2 August 2012

2012's most at risk heritage places in the ACT

| johnboy
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The ACT National Trust has announced their most concerning regions of heritage concern this year:

    · Canberra’s Residential Housing Precincts

    · ACT Supreme Court

    · Lake Burley Griffin West Basin

    · Cork Oak Plantation

    · Civic Pool

    · Kingston Fitters Workshop

    · The ANU Constables Cottage Buggy Shed

    · Heritage Listed Open Spaces

Your thoughts?

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The heritage listed village of Oaks Estate is unique in that this village has survived until the present day with few changes. It’s survival as a working men’s settlement used by men who came to build the city of Canberra was more by luck than anything else.

The land on which the village sits was part of Campbell’s Duntroon Estate and in the early 1800s an impressive home was built which was named ‘The Oaks’. This building like many of the cottages erected in the next century have survived.

The precinct of Oaks Estate with the exception of the Railway Station and a small sliver of land between it and the village was severed from NSW when the boundary of the newly formed ACT was made in 1911.

Current proposal to develop the small block of land in front of the railway station threatens the views of the village and interferes with the wholeness of the precinct.

It is the only surviving settlement of construction workers homes. The other temporary settlements of Westlake, Acton, Westridge, Causeway, Riverbourne, Russell Hill and Molonglo are now all gone. I believe that the history of the ordinary men and women who came to build the city of Canberra has been neglected and Oaks Estate should remain as a living memory to the history of the ordinary people whose history has been neglected

When did the NCA clean up the Tent Embassy (slated as part of any pending World Heritage Listing)? All the rocks and tree-branches and milk crates and bits and pieces are gone from the lawns, including the “sacred fire”, and all except one of the tents, and all of the cars, have gone, along with the piles of rubbish.

Some people may disagree, but I would like to see some of the tiny houses in suburbs like O’Connor and Narrabundah being preserved. I’m talking about the tiny fibro, monocrete and weatherboard houses that are rapidly being demolished. (Not just the Tocumwal houses which are already protected, I think.)

Even if the government had to buy one of each sort.

I think there is a value in preserving examples of housing that was designed for the working class as well as grander buildings.

Together they would make a museum of cheap (or once were cheap) buildings in materials that are not used so much today. There are still houses in O’Connor with wood-burning stoves in situ, and these details would be of interest in another few decades, I think. If not now. Also the gardens, full of fruit trees and plants now regarded as weeds, that were once given out by the nursery.

Oaks Estate – living in heritage since 1837

CHackett said :

Like the buggy shed the ANU is just letting much of Lennox House dating from 1911 on Acton Peninsula just rot away unloved and unused.

I suspect Lennox House would be a horrible place in which to have your office. In all seriousness, that land would be far bettter utilised as a multi-level parking structure for general permit parking, or some other modern building.

GardeningGirl7:07 pm 02 Aug 12

CHackett said :

It is a shame some of the oldest buildings from the birth of Canberra, just up from the National Museum of Australia, are being left to fall over rather than celebrated.

+1

PM said :

The ACT Supreme Court is very run-down, and the security needs of the building seem like temporary work-arounds. A refresh is long overdue.

Indeed, hence they’ve announced a while back the upgrade will go ahead in the near future.
I believe the plans were to completely gut the inside of the building and the basements and retain only the outer shell.

Personally I’d rather see the thing bulldozed and replaced with a building that has more glass and actual natural light. It’s not an attractive or special building and I’d be surprised if it’s much cheaper to retain the shell and rebuild the inside.

The high cost of building work in Canberra could be contributing to the risk for some of these, especially the residential housing precincts. I used to own a heritage listed house, but sold it because we couldn’t find a tradie to even look at it for quotes, let alone actually work on it.

Like the buggy shed the ANU is just letting much of Lennox House dating from 1911 on Acton Peninsula just rot away unloved and unused.
ANU seem to have invested more in the heritage study on their website than they have on the buildings.

It is a shame some of the oldest buildings from the birth of Canberra, just up from the National Museum of Australia, are being left to fall over rather than celebrated.

– Lake Burley Griffin West Basin

Is it going to be filled in and built over? Covered in teepees? Drained and turned into a skate park?

The ACT Supreme Court is very run-down, and the security needs of the building seem like temporary work-arounds. A refresh is long overdue.

I’d have thought an entrance to the Arboretum via the Cork Oak plantation would be quite nice; surely a large number of trees don’t need to be removed for that to occur?

I’m upset they didn’t classify the old Flynn Primary School site.

troll-sniffer12:18 pm 02 Aug 12

They’d have a lot more kudos in the community if they were more sensible about what constitutes ‘worthy’ heritage. Just because a building is old and unique doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be preserved. A dynamic city needs to renew and develop, with important heritage allowed for, but not every little bit of often minor history that someone thinks would be cute to be preserved.

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