Australia, and their shared interests in the contribution that archaeological investigations can make to the understanding of Western Australia’s history.

FOR MORE INFORMATION visit Facebook ‘Greenough Archaeological Project’

Melissa Hetherington’s PhD research project focuses on the Temperance Movement, which was introduced to Greenough by Charles Watson Gray, in 1872. Through these excavations, Melissa aims to discover how temperance altered the lifestyles of people in Greenough during the nineteenth century.

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The foundations of a cottage, remnants of a chimney and more than 6,000 artefacts were uncovered during recent archaeological

Clarendon

excavations at Gallop House in

A Roof over our Heads

Dalkeith. Over a two week period,

SOPHIE BLEACH | PUBLIC RELATIONS

from 28 September to the 11 October

MANAGER NATIONAL TRUST (TAS)

2015, a team from the University of Western Australia (UWA) held an

After many months of hard work the new roof at historic Clarendon House at Evandale in Northern

archaeological field school on site.

Tasmania has been completed.

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he major conservation project was made possible thanks to a $261,000 Australian Government grant, as well as funds secured through crowd-funding and generous donations from the Tasmanian community.

Heritage Tasmania has worked closely with the National Trust Tasmania providing a wealth of guidance and expertise in heritage conservation to ensure that the finished product was completed to the highest of standards.

Shaw Contracting was selected to undertake the works and at the Trust’s request, employed a new apprentice who has excelled at learning the traditional roofing methods required for the project.

Working under the supervision of a master craftsman the slate tiles were fixed to the roof with close attention to detail, even National Trust Tasmania’s Managing Director Matthew Smithies was recruited to help with the hands-on work during the hectic last day of installation.

“Roped on to the top of the roof at Clarendon and attaching slate tiles under the direction of such talented master craftspeople, I really gained an appreciation for the work involved in heritage restoration,” he said.

With 10,000 slate tiles imported from Wales to match the last roof that was installed at Clarendon in 1880 as closely as possible, the scale of the project was overwhelming at times. However with work completed, the finished product is proving a hit with volunteers and visitor alike.

“Conservation projects like this are at the core of what the National Trust does, especially when we are able to involve the younger generation and spark new interest in heritage conservation, like for Shaw Contracting’s new apprentice,” Mr Smithies.

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Excavations LEANNE BRASS | ARCHAEOLOGIST NATIONAL TRUST (WA)

Welsh slate in place at Clarendon. M Smithies

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allop House, built in the 1870s, is the oldest private residence within the City of Nedlands. It is situated overlooking the Derbarl Yerrigan/ Swan River which has mythological significance to Noongar people. A farm was established on the site by Adam Armstrong in 1831, known as ‘Dalkeith Farm.’ Armstrong built a limestone cottage on the foreshore in 1833 but its location is unknown although a well built at the same time still exists.

The National Trust was keen to find out more about Gallop House and the landscape in which it sits. A Conservation Plan prepared in 1998 provides some historical background but there are significant gaps in our understanding of the place. A concurrent project aimed at conserving Gallop

an area adjacent to Gallop House likely used as a refuse pit and an area of reclaimed foreshore.

The planned archaeological investigation entailed liaison with the City of Nedlands, the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council and the Department of Parks and Wildlife.

The field school was run by UWA’s Dr Sven Ouzman, Dr Tom Whitley and Dr Jillian Barteaux.

More than 25 archaeology students formed the team, including a student descendant of Adam Armstrong. Initial findings support the historical evidence of Gallop House as a middle class home and that there has been significant disturbance of the land surrounding the house over time due to its use as a farm. Evidence of the location of the old river course was also revealed.

with the unsolved murder of Rosalinda Fox on site, was supplied by one of her descendants. It has proved particularly insightful as it shows the layout of buildings and garden plantings at that time and provides further clues as to the historical development of the place.

The results of the investigation will be used to inform planned interpretation, conservation and landscaping works at Gallop House. In addition, a number of UWA Masters of Heritage Studies and Masters of Professional Archaeology students are currently working on research projects associated with the field school.

at Gallop House House and a proposal for associated landscaping in the surrounding gardens provided an opportunity for an archaeological assessment of the place to ensure any works would not impact on archaeological features.

Excavations were planned at three locations: on a site of potential ruins 20m south of the 1833 well,

The field school generated significant public interest with the archaeology team meeting many locals who contributed interesting personal stories and connections to the house. City of Nedlands Local History Office has also generated further historical research opportunities and an 1899 police map of the place, associated

ABOVE AND RIGHT Archaeological OPPOSITE PAGE (L - R) Anne

finds from Gallop House. G Pickering. Remnants of a pcket watch excavated during the field school. G Pickering Alan (nee Armstrong), husband Jim Alan and archaelogy student Will Alan consider the eastern trench at the foot of the steps. G Pickering

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Submarine AE1

keeps her 102 year secret – for now RUSSELL BISHOP

Late on a hazy afternoon in September 1914, a mystery took shape off the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea that continues to confound Australians more than 102 years later: the baffling disappearance of our first submarine.

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TOP TO BOTTOM Search area off Duke of York Islands, PNG. P Briggs.

AE1 Stoker Jack Messenger. V Ryan.

Australian naval submarine AE1 was just over 55m long with a surface speed of 15 knots.

A02595. Australian War Memorial Main AE1 search area.

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ith another hi-tech search concluding in November without a trace, the intriguing saga of what happened to AE1 and her crew of 35 remains alive in the national psyche.

With the support of the Government of PNG, the backing of the Australian Navy, the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Submarine Institute of Australia and a number of Australian companies and individuals, a team of maritime scientists and former submariners believed it had narrowed down AE1’s final resting place east of the Duke of York Islands.

Over five days, and with the assistance of a state-of-the-art, high definition, multi-beam echo sounder fitted to a specialist survey vessel, the team searched an area of around 126 square kilometres.

For search leader, Retired Admiral Peter Briggs, the disappointing result also has an upside.

“I think the search was very effective and I’m quite confident if the submarine was there inside the 200 metre mark, we would have found it,” he said.

“We found a dive wreck which was significantly shorter than AE1 by around 14 metres in 217 metres of water and got very good, accurate dimensions off it with the sonar so that gave me confidence that the gear and the team were up to the task.”

The key facts of AE1’s disappearance are undisputed.

A little more than a month after Australia joined World War One, submarines AE1 and AE2 were tasked to escort ships of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) sent to seize the German military garrison and wireless station at Rabaul.

With the Australian fleet at anchor off Rabaul and potentially at risk from ships of Germany’s Pacific Squadron, AE1 and HMAS Parramatta were ordered to patrol the approaches of the harbour.

Parramatta’s last contact with AE1 was at 14:30 on September 14th off the Duke of York Islands.

Immediate searches could not find wreckage or oil spill and subsequent attempts over the years to locate the submarine, which is thought to be intact, have also come to nothing.

For descendants of the 35 crew in Australia and Britain, the AE1 riddle is a source of continuing unease. Vera Ryan, of Lilyfield in Sydney, who lost her uncle Jack Messenger in the tragedy, says there’s a strong emotional link to the AE1 story that even her grandchildren share.

Mrs Ryan is part of a group of AE1 descendants in Australia and Britain who receive regular updates about research into the submarine’s disappearance and the continuing drive to find the wreckage.

“Although there is a certain disappointment the latest search has not been successful, the journey over the past five years has fully compensated descendant family members. The crew has been sensitively remembered and acknowledged, we have four wonderful memorials and the story of AE1 has been told,” she says.

The next chapter in the search for AE1 could be rewritten later in 2016 if the federal government approves funds for a search in deeper water around the same area off the Cape York Islands but using different technology.

“The way to get at that is with a towed, side-scan sonar which you tow down 25 metres off the bottom to spot objects sitting up from the bottom and a magnetometer, which is towed behind the sidescan sonar, which will pick up any metal signature,” says Rear Admiral Briggs.

“We’ll also take remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) with us to follow up anything of interest.”

Vera Ryan is confident the riddle of AE1 will eventually be solved.

“For as long as the fate of submarine AE1 is a mystery, there will be people dedicated to finding her.”

TOP ‘The

Ocean Bed Their Tomb’ commemorates AE1 outside the Australian National Maritime Museum. P Briggs BOTTOM AE1 search vessel Deepstar off PNG. P Briggs

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and

THEN

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ating ContinuallyturoeperOffice Architec world! in the

A Bicentenary at the NSW Government Architect’s Office MATTHEW DEVINE | ARCHITECT AND HERITAGE SPECIALIST NSW GOVERNMENT ARCHITECT’S OFFICE

This year, the NSW Government Architect’s Office (GAO) celebrates its bicentenary, making it one of the oldest continually operating architecture offices in the world. Inaugurated in the very early years of the colony, the GAO is perhaps unique for the enormous volume and diversity of its output.

It has helped shape the built environment as the colony and nation grew and, in so doing, has influenced the form, expression and changing architectural and social values.

TOP Interior

of the Chief Secretary’s Building, designed by James Barnet and constructed 18731880, with the fifth floor and dome added by Walter Liberty Vernon in the 1890s.

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ABOVE LEFT East

Dome: Sydney Observatory.

Opened early in 2015, the East Dome is a new building that incorporates an historic copper dome, and provides equitable access for nighttime viewing.

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ABOVE RIGHT Yuron

Public Amenities. Designed by GAO and completed in 2013. Winner of the AIA Small Project Architecture Award.

All photos: NSW Government Architect’s Office

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and

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n Saturday 30 March, 1816, the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser announced the appointment by Governor Macquarie of Francis Greenway as acting Civil Architect and Assistant to the Engineer.

Greenway became the first of a long line of governmentappointed architects – 23 to date – who, albeit with differing titles, have been responsible for the design of government buildings, their ongoing maintenance and care, and the provision of advice and direction to government on architecture, building, infrastructure and planningrelated issues.

A survey of the work of the GAO over the past 200 years highlights the changing requirements of society as well as diverse theories of architectural design. The earliest examples by Francis Greenway are ambitious classical visions that reflect the aspirations of a small but growing settlement, much to the chagrin of the frugal purse holders in Britain who believed that the distant outpost required only humble and serviceable buildings.

Most of the work of the nineteenth century Civil and Colonial Architects was designed in a grand neo-classical manner conveying solidity, power and strength, as typified by the overwhelming scale and character of Barnet’s imposing post offices and courthouses. This also reflects the growing prosperity of NSW, due in part to the increasing success of the wool industry.

Barnet was succeeded by Walter Liberty Vernon. As head of the new Government Architect’s Branch, Vernon brought a more Australian flavour to our public buildings at the time of Federation. Smaller buildings using humbler materials than previously (such as face

0 years ABOVE Cameraygal

(formerly Dunbar) was designed by the GAO in 1967 as a science block for North Sydney Technical College. In 2013 the building was adaptively reused as a world-class centre for learning and innovation. Recently it was awarded a National Commendation for Sustainable Architecture. NSW Government Architect’s Office

bricks), with deep verandahs and other means of taking advantage of ‘the outside’, while providing protection from the sun, were more in tune with the Australian climate.

From the 1930s, many GAO projects reflected the growing international architecture trends of Modernism and the more expressive Brutalism, particularly in health and education projects.

The post-war baby boom required rapid methods of increasing school facilities, leading to the introduction of demountable classrooms from the 1960s and the Bini Shells in the 1970s.

At this time, the Government Architect’s Branch was possibly at its largest with over 400 staff providing approximately 60 hospitals, 300 schools and technical colleges, 30 court houses, police stations, and gaols, 20 university buildings and 10 office blocks each year.

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In this, the 23rd Government Architect’s Office, the focus is on the design quality of the built environment and public domain.

In the future, the emphasis will move away from the design of the buildings themselves, towards providing key strategic advice to guide the future of our state’s buildings, places and infrastructure.

The history of the Government Architect’s Office over the last 200 years is the focus of a major exhibition at the State Library of NSW titled Imagine A City: 200 Years of Public Architecture in NSW, opening in February 2016.

TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2016

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Rose refuge at Saumarez Homestead LYNNE WALKER | AUSTRALIAN GARDEN HISTORY SOCIETY

An extraordinary heritage rose garden, some years in the making, was opened to the public for the first time at the National Trust property, Saumarez Homestead, on the outskirts of Armidale in November last year.

T ABOVE Adam

Marshall (Member for Northern Tablelands), Catherine MacLean, Sue Ebury (AGHS Patron, The Countess of Wilton), John Atchison OAM (Chair Saumarez Homestead Advisory Committee). J White ABOVE Wandering through the gardens, John Atchison OAM (Chair, Saumarez Homestead Advisory Committee), Graham Wilson (AGHS NNSW), John Maunder (Chair, Heritage Rose Garden Committee AGHS NNSW), Les Davis (Property Manager, Saumarez Homestead), Miss Catherine MacLean (donor of roses), Sue Ebury (AGHS Patron, The Countess of Wilton). D Whan

he rose garden on the ten-hectare site is the result of a recent collaborative project by the Australian Garden History Society (AGHA - Northern NSW sub branch) and the National Trust of Australia (NSW). The Memorandum of Understanding drawn up between the two organisations is the first of its kind in Australia.

Its creation was based on the donation of many hundreds of roses by local Armidale resident Catherine MacLean from her own rose collection in her small town garden. When completed the Heritage Rose Garden Saumarez Homestead will include over 500 roses representing each of the main rose cultivar groups, mostly bred before 1930.The work of transplanting the roses and establishing the garden has taken several years and many hundreds of hours of volunteer labour on the part of the AGHS members.

Since then dozens of roses have been donated by AGHS members and local garden clubs to ensure all classifications of the rose family are represented. Renowned local botanist and AGHS member Ian Telford’s imaginative design, based on a Tudor rose, has 44 concentric beds which are planted with all the different classifications of roses.

AGHS Patron, Sue Ebury, The Countess of Wilton, performed the opening ceremony, assisted by Miss MacLean and several representatives from the National Trust and AGHS. The Countess commented ‘I have observed this garden’s progress with great pleasure. I salute both its creators and hard-working curators.’

The rose garden is now open as part of the Saumarez Homestead Garden Tour seven days a week (except Christmas Day).

VISIT www.nationaltrust.org.au/places/saumarez-homestead/

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Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

COSTUME EXHIBITION Series 3 Costume Design Marion Boyce

OFFICIAL TOUR DATES SA: AYRES HOUSE MUSEUM, ADELAIDE 16 NOV - 14 FEB NSW: OLD GOVERNMENT HOUSE, PARRAMATTA 15 MAR- 19 JUN QLD: OLD GOVERNMENT HOUSE, BRISBANE JUL - SEPT

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Magnificent Australia

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NATIONAL TRUST MEMBERS PRICE EXCLUSIVE SUBSTANTIAL DISCOUNT ON PUBLISHED FARE With 32 years of exploratory air touring throughout the continent, Magnificent Australia Heritage Air Tour Pty Limited has created for National Trust members an extraordinary itinerary of remote Australia and the founder and director of these tours, David Marks has been acknowledged as the pioneer of modern day air touring in Australia.

During the “dry season” - July and August 2016, two only departures will realize lifelong ambitions to experience a vast expanse of Australia, visiting destinations of world importance for wilderness and cultural heritage.

The diverse and exciting itinerary includes specially arranged visits to ancient rock art sites in the Kimberley and in stone country of western Arnhemland. Also included is a rare opportunity for cultural exchange with Aboriginal saltwater people in remote eastern Arnhemland. Extensive surface touring by vehicle and boat on inland waterways is provided with expert or informed commentary.

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