Heritage can be sustainable – with good design, cultural heritage awareness and small modifications to existing buildings.*

Welcome – Wominjeka

Thanks for coming back for the 10th 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.

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.

Warracknabeal Ladies Rest Rooms (H2445)

On 5th October 2023, the Warracknabeal Ladies Rest Rooms was included in the Victorian Heritage Register under the categories of Registered Place and Registered Objects Integral to a Registered Place.

From the early 1920s, organisations such as the Country Women’s Association (CWA) and Victorian Farmer’s Union (VFU) established ‘Rest Rooms’ in rural towns across Victoria. These spaces were initially developed in response to a lack of women’s public toilets, baby change areas and suitable indoor places to wait for male family members conducting business. ‘Rest Rooms’ became community hubs for women and part of the social fabric of regional Victoria.

The Warracknabeal Ladies Rest Rooms was first proposed by the Country Progressive Party Women’s Section in 1926, and opened in 1928. The building survives to this day and still serves its original intended function. It is a much-loved place for generations of women in the Wimmera, and one of the few remaining Women’s Rest Rooms still in use in Victoria and Australia.

Although the Women’s Rest Rooms movement was an important phase in Victoria’s history, it has all but disappeared. The Warracknabeal Ladies Rest Rooms are possibly the last remaining operating Women’s Rest Rooms in Victoria. From the 1920s over an estimated 200 were established in rural towns, but the popularity of the facilities declined from the 1970s. Warracknabeal Rooms have been preserved largely ‘as they were’ by generations of dedicated local women.

The integral part of the place, its objects collection is rare, including an early ‘Boys Admitted up to the Age of Six Years’ sign, records of pram and pushcart rentals, and a collection of visitors books from the 1920s onwards documenting women’s experiences of the place over generations.

See all recent registration decisions

2. Announcements

Future directions of the Victorian Heritage Register – Survey

📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2021 | Hin Lim Photography | Luna Park (H0938)

Have your say!

Since 1974, the Victorian Heritage Register has protected the heritage places and objects that are significant to the history and development of the State of Victoria.

The Heritage Council of Victoria is reviewing the coverage of the Register and wants to understand the cultural heritage most valued by the Victorian community today.

It is inviting your feedback: Are you part of a community in Victoria with a history that should be recognised? What aspects of Victoria’s heritage are important to you? What would you like to see prioritised in the coming decade?

Please help shape the future direction of the Victorian Heritage Register by taking 10 minutes to complete an online survey.

The survey will close on 17 December 2023.

A summary of all feedback received will be published on the Heritage Council of Victoria website next year.

Complete the survey!

The Heritage Act is changing

Changes to the Heritage Act 2017 will commence on 1 February 2024. The changes update, modernise and improve the operation of the Heritage Act. They also increase transparency and streamline certain processes.

📷: The National Trust, Victoria

In terms of the changes that will affect Heritage Council statutory processes:

What is the same? Your access to Heritage Council statutory processes will not change. You might notice wording changes and other minor updates, but your ability to request reviews, make submissions and be involved in Heritage Council processes remains the same.
What will change? Some of the changes respond to issues and changes in practice that arose as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example the Act will allow the Heritage Council to continue to hold online hearings and ensure it provides access to important documents and resources online. There is also one new process to enable applications to the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria, that places and objects be excluded from consideration for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register, for a period of five years, and the Heritage Council will be able to receive requests to review decisions under this process.

More information on the changes relevant to the Heritage Council will be published on the Heritage Council’s website from 1 February 2024.

Learn more!

Did you know you can search the Victorian Heritage Database by date of construction?

Search now!

📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2021 | Hin Lim Photography | Linden (H0213)

3. If this place could talk... Federation Square (H2390)

Heritage places and objects are typically old because the passage of time allows the cultural heritage values of a place or object to be more fully documented, consolidated and better evaluated. However, there are examples of heritage from more recent periods, even from our own lifetimes.

Federation Square was completed in 2002 and in 2019 the Heritage Council determined that it would be included in the Victorian Heritage Register after only 17 years!

Federation Square is Victoria’s pre-eminent memorial to the Federation of Australia and a renowned civic space for both formal and informal public gatherings in times of celebration, grief and protest. It is also a place of significance for Indigenous peoples as part of their continuing and developing cultural traditions.

If this place could talk, what stories would it tell?

All non-credited 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2023 | Hin Lim Photography | Federation Square (H2390)

WHAT CAME BEFORE?

Prior to the construction of Federation Square, the space was home to a variety of places. In the 1850s Melbourne had expanded so rapidly that the city needed somewhere to keep its unidentified dead, so a site was allocated next to Princes Bridge for a morgue, court building and laboratory which opened in 1871 (State Library of Victoria). Just over a decade later, the Railway Department claimed the site for the use of the growing public transport system.

📷: State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, 1862, looking north from Princes Bridge [picture]
Burn, H. (Henry), approximately 1807-1884, engraver. Acc#H1550

📷: State Library of Victoria, Flinders Street looking east from Swanston Street, ca1913-14 Acc#H89.106.4

In 1859 Princes Bridge Station was built as the terminus for the Epping and Hurstbridge lines. The station buildings were demolished to make way for the Princes Gate Towers in 1967, a 5 million dollar redevelopment project (State Library of Victoria).

In 1980, Princes Bridge Station was merged with Flinders Street Station and in 1997 the Towers were demolished to make space for a new cultural precinct to be called Federation Square.

📷: State Library of Victoria, H2012.92 Princes Gate and City skyline, ca.1960-80 Acc#H89.106.4

📷: State Library of Victoria, Melbourne City Collection Princes Bridge Station c1960s 1753425

FEDERATION AND DESIGN

Australia became a nation on 1 January 1901 when 6 British colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia, otherwise known as Federation. Federation benefited the colonies for a multitude of reasons including free national trade, ease of travel, increased defence and the forging of a national identity away from England (Parliamentary Education Office).

The Victorian Government held an international design competition in the lead up to the centenary of the Federation to redevelop the precinct opposite Flinders Street Station as the city’s new and needed civic space.

Designed by LAB Architecture Studio and Bates Smart, the design and planning rationale for Federation Square embodies the principle of Federation with the precinct conceived as an ensemble where no single institution or entity is dominant, and each component part has its own identity.

The façade of Federation Square expresses this principle with its design based on the ‘Conway Tessellation’.

A mathematical theory where a single triangular element can be applied in an infinite number of ways and at multiple sizes to achieve difference within a whole.

This also applies to the interlocking and cascading spaces within the building and square, providing multiple different angles and views of the city (Fed Square).

“The Square is a rare piece of deconstructivist architecture – one of the few examples in the world where a design was actually built.”

– Katrina Sedgwick, Director & CEO at Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (The Age, Kerrie O'Brien, 20 Oct 2022)

References to Federation can also be seen in the inscriptions in the bluestone steps and the Nearamnew artwork by Paul Carter, which forms part of the Plaza. Nearamnew acknowledges the past cultural histories of the site through its use of a variety of different coloured stones to portray literal and metaphorical layers of meaning. The work was named by combining different words, indicating a shared history (NGV).

AN ENGINEERING FEAT

The creative and technical innovations employed in the design and construction of Federation Square were highly sophisticated solutions to large and complex issues and their significance is reflected in the critical acclaim received from professional bodies.

Federation Square is approximately 3.8 hectares in area and is built on top of the city’s most heavily-trafficked railway and one of the largest expanses of railway decking ever built in Australia (Fed Square). It took twelve months to complete, with structural work only possible during breaks in the train timetable in the early hours of the morning (Fed Square).

The deck is supported by over 3,000 tonnes of steel beams, 1.4 kilometres of concrete ‘crash walls’ and over 4,000 vibration-absorbing springs and rubber padding panels (Fed Square).

This design allows for life to fill the spaces of Federation Square while absorbing all the noise and vibrations from above and below the floor!

Federation Square is one of the most awarded projects in the history of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Victoria, and has been critically acclaimed in state, national and international architectural publications.

A SHARED SPACE

Federation Square is also of historical and social significance to Victoria as a tangible expression of Melbourne’s long and deeply held aspiration for a large public square for ceremonial, civic, and recreational purposes in the city.

The first Tanderrum Festival since European Invasion was held in 2013 at Federation Square, bringing together the Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung, Boon Wurrung, Taungurung, Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung language groups of the Eastern Kulin Nation (Tanderrum - Ilbijerri).

“Fed Square has been important in the revival of traditional practices, specifically the Tanderrum [which] had not been practised in Melbourne since 1835.”

– Tom Mosby, Chief Executive, Koorie Heritage Trust, (The Age, Kerrie O'Brien, 20 Oct 2022)

Many pivotal moments for Victorians have occurred at Federation Square and it is valued by communities and cultural groups for a range of cultural and experiential reasons.

You can visit Federation Square today.

If you would like to find out more, you can read about this place in the Victorian Heritage Database.

All non-credited: 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2023 | Hin Lim Photography | Federation Square (H2390)

4. Custodian Interview – Old Melbourne Gaol (H1553)

We interviewed Jade Thompson, Learning Facilitator for the National Trust.

All non-credited: 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2023 | Hin Lim Photography | Old Melbourne Gaol (H1553)

Jade has been delivering public and school programs for the Old Melbourne Gaol and the sailing ship Polly Woodside since 2016.

a) What are your main responsibilities?

"I deliver public and school tours that vary in theme – some general information, some escape stories, some Ned Kelly focused – as well as facilitating Court Room Drama programs in the Former Magistrates Court for students."

b) What is your favourite material aspect of the Gaol?

"Definitely the colours of the cell block. The grey and blue look beautiful on dreary days and it looks stunning next to the modern cityscape.

"The beam of the gallows is also extremely interesting – being the original beam that saw 133 hangings at the Melbourne Gaol and 11 hangings at Pentridge, up until and including Ronald Ryan, the last person to be hanged in Australia in 1967."

c) Do you have a favourite unusual fact about the Old Melbourne Gaol which you discovered by working there?

"A favourite would have to be that thanks to the actions of a woman called Mrs. Melville, they didn't give the hanged bodies back to families and instead buried them at the Gaol. In the 1850s she was trusted with her husband’s body, which she promptly put on display in her oyster shop window in the city. Onlookers saw a beautifully decorated body as well as an angry Mrs Melville who ranted about the authorities and encouraged people to buy her oysters – as you can imagine this was quickly shut down by the police!"

d) How do you think the Gaol’s heritage status and history interacts with its current existence/purpose?

"The thing I like about the Gaol is it tells so much of the story of Melbourne as a city and how life was and evolved over those 70 years or so. It teaches not only of how the city evolved, but of a variety of significant Victorian events that influenced the Gaol, including the gold rush, and of course, Ned Kelly who was hanged in the Gaol in 1880. In particular, with assistance from the Former Courts next door, themes of crime and justice are still a cause of great debate and discussion today."

e) Why do you think the Gaol building is important to protect?

"The cell block that remains is really only a small portion of what used to be a much larger Gaol. It's so unique that we can access this significant building so central to the city, not only for schools, but for tourists hoping to learn about the city's history."

f) If you could personify the Gaol, what 3 words would you use?

"Settled, enduring, and intriguing."

g) What did you know about cultural heritage and its protection before you started working at the Gaol? And what has it taught you?

"I knew a little having worked with heritage-listed buildings and artifacts before, but I am always excited by how alive they can be through the knowledge and stories that surround them. They have many lives over and over as we find new ways to connect with them. Whether from a completely academic perspective of wanting to learn new facts or from a young child engaging in an entertaining story about them."

h) How has your work at this cultural heritage place influenced your life and your outlook?

"I see Melbourne City in a completely new way. Even noticing what buildings are built up high on hills and close to water and for what purposes. I stop and read a lot more plaques I wouldn't have noticed before, and stop and look up when a lot of buildings were built and by who! It's certainly made me more interested in local history."

i) What is some of the common visitor feedback about the Gaol?

"How horrible life must've been back then and that they are surprised this historic building is so close to the city. And that it's haunted."

j) Have you ever had any spooky experiences while working in the Gaol? Do you think it is haunted?

"I have never had any myself, but lots of staff and visitors have! We have some pretty crazy photos that people have shared. I'm still deciding if I think it's haunted, but generally I find the energy quite peaceful."

We would like to thank Jade Thompson for her time and work at the National Trust.

If you would like to find out more, you can read about this place in the Victorian Heritage Database or visit the Old Melbourne Gaol website.

All non-credited: 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2023 | Hin Lim Photography | Old Melbourne Gaol (H1553)

Did you know the Heritage Council has Instagram?

Follow us now!

📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2023 | Hin Lim Photography | Old Melbourne Gaol (H1553)

5. Can you guess what this is?

Can you guess which Victorian Heritage Register place this close-up is of?

Here are some clues:

Painted c. 1953-54.
Acheived iconic status featuring in 1977 Helen Garner novel Monkey Grip.
Historical significance for its associations with the post-war migration program.

Previous edition answer: Princes Bridge (H1447)

All 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2021/2022 | Hin Lim Photography

6. If you missed it...

Sacred Spaces – Rippon Lea

Former Heritage Council of Victoria member Jeff Robinson takes us on a tour of his nominated Sacred Space, Rippon Lea.

The adverse effects of climate change are being widely experienced across Victoria. Heritage places can play a key role in climate adaptation and mitigation. Rippon Lea is one of 10 case studies commissioned by the Heritage Council, exploring how heritage places are responding to climate change.

Case Studies

Event Registrations Open for the 2024 Australian Heritage Festival in Victoria

Registrations are now open for Australia’s biggest community-driven Heritage Festival, presented by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria)!

The 2024 Australian Heritage Festival will run from Thursday 18 April to Saturday 18 May in Victoria.

2024 Theme: Connections
Encouraging celebration of the rich and diverse stories of our nation, strengthening cultural and historical ties and forging new bonds. The 2024 theme acknowledges our link to people, places and the past, and the enduring connections that will shape the future of heritage.

Key Dates

1 February 2024 | Registrations close for inclusion in our Digital Program and Itineraries
1 March 2024 | Festival Program Launch
1 April 2024 | Final Registrations close for inclusion on the Australian Heritage Festival Website

For any questions or enquiries, please contact festival@nattrust.com.au

The 2024 Australian Heritage Festival in Victoria is proudly supported by the Heritage Council of Victoria.

Further information

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.

Heritage Information Pack

📷: Stone Qilin figurine, mid 19th century + Glass medicine bottle, late 19th century, Heritage Victoria Collection

A Golden Opportunity to Understand Victoria’s Chinese History

A new exhibition featuring Chinese artefacts from the archaeological collection held by Heritage Victoria opened on 25 November at Bendigo’s Golden Dragon Museum. Victoria’s Goldfields: Chinese Curiosities from Heritage Victoria, jointly curated by the Golden Dragon Museum and Heritage Victoria.

Tales of a young Chinese herbalist, pioneering fishermen, musical market gardeners and intrepid goldminers reveal the diversity of the lives of Chinese people in Victoria during the nineteenth century. Over 70 artefacts from eight archaeological sites are on display.

The exhibition highlights the importance of Heritage Victoria’s archaeology collection and its ability to shine a light on 19th century communities such as the Chinese diaspora, whose stories are rarely told. It also explores the techniques archaeologists use to bring these untold stories to light.

A public program including specialist speakers and hands-on activities will run alongside the exhibition. The exhibition will be open until November 2024.

Find out more

Children’s Maritime Heritage Festival

Heritage Victoria caters to all ages! On 26 October, artefact curator Annie Muir and maritime archaeologists Danielle Wilkinson and Liam Phillips, provided on-stage entertainment at the inaugural Children’s Maritime Heritage Festival.

Organised by the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network, this medley event coincided with a children’s maritime art exhibit at The District Shipping Centre, Docklands, and the launch of the children’s book “River to Bay – Victoria’s Maritime History” by Carole Wilkins and Prue Pittock.

The afternoon included short presentations from maritime heritage organisations around Victoria including a quiz, sea shanties and films. The Heritage Victoria team explained how shipwrecks are recorded and demonstrated SCUBA dive gear, as well as the sorts of artefacts recovered and how shipwrecks become a home to seagrass, sponges, fish, and the cute but deadly blue-ringed octopus.

📷: Heritage Victoria staff attending the Children’s Maritime Heritage Festival.

The event was tons of fun and Heritage Victoria look forward to being involved in a bigger and better show next year!

Heritage Victoria: Our Teams

Heritage Victoria has been a part of the Department of Transport and Planning since the start of 2023, and they now have a new logo. Look out for it on documents and the website, as the old is phased out and Heritage Victoria transition to the new.

Heritage Victoria also thought it timely to update their website and introduce their teams. If you are wondering who Heritage Victoria are, and what they do, you may wish to check out the new webpage “Our Teams”.

8. Former Council Member Reflections:

Natica Schmeder

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.

Natica Schmeder was both an Alternate and Full National Trust Member for the Heritage Council between 2016 and 2022.

"The work I found most rewarding was the Heritage Council’s many projects and the thrill of being one of up to twenty experts from different disciplines, applying our combined intellectual might to protecting heritage places."

"Over my six years I was able to play an integral role in the development of a number of important projects which intersected with my professional interests."

"As a Member of the Heritage Fabric Specialist Committee, I worked on developing the Mortars Technical Codes for the use of lime mortars, providing detailed guidance on how to formulate mixes, repoint with and properly cure lime mortars. They can form part of works specifications and permit conditions to ensure that our traditional masonry buildings are repaired in an appropriate and sustainable manner.

"Working on At Home with Heritage: A Considered Approach to Renovating your House was also a joy – seeing the multitude of ways architects have sensitively updated dwellings for current use, and seeking to explain the complexities of the planning system in plain English and chart a productive path through it."

"The most consequential project I was part of was The State of Heritage Review: Local Heritage. The Review began in response to strong feedback from the heritage and planning professions that the biggest challenges and need for support and guidance were in this space.

"On the basis of a “stocktake” of the coverage and operation of local heritage identification, protection and management, as well as extensive community consultation, the Review both painted a picture of the present state of play and recommended far-reaching changes as well as smaller projects within the remit of the Heritage Council.

"I was proud to be able to spread the messages and proposals that came out of the Review as a speaker before a number of groups. Since leaving the Council in mid-2022, it has been gratifying to see continued work on these projects, such as the Local Government Heritage Forum, and the release of heritage information packs for municipal councilors and the general public.

"I was also lucky to get a bird’s eye view of many other fascinating projects as a member of the Policy and Practice Committee, which provided high-level project management. One that particularly fascinated and informed me was Heritage in Ruins: an investigation into Melbourne’s ‘buried blocks’. It documented the mid-1800s infill of low-lying areas in the Melbourne CBD, preserving fascinatingly complete streetscapes that are being uncovered today."

Read these resources

9. Upcoming

DECEMBER

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
Polly Woodside Open Day: every first Sunday of the month
Rippon Lea Estate Garden Tours
Como House Guided Tours
Royal Exhibition Building Dome Promenade
Melbourne Town Hall Tours
Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre
Aboriginal Melbourne walk
Flash Forward

IN THE NEW YEAR

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.

Above 📷: HIN LIM AIPP 2023 | Hin Lim Photography | Federation Square (H2390) + Old Melbourne Gaol (H1553)