Heritage in Trust May 2016

NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA Heritage in Trust

(ACT)

May 2016

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West Basin and Acton Park, 1964 after the lake filled, image by R. Clough

Lake Burley Griffin, West Basin and the Guardians Juliet Ramsay, convenor of Lake Burley Griffin Guardians and cultural landscape expert, looks at threats to the aesthetic and social values of Lake Burley Griffin in this article particularly to the West Basin.

Inside Meet new councillor, Elizabeth Burness

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ACT Heritage Partnership Symposium

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An advocacy group, Lake Burley Griffin Guardians, was From the President formed in early 2015 to publicise the developments that Heritage Diary are impacting on the public parklands of Lake Burley Travels and at home with the Trust Griffin. This article focuses on the proposed development for the West Basin parkland, the Heritage Festival Report realignment of the Basin and concerns for public use.

A John Murdoch house for Queanbeyan – Heritage in Trust www.nationaltrust.org.au the evidence for and against Cont p 2

p9 p 12 p 15 p 20 Page 1 p 28

Heritage In Trust

May 2016 Lake Burley Griffin, West Basin and the Guardians from page 1

From the Editors Another Heritage Festival is over, and the articles later in the magazine indicate that the National Trust’s events were again enjoyed by many people. In particular, Scott McAlister reports on the very successful Urban Polaris cycling event (see From the President) and Mary Johnston reports on the Open Day at the Forestry Precinct.

We have three important dates for your diaries in the second half of this year. On Saturday 23 July, the ACT and Region Annual Heritage Symposium will take place. This is always an informative day of presentations about issues of local significance.

Slightly later in the year, the ACT National Trust’s AGM is scheduled for the evening of Thursday 20 October, and our Christmas Party will take place on Sunday 4 December. More details about all of these events will be provided either in future editions of Heritage in Trust or via E-News Bulletins.

In the meantime, there are two events coming up this month. See Travels and at Home with the Trust for further information.

Your comments and contributions are always welcome. Please email these to info@nationaltrustact.org.au or write to the editors at the ACT National Trust office.

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Background From the time it filled in 1964, Canberrans have had a love affair with Lake Burley Griffin, its waters and lakeshores that provide beauty and abundant water recreation opportunities. It has aesthetic qualities that range from tranquil reflections, to ethereal mistiness. It provides a planar space for experiencing vistas across its waters to our iconic national buildings and to the surrounding hills and mountains, and it has become a home for numerous Australian waterbirds.

The Griffins' prize-winning plan that established the design concept in 1911 reflects a desire by Australians to have an outstanding national capital. The Canberra plan with its lake was later refined in 1913 and 1918 by Walter Burley Griffin but it took forty years before a committed Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, had the vision to insist that the lake be constructed. The design team of the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) employed the best expertise in the nation to develop the lake in five years, an achievement recognised with an Award of Landscape Excellence in 1986 for a lake with a perimeter landscape of parklands.

Now, the Canberra public in their thousands flock to all manner of events around the Lake. However, although the Lake's aesthetic and social qualities are appreciated as public amenity, incremental adverse impacts continue across the Lake's foreshore landscape.

Heritage nominations for the Lake and lakeshore landscape have been proposed: initially in 1999 to the Register of the National Estate, in 2011 to the Commonwealth Heritage List and in 2011, 2014 and 2016 to the National Heritage List (NHL), all of which attest to a concern for the protection of the values by heritage legislation. The public good of Lake Burley Griffin and its lakeshore landscape has now become sought after as a real estate commercial commodity.

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Commercialisation of the Lake foreshore gathered momentum when the Carnell ACT Government secured the Kingston Foreshore in the 1990s in a land exchange for the Canberra hospital site that was to become the site of the National Museum of Australia.

The Kingston Foreshore was developed for private commercialisation, inveigling extra snatches of property such as the sites of the boat maintenance complex and a rowing club that were relocated from Kingston to the Black Mountain Peninsula Park and Grevillea Park, respectively.

Contents Lake Burley Griffin, West Basin and the Guardians 1 People and Places/ Trusted Recipe 7 Meet New Councillor: Elizabeth Burness 8 ACT Heritage Partnership Symposium

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From the President - Urban Polaris report Heritage Diary Donate to the Trust Travels and at home with the Trust Open Day at Huntly ACT Election

9 12 14 15 17 19

ACT Heritage Festival Report Heritage Happenings

20 24

Internship Program

25

Book Reviews

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A John Smith Murdoch House for Queanbeyan – the evidence for and against 28 West Basin and Acton Park West Basin, a major component of the lake, is consistent with the Griffins’ plans for spacious foreshore parklands surrounding all of the lake. The 1913 plan drawn by Griffin as part of the Federal Capital Plan1 (Figure 1) shows an adjusted delineation from the 1911-1913 plans. The photo on the front cover of the completed West Basin in 1964 demonstrates further adjustments from the Griffins’ more precise geometric shape to the extant horseshoe shaped West Basin of today. Other changes were made to the lake shape of the Central Basin, in part due to topography and also to the prevailing modern picturesque softer landscape style of the late 20 th century.

West Basin's Acton Park was developed in the 1960s by the NCDC, comprising 10.4 ha of foreshore. The ACT Government's website describes it as a peaceful, beautiful lakeside park with a historic grove of she-oak trees that were planted in 19272.

1

The Federal Capital, Report Explanatory of the Preliminary General Plan. Walter Burley Griffin, Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction, 1913. Commonwealth of Australia, the Department of Home Affairs.

2

Figure 1: Sections from the Griffins’ 1911 plan (top) and the WB Griffin 1913 plan (bottom)

Heritage in Trust

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http://www.tams.act.gov.au/parks-conservation/parksand-reserves/find-a-park/urban-parks/acton-park.

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The park was designed as a centre for cycling, rowing and a ferry stop, and has always been popular due to its protection from the prevailing westerly wind. Quickgrowing deciduous poplars were planted in the early 1960s (Clough and Gray 1964:43) and now willows and eucalypts also exist in informal tree groups. The sandy beach area has been used for launching paddle boats, swimming and other community events such as the Art not Apart festival.

West Basin and the City to the Lake proposal Lake Burley Griffin Guardians (the Guardians) was formed early in 2015 with the purpose of achieving heritage protection and a master plan to manage all of the Lake and its lakeshore landscape as an integrated unit. Initially the Guardians’ concern was for Grevillea Park that is now subdivided for four large boat shed sites including the area fronting the lake beach. The Guardians also prepared the latest National Heritage List nomination for Lake Burley Griffin and the lakeshore landscape. However, a troubling sleeping proposal emerged under the Gallagher-Barr ACT government in the form of the City to the Lake project that included intensive development of West Basin.

This proposal had commenced in 2003 with the Griffin Legacy4, that was, according to Jack Kershaw (2015) 5 “driven by a 2003 ‘Canberra Central Task Force’ set up by out-of-town political heavies and development lobbyists demanding that the ACT derive more revenue from inner-city land sales after up-zoning”. The Griffin Legacy displays a picturesque looking West Basin with approximately 50% open space including a sizeable viewing platform on the line of the water axis (see Figure 2). It initiated a concept of a 'Griffin' foreshore alignment, an anathema to Griffin's planning and the NCDC extant lake that evolved from it. Griffin's planning is used as a ploy to justify lake infill to increase the land available for development.

Amendments 56, 59, 60 and 61 to the National Capital Plan (NCP) locked West Basin development in place, with policies and building footprints (as shown on Figure 4).

Figure 2: The West Basin & City Hill development proposal as presented in the Griffin Legacy (2004) (top) compared with the image in the National Capital Plan (2015) that excludes the axis viewing platform (bottom)

The Federal Government's advisory body, the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and

3

Clough, R and Gray, J.E. 1964 Landscaping of Lake Burley Griffin, lakeburleygriffinguardians.org.au/media/CloughGray-1964-red.pdf

5

Kershaw, J, Letters to the Editor, Time to put the plan right, Canberra Times, 3 October 2015.

4

The Griffin Legacy, Canberra the National Capital in the 21st Century, published by the National Capital Authority in 2014.

Heritage in Trust

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External Territories, disallowed the amendments, particularly for City Hill, and included a comment on West Basin as follows: “Evidence to the committee suggested that the scale of development for West Basin should configure more closely to the NCA’s 2004 proposal”6.

The four amendments that enable high-rise development to City Hill and West Basin were, according to Kershaw, subsequently approved by the Federal Minister and hurried through both Houses of Parliament late at night.

In 2013 the ACT Government undertook initial community engagement on The City Plan and City to the Lake7,6noting that the area is extremely well used for recreation. Those who responded sought sufficient grassed open space and natural landscape, continuation of existing leisure-based businesses and recreation concessions. They noted strong support for the proposed infrastructure of the Parkes Way alterations, and public areas, such as the boardwalks, and the aquatic centre with an urban beach, to be delivered as a first stage. They also indicated strongly that they did not want another Kingston Foreshore.

public parking area is shown other than limited kerbside; and there is no free space for large group events such as Art not Apart. Gone are all the vistas across the lake to the hills and ranges from Commonwealth Avenue and City Hill.

Gone is a perimeter of public open space to the basin, obliterated by proposed buildings on the eastern side of the Basin. Open public space is limited to pocket parks at each end of the promenade.

Figure 3: Image from the City to the Lake proposal showing the proposed Building Estate and Foreshore with most of the open space covered in buildings

Impact of proposed development The design image for West Basin (Figure 3) provided in the City to the Lake documentation shows little evidence of respecting the community’s desires. In the 2015 consultation on the West Basin Foreshore development, submissions voiced critical concerns about the appropriation of public parkland and the impact of this on heritage values. Those public expressions were disregarded in favour of the professional heritage impact study of the foreshore87 that did not include the impacts of the building estate that will ensue. Yet part of that estate will be on foreshore lake infill.

Gone is a decent landscape space to interpret and enjoy the water axis vista with a viewing platform; no

Figure 4: The line of floats in West Basin water delineates the extent of the proposed foreshore development and infill (image

by Alan Robertson)

Apart from the pavilions on the waterfront at two storeys, the building heights are mostly six storeys but the statement that “buildings above 25 metres in

6

Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories, Review of the Griffin Legacy Amendments, 2006.

7

ACT Government, 2013 City Plan and City to the Lake.

Heritage in Trust

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8

Heritage Impact Statement—West Basin Foreshore Development by Lovell Chen 2015, prepared for the Land Development Agency.

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height will be the subject of wind testing”98implies that much higher buildings will also be allowed.

Plans to put Parkes Way underground seem to have been put on hold and it is not clear how the traffic will articulate with West Basin if the only access will be from Commonwealth Avenue via Albert Street and the adjacent Corkhill Street.

Green space for informal activities is becoming a precious resource particularly at the lakeside, while due to global warming, maintaining the green infrastructure of urban parks to moderate heat buildup from urban building mass is critical.

There are many people who need to have car access and parking. How will the on-foot and on-bike users manage to transport barbeque clobber with little children on a visit to West Basin? It appears that although Canberra's public may get a couple of coffee shops on its new publicly-funded foreshore, the parks included in the development will be amenities for the estate occupiers. The general public will have limited access. Furthermore, the former parkland is set to become a noisy, messy development site for decades, with serious traffic congestion.

In contrast, Adelaide's Municipal Government along with the South Australian Government have proudly allowed the Adelaide Park Lands to be entered in the National Heritage List and have added legislative protection. The ACT Government, however, extends urban development rather than safeguarding the nation's most notable designed landscape heritage feature, namely Lake Burley Griffin. The attitude to heritage in the ACT is not surprising as the current Minister for Heritage, Mick Gentleman, in reference to the national heritage of Canberra noted that: “While Canberra's special place as the nation's capital is not disputed, there are a range of

9

National Capital Authority, the National Capital Plan 30/9/2015, p.142.

10

Mick Gentleman, letter to the convenor of Lake Burley Griffin Guardians.

Heritage in Trust

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concerns associated with the regulatory burden such a listing could impose on the ACT. As such, no management guidelines for the proposed listing have been agreed”10.9 Conclusion The West Basin open space belongs to the public. It is a delightful informal park, albeit with innocuous but well used car parking, that does enable vistas, provides critical visitor parking for Floriade, has trees and is used creatively as 'loose' space. The Guardians has requested the NCA and Land Development Agency chief executives to undertake a review of the West Basin proposal and is waiting on a response to the request. As stated by Jack Kershaw, “now is the time to put the plan right”.

Juliet Ramsay Juliet Ramsay is convenor of Lake Burley Griffin Guardians and honorary member of the ICOMOS-IFLA1110International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes.

Image References Front cover photo. Clough, R. 1964 Fully Filled West Basin from Air above ANU 1964, Canberra. BibID: 2253890 Permission from the National Library of Australia.

Figure 1a. The West Basin segment of Griffins' 1911 plan from: Canberra following Griffin by Paul Read, 2002 National Archives of Australia.

Figure 1b. The West Basin segment from Griffin, Walter Burley & Australia. Department of Home Affairs (1914) Canberra Federal Capital of Australia preliminary plan Retrieved 9 April 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj230041959 Figure 2a. West Basin Development Concept, Griffin Legacy (fold out page following p.173) Figure 2b. West Basin - Indicative Urban Structure, National Capital Plan Draft Amendment 86, 2015, p.140 Figure 3. ACT Government, Land Development Agency: http://www.lda.act.gov.au/en/city-to-the-lake Figure 4. Image by Alan Robertson

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ICOMOS is the acronym for International Council on Monuments and Sites. IFLA is the acronym for International Federation of Landscape Architects.

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People and Places Trusted recipe

New members The National Trust (ACT) warmly welcomes the following new members: Helen Shelper and William Allan Jeanette Armstrong Caroline Bradshaw David and Margaret Brett Susan Buckley Nancy Clarke Richard and Sue Cotterill Don Dwyer Bethanie Adams and Damien Ellwood Sandra and Trevor Farley Marilyn Fenner Pam and Paul Ferrar Gordon and Beryl Gullock Gregory Johnson Gemma Cajina and Tiernan Kelly Roland Pocock and Ross Kulmar Patricia Lewis Anne Mann Richard Summerrell and Angela Mawbey Michalina Stawyskyj and Michael McKernan Margaret Cuthel and John Needham Kerrie Nelson Christopher and Janelle O’Grady Penelope and Brian Pearce Dawn and Ian Plested Wendy Quinn Melanie Randall Colin and Daisy Rodda Geoffrey and Shirley Rose Michael and Heather Rosenberg James and Megan Seavers Anna Skurowski Judith and Paul Sutton Janis and John Tracey Deirdre and Derek Trow Desmond Woods

Madeira Cake Ingredients 230 g butter 230 g sugar 4 eggs 2 cups SR Flour Pinch salt 6 drops essence ¾ cup milk (2 tablespoons Madeira or Sherry can be included) 2 tablespoons icing sugar Method 1. Prepare a moderate oven (180°C).

2. Grease and paper a deep 20cm diameter round tin.

3. Sift flour and salt.

4. Cream butter and sugar.

5. Add eggs one at a time, beating each well.

6. Fold in flour and add essence and milk (and wine if used) during the folding.

7. Pour into prepared cake tin and sift icing sugar on top.

8. Bake for 1 ½ hours or until judged cooked when tested with a very fine skewer. Lower oven temperature to 160°C for last ½ hour of cooking time.

9. Cool in tin for 15 minutes and then gently turn out on to cake cooler.

If the cake is not all eaten, it is great for making a wine trifle dessert.

Dianne Dowling

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People and Places New Council Member Elizabeth Burness Elizabeth joined the Council of the ACT National Trust in January this year. She has kindly provided the information below on her career and interests.

After a rewarding career as a teacher and, particularly, as a museum education officer, at such culturally diverse institutions as the Australian War Memorial and the National Gallery of Victoria, Elizabeth is now semi-retired.

It was at the latter institution that her love of antique and vintage costume blossomed. Combining this with a study of local history, she has amassed a sizeable social history collection, much of which is housed at the Tuggeranong Schoolhouse Museum. Parts of the collection have been occasionally lent to institutions such as the National Museum of Australia. For more information, see Elizabeth’s website at www.historywithadifference.com.au .

The Schoolhouse Museum building is owned by the ACT Government and provided to Elizabeth to be open to the public. She runs it with the help of a volunteer. In addition, she regularly takes some of her collection to aged-care facilities where she entertains the residents with talks and nostalgia sessions. She also visits schools and social groups, usually in period costume.

Heritage in Trust

Elizabeth still works with children both in schools and at the Schoolhouse Museum. She has often been hired by the National Trust to bring the past alive with ‘history in a suitcase’ at historical events and venues including, most recently, as an occasional feature at Cooma Cottage at Yass. She is available for historic presentations using her collection.

ACT and Region Annual Australian Heritage Partnership Symposium 2016 SATURDAY 23 JULY 9AM-5PM Keep this date free as the annual heritage symposium which is jointly run by the ACT National Trust, Canberra and District Historical Society, ICOMOS and Canberra Archaeological Society happens on this day. Final details are being resolved and a flyer will be circulated in the near future and will also appear on the NT website.

Other key dates are: 27/4/16 Call for papers 27/5/16 Abstracts due June Program finalised Eric J Martin

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From the President Scott reports here on the Urban Polaris cycling event, one of the features of the Trust’s contribution to this year’s Heritage Festival. For reports of other events, see page 20.

After collecting their packs (which consisted of a race bib, control card, control points sheet, ACT cycleway map, pencils and a ruler), participants quickly got to work mapping out the points from co-ordinates supplied on their control point sheet. Some laid out their map on the table, others used the floor, we even saw one team bring their own portable table!!

Dear Members Saturday 16 April saw the National Trust do something a little different – organising and running a cycling event! The National Trust Urban Polaris was conducted in and around Canberra with the start and finish (Event Centre) located in the Former Transport Depot in Kingston. 100 teams (200 individuals) took to the streets of Canberra to visit selected heritage sites and have fun in the process.

The concept: The National Trust Urban Polaris is a unique seven hour cycling and navigation event set in and around Canberra. The event is undertaken in pairs and consists of teams finding the fastest route through a series of control points spread all around the Canberra region.

Each control point is assigned a point value that competitors collect to accumulate the highest score. At the end of the day the team with the highest score (minus any time penalties for running over the allotted seven hour time limit) is declared the winner.

‘Orienteering on wheels’ is a comment that simplistically sums up the event! The Urban Polaris has been successfully run numerous times over the past 15 years and this year the National Trust decided to tie the concept into historic sites/assets spread throughout Canberra. From forgotten suburban cemeteries to World War I training trenches participants took delight in unlocking secrets of Canberra’s history at locations closer to home than they might have thought.

Registration

Which way to go?

The registration: A nice 5:30am start for volunteers to open up the Event Centre and welcome participants for 6:00am registration.

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The registration pack

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The start: Participants were released in three waves of 35 teams every 10 minutes from 8:00am. There was very light drizzle earlier in the morning but thankfully the clouds had lifted by start time. Despite our initial concerns, riders left without incident and as we had strategically placed points at the Canberra Railway Museum (east), National Gallery (west) and Manuka Oval (north) the teams dispersed in different directions pretty quickly.

A number of the entrants were quite happy to pay the entry fee in order to have the opportunity to have a casual (but structured) day out on their bike with their friend/s. A fine example was the Miller family who teamed up as Miller Boys v Miller Girls and had a ball....Miller Girls beat Miller Boys by the way.

Mt Pleasant Control Station

Starting

Evatt unmarked cemetery control point

The finish: On your bike

The ride: Participants had up to seven hours to collect as many or as few points as they desired. The Urban Polaris is unique in that it caters for everyone and two contrasting tales from this year’s event demonstrate this. The male winners got all but two controls and travelled circa 150km in their seven hours whereas another team we spoke to had four coffee stops and a shop at the Salvo's store in Woden!

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To our surprise the majority of the field took advantage of the full seven hours so most participants arrived back at the event centre between 2:45 and 3:30 and quickly took advantage of a cold drink and a sausage sandwich (yes, the Dowlings were manning the BBQ!).

Despite the complex matter of checking all the control cards to tally points (and make sure they’d been ‘punched’ in the correct section) we were able to have results finalised by just after 4:00pm.

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May 2016 Feedback: Amazing! Everybody, and we do mean everybody, wants to see the event run again next year. The only negative feedback we got back via our Facebook page was from people disappointed that they’d missed out because they weren’t aware the event was on.

The stats: Further information can be found on the dedicated website www.urbanpolaris.com.au including results and details of the control points used. The most visited control was Canberra Railway Museum with 90 and the least was Tuggeranong Schoolhouse with only four (we’ll be using that again next year with a higher point allocation!). And, unbelievably, out of 100 teams there was only one team that came back in exactly seven hours!

The Finish

Thanks: To the ACT Government who assisted us with the relaunch of the Urban Polaris with a grant through the ACT Heritage Grants Program and Linda Roberts who took all the photos.

And super thanks to the extended McAlister family (they know who they are) who ensured that the day was executed perfectly, and particularly my brother Tim who set up the timing and scoring systems which worked a treat. I’ll miss those numerous pizza and beer nights we had in the three weeks leading up to the event!

Team McAlister

Scott McAlister

At the finish, - barbecue to the left, band to the right

Heritage in Trust

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Heritage Diary to December 2016 A selection of heritage-related events of interest to members Details of National Trust (ACT) events are provided on page 15 and 16 Date and time

Event and location

Organiser

Contact

Blundell’s Cottage, reopened in 2015 after heritage and interpretive works, is now open every Saturday with tours at 11.30am and 1pm. Exhibits interpret Ginn and Sainsbury families – the first and last families in occupation.

Numbers limited, bookings recommended.

NCA

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/blundellscottage-families-of-workers-tickets16854262553

History with a Difference. Popular Canberra storyteller Elizabeth Burness brings stories of Canberra’s pioneering past alive with tales of the old schooldays. Admission: gold coin Tuggeranong Schoolhouse, 34 Enid Lorimer Circuit, Chisholm

Tuggeranong Schoolhouse Museum

Elizabeth Burness 6161 6383 or 0400 391 440 http://www.historywithadifference.com.au/t uggeranong-schoolhousemuseum/index.html

On-going Each Saturday & Sunday 1pm – 4pm

Calthorpes House is open each Saturday and Sunday afternoon, taking you back to Canberra in the 1920s. Tours at 1pm, 1.45, 2.30 and 3.15pm 24 Mugga Way Red Hill

ACT Historic Places

http://www.historicplaces.com.au/calthorpe s-house

On-going Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 4pm

Lanyon Homestead. Exhibitions include Within Living Memory, The convict Years and Cunningham Family album.

Tharwa Drive, Tharwa.

ACT Historic Places

http://www.historicplaces.com.au/lanyonhomestead

On-going Each Saturday & Sunday 1pm – 4pm

Mugga-Mugga cottage. A testament to one of the Limestone Plain’s great pastoral estates, this historic cottage was built for the head shepherd of Duntroon in 1870. Conserved and furnished with household items that belonged to the Curley family who moved to Mugga-Mugga from Duntroon in 1913. 129 Narrabundah Ln, Symonston

ACT Historic Places

http://www.historicplaces.com.au/muggamugga-cottage

Until 22 May

Celestial Empire: Life in China 1644-1911 National Library.

Various events accompany exhibition

NLA

www.nla.gov.au/ Bookings for events: nla.gov.au/celestialempirenla.gov.au/bookings or 02 6262 1271

Until 26 June

Bush Capital – the natural history of the ACT. An exhibition exploring the diverse natural history of our region, thematically structured around six habitat types. Encounter the species that live in each habitat through works of art, scientific specimens, sound and video. Canberra Museum and Gallery, London Circuit, Canberra City

CMAG

http://www.cmag.com.au/exhibitions/bushcapital-the-natural-history-of-the-act

Wednesday 18 May 4.30pm

CAS/CAR lecture – Prof Bernard Wood on Human Evolution: A bush or a ladder?

Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 5, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

www.cas.asn.au/

Sunday 22 May Day trip

National Trust bus tour to Richlands and the ‘back streets’ of Goulburn with John Jervis

National Trust

Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or info@nationaltrustact.org.au

Sunday 22 May 2.00-4.00pm

Sylvia Curley Oration – The Art of Heritage, talk

by Joseph Falsone, Director of Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres

ACT Historic Places

www.historicplaces.com.au/events RSVP

by Friday 20 May

On-going Every Saturday 11.30am - 2.30pm

On-going monthly Second Sunday 10.00am – 4.00pm other times by appointment

Heritage in Trust

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Sunday 22 May 10.00am - 4.00pm

Strathnairn Arts 2016 Open Day. Watch artists at work in the precinct's 20 studios and the Foundry, and enjoy the Squares art works on exhibition in the historic Woolshed gallery.

Explore Belconnen’s rural fringe, its cultural, indigenous, historic and natural heritage. Western edge of Belconnen, beyond Belconnen Golf Course, Holt.

Strathnairn Arts

http://www.strathnairn.com.au/open-day2015/

27 May to 4 September

Faith, Fashion, Fusion: Muslim Women’s Style in Australia Exquisite garments, sleek fashion shoots, designers, retailers and bloggers. Discover emerging modest fashion trends and the work of a new generation of Muslim fashionistas. National Archives, Queen Victoria Terrace.

NAA

Bookings not needed.

6212 3600 naa.gov.au/visit-us/exhibitions

Wednesday 8 June 6.00 – 7.30pm

National Trust Speaker’s Night with Dr Peter Dowling speaking on Gallipoli, A Hundred and one Years of Memory, Commemoration, Myths and Facts National Archives, Queen Victoria Terrace

National Trust

RSVP by Monday 6 June 6230 0533 or info@nationaltrustact.org.au

Saturday 11Monday 13 June

National Archives - Federation Gallery special Queen’s Birthday opening. Catch a glimpse of Australia's original founding documents with a Gallery Host who will discuss the significance of these intriguing, beautiful and powerful documents.

NAA

Bookings not needed. Free.

6212 3600 naa.gov.au/visit-us/exhibitions

Wednesday 22 June 6.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – Dr Dougal O’Reilly on Grass roots preservation initiatives: Heritage watch in Cambodia Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

www.cas.asn.au/

Saturday 9 July 11am-4pm

National Archives - Celebrate Constitution Day Drop in for exclusive viewings of the Federation documents including the Constitution and Royal Commission of Assent. Join in family fun constitution style – discovery trail, calligraphy and storytelling. Attend the annual Constitution Day Speakers’ Forum – focusing on Indigenous recognition.

NAA

Bookings not needed.

6212 3600 naa.gov.au/visit-us/exhibitions

Saturday 23 July 9.00am to 5.00pm

ACT and Region Annual Heritage Partnership Symposium

Bookings essential. A flyer will be circulated when details are finalised.

Wednesday 17 August 6.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – Dr Rebecca Parkes on Googong Project Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS, National Trust and others CAS

Wednesday 14 September 7.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – ANU students on ANU projects Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

www.cas.asn.au/

Friday 16 – Sunday 18 September

Canberra Embroiders’ Guild Exhibition To celebrate its proud history of embroidery in Canberra, the guild highlights its work at the annual exhibition. Albert Hall

Canberra Embroiderers’ Guild

http://embroiderersact.org.au/

Friday 14 to Sunday 16 October

Australian Garden History Society, 37th Annual Conference, The Scientist in the Garden Canberra Rex Hotel, Canberra

AGHS

Bookings open 2 May on www.trybooking.com More information on www.gardenhistorysociety.org.au

Wednesday 19 October 6.00pm

CAS/CAR lecture – Ben Keaney on Brindabellas Project Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

www.cas.asn.au/

Thursday 20 October Evening

National Trust AGM – more details to follow

National Trust

Heritage in Trust

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www.cas.asn.au/

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Wednesday 16 November 6.00pm AGM 6.30pm Lecture

CAS/CAR lecture – Amy Way on Lake George Project Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Bldg 26A, Union Court, ANU

CAS

Sunday 4 December

National Trust Christmas party – to be held at the Tuggeranong Schoolhouse. More details to follow

National Trust

www.cas.asn.au/

Notes: CAS is the Canberra Archaeological Society. CAR is the Centre for Archaeological Research. NAA is National Archives of Australia.

NCA is National Capital Authority. CMAG is Canberra Museum and Gallery. NLA is National Library of Australia. AGHS is the Australian Garden History Society. Information on events run by organisations other than the National Trust (ACT) is provided in good faith, but readers should check dates and times with the contacts indicated above.

Heritage in Trust

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Travels and at home with the Trust Bus Tour to Richlands and the ‘back streets’ of Goulburn Sunday 22 May 2016 Richlands, a footnote in the renowned history of Captain John and Elizabeth Macarthur and their family, was established as an outstation a day's ride west of the Macarthurs' main residence at Camden Park. The homestead is situated 50 km north of Goulburn, 30km due west of Bowral and 10 km north of Taralga, at the junction of Oberon and Wombeyan Roads.

Richlands homestead (detail) in 1997

Under the control of the Macarthur sons, the estate was at its most extensive in the early 1840s and comprised 38,000 acres of prime grazing land including the present township of Taralga and all farmed country to the north. Grain, wool and tobacco were produced with Richlands wheat fetching premium prices in Sydney.

This is your chance to visit the property and learn about exploration, settlement, contact history, the estate, butter factory, Macarthur era orchard and drive, the late Georgian building and its relation to other Macarthur properties.

After lunch in Goulburn we will uncover interesting sites in the back streets with John Jervis who previously guided our enjoyable Towrang and Bungonia bus tours. He will point out old cemeteries, old stables, churches and police barracks.

Departure: 7.30am at Deakin behind shops on Macgregor St or 7.45am from Southwell Park near netball courts on Northbourne Ave, Lyneham. Lunch, morning and afternoon teas included. Please advise any dietary requirements.

Cost: $85 for members; $95 for non-members.

Bookings essential: 6230 0533 or email info@nationaltrustact.org.au.

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Speaker’s Night with Dr Peter Dowling: “Gallipoli. A Hundred and One Years of Memory, Commemoration, Myths and Facts” Wednesday 8 June 2016, 6.00pm – 7.30pm National Archives of Australia, Queen Victoria Terrace

No matter how we perceive it today, Gallipoli (or rather Australia’s role in the conflict at Anzac) was a monumental event for the people of Australia. It has now become deeply embedded in the nationalistic pantheon of Australia with commemorations across the continent each year. Thousands of Australians, young and old, visit the battlefields of Anzac each year as a pilgrimage of respect and commemoration for those who fought there. But during the commemorative narratives many of the events and perceptions surrounding Gallipoli and the Anzacs have been subjected to the apparition of myth and misunderstanding replacing reality.

After 101 years some of these myths are still firmly embedded in our perceptions of what happened at Gallipoli and on the other battlefronts of the First World War. This talk will examine a few of the major myths/misunderstandings (there are too many to discuss them all) which are constantly rolled out by commentators (not excluding our political leaders), writers and educators. An aim of this talk is to put at least some of them to rest, but is that being too expectant, hopeful or pedantic?

Cost: $10.00 members; $15.00 non-members.

Drinks and nibbles included.

Bookings: Please RSVP by Monday 6 June on 6230 0533 or info@nationaltrustact.org.au

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Trust Tour Report Open Day at Huntly Saturday 6 February On a perfect summer day, under clear skies and in bright sunshine, National Trust members and members of the public enjoyed a glorious Open Day at Huntly, the home of John Gale OBE. John is a Life Member of both the National Trust (ACT) and the National Trust (NSW). Over many years he has been a generous host to National Trust members and Huntly has been a terrific drawcard for events held by numerous Canberra charities and community organisations in his beautiful garden.

The National Trust (ACT) was invited to hold the Open Day in the garden prior to the auction of the contents of John’s home, as sadly John is no longer able to live at home. The contents of the house ranged from 18th century silver to contemporary garden sculpture. The Open Day was also a celebration of the 60th anniversary of John moving to Huntly. During the Open Day, hundreds of people visited the house and viewed John’s extensive collection, including many precious items. A successful auction was held the following day.

In the garden the National Trust provided information about Huntly and about John’s life there. There was also a collection of classic and antique cars, with enthusiastic and well-informed owners, and there were activities for children and refreshments. John was a great supporter of many Canberra organisations and some of these participated on the day. Canberra Opera gave two performances in the open air with fine voices singing arias from well-loved operas. A group of delightful young singers from the Woden Valley Youth Choir, conducted by Alpha Gregory, sang funny and wistful songs under the shade of the huge leafy trees.

Red Cross and Rivers Rural Fire Service both had stalls.

Some of the auction items

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Popular Canberra storyteller, Elizabeth Burness of Tuggeranong Schoolhouse, brought stories of Canberra’s pioneering past alive.

Face painter Deborah Lane decorated young faces and tied balloons into wonderful shapes, including a princess made entirely of balloons! And Rhonda Arnall was busy, on a hot day, with the demand for her varied ice-creams.

The National Trust has been fortunate to hold many events at Huntly and members have enjoyed the ambience of the garden on many occasions, especially at popular Christmas parties. The Open Day was very successful for the National Trust and a blissful experience for all. A highlight was the lovely opera and choral music wafting from under the trees through the garden throughout the day.

The National Trust once again had a highly popular sausage sizzle and served Devonshire teas with scones, cream and delicious jams. The Devonshire teas were so popular the cups ran out and, shortly after, the scones!

The Open Day was successful financially too, with donations of gold coins and the sale of National Trust items and food adding up to nice takings.

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In recognition of John Gale’s generosity, National Trust member and former Councillor, Di Johnstone AM, visited John to present a gift to him, with warmest appreciation and enormous gratitude, on behalf of the President, Council and members of the National Trust (ACT). The gift was an elegant bound folio of his story, initially published in 2011/12 in two issues of Heritage in Trust.

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It was a story National Trust members had been keen to hear and John had generously told, over home-baked scones and tea in the sun-filled Bamboo Room, overlooking his beautiful garden.

ACT Election There is an election in the air. The ACT Election will be held on Saturday 15 October and now is the time for us to try and influence the various political parties and candidates on heritage.

Over the last few months the National Trust (ACT) has been developing a paper that details the major issues that we would like the incoming government to address, ie:    

Di Johnstone The Council thanks Di Johnstone and Maree Treadwell for preparing the articles for the presentation folio.

Photos of auction items from Leonard Joel Auction House. Photos of activities during the Open Day provided by Mary Johnston. The photo of John Gale provided by the author. Photos of the folio (below) presented to John Gale OBE courtesy of Peter Leach, Bookhaven Binding & Restoration.

   

     

Elevate Heritage to Ministerial status ACT Heritage and History Industry Planning Heritage and History Impact Study Operational Funding Assistance for Peak Bodies Conservation Management Plans for Heritage Housing Precincts Blundell’s Cottage Site Development Local/territory significance Review the ACT Planning and Development Act and other relevant legislation and regulations and policies Yarralumla Brickworks History and Heritage Tourism Plan Lake Burley Griffin Heritage Unit Resourcing National Listing of Canberra Project Planning, Delivery and Management.

So far several meetings have been held with the Greens, Shane Rattenbury and his staff, where our issues and views have been well received. Initial meetings have also been held with the Liberal and Labor parties and further meetings will be held as the parties develop their respective policies. A public forum will be held in September when all parties and prominent independent candidates will be invited to make presentations.

Graham Carter

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Heritage Festival Report

The National Trust (ACT) had seven events in the 2016 festival which ran from 2-18 April. Unfortunately the two walking tours of Magna Carta had to be cancelled but all other events went ahead and were enjoyed in fine autumn weather. Scott McAlister reports separately in From the President on the Urban Polaris cycling event.

Yarralumla Forestry Heritage Precinct Open Day – Sunday 3 April We arrived at the oval in the Forestry Precinct bright and early on 3 April - luckily daylight saving had ended that morning so the early start was not so bad! Soon the place was buzzing with people setting up their stalls, classic cars arriving and foresters from the Institute of Foresters of Australia (IFA) gathering to lead tours around the grounds and into buildings. Volunteers prepared Devonshire teas, (real) coffee and sausages while others organised parking which turned out to be less of problem than we had anticipated.

Soon, people started arriving to book on tours, check out the stalls, enjoy the entertainment and refreshments. There were three different tours - two of which went into the former Forestry School Building with its beautiful domed, timber foyer and/or Forestry House where the students had lived while at the Forestry School. The third tour went around the precinct and addressed the various activities that were conducted there. Some of the tour guides had been students there and so had lots of tales to tell about the Forestry School.

Starting a tour (above)

Kim Wells leading a tour of the precinct (left)

Setting up stalls and arrival of classic cars

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Meanwhile, on the oval, there was an opportunity to find out about gardens from the Australian Garden History Society and Open Gardens Canberra; see art from the Wildlife and Botanical Artists; see colonial and antique arms; learn about early Canberra history; meet some ‘explorers’; view classic cars; or buy some homemade goods. We even had a demonstration of a gasifier which can convert forest waste into fuel - an old technology now being updated. People could try orienteering with help from Orienteering ACT and kids could get their faces painted or make a badge.

their discovery or rediscovery of this important site. IFA and Eric Martin had prepared some signs with information about various parts of the site, including Westridge House, the former home of the principal of the Forestry School and now privately owned.

Australian Rugby Choir

Early Canberra Explorers

Monaro Folk Society - enjoying the bush dancing

Colonial and antique arms

We were entertained by the Australian Rugby Choir, including one of the foresters who had studied at the Forestry School. Then we had a sing-along led by the Music Education Program from the School of Music and later the Monaro Folk Society brought us some bush dancing. It was great to see people join in both the singing and dancing.

The weather was perfect, the venue was beautiful and, although the numbers attending were down on previous years, people seemed to stay longer and enjoy the day.

The Institute of Foresters had also invited some special guests, including their National President, who enjoyed

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The National Trust thanks the IFA, particularly Kim Wells who managed the tours; CSIRO, which as the main lessee of the site gave us access to Forestry House and helped in other ways; AARNet, the current tenant of the Forestry Building; Territory and Municipal Services for the use of the oval: and, of course, all the stall-holders, entertainers and volunteers.

Mary Johnston (photos and text)

The First People - Aboriginal Prehistory in the Palerang Region – Tuesday 5 April On Tuesday 5 April, a large group of around 80 people gathered at the Carrington Inn in Bungendore to hear the presentation by archaeologist, Dr Alister Bowen. Dr Bowen told us we were dealing with very long periods during which the environment slowly changed and how Page 21

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this impacted on the people who lived here. He talked about the ways we can interpret Aboriginal occupation through observations, formal studies, pictures, artefacts such as tools, ceremonial sites, excavations and art.

Dr Bowen also described the process of stone tool manufacture and how both the tools and the evidence of their manufacture can be found in many places.

Hotel Kurrajong Tour – Thursday 14 April This one hour tour of the Hotel Kurrajong was so popular that a second tour was arranged. We were led by “the well-dressed architect”, Mr Eric Martin, and the “not-dressed-up” historical archaeologist, Dr Peter Dowling. (I’m quoting Dr Dowling.)

Participants enjoying Dr Bowen’s presentation

The presentation was clear and many of the audience found it very interesting. The presentation concluded with Dr Bowen answering a variety of questions and listening to comments from the audience which clearly ranged from lay people to others with much knowledge on the subject, for example, one person who had done a PhD on stone houses built by Aboriginals. In a turnabout for local Bungendore residents, one attendee who praised the event thought the session time of 45 minutes too short to warrant the 30 minute drive each way from Canberra.

The National Trust (ACT) and the Palerang Heritage Advisory Committee thank Dr Bowen for his presentation, Richard Graham who provided the excellent venue at the Carrington Inn and the Bungendore Weekly for promoting the event. We would also like to thank those who made constructive comments about the presentation which will be taken into account in any future presentations on Aboriginal heritage.

Mary Johnston (Photos and text)

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Our guides, Dr Peter Dowling, left and Mr Eric Martin, right Photo: Wendy Whitham

While we stood outside in the sun, Peter explained the background to the building of the hotel in the 1920s at which time it was known as Hostel Number 2. Hostel Number 1 was the slightly more up-market Canberra Hotel. The latter was the preferred residence of the more conservative Members of Parliament, while the Kurrajong was preferred by members of the Labor Party, including the Hotel’s most famous resident, Ben Chifley.

In the 1970s the hotel was closed and an enquiry was undertaken to decide on its future. A survey of politicians found that it was still much loved, and it was decided to retain the building. It became an International Hotel School in 1995, and it is now a hotel once more.

Eric explained that building has been very successfully adapted to its modern use while keeping the external appearance very close to the original. He guided participants to three areas of the hotel, the first stop being Ben Chifley’s room, the second in the north wing, and the third in the north courtyard. At each location, Eric described the modifications that had been made while faithfully retaining the integrity of the building.

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Ben Chifley’s room Photo: Di Dowling

One example he mentioned was the use of vinyl on the floor in Ben Chifley’s room to reflect the lino floor that was present when Chifley lived there.

Our thanks to Peter and Eric for such an informative and interesting tour of this lovely place.

Wendy Whitham Peter advises that there will most likely be more tours of the Kurrajong planned in the future.

Campbell Walking Tour – Sunday 17 April On a pleasant autumn afternoon, 22 participants joined author Alan Foskett on this leisurely ramble around the suburb of Campbell. The walk commemorated 60 years since the naming of the suburb and celebrated the publication of Alan’s second book on the suburb, The Campbell Community Revisited.

Russell Hill Settlement which housed workers arriving in Canberra in the 1920s to build the national capital.

Our walk took us along Vasey Crescent where Alan pointed out three houses, numbers 42-46, that are included in 100 Canberra Houses (see Richard Johnston’s review on page 26). The houses, built in 1961-62, were all designed by Roy Grounds of Grounds, Romberg and Boyd, at the request of the three couples who bid for the blocks at the same time in 1959. We following the Crescent downhill to Constitution Avenue where we noted the new apartment buildings and paused for afternoon tea (provided by Di Dowling) in the showroom of the Campbell5 development. From there we walked across the new Campbell Park (suggestions for new names welcome!) up the hill to Legacy Park, and from there back to the shops.

Alan, standing, left foreground, talking to the group at Legacy Park Photo: Wendy Whitham Signs of autumn near the Returned Soldiers Memorial Photo: Linda Roberts

We began our walk behind the shopping centre where a Canberra Tracks sign reminded us that before the suburb of Campbell existed, this was the site of the

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Our thanks to Alan for leading us around the suburb about which he knows so much. We also appreciated the opportunity to buy his latest book.

Wendy Whitham

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Heritage Happenings Heritage Issues Comments have been provided on the following:

City and Gateway Urban Renewal Strategy The National Trust stressed the need to identify heritage issues early and consider impacts when developing any strategy.

Manuka Oval Precinct Letters sent to Giants, Grocon, ACT Government and ACT Heritage requesting a consolidated heritage assessment be undertaken of the whole area and that opportunities/constraints be defined and agreed through a consultation process before any planning/design progresses further.

Oaks Estate A letter of support to the residents for heritage listing of the area has been sent to ACT Heritage.

Forrest Block 7 Section 23 House on corner of Furneaux and Bougainville Street This has been individually nominated as well as being in the Blandfordia 5 conservation area. All formal advice has ignored the individual nomination values which in the National Trust’s view should be considered before approving the proposed alterations.

2016 ACT National Trust Heritage Awards

Thompson - New Tuggeranong suburb There appears to be a lack of heritage assessment, and disregard for heritage values of the area including Pine Island Homestead, which needs to occur before planning is considered further. The Land Development Agency has advised that it is early days and that consultation will occur.

ANU Pauline Griffin Building ANU have advised that this significant heritage building by Sid Ancher is proposed to be demolished and will be submitted for NCA Works Approval in the near future.

Dickson Redevelopment The amended Development Application did not clearly articulate the relationship with the adjacent heritage-listed Taglietti Library or detail the impact on it.

ACT Heritage Strategy A detailed submission was made emphasizing the need for a strong and positive commitment to heritage with clearly defined objectives, strategies, timeframe and resources to deliver good outcomes.

Campbell Blocks 4 & 5 Section 38 Land is to be sold but heritage issues are not identified in the sale documents and should be before sale occurs.

These awards will be conducted again this year.

Nominations will be invited in early May and close on 30 June 2016. Winners will be announced in early October.

Further details will be circulated and posted on the National Trust website.

Dickson/Lyneham Flats The appeal to ACAT against what the National Trust considered to be an inadequate heritage listing was heard in late March.

The issue in the end is a legal definition/interpretation one, as in the appeal the ACT Heritage Council agreed that the site had heritage significance but considered the sample sufficient and was a pragmatic, negotiated approach to protect some of the site.

The National Trust argued that the significance assessment should precede and be independent of the Development Applications. The issue ACAT has to resolve is an interpretation of the ACT Heritage Act and whether the ACT Heritage Council action is consistent with the Act or not.

The outcome will herald an interesting future for ACT heritage.

Eric J Martin AM

Lake Burley Griffin There is ongoing liaison with Lake Burley Griffin Guardians about the future of the lake.

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History of the Heritage Festival Does the Heritage Festival still have a role in today’s busy times? Linda Roberts, co-ordinator of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival, has just delivered her eighth festival and will reflect on whether it is still relevant in a future issue.

National Trust (ACT) Internship Program The National Trust (ACT) has developed a partnership with the University of Canberra to create an internship program. The aim of this joint initiative is to provide high-calibre university students with practical on-the-job training opportunities. The program allows undergraduate and PhD students to complete workbased projects for the Trust, applying the knowledge and skills developed through their studies in a professional capacity.

The objectives of the program are to:    

increase the Trust’s profile – better communication, advertising and marketing; increase Trust membership – more members, broader demographic profile; increase volunteer participation in the work of the Trust – larger network, broader knowledge and skill base; and develop and strengthen the Trust’s business systems and capabilities.

Our first festival poster in 1982 (top). This year’s regional poster with website and hashtag details (bottom) —a world away from 1982

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The program is expected to provide benefits for both parties. For the National Trust, the perceived benefits include:  access to a free resource that is skilled, knowledgeable and enthusiastic;  increased capacity to scope, undertake and complete key work projects;  opportunities to identify and train potential future employees or volunteers; and  development opportunities for staff to supervise and mentor interns.

Book Reviews

For the University of Canberra, the perceived benefits are that students may:  experience working within the not-for-profit sector;  develop networks within the not-for-profit sector;  apply the knowledge and skills developed in the classroom in a workplace setting;  earn academic credit through the completion of a work-based project; and  improve their learning, engagement, retention and employability.

This is a beautifully illustrated overview of residential development in and around Canberra from its inception to now.

Examples of possible subjects for studies that students could undertake include: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Current Membership Profile Survey Promotion, Marketing and Partnership Needs Analysis Strategic Plan Business Plan Marketing Plan Organisation Structure Events and Tours Partnership Prospectus Communications Strategy Volunteer Recruitment Strategy Volunteer Management Plan Website graphic redesign Facebook & Twitter Impact Study Industry Development Plan

Should any member wish to become involved in the program or in a particular project they should contact Graham Carter on 6247 2095.

100 Canberra Houses – A Century of Capital Architecture, 2013, by Tim Reeves and Alan Roberts

The book reviews not only individual houses, with interesting stories about their owners and architects, but also some more general housing such as the Westridge Builders Camp (Yarralumla 1913), the Braddon and Manuka Housing Precincts (1921-34), the Tocumwal Houses (1947-50), the Narrabundah Prefabricated Cottages and the Monocrete Houses (1949-50s). Perhaps surprisingly, the Federal Capital Commission houses throughout Reid in particular are not referred to.

The book deals to some extent with the work of the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC 19581988) – for example the Homes Advisory Scheme 1958 and Modern Homes Exhibition 1960 and the Radburn Housing schemes (1966 on). Public housing projects get some mention – the Allawah and Bega Courts (1956-7), the Currong Flats (1959) and the Northbourne Housing Group (1962), all of which are undergoing redevelopment.

Some of the more significant medium density housing developments addressed are Kingston Tower (1986), Space: The Residence (Turner 2003-07), and student housing at ANU and the University of Canberra. Given the increasing popularity of higher density housing, hopefully there will be a follow-up volume in years to come focussing more on high-quality multi-unit projects (although current developments seem to be more notable for their building defects than their design excellence).

The book is available from booksellers for $59.95.

Richard Johnston FPIA, B. Arch., Dip. T&CP, Dip. Environ. Stud.

Graham Carter

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God’s Architect – The Churches and Parsonages of Alberto Soares, 2016, by Graeme Barrow

local level. Of particular note for me is St Philips at Bungendore. This illustrates extensive individual research on each building which is well referenced and adds an extra depth of detail not previously available.

This makes it interesting and stimulating to read and adds to the local history of the town. The collection also makes comparison easy and is a useful exercise.

There are well-researched anecdotes including the pigeon story of Christ Church, Queanbeyan and the time when Soares designed St Stephens, Queanbeyan for the Presbyterians. This “action did not find favour with George Campbell, the Chancellor of the Church of England’s Goulburn Diocese, who reacted “sternly” …

Campbell warned Alberto that if the report (that he had paid a subscription to the Presbyterians) was true he was liable to be suspended and his license to be a minister could be revoked. Luckily nothing happened.”

The future of some of these churches is uncertain, especially as some are not used today, so this publication is a timely record of them.

We all know and love the small country churches which contribute much to community life throughout Australia. This is also the situation in the Canberra region. However, few people would have heard of the influence of one architect turned Anglican clergyman, Alberto Soares, who designed and had built 31 buildings (mainly churches) in the region. Graeme Barrow brings us that story in a most enlightening and informative way.

Few architects could boast the statistic that all but five of the buildings designed remain standing after 150 years which as Graeme states “is testimony to his skill as an architect and the workmanship of his builders”.

The research is thorough and discusses Soares’ early life in the UK and immigration to Australia in 1850. Soares had an interest in drawing and strong religious beliefs that led him to the diocesan outposts of Collector and Gunning. He was to stay in the area, marry and have children, and become Deacon of Collector in 1852. He then used his architectural skills (that were never formalised) to design churches and some other buildings in the area as his reputation spread.

It is the individual stories that Graeme has put together that hold the real value of the book. Each small church has its own chapter which makes the book useful at the

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Although Soares was respected at the time, Graeme notes that it is “a shame that these days he is almost forgotten apart from his name appearing on a noticeboard here, a plaque there”. Graeme’s book is one step to address this issue.

It’s a very readable book and a worthy one to add to one’s library.

Eric Martin

To order your copy of

God’s architect Contact: Graeme Barrow on 02 6262 7533 or granorab@grapevine.com.au.

God’s architect is available as a book ($25 plus $5 p&h) or on USB ($20- free postage) ISBN 9780977532889 Graeme Barrow 3 Verco Street, Hackett ACT 2602

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May 2016 Government Printing Office and the early Canberra railway station. Over the border, he built the Hotel Queanbeyan, reputedly the largest residential hotel in southern NSW at the time, while outside the town he established a major brickmaking operation whose extensive remains can still be seen along the Captain’s Flat Road.18

A John Smith Murdoch House in Queanbeyan – the evidence for and against

J.S. Murdoch

According to long-standing local tradition, the house standing at 5 Stornaway Road in Queanbeyan was designed in the 1920s by the Commonwealth’s chief architect of the time, John Smith Murdoch. The tradition has never been substantiated – or refuted – mainly because the building application and plans for the house have not survived in Queanbeyan City Council’s archives or anywhere else. If Murdoch was in fact the architect for the house, it would constitute an unusual, even unique, addition to the corpus of works that he designed.

W.H. Mason

The house was erected in 1925-26 for Walter Henry (‘Wal’) Mason, a major builder of that era in Canberra and Queanbeyan. Born at Beaufort west of Ballarat in 1885, Mason was attracted to Queanbeyan in 1924 by opportunities available for builders in the town and especially in the nascent federal capital. He secured contracts to erect a large number of houses at the Causeway and Telopea Park, the observatory buildings on Mt Stromlo, various buildings associated with the 1

Federal Capital Pioneer, 21 December 1925, p. 4; Queanbeyan Age, 25 June 1926, p. 4; Canberra Times, 17 September 1926, p. 11; A292, item C7560, and A6270, item E2/28/2959, both NAA, Canberra.

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The house at 5 Stornaway Rd

At the height of his commercial success in the mid1920s, he decided to build a grand residence for himself and his wife. The house was erected in an elevated position on two blocks of land that he amalgamated in Stornaway Road, near his hotel and other main business properties. Solidly constructed in rendered brick with a low-pitched tile roof, the house is a substantial doublefronted building in California Bungalow style that originally contained ten rooms. Its front fence is formed of decorative wrought iron supported by rendered brick pillars topped by corbelled cappings. The corbelling is repeated, in inverted from, in the chimneys and in the pylons on the verandah. In 1927, the residence was valued at the considerable sum of £2,250. The size and style of the residence and its position were meant to affirm Mason’s elevated status in the community. 29 On the face of it, it seems at least plausible that J.S. Murdoch could have designed the residence. Mason would probably have had some contact with Murdoch over his various building contracts in Canberra, notably the Stromlo buildings in whose design Murdoch was involved. Perhaps, Murdoch designed the house as a private commission or even as a favour to Mason.

2

Queanbeyan Age, 20 April 1926, p. 4; 29 November 1927, p.

2; NSW State Heritage Inventory, database no. 2290061; registered R.P. mortgage, 2 April 1927, in NRS 13655, item 10/24334, State Records of NSW [SRNSW].

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Certainly, Mason’s son, the late Wal Mason junior (born 1921), believed that Murdoch was the architect of his parents’ home.310 There is much, however, to suggest that Murdoch was not the designer of the residence. Mason submitted a building application and plans for the building to Queanbeyan Council in September 1925.4 This was while he was working on only his first contract for the Federal Capital Commission, the construction of cottages at the Causeway, and quite likely well before he could have had any contact with Murdoch. Any such contact is more likely to have occurred after Mason was awarded the contract for the Stromlo buildings in March 1927.

But quite apart from this temporal mismatch, it is in any case difficult to see how Murdoch, who was based in Melbourne, could have found the time to design the house. More problematic still, it is very doubtful that he would have even been given permission to take on any such private commission.

11

On stylistic grounds, too, the evidence that Murdoch was the architect of the building is flimsy. The comprehensive listing and description of Murdoch’s buildings in the definitive work on his architecture, David Rowe’s 1998 PhD thesis, show that none of them demonstrate any stylistic resemblances to Mason’s residence.5 12

This was confirmed by David Rowe himself. In July 2015, he told the author that apart from … … the shingled or horizontally boarded gable end and exposed rafter ends in the eaves – which are generic interwar design qualities in any case – nothing suggests to me that Murdoch had any strong design involvement in this dwelling. I’ve not seen any of his residential work of this composition, and he never designed multi-corbelled chimneys – they were always more streamlined, rectangular forms with simple cappings or soldier-coursed caps in the 1920s.613

3

Wal Mason, junior, pers. comm.

Queanbeyan Age, 2 October 1925, p. 2.

5 David John Rowe, ‘Building a National Image: The Architecture of John Smith Murdoch, Australia’s First 4

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Close up view 5 Stornaway Rd

If Murdoch did not design the building, the question arises as to who did. The most obvious candidate is (Percy) Gordon Craig, the architect that Mason employed to design the Hotel Queanbeyan. Having commenced practice in 1912, Craig was an experienced and well-credentialed architect who had designed a range of commercial, industrial, ecclesiastical and residential buildings. His most notable works would eventually include William House in William Street, Sydney (1928), the Harbord Beach Hotel, Manly (1928), and the Art Deco Orion Theatre in Campsie (1935). 714 Craig was certainly well qualified to design the stylish residence that Mason desired.

The trouble is that there is not much to indicate that he was the architect for the building. The State Library of NSW holds a number of Craig’s architectural plans and drawings, and they do not include plans for Mason’s residence (though the collection is far from complete).

Of all Craig’s works, the house bears some stylistic resemblance to the Harbord Beach Hotel, which displays a number of elements of the California Bungalow genre.

However, as the elements common to both buildings are typical of this style, they cannot be accepted as diagnostic of Craig’s authorship of the design for the house. In 1929, Craig prepared for his entry in Who’s Who in Australia what looks like an exhaustive list of buildings he had designed to that date, the list drilling down to the level of shops and houses. Mason’s house is not mentioned. While this might be because Craig did not want to be associated with Mason’s well-publicised

Commonwealth Government Architect’, PhD thesis, Deakin University, 1998.

6 Email, David Rowe to B. O’Keefe, 31 July 2015.

7 Who’s Who in Australia 1929, p. 947; NSW State Heritage Inventory, database nos. 2421419, 2610063 and 1300031.

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bankruptcy in 1927, it did not deter him from listing the Hotel Queanbeyan among his credits.815

permission. The photo of J. S. Murdoch is from The Canberra Times edition of 17 May 1927.

After Craig, the architect next most likely to have designed the building was the Queanbeyan-based practitioner, James Wallace (‘Wal’) Sproule. Sproule had set up practice in February 1923 and, facing no local competition until the beginning of 1926, had dominated private architectural commissions in both Queanbeyan and Canberra in that period. That he had the capacity to design Mason’s residence is undoubted. Either alone or with one or other partner, he had designed many residential and other kinds of buildings across a range of idioms. His crowning achievement, in collaboration with George Mitchell, was the current Queanbeyan City Council Chambers which was built in 1927 in Georgian Revival style with some Interwar Mediterranean elements.916

Further pictures from Heritage Festival Forestry Precinct Open Day

It is interesting, too, that documents dealing with Mason’s bankruptcy show that he had employed Sproule and Mitchell for preparing plans for some small and unspecified project in connection with his business ventures.10 But while this raises the possibility that Mason engaged Sproule to design his house, it might equally suggest that he preferred to hire another architect for projects of greater personal or commercial value to him, such as his house and the Hotel Queanbeyan.

In summary, the identity of the architect of Mason’s residence remains unknown. What is all but certain, however, is that J.S. Murdoch was not responsible for the design. The origin of the story that he was the architect for the building is also not apparent. An intriguing explanation is that, if Sproule did in fact design the building, he may have had Murdoch cast an eye over the plans while he, Sproule, was employed for a time as a draftsman on plans of Old Parliament House.

But this is, of course, sheer speculation.

Gasifier demonstration

Fibre basket weavers stall

Brendan O’Keefe Brendan O’Keefe is an historian and heritage consultant who has carried out numerous heritage projects in Canberra and Queanbeyan over many years.

Photographs of the house at 5 Stornaway Road were provided by the author. The photo of W. H. Mason is from Alan Foskett's book On Solid Foundations, and is copied with his 8

Who’s Who in Australia 1929, p. 947.

9 Brendan O’Keefe, ‘An architect of the 1920s: James Wallace Sproule’, Canberra Historical Journal, new series no. 62, October 2009, pp. 25-35.

Heritage in Trust

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"Australia on the map" stall

10

W.H. Mason, Affidavit verifying accounts, 12 April 1928, in NRS 13655, item 10/24334, SRNSW.

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