urban conservation analysis from heritage workshop
The establishment of the Australian National Trusts during the postwar period, the mid-1940s to mid-1960s, heralded an important milestone for conservation. These state-based bodies promoted historic sites, waged conservation campaigns, acquired properties, and classified buildings, structures, areas, and towns.
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The rigour of local heritage has been brought into question. While it might make an irresistible newspaper headline, a single sentence cannot get a house heritage protected. No property in Boroondara has received permanent heritage protections from the new nomination process launched in May 2023. It’s still possible none ever will.
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Public consultation for ‘Developing a new plan for Victoria’ is currently open. My submission on behalf of Heritage Workshop is published here.
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The Burra Charter and its values-based model is embraced within Australian heritage conservation. For policymaker Max Bourke, it forms ‘the ethical basis for a contemporary “philosophy” of Australian conservation practice [becoming] a sort of “bible”’.
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On 20 December 2017, the Victorian State Government and Apple Corporation announced plans for a flagship Apple store for Melbourne’s leading public space: Federation Square. The proposal involved the demolition of an original building on the civic square and its replacement by a generic complex. There was an immediate public backlash against the Apple proposal to enter this public space (which had been managed by a government-owned private company). A new advocacy group called Citizens for Melbourne established a campaign called ‘Our City, Our Square’. A key strand of the campaign involved nominating Federation Square for a state heritage listing,
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This article was originally published in The Age on 2 July 2023. The City of Maribyrnong has abandoned its local heritage protections for interwar and postwar housing in Melbourne’s western suburbs. The decision was heralded as a win for housing supply and affordability. But there is another side to the argument – will we look back in 50 years time and rue this decision that may well allow the destruction of this unique era of our history, architecture and social fabric? It’s something we need to consider as we move forward. The multi-year conservation project failed not due to a lack of
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Heritage conservation has been blamed for making the housing crisis worse by standing in the way of new, higher-density housing. But protecting heritage and increasing housing should be complementary objectives.
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You’ve probably heard that Melbourne has overtaken Sydney as Australia’s most populous city. This demographic milestone has come about earlier than predicted due to the re-drawing of statistical boundaries, somewhat deflating the weightiness of this momentous moment. But Melbourne overtaking Sydney in population terms is still history making. Since Sydney first overtook Melbourne in population around 1901, both cities have swelled ten-fold to almost 5-million people today. These evolutions speak to enduring contests around cities and rivalries.
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Adopting new perspectives won’t only preserve our historic buildings and places by enabling us to shape them for today’s needs. It will also mean urban heritage can contribute to cities becoming more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.
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How was Australia’s heritage mafia established? To answer, let’s unpack urban heritage in 1990s Australia.
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