Protection of our Heritage
Historical Societies around Australia most often
accept the role of guardians of the nation's heritage.
Sometimes, it is natural heritage, as was saved by the good ladies of
Hunters Hill who came out in great numbers to save Kellies Bush.
A few years later it was the matrons of Mosman who rallied to save
harbour foreshore land from for the benefit of the public. As it was
Defence land in the hands of a Federal Government, the Prime Minister of
the day created the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust as an arm of the
Federal Government, thus putting it beyond the arms of Sydney's dreaded
“Urban Task Force”.
Around Sydney, though, the major effort has been the saving of our
iconic buildings. One developer, it appears, single handedly sent
bulldozers through a number of our prized theatres. One of the most
beautiful theatre interiors was that of the Wintergarden Theatre in Rose
Bay. A Malaysian firm bought it, demolished the building and onsold the
vacated site to a local developer.
Waverley Council, over the years, has a far better record. One family,
the Ebsworths, who had held Bronte House and some remaining land for
several generations, were anxious to see the land retained for public
use and, having campaigned for many years to have various levels of
government purchase it, finally sold it at a discount to Waverley
Council a most generous deed by this family.
After a shaky start with a lease to an unscrupulous Englishman, a more
appropriate form of lease was drawn up with a requirement that, instead
of rent, a programme of renovation and restoration be agreed to by each
lessee-in-residence with a minimum number of open days when the actual
owners (i.e. the ratepayers) could inspect their property along with
general public.
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The subsequent lessees have, collectively over
time, lived up to this very well. Leo Schofield went further and spent
generously on the development of a beautiful garden, still a joy to
behold. The house is shown in the first picture in our banner gracing
the top of this page. Bronte House remains the jewel in Waverley's
crown.
The centre picture, of course, is the Pavilion at Bondi Beach. There
have been arguments on this for decades, even for its privatisation. A
problem is its proximity to the ocean. As it is built of concrete,
reinforced with steel for which is, as we all know, water is a constant
threat. A canny Mayor with Scottish ancestry bargained successfully with
the Olympic Games authorities and the necessary money was put on the
table for the Pavilion’s restoration so it was agreed that the Olympic
Beach Volley Ball contests took place on Australia’s premier beach – the
third icon on our website’s banner!
Heritage protection is the stuff of Historical Societies.
Our northern neighbours, The Woollahra Heritage and Historical Society
have taken this role seriously. A number of significant properties have
been saved. The best known is Strickland House. Peter and June Poland
have led this cause and have gathered a large following. The land around
it has been retained for the public enjoyment in the last couple of
years. June, who sadly recently passed away, found herself under fire
personally by a parliamentarian in this cause of all this.
To date, our Society in our fifty years has not needed to be embroiled
in saving iconic treasures in. We have stated our position on just one
only last year. We need to re-open discussion on this one.
Peter McCallum, President
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