Dear Kristina
Keneally,
Re: The blacksmithing workshop at
Eveleigh.
Thank- you for you letter 27 August in
reply to my correspondence.
You may have heard that following a media
campaign, along with the support of the community, and ex-Eveleigh workers, we
still have tenure. Whilst we want to put
the stress and disruption of the eviction behind us and get on with things I
feel it is important to clarify some points in your letter.
In the three years the Redfern Waterloo
Authority have been the managers of the Australian Technology Park all
correspondence for assistance or approvals for maintenance in the Blacksmiths Shop from us were completely ignored. As were invitations to view our operation and
to open discussions with the management as to its aspirations of the
Blacksmiths Shop integration into
the Park. Approval for a dangerous floor
problem was hindered with bureaucratic obstacles. There was no interest, encouragement or
participation from the management for the ‘active heritage workshop’. There was
no assurances that ‘the heritage of the
blacksmithing bays will be preserved’. The track record for the conservation of
the site’s heritage machinery and assemblages by past and present Authorities
has not been great.
Wrought Artworks was never offered a
lease. We were only ever given an eviction notice. In spite of what you were
advised, ATP never ‘attempted to work with us on several occasions to come to a
commercial agreement for our ongoing tenancy’.
The first indication of an offer of a license was given to the ABC
–Stateline program by Robert Domm some 4 months after the eviction. This change
of heart was possibly due to public pressure.
Initial heritage concepts for the
self-funding heritage blacksmithing shop had never been that it was to be
economically viable for the Government. It was never communicated to us that
the Government wished to change to a commercial arrangement and did not wish to
continue with our self-funding custodianship. Although we had been threatened
with ‘legal action’ for fixing the holes in the floor, the eviction came as a
shock. At the time we were ‘chugging’ along in the same way we have for 17
years, with the ongoing work to make a 1880s workshop operational, safe and
function able, training apprentices, and concentrating on heritage restoration
projects around Sydney. For fifteen of those years the business ran at a loss.
We were not given a reason for the sudden eviction.
We are extremely relieved the lines of
communication are now open with the Management and Authority an of the site,
that the eventuality didn’t arise where by someone else could step into our
years of work and goodwill, that the apprentices didn’t have to be laid off,
and ourselves be without a livelihood.
We are concerned non-the less that The
Heads of Agreement we signed under the duress of the Eviction has onerous
rental increases of 5% per annum and a 20 % capped rise every 4 years. The workshop
operating in perpetuity could very well be compromised by such a high rental in
years to come.
It is important that the Australian
Technology Park, the current Government Authority, the ‘blacksmiths’, the 3801
volunteers, (working from the Large Erecting Shop
breathing life back into abandoned Engines and carriages), and the former
Eveleigh workers can work together. To make the site more widely known for its
historical relevance, as well as a showcase for the preservation of the skills
from our industrial past. For the benefit and enjoyment of the wider public.
We hope at some time in the future to have
the opportunity to give you a tour and explanation of the heritage machinery
and assemblages on this important remnant of Australia’s once magnificent
industrial railway past.
Yours truly,
Wendie McCaffley
WROUGHT ARTWORKS
This letter is in reply to: Kristina Keneally letter to Wrought Artworks – 27 August 2008