Kilmore-Wallan Bypass Cultural Heritage
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KILMORE‐WALLAN BYPASS CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN: DESKTOP AND STANDARD ASSESSMENT (DRAFT) CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN NUMBER: 11988 Sponsor: VicRoads (ABN 61 760 960 480) Cultural Heritage Advisors: Dr Shaun Canning and Chris Kaskadanis Australian Cultural Heritage Management Authors: Chris Kaskadanis, Vicki Vaskos, Fiona Schultz and Laura Donati Australian Cultural Heritage Management Activity Size: Large Assessment Type: Standard Sponsor: VicRoads Sponsor Contact: Mal Kersting Address: 53‐61 Lansell Street, Bendigo 3550 Plan Date: 23 May 2014 i | Page Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass CHMP 11988: Desktop and Standard Cultural Heritage Management Plan KILOMRE‐WALLAN BYPASS: CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN – DESKTOP AND STANDARD ASSESSMENT (DRAFT) CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN NUMBER: 11988 Activity Size: Large Assessment: Standard Assessment Sponsor: VicRoads (ABN 61 760 960 480) Cultural Heritage Advisors: Dr Shaun Canning and Chris Kaskadanis Authors: Chris Kaskadanis, Vicki Vaskos, Fiona Schultz and Laura Donati Sponsor Contact: Mal Kersting Address: 53‐61 Lansell Street, Bendigo 3550 Plan Date: 23 May 2014 ii | Page Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass CHMP 11988: Desktop and Standard Cultural Heritage Management Plan Abbreviations Term Meaning AAV Aboriginal Affairs Victoria, Department of Planning and Community Development ACHM Australian Cultural Heritage Management (Victoria) Pty Ltd Activity Area Investigation area, all five options combined ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution AHA 2006 Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 AHR 2007 Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2007 APD Authorised Project Delegate APM Activity Project Manager ASTT Australian Small Tool Tradition BP Before Present CHA Cultural Heritage Assessment CHM Cultural Heritage Management CHMP Cultural Heritage Management Plan CHVR Cultural Heritage Values Recording HV Heritage Victoria In Situ In archaeology, in situ refers to an artefact or an item of material culture that has not been moved from its original place of use, construction or deposition Isolated 4 or less artefacts within a 10 metre by 10 metre area; recorded as a single co‐ordinate artefact KWB Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass LGA Local Government Area Newly Site recorded as part of the Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass Examination (both Phase 1 and 2) recorded site NOI Notice of Intent (to prepare a Management Plan) Previously Site located as part of previous unrelated fieldwork Recorded Site Site Artefact scatter of 5 or more artefacts within a 10 metre by 10 metre area; polygon around the site Taungurung Taungurung Clans Aboriginal Corporation RAP Registered Aboriginal Party VAHR Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register VCAT Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal VicRoads Roads Corporation Wurundjeri Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council Inc. iii | Page Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass CHMP 11988: Desktop and Standard Cultural Heritage Management Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Desktop and Standard Assessment has been prepared to inform a Mandatory Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) for the Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass project. The Sponsor of this CHMP is VicRoads (ABN: 61 760 960 480). Nature and Extent of the Proposed Activity Original Investigation Area The Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass will link the Northern Highway from the north of Kilmore with the Hume Freeway to the east of Kilmore. The project will construct a single two lane carriageway highway bypass of Kilmore and Wallan. The key construction activities would involve civil works and a variety of structural works that include; large culverts, creek crossings, rail crossing, pedestrian underpasses and major interchanges. Other construction activities would include clearing of vegetation, general earthworks (including topsoil stripping, excavation, filling and topsoil spreading), relocation of utility services, drainage installation, landscaping, lighting and signage. Significant earthworks are required on all options (including excavation) as a result of very hilly terrain throughout the area. The Activity Area comprises of five (5) bypass options, which are located in the towns of Kilmore and Kilmore East. The five options that are the subject of the Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass (KWB) investigations are the: Eastern options: 1. Sunday Creek Road; 2. Dry Creek; 3. O’Gradys Road; and 4. Quinns Road. Western Option: 5. Encompassing Paynes Road and Kings Lane. The corridors for investigation purposes cover approximately 928 ha. The functional design for the road and bridge works shows a development footprint for the ultimate duplicated facility as listed below for each Option: ∙ Dry Creek – 165 ha ∙ Quinns Road – 173 ha ∙ O'Gradys Road – 166 ha ∙ Western – 197 ha ∙ Sunday Creek – 149 ha Route Length: The length of each option is as follows: ∙ Dry Creek – 11.2 km ∙ Quinns Road – 12.7 km ∙ O'Gradys Road – 12.3 km ∙ Western – 17.1 km ∙ Sunday Creek – 11 km The Activity Area, which lies approximately 60km north of Melbourne, encompasses a roughly rectangular area of land between Wandong and Broadford. The findings of the analysis were provided to VicRoads in November 2012. iv | Page Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass CHMP 11988: Desktop and Standard Cultural Heritage Management Plan Revised Activity Area Following consideration of this report and other specialist studies, the Sunday Creek and O’Gradys Road options were excluded from further consideration as they either did not significantly reduce traffic volumes within Kilmore and Wallan or had significant impact on high quality native vegetation. In 2011, VicRoads commenced detailed planning investigations for a Northern Highway bypass of Kilmore and Wallan. The detailed planning investigations, started in 2012, considered five bypass options; the Sunday Creek Road, O’Gradys Road, Dry Creek, Quinns Road and Western Options. ACHM was engaged by VicRoads to undertake a cultural heritage assessment in the way of a Desktop and Standard Assessment of all five options. During the course of the investigation, and following a review of those findings by VicRoads, it was determined that the Sunday Creek Road and O’Gradys Road Options would not be considered in the planning assessment and approval process for a bypass of Kilmore and Wallan. In reaching the decision on which of the five options should be taken forward, the ability of the remaining options to effectively reduce the amount of truck and general traffic in the town centres of Kilmore and Wallan was one of the key considerations. Please note that the current Standard Assessment (Section 5.2) summarises all Aboriginal Places (previously registered or newly recorded sites) within the Activity Area for all five options, taking into the shortlisted Options: Dry Creek, Quinns Road and Western Options. The Final CHMP will consider all previous options but will only assess and provide management recommendations for all Aboriginal cultural heritage within the selected bypass option only. In April 2013, the Minister for Planning determined that an Environment Effect Statement (EES) under the Environment Effects Act 1999 would need to be prepared for the three remaining options being Quinns Road, Western and Dry Creek Options. The Scoping Requirements for the EES include the following objective relative to this report: Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Draft evaluation objective ‐ To avoid or minimise adverse effects on Aboriginal cultural heritage values. Key issues The potential for adverse effects on Aboriginal cultural heritage. Priorities for characterising the existing environment Identify and characterise Aboriginal cultural heritage sites and areas of sensitivity within the areas of relevant alternatives, in particular in the vicinity of waterways and other areas identified through site prediction modelling. If a CHMP is prepared in conjunction with the EES, it is to incorporate an assessment that complies with the definition of a desktop and Standard Assessment within the meaning of the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2007. Design and mitigation measures Potential design and other measures to avoid effects on any Aboriginal cultural heritage for relevant alternatives. Assessment of likely effects Identify the potential effects on Aboriginal cultural heritage resulting from the project for relevant alternatives. Approach to manage performance Provide at least an outline of any CHMP that may be prepared for the project in accordance with the AH Act. v | Page Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass CHMP 11988: Desktop and Standard Cultural Heritage Management Plan Reason for the Preparation of this Cultural Heritage Management Plan A Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) is required under s.47 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act (2006) if any high impact activity is planned in an identified area of cultural heritage sensitivity that has not been subject to significant ground disturbance, as defined in the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations (2007). This CHMP is required because the proposed activity, the construction of the Kilmore‐Wallan Bypass (KWB), triggers a CHMP. Specifically, parts of the Activity Area are within areas of cultural heritage sensitivity, as sections of the Activity Area intersect with or lie within 200m of Dry Creek, Nanny Creek, Broadhurst Creek and Kilmore Creek [r.23 (1) ‐ Waterways]. The proposed bypass construction is a high impact activity. Each of the five proposed bypass options exceeds a length of 100m and their construction would result in significant ground disturbance [r.44 (1) (e) – Constructing specified items of infrastructure]. It should also be noted that pursuant to