ATTACHMENT A DESKTOP ASSESSMENT FOR A HISTORIC HERITAGE ASSESSMENT (HV NO. 4354) BULGANA WIND FARM DESKTOP ASSESSMENT FOR A HISTORIC HERITAGE ASSESSMENT (HV No. 4354) Sponsored by Bulgana Wind Farm Pty Ltd 1 September 2014 Prepared by Cultural Heritage Advisors Andrea Murphy & Dr Tom Rymer with contributions by Karen Kapteinis and Louise Blake rchaeology t TARDIS cultural heritage advisors PO Box 776 Beaconseld, VIC 3807 www.aatardis.com.au HISTORIC HERITAGE ASSESSMENT - DESKTOP ASSESSMENT HV No. 4354 ASSESSMENT HV No. ASSESSMENT - DESKTOP HERITAGE HISTORIC BULGANA WIND FARM DESKTOP ASSESSMENT FOR A HISTORIC HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Sponsor: Bulgana Wind Farm Pty Ltd (ABN 29 162 201 569) Heritage Advisors: Andrea Murphy & Dr Tom Rymer (Archaeology At Tardis Pty Ltd) Authors: Andrea Murphy & Dr Tom Rymer with contributions by Karen Kapteinis (Archaeology At Tardis Pty Ltd) and Louise Blake (Blake Hyland Group Pty Ltd) Heritage Victoria Project Number 4354 Completed: 1 September 2014 The intellectual property within this report and the primary research material therein are the property of Archaeology At Tardis Pty Ltd and may NOT be used, reproduced or distributed in any way without prior written consent of Archaeology At Tardis Pty Ltd Any advice and / or opinions offered within this report by Archaeology At Tardis Pty Ltd does not constitute legal advice or represent those of any third party. The report remains the property of the Sponsor. It may NOT be used, reproduced or distributed in any way without written consent from the Sponsor. i ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This desktop assessment for a historic heritage assessment (HHA) was prepared in order to identify, assess and manage historic heritage, if present, at the Bulgana Wind Farm (hereafter referred to as the Activity Area) in compliance with the Heritage Act 1995 and the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (MapMap 11). Bulgana Wind Farm Pty Ltd commissioned this HHA. All historic archaeological sites are protected under the Heritage Act 1995 and extant historic places may require consideration for inclusion on the Northern Grampians Shire Planning Scheme Heritage Overlay under the Planning and Environment Act 1987. This assessment addresses both historic extant and archaeological sites in accordance with statutory requirements. The site of the proposed Bulgana Wind farm covers approximately 7,524 hectares of private and public land located within the Bulgana, Joel Joel, South Joel, Congongella and Great Western districts, in central western Victoria. It lies approximately 11.7 kilometres north of Ararat, at its southern extent, and 11.2 kilometres east of Stawell, at its north-west extent. Great Western is the nearest significant sized settlement approximately two kilometres to the south-west of the site. The proposed Bulgana Wind Farm comprises a maximum of 67 wind turbines and associated permanent and temporary infrastructure. Permanent infrastructure will include: • Approximately 53 km of site access tracks, • Creation and improvement of up to 9 access points from public roads, • Permanent anemometry masts, • Approximately 47 km of underground cabling, • Approximately 11.4 km of overhead wires, • A collector substation and connection of underground cables to overhead line, • A terminal substation and connection to the existing SP Ausnet 220kV high voltage transmission line located at the northern end of the site. Temporary infrastructure will include construction compounds, turbine component lay down areas, and a concrete batching plant/s. The need for and location of borrow pits and dams for use during construction and for fire fighting purposes are also being considered. It is the intention of the proponent to only seek consent for these items after planning permit approval is given for the wind farm, at which stage more detailed geotechnical assessments and construction planning will be undertaken. The following individuals and organisations were consulted during this assessment: • Australian Heritage Database (AHD accessed 11 July 2013) • Victorian Heritage Database (VHD accessed 11 July 2013) • Northern Grampians Shire Planning Scheme Heritage Overlay (NGSPS accessed 11 July 2013) • Northern Grampians Shire Planning Department (phone 14.8.2014) • Stawell Historical Society (email 14.8.2014) iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DESKTOP ASSESSMENT (SECTION 2) The desktop assessment reviewed the geology, landform and climate (Section 2.1.1); vegetation and fauna (Section 2.1.2), historical background (Section 2.2); existing site registrations, reports and published works (Section 2.3.1); heritage registers (Section 2.3.2). The relevant evidence is used to produce a site prediction model for the Activity Area (Section 2.3.3). The model predicted the most likely place-types in the Activity Area (see Table 4) and the areas in which they may occur (Map 4). Desktop Assessment Historic Heritage Sensitivity Model (Table 4) Period Places & Location Sensitivity Pastoral Era Homesteads, staff quarters & outbuildings Likely th (mid 19 century) Shepherds huts & stockyards Likely Early Selection & Freehold Houses & sheds (close to roads), farming Likely (mid to late 19th century infrastructure (entire study area) Closer Settlement Houses & sheds (close to roads), farming Likely (late 19th century to 1950s) infrastructure (entire study area) The desktop assessment has demonstrated that: 1. There are no registered historic places within the Activity Area. 2. The Activity Area has not been subject to previous ground surface survey. 3. It is reasonably possible that historic heritage places are present in the Activity Area. 4. There is potential for the project to impact unknown historic heritage places. 5. The most likely site types for the Activity Area are structural features and archaeological deposits associated with pastoral occupation dating from the mid 1800s (rare) to later land sales post 1880s (common). LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS (SECTION 3) The legislative requirements for historic heritage at the local, state and federal government levels were presented. MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS (SECTION 4) Recommendation 1 Survey to be Conducted A survey should be conducted to identify and record, if present, any historic heritage that is likely to be impacted by the wind farm. The survey should be conducted by a suitably qualified archaeologist. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Principle Reason for the Work 1 1.2 Name of the Commissioning Agency 1 1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study 1 1.4 Individuals and Organisations Undertaking the Study 1 1.5 Individuals and Organisations Consulted during the Study 1 1.6 Date and Location of the Survey 1 1.7 Location of the Activity Area 2 1.8 Description of the Activity Area 2 1.9 Owners and Occupiers 2 1.10 Project Description 3 2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION – DESKTOP ASSESSMENT 6 2.1 Environmental Background 6 2.1.1 Geology, Landform & Climate 6 2.1.2 Vegetation and Fauna 9 2.2 Historical Background 9 2.3 Archaeological Background 24 2.3.1 Previous Archaeological and Heritage Studies 24 2.3.2 Heritage Registers 25 2.3.3 Site Prediction Model 26 2.4 Conclusions 27 4 LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS 29 5 MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 32 APPENDICES 1 HV Notice, Cadastre & Landowners 33 2 Glossary 36 3 Summary CVs 38 REFERENCES 41 TABLES IN TEXT 1 Registered Historic Places within 1.5km of the Activity Area 26 2 Desktop Assessment Historic Heritage Sensitivity Model 26 MAPS IN TEXT 1 Activity Area Location 4 2 Activity Area Concept Plan 5 3 Activity Area Geology 8 4 Predicted Areas of Historic Cultural Heritage Sensitivity 28 v FIGURES IN TEXT 1 Squatting Runs 12 2 Runs on the Wimmera River & Its Tributaries 13 3 Allanvale Run 14 4 Allanvale Pre-Emptive Right 15 5 Concongella Run 16 6 Six Mile Creek Run 17 7 Parish of Watta Wella 20 8 Parish of Joel Joel 21 9 Parish of Concongella 22 10 Parish of Bulgana 23 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Archaeology At Tardis Pty Ltd would like to thank the following people for their assistance: Alastair Smith, Rhiannon Olle, Patrick Wallace – Wind Prospect Pty Ltd Brett Thomas – SABBLE All landowners Maddison Miller – Heritage Victoria ABBREVIATIONS AAT Archaeology at Tardis Pty Ltd AHD Australian Heritage Database asl Meters Above Sea Level BP Years Before Present (1950) dGPS Differential Global Positioning System DTPLI Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure DSE Department of Sustainability and Environment HV Heritage Victoria Ka Thousand years ago LGM Last Glacial Maximum LV Land Victoria Ma Million years ago PGC Primary Grid Coordinate SLV State Library of Victoria VHD Victorian Heritage Database VHI Victorian Heritage Inventory VHR Victorian Heritage Register *Throughout this report several technical terms are used that may not be familiar to some readers. A glossary has been included as Appendix 2 and should be referenced for an explanation of terms. © Copyright – This report is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Archaeology At Tardis Pty Ltd Project No 2008.100. vi Bulgana Wind Farm – Desktop Assessment HHA HV No. 4354 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Principle Reason for the Work This desktop assessment for a historic heritage assessment (HHA) was prepared in order to identify, assess and manage historic heritage, if present, at Bulgana Wind Farm (hereafter referred to as the Activity Area) in compliance with the Heritage Act 1995 and the Planning and Environment