Heritage Festival Awards Australian’s Journeys
Media Release
14th May 2014
In every corner of NSW, communities and individuals have banded together to help save and maintain our historical and cultural landmarks. These people have been honoured by the National Trust at this year’s Heritage Festival Awards for their outstanding contributions to Australia’s heritage landmarks.
The awards are the signature event of the Heritage Festival and will showcase the work of each nominated project, which are saving our past for future generations. The winning projects come in the form of built heritage, natural sites, objects, adaptive re-use, advocacy campaigns, research and educating the public on the heritage of the state.
This year the awards celebrated their 20th anniversary with the theme of ‘Journeys’. The entries have celebrated the journeys that Australia has taken, from the indigenous walkabout to the immigrants tale.
The competition has been so stiff this year that there have been multiple winners in some categories. The winners come from all over the state and in all shapes and sizes.
National Trust NSW CEO Brian Scarsbrick notes that The Heritage Awards are as much about our future as it is about our past. “We owe a debt of gratitude to all our award winners. What they have managed to give us what is always a wonderful gift for the future.”
The new NSW Minister for Environment and Heritage, Rob Stokes, was in attendance and made a speech to commend and congratulate all the nominated projects.
AWARD Built Heritage Government/ Corporate
| NSW Public Works, Minister's Stonework Program | Concord | This building is a joy on the waterfront of the Parramatta River and its return from dereliction makes a real contribution to the foreshore of the Thomas Walker estate. |
| NSW Public Works, Minister's Stonework Program | Newtown | The Department of Education is to be congratulated for the care and attention given to this important building in Newtown. |
| Futurepast Heritage Consulting Pty Ltd, Long Blackledge Architects & Ausgrid | Annandale | This 1910 electricity substation in Annandale still functions and makes a significant contribution to the streetscape of Annandale. |
AWARD Built Heritage Community/ Individuals
| Reopen the Regal Friends of the Regal | Birmingham Gardens | The Regal Cinema at Birmingham Gardens is a community based facility brought to life by a dedicated not for profit and operated by volunteers. |
| 5 Alexandra St H P Hawthorne & Co | Hunters Hill | This project involved total reconstruction of a house on the edge of destruction showing an extraordinary amount of passion and commitment by its owners who clearly love it. |
AWARD Conservation Landscape Natural and Cultural Government/ Corporate
| Adelong Falls Gold Mill Ruins Consolidation Tumut Shire Council | Tumut Shire Council | This project is displays clear commitment and passion by Tumut Shire Council. |
AWARD Conservation Landscape Natural and Cultural Community/ Individuals
| Man About the House Alfred Productions | State Wide | While not a landscape in the traditional sense this project which comprised an exhibition and events brings together the history and ‘cultural landscape’ of Australian modernist houses – a fabulous idea beautiful executed. |
AWARD Conservation – Interiors and Objects Government/ Corporate
| Bradleys Head Mast Conservation Project, Sydney Harbour National Park National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hyder Consulting and Freyssinet Australia Pty Ltd. | Mosman | The Bradleys Head mast is of enormous importance as the only formal naval memorial in Australia to which all ships must render ceremonial honours when entering Sydney Harbour |
AWARD Conservation – Interiors and Objects Community/ Individuals
| Kirckman Harpsichord Restoration Carey Beebe Harpsichords | Peakhurst | This project deeply impressed the judges – it uses original construction practices and all possible original materials conserved. |
AWARDS Adaptive Reuse – Government/ Corporate
| Eternity Playhouse Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects with City of Sydney | Darlinghurst | This project answers an extremely demanding brief for a modern theatre into an 1887 Tabernacle which is no mean feat but accomplished here with skill and grace adapting the existing Tabernacle and adding new buildings. |
| Hartley Revitalisation Steven Ring, Hartley Historic Site NSW NPW, Jim Stephany, Truman, Zaniol and Associates | Hartley | This is a lovely example of a Conservation Plan guiding good decisions although it has taken a long time to come to fruition with many iterations for proposals to relocate the intrusive public toilets to a discrete location. |
AWARDS Adaptive Reuse – Community/ Individuals
| Conservation of 76 Edwin Street North, Croydon Jillian Comber & David Nutley | Croydon | This project rescues a c1890 building that was in recent times known as the ‘pink pavlova’ and allows it to once again take a role in the streetscape and to demonstrate its fine architectural features. |
AWARDS Advocacy Campaigns Community/ Individuals
| Reopen the Regal Friends of the Regal | Birmingham Gardens | This award reflects the efforts that went in to achieving the work on the Regal Cinema at Birmingham Gardens that has already received an award here today. |
| Royal National Park Coastal Cabins RNP Coastal Cabins Protection League | Little Garie, Era and Burning Palms | It is almost impossible to describe the uphill battle this group faced to get State Heritage Register recognition for this group of cabins in Royal National Park. It was a battle staunchly and relentlessly fought and we commend the group for their passion and staying power. |
AWARDS Research and Investigation/ Analysis Government/ Corporate
| DEC Schools Stonework Strategy Developed by Government Architects Office for Minister's Stonework Program | Sydney City | This strategy identifies and assesses the condition, recommended repairs and priorities for stone repairs to over 160 schools from the 1850s to the 1930s across NSW. |
AWARDS Research and Investigation/ Analysis Community/ Individuals
| History of Aboriginal Sydney Prof. Peter Read, University of Sydney | Sydney City | The judge’s loved this website – a wealth of information made readily accessibl |
| Sydney’s hard rock story: The cultural heritage of trachyte Robert Irving, Ron Powell and Noel Irving, Design by Barbara Beckett, Heritage Publications | Sydney City | This book is a must in every architectural and building conservation library. |
AWARDS Education & Interpretation Government/ Corporate
Public Sydney: Drawing the City Philip Thalis & Peter John Cantrill, Faculty of Built Environment, University of NSW & Historic Houses Trust of NSW | Sydney City | This book is truly a collaborative piece highlighting the work of the authors with over 150 students and what they describe as ‘scores of colleagues’ over a decade. |
AWARDS Education & Interpretation Community/ Individuals
| The Man from Cox’s River by Empress Art Film Empress Arts Film | Burragorang | What we saw were only samples of this film but they left us all wanting so much more. |
| Royal Australian Historical Society Western Crossings Project Royal Australian Historical Society, Inside History Magazine, Search Tech. | Lithgow | This website brings together a number of resources with a huge amount of community buy-in. |
| A Light in the Window: Harpers Mansion Berrima Ann Beaumont | Berrima | Although perhaps this amount of attention should be given to every property the Trust owns the reality is that it doesn’t (and can’t) happen without the tremendous dedication and commitment of individuals so working without aid from the Trust |
