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Transcript of Trust News May 2015
TRUSTV
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HISTORIC QUEEN’S WHARF
ANZAC GIRLS FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS STONEHUNTERS GANG
news Australia
2814106I N S I D E >
There are so many interesting events to
explore in April and May.
National Trust Heritage Festival 2015 Confl ict and Compassion
Plan ahead for the 2015 heritage festival to discover things about places from across
every region of Australia.
TRUST NATIONAL
HERITAGE FESTIVAL CONFLICTCOMPASSION
+ 2015
TRUST TRUST NATIONALNATIONAL
HERITAGE FESTIVAL HERITAGE FESTIVAL CONFLICTCOMPASSION
+ 20152015www.nationaltrustfestival.org.au
5
NTHF_Ad_2.indd 1 17/12/14 10:21 AM
There are so many interesting events to
explore in April and May.
National Trust Heritage Festival 2015 Confl ict and Compassion
Plan ahead for the 2015 heritage festival to discover things about places from across
every region of Australia.
TRUST NATIONAL
HERITAGE FESTIVAL CONFLICTCOMPASSION
+ 2015
TRUST TRUST NATIONALNATIONAL
HERITAGE FESTIVAL HERITAGE FESTIVAL CONFLICTCOMPASSION
+ 20152015www.nationaltrustfestival.org.au
5
NTHF_Ad_2.indd 1 17/12/14 10:21 AM
3 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
Inside
4 Minister’s Message
5 National Trust calls in the Army
6 Historic Queen’s Wharf website launched
7 Vale JAMES SEMPLE KERR
8 Home from the War
10 ‘Anzac Girls’ - Gallipoli 1915
13 200 years young
14 May Heritage Festival highlights
16 Giant Legacy
18 Out of the ashes
20 Understanding Old Perth Boys’ School
22 Caring for Kilns at Adelaide’s James Brickworks
25 Down the line
27 Telegraph line history
28 Bol Brutu: The Stonehunters Gang
30 The Great War hits Broken Hill
31 Miss Fisher Returns to Rippon Lea
16
6
18 24
8 12
ISSN: 1835-2316
Vol 9 No 1 2015
Trust News is published quarterly for National Trust members and subscribers in February, May, August and November.
Publication is coordinated by the National Trust of Australia (WA) on behalf of the
National Trusts of Australia and supported by the Department of Environment.
National Trust of Australia (WA)ABN 83 697 381 616
PO Box 1162West Perth WA 6872
T: 08 9321 6088 F: 08 9324 1571W:www.ntwa.com.au
Editor: Gina [email protected]
T: 08 9321 6088
Advertising: For advertising rates, contact the Editor.
Design: Dessein Graphics
Cover: National Trust Heritage Festival preparations in Tasmania.
Thomas Ryan Photography
Next Issue: August 2015
Copy deadline:10 June 2015
Please help us to save our environment and circulate this magazine as widely as possible. This magazine is printed on recyclable paper
and packed in 100% degradable wrap.The views expressed in Trust News are not
necessarily those of the National Trusts or the Department of Environment. The articles in
this magazine are subject to copyright. No article may be used without the consent
of the National Trust and the author.
my WO R D with editor Gina Pickering
GreetingsIn this edition of Trust News AustraliaThe Green Army joins forces with the
National Trust to provide conservation training at Victorian properties.
Frontline perspectives from Gallipoli nurses are revealed in moving 1915 diary notes and recollections, while the fascinating story of War Service Homes is displayed in a Tasmanian exhibition.
A new Queen’s wharf website showcases a Queensland riverside treasure and the Giants come to Perth as French-Australian culture combines in the West.
South Australia considers its industrial heritage and caring for kilns at James Brickworks and a new appeal is launched for a bushfire casualty after a bush university is razed to the ground.
Meantime, events continue to unfold around the country in our May Heritage Festival highlights.
Enjoy
Gina Pickering | Editor
Minister’s MessageGREG HUNT MP | MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
This January provided a remarkable start to 2015 for Australia’s national cultural heritage.
On 20 January, I was delighted to announce, in front of large enthusiastic crowd, National Heritage
listing for the City of Broken Hill.
The city’s heritage listing recognises its outstanding
heritage value to the nation for the significant role it and its mining operations have played in Australia’s development towards a modern and prosperous nation.
The city’s dramatic desert landscape—with mountainous mullock dumps and turn-of-the-century mining infrastructure—dominate its business district, placing Broken Hill’s industrial heritage at its core.
More than 130 years of continuous mining operations have seen Broken Hill and its residents make remarkable contributions to technical developments in the field of mining, the development of occupational health and safety standards, and the early innovation and adoption of environmental regeneration in and around mining operations.
Broken Hill’s National Heritage listing also celebrates the city’s unique character and distinctive aesthetic.
The city’s unusual and complicated mix of government and private administration is reflected in its architecture. Its historic government buildings reflect the NSW colonial government style, with residential buildings reflecting those of South Australia. Commercial buildings display characteristics similar to Melbourne’s Victorian architectural period.
Broken Hill has come to symbolise the challenges of living and surviving in the remote Australian outback. Since its inception, the city’s history and culture have drawn artists, writers, painters and poets to Broken Hill. The city is recognised for its artistic community such as the ‘Brushmen of the Bush’ including Pro Hart.
Broken Hill is recognised across Australia for its strong community spirit, the resilience of its people and its isolated location. The resilience of the Broken Hill community and the strong connection to their city is reflected in the city’s public art, memorials and murals.
It is not surprising that the Broken Hill community has embraced the National Heritage listing. The media coverage generated by the listing has been extraordinary. I am sure the Broken Hill community will work together to ensure all
Australians are aware of this remarkable and distinctive place. The City of Broken Hill is the 103rd place to be included in the National Heritage List.
In January I also had the privilege to re-open the World and National Heritage listed Port Arthur Penitentiary building after the completion of extensive restoration work. Funding from Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority, along with contributions from the Australian and Tasmanian governments enabled the removal of an existing support frame to allow for the re-creation of the corridors and pathways of the original building—allowing people to walk in the footsteps of its convict inmates.
I encourage everyone to visit the restored Penitentiary building when next in Tasmania.
4TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
TOP LEFT Broken Hill Mayor Wincen Cuy (left), Minister Greg Hunt, Federal Minister for Health and Minister for Sport and Member for Farrer Sussan Ley and Executive Chairman, INTO Executive Committee International National Trusts Organisation Professor Simon Molesworth. Department of the EnvironmentRIGHT Penitentiary prior to and after new works. Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority
PE R S PE C T I V E S
BEFORE AFTER
National Trust calls in the ArmyMICHAEL MAGNUSSON
A Federal government project is making a significant contribution to the care of National Trust properties
in Geelong and the Western District of Victoria while providing training for young Australians.
Working with the Trust, the Green
Army program will train a team in heritage garden, building and native vegetation conservation. The first Green Army program involves work at Barwon Park, Barwon Grange, The Heights, and Mooramong, with two additional programs based at the Trust’s metropolitan a n d M o r n i n g t o n Peninsula properties planned for later in 2015.
The Green Army is an environmental action program supporting local environmental and heritage conservation projects across Australia. It provides young people aged 17 to 24 with training and experience in environmental and heritage conservation while participating in projects benefitt ing Australia’s heritage and environment. National Trust Victoria was the only Trust nationally to successfully seek a Green Army project team.
Linda Fienberg is supervising the nine member Green Army team which started work in February and will continue for the next 20 weeks.
“A diverse team was selected enabling an equally diverse range of projects to be undertaken and
the National Trust developed the scope of the project according to the team’s abilities,” she said.
“Although most of the Green Army work is bush regeneration, all of these projects have some natural resource management aspect to them. This combines with a lot of heritage work which they have also been interested in, and the National Trust has been fantastic in providing an induction
for them. To get both the historic perspective of the site and the management aspect of the site has been terrific.”
The team is able to provide some of the longer-term, intensive maintenance work on the often vast estates of the Trust’s regional properties. Each property had its own set of tasks, some of which overlapped, such as cleaning and oiling the verandahs at all of the properties.
Claudette Brennan, Property Manager of The Heights and Barwon Grange is impressed by the team’s commitment.
“It’s great to see so many young, enthusiastic people. They have been tackling some jobs that we as volunteers couldn’t do because we only have a work day once a week. So it’s great they are here
three or four days a week and are able to tackle bigger jobs that would take us much longer, and to develop skills as well,” she said.
ABOVE A Green Army recruit in the garden at Mooramong, Skipton. J HoodRIGHT Green Army participants collect native grass seeds at Mooramong, Skipton. J Hood
5 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
I N N OVAT I O N
Historic Queen’s Wharf website launched
DR VALERIE DENNIS | HISTORIAN NATIONAL TRUST (QLD)
Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf lies at the end of a sloping road built by convicts, dominated by a 1970s Riverside
Expressway. Despite being a neglected corner of Brisbane it has a fascinating history of connection to the
world, a history revealed in a new website launched in March by the National Trust of Australia (Queensland).
‘Historic Queen’s Wharf’ looks at the people, places and events associated with a wedge shaped
section of Brisbane bounded by the river, Queen, George and Alice Streets. The website was developed with the generous support of the Brisbane City Council through a Community Heritage Grant.
Interest in the history of Queen’s Wharf emerged in the wake of North Bank, a 2007 project, ultimately scrapped, that proposed the construction of high rise towers on concrete platforms in the Brisbane River. In 2014 the State Government declared its support for
conversion of the wider precinct into an integrated resort that includes a casino. The development of a website that records the history of the precinct is timely.
Queen’s Wharf was the location of Brisbane’s first wharf. One hundred and ninety years ago this month, Lieutenant Henry Miller and a small band of convicts and their military keepers established a penal settlement from this point. Adjacent they built a stone Commissariat, later converted to government stores and today the home of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland.
6TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
TOP Pencil sketch of Brisbane showing Queen’s Wharf, ca 1835, by Henry Boucher Bowerman LEFT National Trust House from William Street. T Nemeth PhotographyCENTRE Section of a 1931 group photograph of Department of Agriculture and Stock staff, Arthur Bell front row centre. Image courtesy of Leo CainRIGHT Birds eye view of Brisbane showing Queen’s Wharf in 1888. Brisbane, as drawn by WA Clarson in the Illustrated Sydney News, 1888.
I N N OVAT I O N
After the convicts departed, the immigrants arrived at what, with the ascension of Queen Victoria, was named Queen’s Wharf. They included interesting characters such as Thomas Dowse, a ticket-of-leave man and the Brisbane correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald, and William Pettigrew, a Lang emigrant who arrived in 1849. Dowse constructed a wharf and store in the precinct while Pettigrew developed a steam-driven sawmill complex nearby. How they faced adversity is told in stories included on the website.
Having stepped ashore at Queen’s Wharf, thousands of immigrants stayed temporarily at the Immigration Depot which was built in 1866 adjacent to the wharf reserve. The few written records which have surfaced reveal a place that was uncomfortable, unpleasant and often overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of new arrivals. Too small for its purpose, the building was converted to offices for the newly formed Department of Agriculture (later Agriculture and Stock)in 1890. After a century of occupancy by the Department, the former depot became the Brisbane office of the National Trust of Australia (Queensland).
In the foyer is a First World War Honour Board designed and made by departmental employees in 1919. Of the 92 staff members who enlisted statewide, 11 did not return. One of those was pilot Roy Cumestree Trout, a 21 year old agricultural chemist trained at the Central Flying School in Victoria. In July 1917 he died in an aircraft crash near Coventry, England.
Another Honour Board story is that of Arthur Bell, who served as a gunner on the Western Front before returning to work in the Department. While attending a conference in 1932 he learned of Bufo marinus, a toad reportedly successful in reducing populations of the destructive cane beetle. The toad was subsequently introduced into Queensland. Read more Historic Queen’s Wharf stories at www.queenswharf.org.
Vale JAMES SEMPLE KERR1932-2014
ANGELA LE SUEUR | NATIONAL TRUST NSW
James Kerr died on 15 October 2014, ten years after the death of his wife Joan in 2004.
Together they had created a strong partnership; she in the field of art and architectural history, he as a leader in conservation planning.
The 1970s was a decade when recognition
of the value of Australian heritage gained
massive momentum within government
and the community. The Australian Heritage
Commission was established in 1977 and for
almost three years Jim worked as Assistant
Director, Technical and Policy. He was prominent
in the development of the Australian Committee
of the International Council on Monuments and
Sites (ICOMOS), the central body to heritage
conservation professionals, and was convenor
of the committee that developed the Burra
Charter and its Guidelines. Most notable among
his many publications is The Conservation Plan,
which outlines processes for managing change
in places of cultural significance. From the early
1980s he acted as a policy advisor or principal
consultant to Commonwealth, NSW, West
Australian and Northern Territory government
agencies, architectural firms and institutions.
The National Trust is indebted to Jim Kerr for
his invaluable and varied support over many
decades, including as deputy director of the
Trust. In 1988 he was awarded the Trust Voluntary
Service Medal, in 1992 he was made an Honorary
Life Member of the Trust, in 1995 he and Joan
were awarded the NSW National Trust Heritage
Award and in 2007 they received a Lifetime
Achievement Award. In 2011 Jim was made an
Honorary Member of ICOMOS at the 17th General
Assembly in Paris, one of only a few Australians
to receive this honour. His Order of Australia in
1999 was made with the citation – ‘for service
to heritage conservation through organisations
including the Australian ICOMOS and the NSW
Branch of the National Trust of Australia’.
7 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE Queen’s Wharf from South Bank. T Nemeth Photography ABOVE James Kerr at Fremantle Prison. Fremantle Herald
Home from the War PETA NEWMAN | NATIONAL TRUST (TAS)
The personal stories of Australian soldiers and the war service homes they returned to in Launceston are
the subject of an exhibition and publication put together by the National Trust Tasmania.
Although the centenary of Gallipoli is the focus for
national commemorations in 2015, the impact of World War 1 on Australia was far reaching and long lasting.
Large numbers of returned soldiers needed to be supported, employed and housed when the war ended in 1918. The moral imperative was so great and the housing shortage so acute, that unprecedented solutions had to be devised and delivered.
Commonwealth governments were never enthusiastic about involvement in housing even where there were strong welfare reasons for participation. However, in 1919 the Commonwealth initiated the War Service Homes Act to provide dwellings for Australian soldiers or their widows and dependents.
To be eligible, a soldier had to prove that he had served overseas, was married or engaged or else that he had dependants for whom it was necessary to provide a home. Returned nurses, munitions and war workers were also eligible to apply.
The total cost of each house to
the War Service Homes
Commission could not exceed
700 pounds and had to cover
the cost of the house and land.
On 28 October 1919 the first sod was turned at Eddie Street, Invermay of the foundation for the first house in Launceston to be erected under the Act. The Examiner reported that ‘Every endeavour would be made to give the applicant a convenient and artistic home. All the material and workmanship would be of the best, and the scheme was going to create a large demand for tradesmen; any returned soldier who could do work at the building trade would be found ready employment’.
On 10 March 1920, The Examiner again reported that ‘At the rate of 10 or 12 per week … defenders of the Empire are making applications for homes … no less than 400 homes have been asked for in Launceston.’
The stories of the first occupants of these houses, who are listed as the owners and/or occupants in the 1923 Tasmanian Government Gazette’s Launceston Assessment Roll, are not only personal but are a narrative of the wider and typical, Australian post-war experience for returned servicemen and their families.
There was happiness and some households prospered. Unfortunately there was also untimely death, lingering and debilitating war and work-related injuries, unemployment and financial stress. There was divorce, manslaughter and suicide, and the
privations of the Great Depression. Then there was the shocking realisation that their war did not ‘end all wars’, with their children enlisting, and some dying, in the World War 2.
The War Service Homes Commission continued its Australia-wide work well after the end of the World Wars, yet its story is not well known nor frequently depicted in any medium. Many Australians whose families lived in these homes, or bought them subsequently, will find fascinating the stories and photographs in the exhibition and publication.
Visit Clarendon until the end of May.
5 Malabar StreetBrickOwned and occupied by Robert Henry Price Coningsby
8TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
FEATURED IMAGES Thomas Ryan
N OW and T H E N
11 Malabar StreetWeatherboardOwned and occupied by Charles George Illman107 Abbott Street
BrickOwned and occupied by William Charles Thomas Everett
44 David StreetBrickOwned by Charles David Chilcott
56 David StreetBrickOwned and occupied by Herbert John Richards
8 Malabar StreetBrickOwned and occupied by Percy Philip Farrelly
On 10 March 1920, The Examiner again reported that
‘At the rate of 10 or 12 per week …
defenders of the Empire are making
applications for homes …
no less than 400 homes have been
asked for in Launceston.’
WARFROM THEHOME
WAR
9 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
N OW and T H E N
‘Anzac Girls’ - Gallipoli 1915PETER DOWLING | NATIONAL TRUST HERITAGE OFFICER NATIONAL TRUSTS OF AUSTRALIA
Australian nurses and other medical staff played a vital role in often perilous conditions during the Gallipoli
campaign. More than 3,000 Australian nurses volunteered for active service during the First World War and
around two in every three served with the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) as part of the Australian
Army Medical Corps. Australian nurses from the AANS, together with other civilian medical services, were
based in hospitals and medical centres in Cairo, Alexandria, on the Mediterranean island of Lemnos and on
hospital ships directly off the coast of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Even though none stepped foot on Turkish
soil during hostilities, they came under fire from enemy positions ashore.
ON THE SHIPS
Sister Lydia Kathleen King was on board the SS Sicilia (a converted hospital ship) anchored off the southern part of the Gallipoli Peninsula, and witnessed the battles on the second day of the landing.
April 27Our ships continued to shell gun
positions on the furtherest hill & occasionally shells from their positions fell very near the Euryalus [A Royal Navy armoured cruiser] not 100 yards from us. Three fell into water… One whizzed right over us and fell 100 yards the other side.2
Sister Madeline Wilson volunteered for front line work. In July 1915 she found herself on the British hospital ship Neuralia. Between July and November 1915, the ship made nine trips to and from the Gallipoli Peninsula. On 11 August, after embarking wounded while anchored off Anzac Cove, Sister Wilson wrote wearily in her diary:
Went to bed about 3 pm after 24 hours non-stop, up at 6 am on duty another 24 hours, British gun boats firing day & night, Turks firing heavily on trawlers bringing out wounded. MG s [Turkish machine guns] turned on us while boarding wounded, some killed on deck, boat packed with wounded …..3
10TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
C ATA LY S T
ABOVE Transporting wounded soldiers from Anzac Cove to a hospital ship. Australian War Memorial
ON LEMNOS ISLAND
Many wounded were evacuated to Lemnos Island, the major staging point for the Gallipoli landings. Matron Grace Wilson* arrived there in August 1915, to set up an Australian hospital just as many wounded were arriving from Gallipoli following the battles around Lone Pine and the Nek. Well-qualified and experienced in medical care, she was appalled at what she witnessed. She was distraught that the medical teams had little or no equipment or medicines, or even fresh water available to help the wounded.
Convoy arrived, about 400 – no equipment whatever – Just laid the men on the ground, and gave them a drink. Very many badly shattered nearly all stretcher cases… Tents were erected over them as quickly as possible. It is awful to see the way they are shattered and to have nothing to give them – no comfort whatever.
Matron Wilson was one of the shining lights among the medical staff. She soon created order out of chaos at Lemnos and by 13 August, she and the medical staff were treating 900 patients.4
*Matron Grace Wilson was played by Caroline Craig in the 2014 ABC TV series, Anzac Girls.
1 Cited in J. Laffin, 1980, Damn the Dardanelles, p.168
2 Diary of Sister Lydia Kathleen King AANS AWM 3DRL 6040
3 Biographical notes of Sister Madeline Alice Kendall Wilson, AANS, AWM PR86/326
4 J. McCarthy, ‘Wilson, Grace Margaret (1879-1957) Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au (accessed 28 January, 2015)
We could do little for some soldiers, except help them die decently.1 (Sister Nellie Pike, 3rd Australia General Hospital, Lemnos Island)
ABOVE Australian hospital, Lemnos Island, 1915. Australian nurses treated the wounded from Gallipoli during the course of the campaign. Australian War Memorial BELOW Australian nurses arriving at Lemnos Island, 1915. Matron Grace Wilson leading the group. Australian War Memorial
11 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
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12TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE The National Trust Centre, soon to be repainted in heritage colours and close up of its Royal Arms. C ShainBOTTOM External verandahs were modified in 1849 to accommodate the National School. National Trust ArchivesBACKGROUND Fort Street cultivating the grounds in what is now the National Trust Café. National Trust Archives
C ATA LY S T
200 years young
In July, the imposing edifice on Sydney’s Observatory Hill which has housed the Trust since
1974 reaches the ripe age of 200 years. The main building in the National Trust complex is
one of Australia’s oldest and most dignified buildings.
SOURCES:
13 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
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May Heritage Festival highlightsELOISE HAIRMAN | NATIONAL HERITAGE FESTIVAL MANAGER
The 2015 Heritage Festival has been the National Trust’s strongest performing festival to date. The theme,
Conflict and Compassion has prompted a wide range of community events relating to the centenary
of the ANZAC landing. For the first time national events have featured through the festival including
Campout Gallipoli which took place on Anzac Day. There’s still plenty more to experience through May in
regional and city based destinations. So take your time and explore the festival guides.
Go online to the festival website www.nationaltrustfestival.org.au and make yourself
an unforgettable itinerary for day trips, weekends away and fantastic events.
New South Wales
The Heritage Festival in NSW is in full swing with
events hosted in every region. It’s a big year particularly for Bathurst
with many of its bicentenary celebrations hosted by the National Trust.
Event: Road to Bathurst TourPlace: Leave from Old Government House, ParramattaWhen: Friday to Sunday 8 - 10 May, 2015
In the comfort of a small bus the tour is led by walker and author Almis
Simans and tour guide John McIntosh. This experienced National Trust
team has journeyed many of the historic trails of NSW, Britain, Europe and
New Zealand. This tour visits three National Trust properties, commencing
at Old Government House Parramatta. Your stops include Caley’s Repulse,
Woodford Academy, Wentworth Falls, Mt York, Mt Blaxland, and Miss Traill’s
House. We arrive in time to join the Bathurst 2015 Bicentenary Celebrations.
Overnight accommodation will be in Katoomba and Bathurst.
Costs include all handouts, fees, transport, accommodation and
meals except the evening dinners.
This is a Bathurst 200 Event.
Event: The National Trust Heritage AwardsPlace: Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf, Pyrmont, SydneyWhen: Wednesday 13 May 11am - 2pm
Now in their 21st year of recognising
excellence in Heritage throughout NSW,
the Heritage Awards is the signature
event of the NSW National Trust Heritage
Festival. People have referred to this
event as the “Oscars for the NSW Heritage
Community.” The heritage community
mingle and are rewarded for their
tenacious and often painstaking projects.
Tasmania
Event: In Conversation with Michael (Dan) Mori
Place: Cascade Function Centre, 140 Cascade Road, South Hobart
When: Saturday 9 May 5.30pm –7.30 pm
In this very special Festival
event, Tasmanians will have
the chance to hear direct from
Major Michael (Dan) Mori, the
US Marine Corps counsel whose
role was to defend Hicks when he
was incarcerated in Guantanamo
Bay for terrorism. For four years,
Dan fought to expose the illegal
nature of Hicks’s detention, the
bogus “terrorist” charges and
the thoroughly anti-democratic
character of the so-called
Military Commissions. Brian
Wightman, former Tasmanian
Minister for Justice, will explore
the case and its effects on Dan
Mori - who now lives in Australia
- in an up-close interview.
14TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
C O N N E C T I O N S
Victoria
In 2015 the Victorian National Trust Heritage Festival is delighted to
partner with the Victorian Goldfields to feature the Goldfields Heritage
Month. Celebrating heritage experiences and stories from across the
Goldfields region, Heritage Festival events will showcase heritage sites,
exhibitions, tours and performances with more than 50 events and
activities on offer.
Event: Celebrate VahlandPlace: Bendigo and RegionWhen: 1 May – 26 May, Daily
In 2015, the City of Greater Bendigo will commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the death of acclaimed Goldfields Architect WC Vahland
(1828-1915). The region will host a number of events, talks and walks that
recognise and celebrate the architectural achievements of this German-
born architect and his lasting contribution to Bendigo and surrounds.
See Festival website for event listings.
Event: B-24 Liberators & the Return of Australian POWs, 1945–46Place: B-24 Liberator Memorial Restoration
Australia Hangar, WerribeeWhen: Saturday 16 May 10.30am - 12pm
The role of B-24 Liberator bombers
in WWII is well recognised. Less well
known is their role at the end of the war
in the return of Australians who had
been POWs. A special event on B-24
Liberators and the return of Australian
POWs 1945-46 will be held in the
heritage-listed WWII hangar against the
backdrop of the restored B-24 Liberator
aircraft.
Queensland
Event: Great Houses of Ipswich
Place: IpswichWhen: Saturday 9 May
10am - 3pm
The National Trust, through
its Ipswich Branch and in
partnership with Ipswich City
Council and the generous
owners of three great houses,
is very proud to once again
open the doors to some of the
outstanding heritage residences in Queensland’s oldest provincial
city, Ipswich. ‘Lakemba’, ‘Karragaroo’ and ‘The Chestnuts’ are the
three great houses that will open in this year’s Heritage Festival.
Take a peek!
*The Northern Territory and ACT festivals finished in April. www.nationaltrustfestival.org.au
Western Australia
Event: Dryandra Country Art, Food and Wine Trail
Place: 80 Federal St, NarroginWhen: Saturday 9 May
- Sunday 10 May 10am - 4pm
A combination of art, food
plus natural and cultural
heritage beckons over the
Mother’s Day weekend. Visit 17
great venues spread over five
towns (Cuballing, Narrogin,
Popanyinning, Wickepin and
Williams) with art on display
and for sale. You’ll discover
professional studios, home
studios and heritage buildings
featuring multiple artists on
this self-guided tour. Special
Mother’s Day menus are
available at the wineries and
cafes. Send an email to ask for
a trail guide. FREE.
Enquiries: 08 9881 6987
15 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
PHOTO E Bell
C O N N E C T I O N S
Giant Legacy
GINA PICKERING | EDITOR
16TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE & RIGHT Little Girl Giant aboard her boat making her way through the streets of Perth with her assistants. G.Pickering
C ATA LY S T
A 6m tall little girl giant and an 11m giant diver captivated a crowded city. They walked, showered, read, slept and enthralled
children and adults. The $5.4million performance was like no other in Australia. Bringing the Royal de Luxe Giants to Perth was a part of the Perth International Arts Festival and part of Western Australia’s Anzac commemorations.
Billed a once in a lifetime experience the Giant event transformed the city, caused road closures, changes to public transport and brought 1.4million people into the city. There was patience rather than complaints and access from open windows, bridges and the shoulders of fathers was sought at every opportunity.
Aside from the breathtaking spectacle, the performance also delivered a complex narrative developed by Royal de Luxe, the WA branch of the RSL, the Nyoongar community including Yirra Yarkin Theatre Company and Albany author Dianne Wolfer. It combined a Nyoongar journey with the story of the Albany Lighthouse Girl and a commitment to retrieving those lost at Gallipoli.
The boat on which the little Girl Giant pitched and rolled down city streets features an Aboriginal design on its bow. Aboriginal artist Barry McGuire depicted the journey from waterhole country east of Perth through to Derbarl Yerrigan/ the Swan River.
“Her footprints travel right through to Whadjuk country,” he told Perth International Arts Festival.
“When you think about the storyline of the young girl waking up and having such great interaction with the Nyoongar people, they taught her the way to live and one of things was so she knows where she is – sense of place.”
It’s certainly not the first time the French have brought their influence to Western Australia. There is a history of interpreting our cultural landscape. Consider the French place names along the Western Australian Coast or that the original map of the Swan River was created by Francois Heirisson in 1801.
The giant experience recently embedded in Perth’s psyche and riverscape integrates ancient Nyoongar culture, the story of Gallipoli and the significance of the river itself.
The event has brought reconciliation to the city and renewed important cultural connections with the French. It has also demonstrated the social, environmental and economic value of heritage to the community and the State.
For three days in February the streets of Perth were alive with anticipation, goodwill and French giants.
17 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE Little Girl Giant tucked in for the night at Langley Park, Perth. G.PickeringLEFT Noongar art on the bow of the boat traces the Little Girl Giant’s journey along waterholes and rivers to Whadjuk country. G.PickeringCENTRE The Giant Diver sleeps in Perth city. G.PickeringRIGHT Curious onlookers take a closer look. G.Bickford
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Out of the ashesPETER MURPHY | COVENANTING OFFICER NATIONAL TRUST (WA)
In late January a thunderstorm struck the southwest corner of Western Australia turning on a
spectacular light show. A bolt of lightning ignited a large eucalypt in the Shannon National Park.
What followed was one of the largest bushfires the state had seen. By the time the fire had been
brought under control (9 February) by an army of exhausted fire-fighters, almost 100,000ha
of forest, woodland and coastal heath had been destroyed.
Malimup Springs Bush University (MSBU) was one
of the casualties. Owned by Kaitijin Mia Mia Aboriginal Foundation, Malimup Springs is situated right on the Southern Ocean in the southwest of Western Australia, nestled on the southern tip of the D’Entrecasteaux National Park (named after French Admiral Bruny D’Entrecasteaux) in one of the few biodiversity hotspots on the planet.
Spearheaded by MSBU Chair Karen Jacobs and including a dedicated Members’ Board comprised of local Indigenous and
non-Indigenous people, ‘The Bush Uni’ as it’s affectionately known, has for near on a decade - in partnership with the National Trust (WA), Perth Zoo, Indigenous Land Corporation, Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Healing Foundation - helped numerous Aboriginal youth reconnect with the boodjara (earth).
The campus comprised four main buildings, seven sheds and water infrastructure in an extra-ordinary and pristine landscape recognised for its biodiversity and ecological values.
“If it hadn’t been for the bravery
of MSBU Board Members John and James Sebire, the main building (The Warden’s Cottage) would have been completely destroyed,” said Director Marilyn Morgan.
During the past five years more than a $1million has been invested on site in infrastructure, refurbishment of campus buildings, equipment and vehicles. The Bush Uni was due to launch its new cultural eco tourism products this Easter.
The National Trust has provided covenants on the pristine bushland which have informed heritage programs, land management
18TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
C ATA LY S T
ABOVE LEFT Nyoongar elder Terry ‘Koodah’ Cornwall is Chairman of ‘Malimup Springs Bush University’ and teaches Nyoongar youth on how to reconnect with the land. P MurphyABOVE RIGHT Ghostly reminder of water tank destroyed in the fire. P Murphy
and conservation. However, the damage onsite is heartbreaking and extensive.
“Insurance will not come close to covering the damage to infrastructure and buildings, or our business. The Foundation will require significant support to rebuild from this crisis,” Ms Morgan said.
“We are in need of particular support in the form of a Disaster Recovery and Management Plan that will assist us with the design and costs of the replacement campus buildings
and infrastructure including the bridge.”
The Foundation’s vision was to operate a learning place where young Australians, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal could engage with Aboriginal culture and traditional ecological knowledge in a reconciliatory context. Partners including the Department of Parks and Wildlife have been swift to support Kaitijin Mia Mia Aboriginal Foundation.
“The rebuild of the Bush University at Malimup is an important project that has the
potential to provide significant benefits for local community, Aboriginal people, conservation and park management. The Foundation is a role model for collaborative management of the environment,” said Colin Ingram Senior Planning Officer, Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.
The National Trust has set up the Malimup Springs Bush University appeal. Contact 08 9321 6088 for further details [email protected]
19 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
TOP RIGHT Campus building in ruins after the fire swept through the landscape. P MurphyBOTTOM LEFT Resilient balga (Xanthorrhoea preissii) burst fourth. P MurphyBOTTOM RIGHT Delicate leaves of a eucalypt emerge from the ashes. P Murphy
C ATA LY S T
Understanding Old Perth Boys’ SchoolGINA PICKERING | EDITOR
The design of a new fit out at Old Perth Boys’ School is underway as part of a long term partnership
between Curtin University and the National Trust of Western Australia.
The recent leasing of Perth’s first Government School which
was completed in 1854 sees an expansion of Curtin’s presence in the Perth CBD. The elegant and somewhat ecclesiastically styled building bookends an outstanding heritage precinct and is in a prominent position adjacent to the BHP Billiton Tower.
Curtin University will adopt the high profile place as a central location for a range of engagement activities and meetings with its stakeholders, business and alumni. This area has significance and a long history as a gathering place.
Fourteen listed Aboriginal sites are within a kilometre of the St Georges Terrace location which is linked with a significant meeting between Nyoongar leaders. School boys from the mid 1850s recall gatherings of up to 50 Nyoongar people in the area cooking fish. The Nyoongar word Byererup1 is associated with the ridge along the Terrace.
The site’s Aboriginal history, links to the Swan Colony’s first mill known as Reveley’s Mill and to the education of children and adults over more than one hundred years will inform the interpretation for the site.
In addition, six thousand objects were recovered as part of an underfloor archaeology program in 2011 comprising a mix of marbles, slates pencils and tablets, writing nibs, lolly wrappers, buttons and peach seeds, a rat’s remains and more. An archaeological report details a rich catalogue of material from which to draw new understanding of the Old Perth Boys’ School significance.
The National Trust has cared for the building since 1977 and was responsible for implementing $1m worth of conservation work on the stone work and surrounds in 2012.
20TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
TOP Old Perth Boys’ School has a long history associated with learning, leadership and innovation. K RippingaleABOVE Images represent the current design direction for the Old Perth Boys School, the intention is for the main hall to be used for taster exhibitions and a point of contact for Curtin students and alumni.
N OW and T H E N
Teams from both the National Trust and Curtin University are working together to complete the project by the end of the year.
Old Perth Boys’ School has been a centre for education, a cafe and the headquarters of the National Trust. Its historic links to Curtin University through Perth Technical College and the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT) which both occupied 139 St Georges Terrace play important roles in Curtin’s new city presence and a new chapter for this State register-listed place.
1 Advice from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs
21 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
TOP Old Perth Boys’ School c1866. State Library Western Australia, The Battye Library, 6909BABOVE RIGHT Ceramic ink wells, Artefact Catalogue, Archaelogical and Heritage Management Solutions, June 2014BOTTOM LEFT & RIGHT Conservation Architect Caroline Stokes highlights existing graffiti. G.PickeringFAR RIGHT Sample of clay pipes, Artefact Catalogue, Archaelogical and Heritage Management Solutions, June 2014
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Caring for Kilns at Adelaide’s James BrickworksPETER LANGHANS | COUNCILLOR NATIONAL TRUST (SA)
The City of Charles Sturt in Adelaide’s west has begun preliminary
assessment work on possible conservation and interpretation options for
the state heritage-listed James Brickworks at Beverley. The kilns are all that
remain at two brick-making sites in the city’s inner west that were once
part of a thriving industry that began early in the colony’s settlement.
Adelaide’s nineteenth century dwellings were typically built
using locally sourced limestone or bluestone, but the abundance of alluvial red clay deposits to the west of the city led to the development of a booming brick-making industry.
Initially, dwellings used brick only for chimneys and for window
and door surrounds but, as brick production increased, brick became the major material used to construct houses and buildings. In the heyday of the industry, there were a dozen brick and clay pipe manufacturers in inner western Adelaide.
Mr A. E. James started his brick-making business around 1912 in the suburb of Welland, adjacent to the much larger brickworks of his competitor J. Hallett & Son. However in 1923, the River Torrens burst its banks causing serious flooding to the locality and the destruction of one of
James’ kilns by an explosion resulting from a build-up of steam in the hot kiln. The business was relocated to clay deposits at Beverley where the current kilns were built.
By 1974, brick production had ceased due to depletion of the clay deposits. The former Woodville Council (now part of City of Charles
Sturt) purchased the site, mainly to use the clay pit (pug hole) as a municipal rubbish tip, but also to retain the brickworks for local historical interest.
The site has four, vaulted downdraught kilns as well as a circular (beehive) downdraught kiln, the latter being the only one of its type remaining in South Australia. Two recently constructed open-sided pavilions house brick-making equipment salvaged from a nearby brickyard that was demolished some years ago.
P L AC E S
22TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
LEFT The former James Brickworks site at Toogood Avenue, Beverley. P LanghansRIGHT The circular (beehive) kiln is the only one of its type remaining in South Australia. P Langhans
P L AC E S Conservation ASSESSMENT FOR STATE HERITAGE LISTED
BRICKWORKS
The City of Charles Sturt is considering conservation of the site. The four vaulted downdraught kilns are sadly in varying stages of deterioration. Although one of the kilns has been partially restored, exposure to rain is generally causing a breakdown of the brick fabric of all four. An option may be the construction of a steel canopy structure over each kiln that would slow down further deterioration.
An important aspect of the City of Charles Sturt’s project is to provide heritage interpretation
facilities for visitors, and particularly groups of school students. Council has engaged heritage architects Swanbury Penglase to assist in developing alternative concepts and a phased program that would fit within Council’s budgetary constraints. It is hoped that Council funding is approved for the next phase of this important project to reinvigorate the James Brickworks heritage site.
23 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE The remaining downdraught kilns at the former James’ Brickworks at Beverley. P LanghansFAR LEFT The crumbling brickwork of Kiln No 1 has been significantly eroded by exposure to rain. P LanghansLEFT Kiln No 2 has been partially restored and better shows the original appearance of the kilns. P Langhans
P L AC E S
ABOVE Decades in the elements .Original wall finishes remain despite decades in the severe elements. K Rippingale
24TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE Weed control programs have effected the surrounding landscape. K RippingaleCENTRE Remnant crockery found onsite. K RippingaleRIGHT Assessing wall finishes witha colour specifier. K RippingaleBOTTOM RIGHT Ceramic insulator dated 1874. K Rippingale
Down the lineKELLY RIPPINGALE | HERITAGE ARCHITECT NATIONAL TRUST (WA)
The limestone walls of the 1985 Post and Telegraph Station
building are a standout feature in the isolated landscape of low
coastal vegetation 200km east of Esperance, Western Australia
in Nuytsland Nature Reserve. The roof, floor and other
timberwork were removed many years ago. Scattered through
this landscape are the remains of the earliest Telegraph Station
(1876) and a number of cottages. One cottage, built by
linesman John Cook (c1883), remains standing adjacent to a
large late twentieth century shack built by one-time resident
fisherman Len Spurr. Nearby is an 1895 jetty and the remains
of early bond stores.
Visitors are infrequent. The National Trust in Western Australia has managed this remote heritage place location since 1977 and while
it’s difficult to access early, this year conservation and archaeological specialists made a welcome pilgrimage.
Spurr’s shack has been maintained and is used as a recreational hub by his family and friends. On this visit grandson Jake Spurr and family friend Trevor Bale accompanied National Trust architects, UWA consultant archaeologist Dr Sean Winter and conservation specialist Keith McAllister.
Israelite Bay Post and Telegraph Station is highly significant as one of the remote telegraph stations which opened up communication between Perth and Adelaide. Subsequently, Western Australia was provided with national and international news more quickly and effectively than previous forms of communication.
P L AC E S
25 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
The impressive scale and architectural detail of the main building in its isolated setting, along with remains associated with those who lived and worked at the station, are a reminder of the efforts of past generations to build and operate communications services. The environment was and still is challenging and attempts to colonise this remote part of the country are vivid.
An archaeological review undertaken during this visit has identified a large amount of material associated with occupation and use of the Telegraph Station is located both within and outside the bounds of the National Trust Reserve.
The heavily wooded nature of the Reserve probably obscures other sites and it is likely that further archaeological material will be located in these wooded areas. It is also highly likely
that Aboriginal contact period sites will be located somewhere within or near the Telegraph Station Reserve. While the Station building has been stabilised, Cook’s cottage is in a near ruined state and in urgent need or conservation.
The trip will inform the necessary documentation for conservation works and assessment of the archaeological potential of the site. Funding is essential to realising the long term conservation, interpretation and research potential of this isolated and significant place.
TOP An onsite cache provided an opportunity for travellers to leave reflections and read some too. K RippingaleBOTTOM Looking for archaeological material on site. K Rippingale
26TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
P L AC E S
Telegraph line history
27 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE The spectacular ruins of the Post and Telegraph Station. K RippingaleBOTTOM Len Spurr, Trevor Bale and Eric Hancock in front of Spurr’s shack with Cook’s Cottage in the background. K Rippingale
P L AC E S
Bol Brutu: The Stonehunters GangTOD JONES | DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND GEOGRAPHY, CURTIN UNIVERSITY
My journey from my Yogyakarta hotel to meet with the leaders of Bol Brutu (geromBOLan pemBuRU
baTU), the stonehunters gang, took longer than I expected. I took a taxi to a bus station on the outskirts of
Yogyakarta, where I changed to a motorcycle driven by a gang member who drove me to a small
neighbourhood in the middle of which sat the ruins of a Hindu temple. They turned a visit from an
outsider into an opportunity to pursue their favourite hobby—seeking inspiration and dialogue in the
environment of Java’s marginal archaeological sites.
Bol Brutu started with a group of friends, many of whom were
students at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta on the island of Java in Indonesia. This group arranged a trip in October 2009 to look at Java’s lesser known temples, graves and ancient structures. The photos were posted on Facebook and attracted a following. Early in 2010, they gave the group the name Bol Brutu. With increasing followers on Facebook, their activities started to be covered by the mass media, in particular local television, radio, and at times large newspapers. As Yogyakarta is a centre for the arts, their friends were painters, poetry lovers and photographers. They began to produce works while at the sites.
28TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE Reliefs at Candi Palgading, Jogjakarta, Indonesia. T JonesRIGHT CRus (right), Sigit Budhi Setiawan (left) and Cak Cuk Riomandha (sitting) from Bol Brutu, Candi Palgading, Jogjakarta, Indonesia. T Jones
G LO B A L
INTERNED: TORRENS ISLAND 1914-1915
AUTHOR: PETER MONTEATH, MANDY PAUL, REBECCA MARTIN
PUBLISHER: WAKEFIELD PRESS, 2014, 115 PAGES
REVIEWER: MARCUS BERESFORD, NATIONAL TRUST OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The centenary of World War I is also a time to consider
some of the ‘collateral damage’, and this illustrated book not
only uncovers a shameful piece of Australian history, but raises
ongoing questions.
At the beginning of the War some 100,000 Australians were
of German extraction, including an unusually high 10% of the
state population in South Australia (of whom Attorney-General
Hermann Homburg was one). Immediately after declaration,
discretionary powers delegated from the British government
were used to detain ‘enemy aliens’ - including the Captain
and officers of the German cargo ship SS Schwarzfels, which
unknowingly sailed into Port Adelaide the day after war began.
Wide discretionary powers under the War Precautions Act
1914 allowed the federal Minister to detain people thought to be
disaffected or disloyal, with no right of appeal. In South Australia
some 400 people were detained on Torrens Island in the Port
River estuary, living in rather squalid tents and shanties.
In 1915 some prisoners were stripped naked and whipped
in public on the order of the commandant (Captain Hawkes),
one prisoner was shot in the leg, and others were bayoneted
by guards. This led to two official inquiries, and probably to the
camp closure, with prisoners moved to Holsworthy NSW.
Although activities at the camp were subject to a blanket news
ban and censorship of letters, one of the interned Germans (Paul
Dubotski) was allowed to practise his photography, and another
(Frank Bungardy) kept a diary. These form a basis for the book
along with recent research.
With chapters giving the social and historical context, and
what happened after the camp closure, there are also interesting
page-long biographies of selected individual prisoners and other
personnel. Some individual stories will cause indignation at the
injustice, others disgust at the vindictive behaviour of non-
Germans, yet others arouse less sympathy in the reader.
The book complements an exhibition at the Migration
Museum in Kintore Avenue, Adelaide until 16 August 2015. It is
available from the publisher at 16 Rose Street Mile End SA, 08
8352 4455 or www.wakefieldpress.com.au at $29.95. National
Trust members can obtain 20% discount on this (and on any
other Wakefield Press books) either from the publisher, or online
under “Redeem Special Offers” using the code “Trust”.
Between the lines
According to its charismatic leader, Cak Cuk Romadhia, Bol Brutu has grown because it is fun and opens up new engagements with the past. In his words, “the past is always new.” They have held two exhibitions in 2011 and in October 2014. The second exhibition was of photos of the Gana, the army led by Ganesha, who are often found in the reliefs on Hindu temples. Just as Gana does not get much attention, Bol Brutu seeks sites that are not getting much attention.
Bol Brutu is at the forefront of a growing number of Facebook groups in Indonesia that focus on heritage issues. Bol Brutu has more than 1750 Facebook members and is part of an online social network of groups across Indonesia that foster engagement with local heritage. The advent of parliamentary democracy, political decentralisation and the growth of public archaeology has created a more open environment for enthusiasts, and social media has provided a platform for the spread of heritage information. Rus, a long term member of Bol Brutu, said to me that “If Bol Brutu lives, it lives on social media. Where is Bol Brutu’s office? On Facebook.” Facebook is the front door here to an open and fun cosmopolitanism that embraces diversity and is spread across Indonesia.
29 TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
ABOVE Cak Cuk Romadhia (right) and Sigit Budhi Setiawan (left) from Bol Brutu at Candi Palgading, Jogjakarta, Indonesia. T Jones
30TRUST NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY 2015
TOP Clr Marion Browne, Don Mudie, National Trust Broken Hill Branch Chair Fran McKinnon OAM, International National Trust Organisation Professor Simon Molesworth AO and Diana Hoffman. NTNSW
N OW and T H E N
The Great War hits Broken HillANGELA LE SUEUR | NATIONAL TRUST (NSW)
On 1 January 1915 World War 1 made its presence known in Broken Hill with a bizarre attack on a Picnic
Train carrying some 1200 members of the Manchester Unity Order of Oddfellows. Armed with tennis
racquets and picnic baskets, the day trippers had set out in open trucks for a pleasant day away from the
problems of the times. Within a short time, they were victims of an attack which left four dead and seven
injured; the only casualties of the Great War on Australian soil.
Just 30 years old at the time, Broken Hill was a small, close-
knit community, forging a place for itself in the intense heat of the outback. Disgruntlement however was brewing. Not many kilometres out of town the train was ambushed by what could be described today as a ‘lone wolf strike’, carried out by an unlikely pair of former camel drivers, at least one of whom nurtured a grudge.
Later identified as Muslim Ghans (from lands known since 1947 as Pakistan), one man was a halal butcher who had recently been convicted of slaughtering sheep on land not licensed for the purpose; the other had turned his hand to selling ice-cream. Using the ice-cream cart as transport, bearing rifles and a home-made Ottoman flag, they opened fire on the train, killing 17 year old Alma Cowie and William Shaw, who died later, and injuring three men and three women. Deterred by retaliation,
they left the scene killing another man, Alfred Millard, along the way. By that stage the local constabulary was on the job and, with armed support from the community, the battle on Australian soil was over - but not before a stray bullet had killed James Craig as he chopped wood on his property nearby – the fourth casualty of the day.
One hundred years later, the ‘Battle of Broken Hill’ was marked by a commemoration at the Sulphide Street Railway Museum. The event was coordinated by the National Trust Broken Hill Branch and included friends and family of the victims.
A plaque on a two-tonne granite plinth was unveiled as onlookers pondered how an event that comes out of nowhere can change a town and its people.
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Miss Fisher Returns to Rippon LeaFELICITY WATSON | COMMUNITY
ADVOCATE, NATIONAL TRUST (VIC)
From May until the end of September, visitors to Rippon Lea House and Gardens will once again be
invited to step inside the world of Australia’s favourite detective, Miss Phryne Fisher.
Melbourne is the first stop for this national touring
exhibition that is scheduled to visit Adelaide, Sydney and
Brisbane before finishing in Canberra in 2017.
The exhibition will showcase costumes created by
designer Marion Boyce for the third series of Miss Fisher’s
Murder Mysteries, to air on ABC TV.
Curator Elizabeth Anya-Petrivna recently caught
up with Boyce to discuss her design explorations and
practices developing costumes for Australia’s most
glamorous detective.
“Really beautiful, fine straws and quality felts are
very difficult to source,” said Marion of the challenges
sourcing materials and fabrics for Miss Fisher’s signature
accessories.
“We search high and low in op-shops, auction houses,
junk stores and all sorts of places for old felts and straws
that we can then re-block and remake. The really beautiful,
deep, rich colours with the lovely lustre to them are only
found in felts that are 50 or so years old. The techniques
and the dyes have changed a great deal.”
Marion explained how even the smallest details are
important to helping create Phryne’s world.
“We use a lot of different things in the hats: fabric,
feathers … little things that don’t even belong on a hat …
sometimes shoe buckles. There’ll always be references
for each episode. There are themes and colours for each
world of Phryne’s and often it’s something that then
echoes back to that world.”
THE MISS FISHER MURDER MYSTERIES COSTUME EXHIBITION is hosted by the National Trust in collaboration with Every Cloud Productions and open daily at Rippon Lea House from 10am – 4pm from 1 May to 30 September 2015. For tickets and further information visit missfisherexhibition.com.au or phone 03 9656 9889.
ABOVE Miss Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis), courtesy of Every Cloud Productions.
C O N N E C T I O N S