Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage IIC 2017
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GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY STAGE IIC Prepared for Greater Shepparton City Council By Heritage Concepts Pty Ltd June 2017 GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY (Stage IIC) 2017 Project Team Deborah Kemp, Heritage Concepts Pty Ltd Greater Shepparton Heritage Advisory Committee Local heritage makes the greatest contribution to forming our living historic environment, more so than the small number of outstanding items of state, national or world significance. Greater than the sum of its parts, the varied collection of local heritage in an area enriches its character and gives identity to a neighbourhood, region or town in a way that cannot be reproduced. Local heritage is often what makes an area distinctive in the long–term, even if the heritage features were once in a neglected state or considered unremarkable… (Heritage Council of NSW, Levels of Heritage Significance, 2008) 1 GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY (Stage IIC) 2017 CONTENTS Acknowledgements Executive Statement 3 1.0 Introduction 5 2.0 Purpose 6 3.0 Selection Process 8 4.0 Methodology 9 5.0 Thresholds of Significance 10 5.1 Thematic Environmental History 12 5.2 Other factors to be considered when assessing significance 12 6.0 The Statement of Significance 13 7.0 Recommendations 13 8.0 List of Places 18 APPENDIX A HERCON model criteria 31 APPENDIX B HERMES citations 34 2 GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY (Stage IIC) 2017 Executive Statement This report describes the key tasks and the methodology for the Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage IIC and the conclusions and recommendations that have arisen from its completion. The purpose of this Study is to document places of post contact cultural heritage significance to the City of Greater Shepparton and to make recommendations for their conservation. The places that have been targeted are those that best represent the rich and diverse rural history of the City of Greater Shepparton. These places contribute to the individuality and streetscape, townscape, landscape or character of the area and are irreplaceable parts of its environmental heritage. Collectively, such places reflect the socio-economic and cultural history of the municipality. Places of local cultural heritage significance also form an integral part of the State’s environmental heritage. The documentation for each place is recorded in HERMES (Heritage Management Electronic System) database. This database is owned by Heritage Victoria and all heritage studies are required to be entered into it. The proposed places provide tangible physical evidence of the evolution of the municipality. All of the places represent at least one historic theme as identified in the City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage 2 February 2004, Thematic Environmental History Volume 2 (Thematic Environmental History). Of particular note is the process for the identification of many of the places listed within this Study. The Greater Shepparton Heritage Advisory Committee has representatives from a wide range of geographical areas within the municipality. Many are representatives of local historical societies. They provided as a group an invaluable contribution to the Study. They have identified and provided historical material for a large proportion of the places within this Study. Their enthusiasm and commitment is remarkable when one considers that they are volunteers with busy lives. Many of these places have been further researched by Anne Tyson with some assistance from the author of this report. Where the proposed places have met the thresholds for local significance they have been included in this Study. 3 GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY (Stage IIC) 2017 The Study is in two volumes: Volume 1 • Supporting background • List of all places of Individual Significance • Conclusions • Recommendations Volume Two • The Heritage Citations as recorded on the HERMES Database. The citations include place type, significance, architectural style, integrity and historical context, sources of information, and a Statement of Significance. Images will be attached to the citations after all the site visits have been undertaken. 4 GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY (Stage IIC) 2017 1.0 Introduction The Thematic Environmental History was prepared in 2004 to inform all future heritage studies. The Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage IIC builds on two completed Heritage Studies: • The Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage I (2001) and Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage II (2004). These Studies identified a sample of places of cultural heritage significance in Shepparton and rural areas. The recommendations of these Studies were the subject of Amendments C49 and C50, and approximately 200 places were introduced into the Greater Shepparton Planning Scheme. • Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage IIB (2013). This Study built on the previous study with an emphasis on the City of Shepparton and the township of Tatura. This Study was the subject of Amendment C110 and approximately 250 places were introduced into the Greater Shepparton Planning Scheme. It was clear that there were many other places of significance that had not been identified. For instance, places in the rural environment and townships such as Arcadia, Caniambo, Cosgrove, Mooroopna, Katandra West, Tallygaroopna and Undera had not been sufficiently investigated. The Greater Shepparton Heritage Advisory Committee (HAC) recognised this and as part of their Heritage Strategy identified that this was a priority project. However, it was also noted that to employ suitably qualified consultants to undertake this task would require considerable financial commitment from Council. The HAC undertook to provide support for this project. The HAC advised Council on elements of the brief for this study. The primary aim was to survey the City of Greater Shepparton for places of cultural heritage significance with a particular emphasis on rural places. This could include homesteads, farmhouses, outbuildings, fences, irrigation infrastructure, industrial sites, archaeological sites, settlements, moveable objects and places of shared Aboriginal and post settlement cultural heritage significance. The work that was undertaken by the HAC is what is traditionally recognised as the initial stage in the preparation of this Heritage Study. That is, armed with the Thematic Environmental History and local knowledge of historical places the members of the HAC 5 GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY (Stage IIC) 2017 provided Council with a list of places and a range of historical materials. It is this information that has provided the basis for the Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage IIC. The survey area is large, being a total of 242,136 square kilometres, and it is diverse both geographically and in terms of settlement patterns. In excess of 200 places were identified and 182 including 5 precincts were brought forward to form the Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage IIC. 2.0 Purpose The purpose of this Study is to document places of post contact cultural heritage significance to the City of Greater Shepparton and to make recommendations for their conservation. The documentation for each place is recorded as a citation in the HERMES (Heritage Management Electronic System) database. This database is owned by Heritage Victoria and all heritage studies are required to be entered into it. These citations will be used to inform a new planning scheme amendment for the application of the Heritage Overlay within the Greater Shepparton Planning Scheme. Greater Shepparton City Council is the Planning Authority for its administrative area. Section 12 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (‘the Act’) sets out the duties and powers of Council as the Planning Authority. Importantly at Section 12(1)(a) the Act states that a planning authority must implement the objectives of planning in Victoria. The Act at Section 4(1) sets out the objectives of Planning in Victoria and these include: • Section 4(1)(d) – To conserve and enhance those buildings, areas or other places which are of scientific, aesthetic, architectural or historical interest, or otherwise of special cultural value; and • Section 4(1)(e) – To balance the present and future interests of all Victorians. This part of the Act establishes the important principle of the role of the Planning Authority to balance present and future needs in all decisions. Often planning decisions, such as where to apply the Heritage Overlay, may not be popular with present communities but are taken with a view to balancing future interests of that community. When considering the objective of balancing present and future interests it must be noted that heritage places are important for enriching our lives and our communities. Buildings, areas, 6 GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY (Stage IIC) 2017 landscapes and other places of heritage value provide a window to the past and to the origins of our communities. Heritage places also add character and interest to our towns and countryside. It is important to retain physical evidence of changing cultural practices as they tell us about where we came from and over time how we have changed. In particular the City of Greater Shepparton’s rural landscapes have much to tell us about the sacrifices and hardships endured by settlers during the 19th century. They often demonstrate unique technologies that were developed in response to the harshness and isolation of settlement areas. Aboriginal cultural heritage is generally covered by the Aboriginal Heritage Act (2006) but