Heritage on the Web

The State Heritage Inventory is the only computer-based database of heritage in NSW which can be accessed through the internet. It is a 'one stop shop' for information about NSW heritage items protected at State or local government level.

Over the next year, the Heritage Office will be focusing particularly on items identified as being of State significance. To date, State significant items have been identified through heritage studies carried out in local government areas, but the list is by no means complete or comprehensive on a State-wide basis. Members of the community are actively encouraged to review the listed items and consider whether State significant items in their own community area are recognised.

As Ric Bolzan from the Heritage Office explains, "they can nominate items to their local council by completing nomination forms which are available from the Heritage Office, on paper or email, or by downloading the form onto their computer from the Heritage Office Home Page".

Of particular interest to heritage professionals who use the Heritage Manual to carry out heritage assessments and heritage studies are changes made to the inventory form. These changes include the facility to record assessment criteria within the form and recommendations on the level of significance of the items being assessed.

The State Heritage Inventory can be accessed via the Heritage Office Home Page through any Internet connection. The address is: www.heritage.nsw.gov.au.

The Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator in Willoughby is made up of a concrete frame structure clad externally with rough -cut sandstone blocks and decorative rendered concrete, utilising Griffin's favourite motif the triangle. Photograph by Leanne Gould. The State Heritage Inventory (SHI) is the official list on computer database of 17 500 items considered important by State and Local Government to hand on to future generations. In this issue of Heritage NSW we profile two examples of heritage items on the State Heritage Inventory Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator, Willoughby The Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator is an intact and particularly successful example of an industrial building integrating its function with the site on which it was built. It is also one of only three buildings of this type by Walter Burley Griffin remaining in New South Wales. It is protected by a Permanent Conservation Order and is also on the Register of the National Estate, the National Trust Register and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects' Register of significant 20th Century Buildings.

Now available: database software and training A new initiative of the Heritage Office to assist in the assessment of heritage items is to make available the State Heritage Inventory (SHI) database software. The software is free of charge to Government agencies, local government and heritage professionals conducting heritage studies. The SHI database software has been designed as a user-friendly tool for preparing heritage studies and managing the information obtained through this process. The Heritage Office has developed a training program for using the database software. Training courses are held each month at the Heritage Office in Parramatta. Each session runs from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and includes an overview of the database, searching and navigation techniques, data entry and installation of software. There is no charge for attendance. For a fee of $250 training can also be arranged on-site for organisations. For more information on future training dates and bookings, contact Ric Bolzan or Stewart Watters on (02) 9635 6155.

Built between 1933 and 1934, the incinerator was one of a number throughout the State owned and operated by the Reverbatory Company. The founder of the company, Nisson Leonard-Kanevsky, was an aggressive entrepreneur who spared no effort in persuading local government at the time that incinerators were an essential part of waste disposal. By the 1960s the tide of public opinion was turning against incineration and the Willoughby Incinerator fell into disuse. With the aid of the Heritage Council, the building was converted into a restaurant in 1982 and operated successfully until 1988, when it was sold and converted into office space. In 1996 the incinerator was damaged by fire, but was restored by late 1997 for use again as offices. Lake Innes House, Port Macquarie Built in the 1830s and 1840s, Lake Innes House is an impressive ruin of a once substantial brick mansion and stables on a large rural estate, located 11 kms south of Port Macquarie. The estate was constructed by Major Archibald Clunes, immediately after Port Macquarie was first established as a penal settlement. Major Clunes was convinced that the area would be the main gateway to the coast around the Hastings River and nearby New England. Unfortunately, the bar at the entrance to the Hastings River was too dangerous for shipping and the road to the tablelands proved to be too difficult. With the closure of Port Macquarie as a penal settlement, Major Clunes and his family were forced to leave in 1853 and go to Newcastle for employment. By the turn of this century, Lake Innes House had become derelict and was left to deteriorate to its present state through a combination of fire, weather, vegetation, growth and vandalism. Lake Innes House was identified as an item of State significance by the North Coast Regional Heritage Study in 1988. It is managed by the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) and is included in the Hastings Local Environmental Plan and the National Trust Register. Over the last five years NPWS has undertaken substantial stabilisation works and also conducted an ongoing archaeological investigation. Regular guided tours of the site are conducted. Contact NPWS, Macquarie District on ph. (02) 6584 2203 for details. Left: Reconstruction drawing of Lake Innes House and stables at their maximum develoment. Drawing by Frank. G. Firley. Courtesy of the National Parks and Wildlife Service Below: Lakes Innes House near Port Macquarie. Photograph by Stewart Watters. ........................................................................................................................ Your State, Your Place history in the making A new initiative by the Heritage Office and the Royal Australian Historical Society promises to open up an exciting period in historical research, by encouraging individuals and local community groups to contribute to the State Heritage Inventory. Called Your State, Your Place, the program offers special training to members of historical societies, local heritage groups or simply people with a passion for local history, so they can thoroughly research the history of a place on the State Heritage Inventory. The emphasis in the training is on gathering evidence from primary historical records and documentation, through an easy-to-read checklist style questionnaire. The results of the research will ultimately be fed into the State Heritage Inventory database. The office hopes to invite local community groups to nominate State significant items in their part of NSW. Above: Members of RAHS affiliated societies examine historical sources at the Your State, Your Place seminar in March. Photograph by Lianne Hall. Historian Bruce Baskerville from the Heritage Office says the training is in its initial stages, with 60 people taking part in the first training session held in March. The training sessions will revolve around an information kit containing the questionnaire, which participants are then encouraged to go away and complete. "Each researcher follows the questionnaire in their own time, until they have built up a complete profile of the place in question," Bruce says. "Once the questionnaire is complete, the idea is that the researcher sends it back to the Heritage Office, where we check the details." "We will then draft a 'statement of significance', which is essentially a description of why the place is important and valued. Eventually, this statement will form the basis of an entry into the State Heritage Inventory." Your State, Your Place is currently focusing on our built heritage only, but in the future other categories such as parks, landscapes and items of movable heritage will be included in the project. The Aboriginal Heritage Committee is considering whether the project could also include research on Aboriginal heritage. The next training session will be held on May 16 at History House, 33 Macquarie Street, Sydney. For more details see Heritage Happenings in this edition.