Advocacy Program

Key Objectives

To provide leadership and guidance to the community on heritage matters.
To continue to classify places and objects of national, state and local heritage significance

Strategies

Develop and maintain links with:

Public sector, politicians and local government.
Relevant key heritage and conservation organisations
Relevant private sector organisations
Members and volunteers.

Establish, maintain and promote clear guidelines for actions, which inform and influence decision makers on heritage issues.
Continue to classify places and objects of national, state and local heritage significance.
Create opportunities for the community to become actively involved in the identification and assessment of heritage places and objects.
Provide relevant and timely information on heritage issues including legislation, policies, practices and events.

CLASSIFICATION STANDING COMMITTEE

Operating as a sub-committee of Council, the Classification Standing Committee conducts a peer review of the documentation for places that are presented for classification by the Technical Committees of the Trust. The Classification Standing Committee is also mandated to monitor evolving standards and practice in heritage identification to ensure that the Classification process of the National Trust of Australia (WA) continues to be a valued resource promoting community heritage awareness.

During the reporting period, the Committee held eight meetings and based on submissions from Technical Committees, recommended to Council that 52 heritage places / objects be Classified by the National Trust of Australia (WA). Membership of the Committee is open to Councillors and the Chairs of Technical Committees

CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

Continuing the important work that has been undertaken by this volunteer committee, the Cultural Environment Committee presented 19 places to Council for classification.

ART DECO COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL TRUST

Continuing their important work this Committee met 10 times and presented thirteen places to the Council for classification focusing particularly the cultural heritage values represented by Art Deco period of architecture within Western Australia.

RAILWAY HERITAGE COMMITTEE

This Committee met eight times and presented nine places, including moveable heritage items, to the Council for classification ensuring rich railways heritage is recognised and conserved for future generations. Vital to this Committees success, Chair Ms Phillipa Rogers, also represents the NTWA on the Midland Redevelopment Authorities Railway Heritage Panel that is attempting to establish a rail heritage centre at the former Workshops site.

MONUMENTS, MEMORIALS & OUTDOOR CULTURAL MATERIALS COMMITTEE

This Committee presented two memorials for classification by the Council. There are two prongs to the MMOCM Committee – one is to survey outdoor cultural artefacts across the State for a national database, the other is to prepare selected examples for classification by the Trust.

DEFENCE HERITAGE COMMITTEE

The major project of the Committee was the further development of the Defence heritage Sites database. The database now contains information of over 2500 sites which are related to defence heritage through ownership or use from Colonial to the present time. Members of the Committee undertook a review of defence heritage sites along the western half of the Golden Pipeline to verify database locations on the ground and to develop a photographic record.

Members of the Committee provided over 15 articles of papers relating to defence heritage in Trust News and the newsletters of organisations and societies with interest in defence heritage.

ADVOCACY COMMITTEE THE NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (WA)

This year saw the development of the National Trust of Australia (WA) Advocacy Committee. The Committee develops an informed National Trust position on heritage issues and coordinates the Trust’s public response to the issue. The Committee formally met six times and conducted a number of site visits. The Committee meets about once a month on an as need basis.

Advocacy Issues

The main issues discussed and pursued this year included:

Holistic Heritage Legislation
Public access to Conservation Plans and Heritage Reports
Midland Railway Workshops
Bristile Kilns
Perth Bush Plan
Leschenault Homestead
Perth Convention Centre
UWA expansion proposals
Lot 30 Brookman Street, Perth – subdivision proposal
Fremantle Artillery Barracks
Claremont Teachers College, open space

ENDANGERED PLACES NOMINATION LIST

As part of a national heritage awareness program, the Australian Council of National Trusts produces an annual listing of Endangered Places. The list is designed to highlight the range of threats to heritage across Australia and to bring these threats to public attention. In 2000/01 six heritage places in Western Australia were highlighted.

Bristile Kilns, Belmont

The Bristile Kilns in Belmont are the largest cluster of beehive kilns and associated stacks in Australia. Although of a standard design for c.1920s to 1950s, the kilns are becoming an increasingly rare industrial structure in Australia. The place is a landmark feature of the City of Belmont and the eight brick beehive kilns are an unusual and unique built form and the five tall brick chimneys dominate the local landscape.

The City of Belmont wish to demolish these structures for a road widening that is part of a current subdivision and urban renewal project. On the State Register and demonstrating high heritage values, these structures should not be destroyed. The National Trust of Australia (WA) has offered to negotiate with the different parties and to take the vesting of the place if all the structures are conserved.

City of Perth West-end Precinct

Bounded by William, Wellington, Hay and Milligan Streets and containing the narrow King and Queen Streets, this largely two storied turn of the century architectural urban environment demonstrates high heritage values. Not protected by the recent Municipal Heritage Inventory process means the urban fabric and character of the area may be destroyed by future unsympathetic developments.

Midland Railway Workshops

Midland Workshops represents an early Australian example of a major engineering complex. Lengthy negotiations, design workshops and community consultation has not protected this unique place from inappropriate development and fragmenting of the site. This large site will be lost to incremental destruction and eventual lessening of its heritage values.

Leschenault Homestead, Bunbury

The original cottage was built c.1843 by William Pearce Clifton of wattle-and-daub covered with weatherboards. The complex, which is surrounded by attractive grounds, is a fine example of early vernacular building. Because the cottage is In the area proposed for development by the Bunbury Port Authority there have been discussions about relocating this important house that sits on the banks of the Preston River. Relocation will destroy the cultural heritage values of the place.

Masonic Hall, Albany

The Hall is a tall classically conceived building, erected in 1903 on the site of a previous lodge building erected in 1873. Historically and socially significant as the premises of the 1^st Masonic Lodge established outside the metropolitan area should ensure this building is conserved. Requests from its owners to demolish and redevelop the site have put this building under threat. Important as an historic and architectural feature of the town should require conservation of its cultural heritage values.

Perth Urban Bushland

Perth is a city founded on the Swan Coastal Plain, with a backdrop of the Jarrah forest of the Darling Range. Apart from scattered bush parks and reserves, only fragmented remnants of bushland remain on private and other government lands outside areas of State Forest and CALM’s conservation estate.

It is this remaining bushland that must be conserved. Community groups are now calling for a halt to the continuing loss of bushland, our natural heritage, and for much greater attention to protection and management of remnants and connecting corridors within the statutory planning process. Whilst, the places have been identified and commitments were made to conserve them nothing is happening and the identification process is resulting in the rapid clearing of these areas of remnant bushland.