Recording Greek History
The contribution of the Greek community to the history of NSW will be highlighted by a new thematic study funded by the NSW Heritage Office. A partnership has been formed between the UNSW Centre for Community History, the NSW Heritage Office and the Greek community to record the contribution of Greek settlers to the development of NSW. Beyond the Rolling Wave: A Thematic History of Greek Settlers in NSW by historians Craig Turnbull and Chris Valiotis will soon be available via the Heritage Office homepage.
Heritage to Dive For
The Heritage Office was pleased to note that the latest Mission statement of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) includes specific mention of underwater cultural heritage. It states 'We are committed to the protection of underwater cultural heritage for future generations of divers and non-divers alike'. The statement reflects the positive impact that has grown from concerted publicity efforts generated by the managers of shipwrecks and other underwater cultural heritage in Australia and overseas.
No.1 Martin Place Wins Top Property Award
This landmark building in Martin Place has been awarded the State's most prestigious commercial property prize - the Property Council of Australia's Rider Hunt Award. The annual award recognises outstanding commercial property developments in NSW. The project included the adaptive re-use of the GPO building, a new 24-storey office tower and a new 31-storey hotel tower with a blend of retail, health club, restaurants and function areas, including Sydney's largest ballroom.
This year the Property Awards also included a heritage division. The conservation of St Mary's Cathedral was the winner of the Inaugural Heritage Property Award. This comprehensive conservation program transformed the Cathedral over the last five years, repairing damage due to weather and pollution and adding new services, a new lobby and organ gallery. Before his appointment to the Heritage Office, Vince Sicari was conservation architect on this impressive project.
State Heritage Inventory
The NSW Heritage Office is continually working on the State Heritage Inventory to ensure the community has access to quality information on heritage. There are over 20,000 heritage items in the electronic database. Most of these are listed on local councils' local environmental plans. More information is becoming available on these local heritage places as councils enter information gathered through heritage studies. Councils that have transferred information about their local heritage include: Bourke, Hastings, Penrith, Sydney City, Warringah, Waverley, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong. To find out more access the inventory at: www.heritage.nsw.gov.au.
RAIA Awards
A positive result for heritage in the recent RAIA NSW Chapter Awards: four heritage places received awards, demonstrating that heritage is becoming an accepted element of good design. They included:
Public Buildings - Architecture Award: North Sydney Olympic Pool by Hassell Pty Ltd.
Commercial Buildings - Architecture Award: St James Station Environs by Lahz Nimmo Architects with City Projects.
Conservation - Architecture Award: Fort Denison by Alexander Tzannes Associates.
Civic Design - Architecture Award: St Mary's Cathedral Conservation & Completion by the Government Architect's Office, Heritage Design Group.
Safe in the Shed
We usually think of historic machinery as examples of old-fashioned technology. But farm machinery can show us how our industries, farms, work practices and communities have changed over time. The NSW Heritage Office has just released a new book on how to care for historic farm machinery. Safe in the Shed; Caring for Historic Farm Machinery was written as a result of a thematic study on the Riverina wheat industry by the NSW Heritage Office and Ministry for the Arts Movable Heritage Project. It was researched by the Museum of the Riverina. To obtain a copy of Safe in the Shed, call the Heritage Office on (02) 9635 6155 or download the publications order form.
