Last week I found out that I am one of potentially hundreds of thousands of Australians who live in a fire-prone and unsafe apartment.
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Category: Comment
Once a building is destroyed, can the loss of a place like the Corkman be undone?
Since the illegal demolition of the historic Corkman Irish Pub in Melbourne in 2016, debate has raged about the best way forward for this historic place. The state planning minister is pursuing an order, via the Victorian Administrative Appeals Tribunal, for the two-storey pub to be rebuilt. This final legal case is set down to be heard in June 2019.
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Federation Square heritage council submission
The Heritage Council of Victoria is accepting public submissions for a potential heritage listing of Federation Square. Here’s my response.
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Heritage value is in the eye of the beholder: why Fed Square deserves protection
The proposed redesign of Federation Square includes demolishing the iconic Yarra building for an Apple store.
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Apple store has no place in the people’s square
FEDERATION Square CEO Jonathan Tribe told us in these pages that the square faces significant challenges. Apparently, its buildings are deteriorating, its visitor numbers are in free fall and its visitor experience is old-fashioned.
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Apple is exploiting the power of its brand to claim an important part of our city
Five days before Christmas, news has dropped that a section of Federation Square has been given to Apple for its flagship Melbourne store. The Yarra Building will be demolished, and its tenants, including the Koorie Heritage Trust, relocated to make way for a globally familiar glass cube design.
Read moreSatirising the Australian City: Bruce Petty
Bruce Petty was awarded the gong for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Journalism’ at the annual Australian Walkley journalism awards this evening. I first came across Petty as part of my research into Australian urban history. From the 1960s onwards, his political satire appeared across various periodicals including the Bulletin magazine, the Australian and the Age newspapers.
Read morePreserving cities: how ‘trendies’ shaped Australia’s urban heritage
An article on how ‘trendies’ in the 1960s-70s changed how we think about the inner suburbs of Australia’s cities.
Read moreSketching the National Trust of Victoria
Two thousand and sixteen marks the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the National Trust of Victoria. Drawing from my research into heritage in Victoria, I wrote the following article for the National Trust of Victoria’s special anniversary magazine.
Read moreBrisbane and Gold Coast urban heritage in the early 1970s (and today)
In late January, a hundred or so urbanists descended on the Gold Coast for the 13th Australian Urban History Planning History (UHPH) Conference. Attendees included academics, historians, planners and practitioners, who delivered a range of papers on the Australian city, from pre-colonial times to the present-day. Hosted every two years—the next in 2018 is in Melbourne—this is the largest Australasian conference of its kind.
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