They are
all unique NSW heritage items that are at risk of being lost forever.
To draw
attention to their plight, the National Trust of Australia (NSW) has announced
that for World Heritage Day on Wednesday, 18 April, it is nominating three
items for the National 2007 Heritage at Risk List. They are Ku-ring-gai’s Blue
Gum High Forest and Urban Conservation Area, the Hammerhead Crane on Garden Island,
and the Eveleigh Railway Workshops at Redfern.
“The Ku-ring-gai
Blue Gum
High Forest
in St. Ives on Sydney’s North Shore
goes back 40,000 years and is prized for its rarity and beauty. Sadly,
intensive land use has severely affected it. Less than 5% of the forest
survives as intact bushland but remnant trees occur throughout the Ku-ring-gai
ridge tops and still beautify this unique landscape. These existing bushland
remnants and surviving trees continue to be threatened by insensitive
development and weed invasion,” said Trust Executive Director, Tina Jackson.
A prominent
landmark in Sydney Harbour, the Hammerhead Crane was, when built during
World War ll, the largest crane in the Southern Hemisphere and it remains
unique in Australia.
Built to lift up to 250 tons, it serviced the British Navy fleet and
demonstrates Australia’s
position in the former British Empire and the
peak of mid-20th century electrical technology. It has been idle for more than
a decade and neglected.
“This is
very sad. The Hammerhead Crane is an excellent example of engineering design in
its time. There are only 15 of these cranes still left in the world and those
left in Scotland
have the highest protection, unlike here,” said Ms. Jackson.
Eveleigh
Workshops is considered by the Trust to be one of Australia’s finest industrial
heritage items. They are the largest surviving intact railway workshops dating
from the steam era in Australia
and possibly the world. The Smithsonian Institute has commented on their
rareness and called for their preservation.
Eveleigh
consists of some of the finest historic railway engineering workshops in the
world complete with late 19th century forge installations, cranes and power
systems.
The
workshops have been suggested for the Heritage at Risk list as several
buildings within the site have already been redeveloped and adapted to a range
of non-railway uses while others have been rezoned for multi-storey development
under the Redfern Waterloo Authority’s Built Environment Plan.
“The Trust
is concerned about the proposals for multi-storey development and urges the
retention of those workshops and a continuation of their role in training
skilled apprentices and in rebuilding our state’s steam engines,” said Ms.
Jackson.
The
Heritage at Risk program was begun to build public awareness of heritage
assets. State and territories lists are being released for World Heritage Day
while a National Top 10 ‘Heritage Most at Risk’ list will be determined by the
Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT) from the state/territory lists and
announced on 1st July 2007.
Heritage at
Risk is an initiative of the National Trusts of Australia along with Engineers
Australia (Historic Section), Museums Australia and the Royal Australian
Institute of Architects.
For more
information: Kim Carter/National Trust Media Relations (02) 9258 0131
THE
NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA
(NSW)
Watson Road, Observatory Hill, Sydney NSW 2000
GPO Box 518, Sydney
NSW 2001
At Risk
Listing: http://www.heritageatrisk.org.au/Eveleigh_Railway_Workshops,_Redfern.html