Following initial problems with the
ATP management the Day went off with out any problems and included musical
entertainment which had been earlier banned by ATP management.
Many former workers took the
opportunity to return to the site and took the opportunity to look around the
former Eveleigh railyards and reminisce with former workers. One visitor who
made the trip alone to see the Blacksmiths Shop was 97 years
old.
Organisers were delighted with the
turnout and the level of support shown for maintaining operational heritage as
part of the site.
At yesterday’s successful Eveleigh
Locomotive Workshops Open Day a Public Meeting was held and a motion seeking to
resolve the issues across the site was unanimously passed. The full text of the
resolution can and details of speakers at the public meeting are provided
below.
The Motion includes calls
for:
- the RWA / ATP to
withdraw the Notice to Quit on the ATP Blacksmiths - discussions with the
NSW Premier Morris Iemma about the protection of heritage on the
site - the consideration of a
National Heritage listing - an interim Green Ban on
the Site - the achievement of a
long term process for protecting the former Railyard’s
Heritage - Government and business
not to enter into any agreements that would adversely impact on any remaining
heritage on the site
The full resolution can be found at Resolution from the Public Meeting at The Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops Open Day Sunday 17th August 2008
A range of heritage issues across
the former railway site were raised that the meeting wanted to see addressed.
Some of these include:
- The ongoing operation
of Wrought Artworks and its ongoing maintenance and use of the heritage
equipment - The State Government,
RWA and ATP meeting their heritage obligations for the heritage equipment on the
site, especially those provided for the development approval establishing the
Technology
Park. - The continued
preservation of the Large Erecting Shop as an operating Heritage shop rather
than heritage operators being evicted and it being adaptively reused or replaced
with the RWA’s zoned 12 story building - The proposed removal of
heritage rolling stock and other heritage equipment from the Paint Shop to get
it ready for sale by the RWA without there being more appropriate facilities for
the equipment to move to. - An appropriate use for
the Chief Mechanical Engineers building currently proposed to be turned into
units - Any redevelopment of
North Eveleigh honouring the sites rail
heritage without further degrading the heritage values of the
site - Opposition to the RWA’s
plan to adaptively reuse the paint shop by having 4 storey apartment buildings
constructed within the existing Paint Shop.
Many Aboriginal people were employed
at the Eveleigh Railyards and on the states railways with grown men being paid
“boys” wages. The organisers welcomed the support of Aboriginal people for the
event and expressed their support for the Aboriginal Housing Company’s struggle
with Government in Eveleigh
Street.
The details of public meeting speakers are provided below
The public
meeting that unanimously passed the above motion was held during the Eveleigh
Locomotive Workshops Open Day. The speakers
included:
- Richard
Green – Welcome to Country - Guido
Gouverneur, Wrought Artworks Blacksmiths - Clover
Moore MP Lord
Mayor City of Sydney - Councillor
Chris Harris, Greens Councillor City of Sydney - Linda
Scott on Behalf
of Meredith Burgman ALP Lord Mayor Candidate for City of Sydney - Jack Mundy
– Former Union leader and Green Ban Pioneer - Michael Mundine –
CEO Aboriginal Housing Company - AMWU
Representative on behalf of Tim Ayres read the AMWU’s Resolution of
Support - Richard
Butcher – Former Eveleigh Worker & Author of the Great Eveleigh Railway
Workshops - Brian
Dunnett – Save the Eveleigh Blacksmith Committee - Geoff
Turnbull –
Spokesperson for REDWatch - Dave
Fleming – Apprentice Blacksmith Wrought Artworks
More
Information on the issues can be found here.
For Further
Information Contact:
- Guido
Gouverneur or Wendy McCaffrey Wrought Artworks Blacksmiths (02) 9319
6190 - Brian
Dunnett – Save the Eveleigh Blacksmith Committee 04 1909
1211 - Geoff
Turnbull – REDWatch
(02) 9318 0824