No images? Click here
Heritage helps us understand different cultures and histories, supporting our understanding of others and helping build stronger more inclusive communities.
Welcome – Wominjeka
Thanks for coming back for the 9th Edition of the Heritage Council's Heritage Newsletter. If you're a new subscriber, thanks for signing up!
Before you read on, if you would like more information about the Heritage Council of Victoria and what we do, check out our website.
📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2022 | Hin Lim Photography | Former Masonic Hall, Bendigo (H0119)
Contents
1. Recent inclusions in the VHR
2. Announcement: The Heritage Information Pack
3. If this place could talk: Shrine of Remembrance (H0848)
4. Custodian Interview: Castlemaine Market (H0130) – Aileen Walsh, Team Leader Visitor Services
5. Can you guess what this is?
6. If you missed it: Houses Awards, Victorian Architecture Awards, Modern Melbourne, and the Heritage Address
7. Updates from Heritage Victoria
8. Council Member Reflections: Maggi Solly, Alternate General Member 2017 – 23
9. Upcoming events
1. Recent inclusions in the Victorian Heritage Register
The Victorian Heritage Register, established under the Heritage Act 2017, includes the state’s most significant heritage places, objects and historic shipwrecks. The Heritage Council decides which places and objects are included in or removed from the Victorian Heritage Register.
Cement Creek Plantation (H2439)
On 6 April 2023, it was determined that the Cement Creek Plantation, East Warburton, is of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria and should be included in the Register.
The Cement Creek Plantation is of scientific significance as one of the largest and systematically laid out scientific plantations of the twentieth century in Victoria. Created by the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) from 1929, it demonstrates the MMBW’s scientific endeavours to ensure water purity in catchment areas which had been degraded through decades of farming, fires and logging of native forests.
Part of an extensive revegetation program, this experimental plantation tested the potential of conifer species to improve land and water quality, as well as for their commercial timber potential.
Although it is now understood that Victoria’s land, water and forest ecology is better served by revegetation with native species, the MMBW’s conifer experiments represent an evolutionary phase of water and forestry science.
The Cement Creek Plantation is aesthetically significant for its cathedral-like atmosphere created by the over 1476 trees up to 55m high systematically planted in regular formations. The place is noticeably quiet as few native birds or animals are attracted to non-native conifers. The visual and non-visual aspects of this commanding landscape inspire emotions including awe, fear, peace and mystery.
📷: Cement Creek Plantation (H2439) Heritage Victoria 2023
Coombe Cottage (H2443)
On 3 August 2023, it was determined that the Coombe Cottage, Yarra Ranges Shire, is of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria and should be included in the Register. Coombe Cottage was purchased by Dame Nellie Melba in 1909 and was her home in Australia until 1931.
📷: Coombe Cottage (H2443), Heritage Victoria 2023
The place retains most of its layout from the late 1920s, including fixtures and fittings and examples of hand painted wallpaper. The property also houses a collection of Melba's personal belongings and furnishings due to the ownership and care of her granddaughter and other family members over a number of decades.
Melba was one of Australia’s most famous opera singers who achieved international acclaim. She purchased Coombe Cottage as a rural retreat, and the place reflects Melba’s aesthetic tastes and enjoyment of a country lifestyle away from her concert touring schedule.
Melba directed the design of the house in 1911 and 1927, as well as the development of its garden and avenue of elms over the years.
2. The Heritage Information Pack
The Heritage Council of Victoria is pleased to announce the FREE public Heritage Information Pack!
This pack has been designed to help demystify the heritage system, answering common questions about heritage, and exploring the benefits of heritage protection.
The Pack contains an animation, 4 posters and 4 pamphlets, covering the following topics:
- What is heritage?
- Why do we protect heritage?
- What is your role in heritage protection?
- The Heritage Protection System
You can access, download, link, print and share the resources through the Heritage Council website. All posters and pamphlets contain a QR code which links back to the full Information Pack.
The Heritage Council encourages organisations, historical societies and local councils to use the resources on websites, in offices or even promote them at libraries, schools or tourist information centres.
Please get in touch with the Heritage Council if you have any questions or would like us to send you an independent copy of the animation to display at your office or historical site.
To access the Pack, use the QR code or click on the button below.
📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2022 | Hin Lim Photography | Former Bendigo Gaol (H1550)
Did you know heritage buildings can often be renovated or developed?
The degree of change to a heritage building must be guided by the significance of the place. Expert advice and assistance are available through the Victorian Heritage Service Directory
3. If this place could talk... The Shrine of Remembrance (H0848)
The Shrine of Remembrance is a civic meeting place for remembrance and ceremonial purposes. Opened in 1934 to initially commemorate First World War veterans, the Shrine now honours all Australians who have served their country.
Most Victorian towns and cities have a war memorial of some sort commemorating the Great War in which 114,000 Victorians enlisted and 19,000 never returned home (Shrine History). The Australian policy during the Great War was to not repatriate those killed, so each of these memorials acts as a surrogate grave and a site of memory for those who did not return to their families ('A Place to Remember', Bruce Scrates, p.1).
If this place could talk, what stories would it tell?
📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2023 | Hin Lim Photography | Shrine of Remembrance (H0848)
DESIGN AND SETTING
A competition for the design of the First World War memorial was held in 1923 and 83 designs were submitted. The winning design was by returned servicemen, Philip B. Hudson and James H. Wardrop, incorporating a distinctive interior space, known as the Sanctuary. Their monumental, classically conceived design, set on a series of elevated terraces within a formally planned landscape, was inspired by the mausoleum at Halicarnassus to King Mausolus of Caria, in South West Asia Minor, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (Shrine History).
📷: State Library of Victoria, Shrine of Remembrance, Pratt, 20 Dec 1935, Acc#H91.160/397
The Shrine’s design and setting, overlooking Melbourne, is characterised by a sense of grandeur, solemnity and separateness which is heightened by its isolated and elevated siting on the edge of the city. The formal layout of the Shrine Reserve, with its array of war memorials and plantings, enhances the Shrine's role as a culturally significant place that provides opportunities for individual contemplation and reflection, for solemn group ceremonies and for educating the community about the tragic events it commemorates.
The Shrine of Remembrance was the last state memorial raised in Australia and is clad with pale grey granite quarried from a quarry opened specifically to supply the stone for this building. At the time of its construction, it was the largest granite building in the world ('A Place to Remember', Bruce Scrates, p.1). When it was built, the Shrine was visible from surrounding suburbs and out into Port Philip Bay, towering over the city at 30 metres high and 123 metres square ('A Place to Remember', Bruce Scrates, p.1).
Despite Melbourne’s growth, the Shrine still has vistas from all directions including an uninterrupted view along St Kilda Road from Swanston Street. Other memorials have been added to the site to mark the service of successive generations, such as the Second World War Memorial Forecourt and the post–1945 Memorial (Shrine History).
“...a striking feature which gives a unique character to this great and dignified memorial is its dominating position.”
– ‘The National War Memorial of Victoria: The Shrine of Remembrance’, souvenir booklet, Trustees of the Shrine of Remembrance, 1947, p.8 (State Library of Victoria)
📷: State Library of Victoria, Victorian Railways photographer, ca.1945-1954, Acc#H91.50/144
THE SANCTUARY
The interior Sanctuary is a square space and incorporates sandstone cladding on the walls, a marble tile floor, 16 dark marble columns and 12 frieze panels. If you look closely enough, you can see small fossils embedded in the columns.
“In the hard substance of rock form which they have been shaped are to be seen the forms of fossils of inconceivable antiquity, once more demonstrating that living creatures of the distant past, by their death, have contributed to the stability and grandeur of future ages.”
– ‘The National War Memorial of Victoria: The Shrine of Remembrance’, souvenir booklet, Trustees of the Shrine of Remembrance, 1947, p.14 (State Library of Victoria)
The Ray of Light is a focal point within the Sanctuary, the ceremonial heart of the Shrine of Remembrance. The memorial is designed so that at the 11th hour on Armistice Day every year, a thin shaft of sunlight passes through the Shrine’s roof, down into the Sanctuary below, and over the word ‘LOVE’ inscribed on the Stone of Remembrance.
Annually, the RMIT geospatial team attend the Shrine a few weeks before the event, to check the alignment of the mirrors in the Shrine. Only a fraction of a millimetre in movement has been recorded in decades – a testament to the quality of design and care taken in construction ('Ray of Light', Peter Harris, Issu).
“It is an incredible feat of mathematics and geospatial mapping requiring 140-odd pages of calculations—all in a time pre-dating modern computer modelling”
TODAY AT THE SHRINE
In 2001, ARM and landscape architects Rush Wright Associates were appointed for a renewal at the Shrine. This was not the first time the Shrine had been updated, with major landscape works following the Second World War. Unused space was unearthed by digging out the artificial hill the Shrine was built on, creating new entries and space under the grass for a visitor centre, lecture theatre and facilities (Stuart Harrison, Design Files, 2015).
The new Galleries of Remembrance feature over 800 artworks and historical artefacts, including an original Gallipoli landing boat and personal effects that illustrate the experiences of Australians in war and peacekeeping operations, from the 1850s to today (What's On Melbourne).
Four new sunken courtyards were constructed around the Shrine during the renewal, two containing gardens and one hosting a large shade canopy in the form of a giant red poppy “pinned to the city rather than the soldier”, over an entry to the Shrine used by school groups (Stuart Harrison, Design Files, 2015). These developments allow for an educational process to occur prior to entry into the original, unaltered spaces.
“In the cathedral-like space beneath the monument, the Galleries of Remembrance present the stories of Australians in wartime over more than 100 years.”
OTHER IMPORTANT EVENTS
- In 1933, the Lone Pine tree was planted in the Shrine Reserve. The seedling was harvested from a pine cone brought back by Private Thomas McDowell from the Lone Pine battlefield on the Gallipoli Peninsula on his return to Melbourne after the First World War. Its descendant lives on today (Shrine History).
- After the Shrine’s completion, on Armistice Day 1934, the building was dedicated by the Duke of Gloucester and 300,000 people gathered at the Shrine to take part in the dedication ceremony.
- In 1954, Queen Elizabeth dedicated the forecourt of the Shrine Reserve. It is designed in a cross with the Eternal Flame and Cenotaph to the west, and 3 flagpoles to the right.
- According to ‘A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects’ (Graham Willett, Angela Bailey, Timothy W. Jones, Sarah Rood, March 2021), the Shrine became part of Victoria’s queer history when, on Anzac Day 1982, a small group of ex-servicemen attempted to lay a wreath in honour of gay and lesbian people who had served and died in war. The Victorian state president of the Returned Services League, Bruce Ruxton, intercepted them summoning a nearby police officer to escort the men away. A representative of the Gay Ex-Services Association returned to the Shrine in 1983 and 1984 to lay a wreath and in November 1992 the Australian Government lifted its ban on the service of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Since 2012 transgender people have also been allowed to serve. In 2015, Defence LGBTI Information Service representatives laid the first wreath at the Shrine with a former member of the Gay Ex-Services Association.
- In 2010, the Women’s Garden and memorial cairn, designed by Katherine Rekaris, were installed to honour the women who served Australia from the Boer War to 1985 (Shrine History).
You can visit the Shrine of Remembrance today.
If you would like to find out more, you can read about this place in the Victorian Heritage Database or visit the website.
All non-titled 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2023 | Hin Lim Photography, Shrine of Remembrance (H0848)
4. Custodian Interview – Castlemaine Market (H0130)
We interviewed Aileen Walsh, Team Leader Visitor Services for Mount Alexander Shire Council.
Aileen works in Castlemaine’s Historic Market Building, designed in 1861 by William Beynon Downe and opened in 1862. Her role sees her manage the visitor experiences in the building. Aileen's association with the building began in 2000, and as a resident she believes it is very much a part of the local streetscape.
a) What are your main responsibilities for this place?
"Managing the internal operations, including the Castlemaine Visitor Information Centre, Market Art Exhibitions and Boorp Boorp Boondyil, the recently opened Dja Dja Wurrung exhibition. All aspects involve the dynamic tourism industry and lots of community liaison."
b) What do you think is most significant about this property and its history?
"That it stands as a monument to the prosperity of the great 1850s gold rush in Victoria. Also, that as a former market, it was a hive of activity, where people would shop, gather and commune. It still has this energy and feeling."
c) What is your favourite material aspect of the property?
"The laminated timber, rib-like structure of the roof. It creates the most stunning and expansive space in the central nave of the building. The striking green colour ensures no one misses this impressive feature! Influences from Covent Garden Market, King's Cross Station and the boat making trade are evident."
d) Do you have any favourite facts about the property? Is there something surprising you have found out about the building and its history by working with it?
"I think the fact that local residents petitioned to stop the demolition of the building, after the local government of the day voted for it to be replaced by a cream-brick Gas & Fuel office. Local women led the fight which went on to gather broader support from prominent locals and the National Trust.
"This fighting spirit continues to pass down the generations, connecting locals to the building with pride and continued passion. I have learnt that any work or changes in and around the building will always attract questions and a high level of interest. Most locals (past and present!) feel a sense of ownership and that makes it so very special."
"It provides an impressive welcome to visitors, who marvel at this gold rush monument."
– Aileen Walsh
📷: Aileen Walsh, Exhibition 2023
📷: Aileen Walsh, Boorp Boorp Boondyil 2023
e) How do you think this property’s heritage status and history interacts with its current use/purpose?
"Since 2000 the building has housed the accredited Castlemaine Visitor Information Centre. The central nave is an amazing exhibition space, where local artworks are displayed and sold as souvenirs. A permanent Dja Dja Wurrung cultural exhibition called Boorp Boorp Boondyil is also housed in the building, offering an award-winning First Nations experience.
"The multi-purpose use of the building has kept it staffed and open to the public every day of the year, except for Christmas Day. More than 40 local volunteers also contribute to the operation. This keeps the building feeling alive, and ensures it is accessible to everyone without an entrance fee.
f) If you could personify the property, what words would you use?
"Welcoming, generous, open, bold and elegant. These attributes are embodied by the large statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture, who stands tall above the entrance of the building."
g) What did you know about cultural heritage and its protection before you started working at this property? And what has this property taught you?
"I knew it was a significant building as it is so prominent in the main shopping strip. Now I know a lot more about the range of heritage specialists, whose knowledge and expertise keep our historic buildings standing. We are often working alongside conservation projects in the building, i.e. recent works include application of a salt-removal cocoon to internal bricks, injection of a chemical dampcourse and investigations of the original stone footing, just to name a few!"
📷: State Library of Victoria, The Market, Castlemaine, VIC, Rose Stereograph Co. c1920-1954 ACC#H32492/6902
h) Do you feel differently working in this heritage property in comparison with other non-heritage properties? How?
"Working in a building with a lifetime of stories is so different to a standard office environment. This building is also a public space, so not a day goes by without someone sharing a past experience or two about the building. The stories about when it was operating as a food market are the best."
i) How has being a custodian of this heritage property influenced your life and your outlook?
"I have a greater appreciation of other people’s feelings of ownership with a building or space. I understand that we are all just a moment in time, as buildings, spaces and monuments can hold generations worth of stories."
📷: State Library of Victoria, Castlemaine market square, northern wing of market buildings in process of construction, Richard Daintree, ca.1861, ACC#H36596
j) What words of wisdom would you give to others who are either current custodians of heritage properties or looking to get involved?
"Always find the time to listen and learn the building's stories. It will enrich your connection to your property while building a loyal community around it too. Regularly welcoming William Beynon Downe's great-grand daughter Marion Downe into the building is such a highlight. She lives locally and has helped us tell his story with his original design desk, information and a portrait photograph now in place at our entrance. What a clever man he was!"
k) Do you ever get feedback from visitors about the building itself? What do people think?
"Oh yes, every day. We have more than 120,000 people visit the building each year. Many have never seen it before. They marvel at the size, features and grandeur. In one glimpse, it says how much gold was found here and how prosperous the locals felt at that heady time."
We would like to thank Aileen Walsh for her time and work at the Castlemaine Market building.
If you would like to find out more, you can read about this place in the Victorian Heritage Database or visit the Castlemaine Tourist Information Centre.
All non-titled 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2022| Hin Lim Photography | Castlemaine Market (H0130)
📷:HIN LIM AIPP 2020 | Hin Lim Photography | ICI House (H0786)
Did you know heritage can be sustainable?
Heritage protection allows for the addition of solar panels and other sustainable measures. Adaptive reuse of heritage buildings saves embodied energy and reduces landfill waste, production of new materials and energy used in demolition and construction.
5. Can you guess what this is?
Can you guess which Victorian Heritage Register place this close-up is of?
Here are some clues:
- Designed by Jenkins, D'Ebro and Grainger.
- Constructed in 1886-88.
- 7 municipalities agreed to contribute to the cost.
- The majority of the bluestone used for construction was obtained from the contractor’s quarries in Footscray.
Previous edition answer: Olympic Swimming Stadium (H1977)
All 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2018 + 2022 | Hin Lim Photography
6. If you missed it...
Welcome to new Council Members and Alternative Members
The Heritage Council of Victoria is very pleased to announce the appointment of a new Member and new Alternate Members, as recommended by the Minister for Planning and approved by the Governor in Council.
- Mr Michael McMahon – Member who is an Aboriginal person with relevant experience or knowledge of cultural heritage
- Ms Megan McDougall – Alternate general member
- Mr Peter Mathieson – Alternate building/engineering member
- Dr Steve Campbell-Wright – Alternate history member
- Mr David Helms – Alternate urban/regional planning member
We would also like to announce the appointment of Ms Margaret Baird as Deputy Chair of the Heritage Council and her reappointment as urban/regional planning member. Dr Helen Doyle has been appointed as the history Member and Mr David Hogg as the engineering and building construction Member. Mr Justin Naylor, Dr Mark Burgess and Mr Adrian Finanzio SC are all being reappointed in their existing categories for a second term.
Heritage and Climate Change
New Heritage Council guidance to assist in understanding the vulnerability of heritage places or objects to the impacts of climate change.
The Heritage Council of Victoria, in partnership with Heritage Victoria, has just released new guidance to help owners and managers of heritage places and objects to consider the vulnerability of their place or object to the impacts of climate change.
This includes:
- Six Principles – to guide the protection and conservation of Victoria’s heritage places and objects from the impacts of climate change, updated with practical tips for applying these principles.
- Vulnerability Assessment Guide – a two-page document that poses a series of questions to guide the assessment of the potential vulnerability of a place/object to different climate change impacts. It is accompanied by eight general vulnerability assessment tables to assist thinking about vulnerability. The tables are based on eight broad types of heritage place/object protected under the Heritage Act 2017.
- Case studies – 10 illustrated three-page case studies to show the complex, site-specific nature of climate change exposure and vulnerability for different types of heritage place across Victoria and some of the different responses that could be considered to improve resilience.
The Heritage Council would like to thank Heritage Victoria for their partnership and dedication to the project that has produced these resources. They would also like to acknowledge the work and expertise of Extent Heritage, Point Advisory, Carrig Conservation International and GML Heritage in their development of the different resources.
The Heritage Council would also like to thank the Anglican Parish of Warrnambool, Charter Hall, Forest, Fire and Regions (Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action), the National Trust (Victoria), Parks Victoria and the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne for providing information and images for use in the 10 case studies.
The 2023 National Houses Awards
On Friday 28 July the 2023 Houses Awards were announced during a ceremony held at the Art Gallery of News South Wales. The Heritage Council of Victoria is a proud supporter of the House in a Heritage Context category, which was awarded to Design 5 – Architects, for the Millers Point Townhouse.
The Heritage Council also congratulates the extraordinary list of nominees for the heritage category, as well as the winners of the other award categories, which can be viewed on the Houses Awards website, alongside a gallery of all nominees’ projects.
“The meticulous analysis, exceptional conservation work and attention to detail that has been invested in this project has resulted in a reinvigorated and exemplary outcome."
– Jury Citation
📷: Guthrie Project
The 2023 Victorian Architecture Awards
Congratulations to NH Architecture with Trethowan Architecture for winning The John George Knight Award for the Queen Victoria Markets Shed Restoration A–D, H–I in the 2023 Victorian Architecture Awards.
The Heritage Council of Victoria is the heritage category partner of the Awards, sponsoring the John George Knight Award, which is the highest accolade in the heritage category. The Council would like to congratulate all finalists. You can find out more about the winners on the Australian Institute of Architects website.
“The great strengthis in the invisibility of its outcome. It is a clever future-proofing solution that celebrates the vibrancy of this much-loved market space.”
– Australian Institute of Architects, Victorian Chapter
2023 Modern Melbourne – Kerstin Thompson
The latest of the Modern Melbourne film series features the extraordinary work of architect Kerstin Thompson. This episode recently premiered at ACMI as part of the Open House Melbourne weekend and is available to watch now below!
2023 Heritage Address – Michael Veitch
Closing this year's Open House Melbourne July weekend was the Heritage Council annual Heritage Address, presented by Michael Veitch, and followed by a Q+A with Heritage Council Chair, Professor Philip Goad.
If you missed the event, listen below to his reflections on fascinating tales of the city’s heritage, the battles lost and won, and the many near misses along the way.
7. Updates from Heritage Victoria
For information about the different roles and responsibilities of Heritage Victoria and the Heritage Council of Victoria, see the 'Heritage Protection System' resources in the Heritage Information Pack.
Living Heritage Exhibition
The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute held a 'Living Heritage Exhibition' to the end of June, showcasing a selection of items expertly conserved through a Round 6 Living Heritage Program grant. The $170,000 grant funded urgent conservation and stabilisation works to 54 high-priority items in the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute Collection, including the large oil painting 'Bonneted Girl with Dog', 49 rare books, and four folios containing hundreds of pressed botanical specimens collated by Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller - founder of the National Herbarium of Victoria and early Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
The Institute launched the exhibition on 23 May and the opening weekend saw about 200 visitors through the Institute. The BMI board, staff and volunteers are thrilled with the results and have installed the painting in the public lending library. They have plans for a rotating display of the delicate botanical specimens, which were unable to be safely handled or displayed prior to conservation treatment. You can watch a short video about the conservation process following the link below.
📷: Oil Painting ‘Bonneted Girl with Dog’
Government Asset Managers Program Forum
On 8 June 2023, Heritage Victoria hosted its first online forum as part of the Government Asset Managers Program. Funded by the Heritage Council of Victoria, the program is designed to foster stronger engagement between Heritage Victoria and Victorian Government agencies responsible for managing some of the State’s most historic places and objects.
Bringing together participants from several Victorian Government agencies, the forum provided an opportunity to hear directly from asset managers about how Heritage Victoria can further support them.
Participants heard from senior figures within Heritage Victoria, including Executive Director Steven Avery, in addition to Professor Philip Goad, Chair of the Heritage Council of Victoria. Discussion focussed on the opportunities and challenges of managing historic places and objects, such as activating redundant assets, and the importance of effective community engagement.
The forum is the latest initiative by Heritage Victoria to proactively work with State Government stakeholders to better understand their needs. Informed by this process, new and updated resources tailored to this group will be released in the coming weeks.
📷: Rare book collection
Stony Creek Timber Trestle Bridge Recording Project
The Stony Creek Timber Trestle Bridge at Nowa Nowa was built by Victorian Railways in 1916 and is included on the Victorian Heritage Register. This 276-metre-long, 18.6-metre-high, 27-span timber bridge once facilitated vital rail connections. However, its journey has been marked by many challenges.
In 1980, a bushfire damaged the bridge, rendering it unusable. Recent years saw the threat of another bushfire, leading to the application of fire retardant. Heavy rains and minor flooding of Stony Creek in April 2022 highlighted the need for comprehensive disaster preparedness.
Responding to these challenges, the Heritage Victoria Emergency and Bushfire Recovery Program launched a pilot project.
Combining 3D archival technology and expert structural analysis, the project documented the bridge's current condition, feeding into broader conservation outcomes. This digital record goes beyond photos, capturing intricate details and serving as a blueprint for future conservation.
Its recording not only safeguards history but also offers insights for protecting other heritage places. It is important to have this information as we face the evident challenges of climate change with the already devastating loss of place integrity following fire, flood and storms which have all affected this significant place.
📷: 3D photogrammetry model of Stony Creek Trestle Bridge (H1436)
8. Former Council Member Reflections: Maggi Solly
The Heritage Council of Victoria Members represent a broad cross-section of heritage specialists and the community. They include representatives from professions as diverse as archaeology, history, architectural conservation/architectural history, engineering or building construction, property management and planning law.
Maggi Solly was the Alternate General Member for the Heritage Council between 2017–2023. She is an experienced leader in the museums, galleries and the cultural heritage sector. She has had extensive experience in museums and galleries development and management both in Australia and the United Kingdom.
"When I was given the opportunity to join the Heritage Council of Victoria in 2017, I expected that most of the tasks I would undertake would be related to the regulatory business set out in the (then new) Heritage Act 2017.
"Indeed, a lot of the work undertaken by members relates to the approval of Recommendations for Registration of places and objects to the Victorian Heritage Register; Registration Reviews and Permit Hearings.
"I then discovered that the Heritage Council also has an important advisory role for all heritage in Victoria and was excited to play a part in realising a suite of practical Heritage resources aimed at local government and the wider public. Much of my career has been spent working in and with local government, so to be able to assist in developing and delivering practical outcomes was a true honour.
"Like all communication projects, the challenges were to identify ways in which the different audiences could be engaged, and to activate their interest in learning more about how the heritage system works in Victoria, ultimately empowering groups and individuals to be able to take action when needed. Involving planners and heritage specialists in the process brought additional experience and knowledge to the project, and ensured that the information was current, authentic and usable.
"The Council produces information on a number of topics, so have a look at the ‘Research and Projects’ tab to keep up to date!"
9. Upcoming
- Time Detectives: 12 – 19 Aug
- Gregory David Roberts in Conversation with Michael Veitch: 13 Aug
- Georger Weickhardt (1906-2000) and the pioneer engineers of Victoria: 17 Aug
- History of Australian motherhood: 19 Aug
- Book launch 'Line of Blood' - The Truth of Alfred Howitt: 22 Aug
- Morewell Seminar - Strengthen your society through history: 26 – 27 Aug
- History of the Library Tour: until 31 Aug
- NGV Architecture Commission – Temple of Boom: until Oct
- Exhibition: Shantaram – The Journey from Punishment to Peace: until 15 Oct
- Como House of Discovery - Finding Flora: until 15 Oct
- Takahiro Iwasaki, Reflection Model (Itsukushima): until 31 Oct
- Aboriginal Heritage Walk: until 3 Sep
- The Boyd Dynasty, Art and Legacy: until 9 Sep
SEPTEMBER
- Hugh Anderson Lecture - delivered by Prof Sheila Fitzpatrick: 26 Sep
- Como Approach Workshops: 29 Sep – 27 Oct
ONGOING
- Altona Homestead Devonshire Tea: first Sunday of the month
- Rippon Lea Estate Garden Tours
- Como House Guided Tours
- Royal Exhibition Building Dome Promenade
- Cataloguing Clinics
- Melbourne Town Hall Tours
- Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre
- Aboriginal Melbourne walk
- Polly Woodside Open Day: every first Sunday of the month
- Flash Forward
- Yarra, Stories of Melbourne's River: until 31 Dec
- Protest Melbourne: until 31 Dec
- A Nation Divided, The Great War and Conscription: until 31 Dec
- Women Work for Victory in WWII: until 31 Dec
📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2022 | Hin Lim Photography | Former Ballarat East Free Library (H1493)
As a peak heritage body, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Country that we call Victoria, as the original custodians of Victoria’s land and waters, and acknowledge the importance and significance of Aboriginal cultural heritage in Victoria. We honour Elders past and present whose knowledge and wisdom has ensured the continuation of Aboriginal culture and traditional practices.
Note: The statutory scope of the Heritage Act 2017 covers places and objects of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, but does not apply to a place or object that is of cultural heritage significance solely on the ground of its association with Aboriginal tradition. In this newsletter, the terms ‘cultural heritage’ and ‘heritage’ are used generically and interchangeably to refer to the ‘heritage’ to which the Heritage Act 2017 applies, recognising that heritage places and objects may have multiple attributes and values.
To find out more information about Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and Traditional Owner responsibilities, see the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council.
