Wellington Park Management Trust WELLINGTON PARK SOCIAL VALUES AND LANDSCAPE – AN ASSESSMENT Prepared by McConnell, A. March 2012 Wellington Park Management Trust, GPO Box 503, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001. Cover – main photo: Mountain Snow [source WPMT] inset photos: :R - Sleeping Beauty [source WPMT] L - Fred Lakin at Lakins Lair [photo: A. McConnell] Explanatory Note This report has been prepared by the Wellington Park Management Trust as part of a multi-stage assessment of the landscape values of Wellington Park. This assessment focuses on the social values of Wellington Park, in particular those which relate to landscape. The assessment is based on a ‘Community Values Survey’, undertaken in late 2010-early 2011 by means of a short questionnaire that the greater Hobart community generally was encouraged to complete. The geographic scope of the study was the whole of Wellington Park. The aim of this study is to understand to what extent, and in which ways, the community, in particular the Greater Hobart community, value Wellington Park. A core part of the assessment was to assess how the Wellington Park landscape is appreciated in order to contribute to an understanding of the full range of landscape values that are being assessed in the broader Wellington Park Landscape Assessment. Wellington Park has acknowledged important landscape values which have applied since the early days of European settlement of Hobart, yet these have not been previously assessed formally or in detail. The main aim of the overall Wellington Park Landscape Assessment therefore is to provide important landscape values information to assist in managing the Park to meet the objectives of the Wellington Park Management Plan. This report is one of three assessments of the landscape values of Wellington Park that make up the overall ‘Wellington Park Landscape Assessment’. Once completed the three key landscape assessments – this social values assessment, a visual landscape character and quality assessment, and an historical landscape character assessment – will contribute to a single synthetic summary report on the landscape values of Wellington Park. ________________________ DISCLAIMER - This report has not been formally endorsed by the Wellington Park Management Trust, and does not necessarily represent the views of the Wellington Park Management Trust or the individual Park land management agencies. i "Mount Wellington – the Mountain – has meaning for all Tasmanians, and particularly for those who live in its shadows. The Mountain has ever been a reference point, whether viewed from the distance or from its foothills …" "Indifference to Mount Wellington is rare. Its strong stance on the skyline calls for some sort of response". The Mountain – a people's perspective (Stoddart 2004, pp v & 4) _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Wellington Park Social Values & Landscape – An Assessment McConnell, A. (March 2012) A Wellington Park Management Trust Report ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to sincerely thank all those people have assisted in this assessment, not least being those who helped promote the Community Values Survey and the approximately 460 members of the Tasmanian community, primarily the greater Hobart region community, for completing the Survey questionnaire on which this assessment is based. Without this input the assessment would not have been possible. The following individuals and organisations have provided specific assistance which has been of great assistance to the project – The various Council Community Development Officers for getting the questionnaire out into the community, including Sue Biswinkel, Julie Anderson, Robert McCrossin, Melissa Staples, and Julie Alder; Various local community groups for distribution and advertising the Community Values Survey, including the Fern Tree Community Association; various branches of the State Library (LINC) & Service Tasmania for getting the questionnaire out into the community; various stores, post offices and service stations in centres near Wellington Park for also getting the questionnaire out into the community; the print and radio media, in particular The Mercury and ABC radio, for helping make the community aware of the project; various staff of the Hobart City Council for their support for the project; Patrick Badger for his patience with formatting the questionnaire; and Michael Easton, Wellington Park Management Trust, for his support during the project, including for my vision for a greater landscape values assessment, for getting the questionnaire on-line, and for comment on the draft report March 2012 Anne McConnell Cultural Heritage Coordinator Wellington Park Management Trust _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Wellington Park Social Values & Landscape – An Assessment McConnell, A. (March 2012) A Wellington Park Management Trust Report iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background to the Assessment Wellington Park (refer Figure 1) has acknowledged important community held landscape values and other social values, which in some cases borders on, or becomes, a spiritual attachment. The broad range of social values however have not previously been formally assessed, yet given the large number of people living around and within sight of Wellington Park and their use of the Park, this information is critical to the successful long term management of the Park. This is particularly so, given that one of the management goals for the Park is to "retain the essential cultural characteristics of the Park" (WPMP 2005, 14). This assessment was designed to develop an initial broad based understanding of how the community within the greater Hobart region values Wellington Park and areas and places within it, and to document this for management purposes. The results are also designed to feed into the current Wellington Park Landscape Values Assessment Project, hence the assessment has a strong focus on landscape and place-based values. The specific objectives of the present assessment have been to – . determine through a ‘Community Values Survey’ utilising a simple open ended questionnaire (and possibly a second, later, more detailed questionnaire if considered warranted) how the greater Hobart region community value Wellington Park; . investigate how the community values the Wellington Park landscape to provide social values information for the Wellington Park Landscape Assessment project; . examine the implications of this community valuing for the management of Wellington Park; and . review the proposed future stages of the broader Wellington Park Community Values project in the light of the findings from this project. The assessment of social values has been based on a ‘community values survey’. The survey took the form of a simple questionnaire with a small number of open ended questions and bio- statistical questions. To encourage a large number of responses from throughout the greater Hobart area, the questionnaire was available on-line on the WPMT website and in downloadable form from the website, and hard copies were distributed to a number of public places in the region (eg, Council offices, State Library branches and rural area stores). This distribution was supported by advertising in local newspapers, on radio, and through various local government community forums (eg, organisation newsletters). The questionnaire was available from the end of September 2010 to the end of June 2011. The questionnaire and project advertising was also designed to encourage those with no particular interest in Wellington Park to respond to the survey to identify what proportion of the community do not particularly value Wellington Park. The Landscape & Social Values – The Questionnaire Results In total 458 responses were received. This is considered to be a good response for the type of survey it is and an adequate sample for analysis. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Wellington Park Social Values & Landscape – An Assessment McConnell, A. (March 2012) A Wellington Park Management Trust Report iv The responses come mainly from the greater Hobart region, but also from southern Tasmania more broadly, and there are a small number of responses from other parts of Tasmania, interstate an overseas. The assessment is therefore seen to have good geographic representation. There is also a good balance of representation on the basis of gender and age, except for the 0- 20 year old range which is very poorly represented. The results, based on semi-quantitative analysis, indicate that – The whole of the Park is valued for a range of reasons, but the strong focus of valuing is Mount Wellington. The social values of the Park are very diverse and cover a number of individual values across the categories of ‘landscape value’, ‘aesthetic value’, ‘sense of place value’, ‘personal meaning and association’, ‘personal function’, ‘community function’, ‘scientific value’ and ‘historical value’. Overall, the landscape and place values are valued more highly than personal meaning and association and function, or community function. Although not considered to be a comprehensive list, a number of places and features within the Park were identified as being of special social value. The most highly valued natural place is the summit of Mount Wellington, but the Springs, the Organ Pipes, Sphinx Rock, the Pipeline Track and the Zig Zag Track are also