Statement of recommendation from the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria to the Heritage Council of Victoria Name: Glenrowan Heritage Precinct Address: Siege Street, Glenrowan Local Government Authority: Wangaratta Rural City The site of the former Stationmaster’s House (1873) in the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct (2021) Executive Director recommendation I recommend to the Heritage Council of Victoria that the existing registration of VHR H2000, the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct, Siege Street, Glenrowan in the Victorian Heritage Register (‘VHR’) be amended under section 62 of the Heritage Act 2017 (‘the Act’). STEVEN AVERY Executive Director, Heritage Victoria DATE OF RECOMMENDATION: Monday 19 July 2021 OFFICIAL Statement of recommendation from the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria to the Heritage Council of Victoria Executive Director Recommendation to the Heritage Council of Victoria The Executive Director, Heritage Victoria (‘Executive Director’) recommends that the Heritage Council amends the existing registration of VHR H2000, the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct, Siege Street, Glenrowan in the VHR by: • Updating the Statement of Significance into the current format. • Adding additional land. • Determining categories of works or activities which may be carried out in relation to the place for which a permit is not required (permit exemptions). The process from here 1. The Heritage Council publishes the Executive Director’s recommendation (section 41). The Heritage Council will publish the Executive Director’s recommendation on its website for a period of 60 days. Submissions must be received by Heritage Council on or before Tuesday 21 September 2021. 2. Making a submission to the Heritage Council (sections 44 and 45) Within the 60-day publication period, any person or body with a real and substantial interest in the place or object can make a submission to the Heritage Council. This submission can support the recommendation, or object to the recommendation and a hearing can be requested in relation to the submission. Information about making a submission and submission forms are available on the Heritage Council’s website: https://heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/registrations-reviews/executive-director-recommendations/ 3. Heritage Council determination (sections 46 and 49) The Heritage Council is an independent statutory body. It is responsible for making the final determination to include or not include the place or object in the VHR, or amend a place or object already in the VHR. If no submissions are received the Heritage Council must make a determination within 40 days of the publication closing date. If submissions are received, the Heritage Council may decide to hold a hearing in relation to the submission. If a hearing does take place, the Heritage Council must make a determination within 90 days after the completion of the hearing. 4. Obligations of owners of places and objects (sections 42 and 43) The owner of a place or object which is the subject of a recommendation to the Heritage Council has certain obligations under the Act. These relate to advising the Executive Director in writing of any works or activities that are being carried out, proposed or planned for the place. The owner also has an obligation to provide a copy of this statement of recommendation to any potential purchasers of the place or object before entering into a contract. 5. Further information The relevant sections of the Act are provided at Appendix 1. Glenrowan Heritage Precinct 2 VHR number: VHR H2000 Hermes No: 4073 Statement of recommendation from the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria to the Heritage Council of Victoria Reasons for registration on 28 November 2002 The State level cultural heritage significance of the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct was recognised on 28 November 2002 by its inclusion in the VHR (VHR H2000). The Precinct was identified as being of historical significance at the State Level for its association with the notorious siege which lead to the capture of Ned Kelly and the deaths of his other gang members Joe Byrne, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart in June 1880, and for its archaeological significance for its potential to reveal artefacts from the siege event. Amendment application made on 22 June 2021 On 22 June 2021 the Executive Director made and accepted an application to amend the registration of the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct (VHR H2000) by adding land and permit exemptions. The following two additional parcels of land were proposed for inclusion within the extent of registration: • Former Stationmaster’s House, western land parcel (approximately 7,485m2) adjoining the existing VHR extent. • Location of the failed train derailment, eastern land parcel (approximately 6,690m2) about 625m east of the VHR extent. Amendment recommendation reasons The Executive Director recommends that the Heritage Council amend this registration as per section 62 of the Act because in accordance with section 32(1) of the Act as it is considered that: a) the State-level cultural heritage significance of the place would be substantially less if the land or any part of the land which is or has been used in conjunction with the place were developed; or b) land surrounding the place is important to the protection or conservation of the place or contributes to the understanding of the place. Reasons under s49(1)(d)(i) The Glenrowan Heritage Precinct is of historic and archaeological significance for its association with the siege leading to the capture of Ned Kelly and the deaths of his other gang members Joe Byrne, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart in June 1880. It is the Executive Director’s view that the additional land recommended for inclusion within the extent of registration, comprising the former Stationmaster’s House (western land parcel) and the train derailment site (eastern land parcel), are key locations where events took place before, during and after the siege event, and as such, contribute directly to an understanding of the cultural heritage significance of the place. If these land parcels were to be developed, the contribution of these sites to an understanding of the siege event could be severed which would result in harm to the cultural heritage significance of the place more broadly. More specifically, subsurface works to the western parcel could result in harm to the archaeological intactness of the place, and works to remove the historic marker or to alter the railway line or surrounding landscape in the eastern parcel, could substantially undermine the State-level cultural heritage significance of the place. Reasons under s49(1)(d)(ii) The Western land parcel contains the site of the former Stationmaster’s House (John Stanistreet’s house of 1873) which contributes to an understanding of the place as a key location of events that took place before, during and after the siege at Glenrowan. The parcel also contains an area of Beaconsfield Parade and road reserve because of its archaeological intactness and potential to contain ballistics from the siege. The Kelly Gang used the Stationmaster’s House to detain Thomas Curnow and his family, and other hostages during the siege. The police train which arrived from the western side of the town (not the east as the Kelly Gang had expected) stopped near the house after being flagged down by Curnow, and it was at the house that Superintendent Hare’s men were informed that the gang was holding captives at the inn. Glenrowan Heritage Precinct 3 VHR number: VHR H2000 Hermes No: 4073 Statement of recommendation from the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria to the Heritage Council of Victoria The Eastern land parcel contributes to an understanding of the place as it contains the historic marker (erected c.1883) indicating the location of the site of the Kelly Gang’s failed train derailment plan. Here Ned Kelly and Steve Hart ordered two rail maintenance workers to tear up a portion of the railway track, in order to derail and ambush a police train and attack its occupants at a steep embankment on the railway line. The police train took longer than anticipated to arrive, resulting in the gang taking many captives in the town. Eventually, in the early hours of 28 June 1880, the police were warned of the gang's presence by Thomas Curnow and surrounded the Glenrowan Inn. After a fierce night-time gun battle which resulted in the wounding and capture of Ned Kelly early after daybreak, the police set fire to the Inn in the afternoon and burnt it to the ground sealing the fate of the other outlaws inside. Additional land proposed for inclusion In the aerial photograph below, the existing registration is shown in yellow and the additional land proposed for inclusion is shown in orange. The additional land comprises: • Western land parcel: part of the land contained within rail reserve and Crown land to the East. • Eastern land parcel: part of the land contained within an area bound by Church Street to the north, Burns Street and Ned Street to the east, Hill Street to the south and the rail reserve and Beaconsfield Parade road reserve to the West. Glenrowan Heritage Precinct 4 VHR number: VHR H2000 Hermes No: 4073 Statement of recommendation from the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria to the Heritage Council of Victoria Rationale for amendment of Criteria The current registration established that this place meets Criterion A and Criterion C at the State-level. The Executive Director recommends that the place also meets Criterion G and Criterion H at the State level for the following reasons. Criterion G: Strong or special association with a particular present-day community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons The Kelly Gang siege was highly publicised in its day, and area now known as the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct became a tourist attraction in late nineteenth-century Victoria. The events of June 1880 represented one of most well documented moments in the state’s history, inspiring numerous works in the arts and popular culture.