The
transition of Eveleigh
Between the Railway workshop’s
closure and the rebirth into the ATP Wrought Artworks convinced State Rail on
heritage grounds to allow them to occupy and make operational machinery the 4
blacksmithing bays.
The Regional Environment Plan and
the Conservation Management Plan & the CMP for Moveable Heritage Relics
commissioned by the Government of the time reflected the philosophy that the
blacksmithing shop be operational.
It was also desirable that other
significant items of machinery on the site were conserved with the potential to
be operable. To safe guard against insensitive commercial development of the site
the ATP s Development Application consent conditions incorporated the findings
and advise from these reports.
The operating blacksmithing shop
was easy for the initial developer of the ATP because he already had a
self-funding company operating the blacksmithing shop; it was considered at the
time the most economical option for the Gov’t. The hard bit for the developer was
the advice that 4 bays be allocated to allow the opportunity to have a museum.
2 bays for the dirty trade and 2 bays for other equipment associated with train
manufacture. And to utilize an existing wall dividing the old and (soon to come)
new technology.
Unfortunately most of the desired
outcomes from all the well meaning reports were never realized. The developer
convinced the Gov’t to shrink the operating machinery museum to 2 bays. Immediately
the opportunity to make something of a historical attraction of Eveleigh was considerably
weakened. The machine tools got dumped in the northern blacksmithing bays for
several years. The Wheel Press shop was demolished just about over night and
the machinery it had housed was dismantled and stored in an outdoor compound.
These machines are included in the CMP for Moveable Relics. So they come complete
with interpretation and conservation strategies. To make room for Channel 7 s
monster new building they have been moved recently to the last vacant area, out
in the elements near Henderson
Road. It is a blatant example of demolition by
neglect.
In an effort to help get the
heritage machinery operational the largest single Heritage Grant was given by
the then Minister of Planning in 1996 for $350,000 to be matched $ for $ by the
ATP. As per the CMP a specialist conservator (David McBeath) was finally found
& appointed. But the allocated funds proved extremely difficult to extract.
A small portion of the grant got used to move the dumped machinery out of the
dirty environs of the blacksmithing Bays into Bay 8. The rest of the grant
funds either never got released or got used for other purposes on the ATP. After a year or so the conservator left out of
sheer frustration. Another opportunity was lost to make something of the
collection. The machinery in Bay 8 is inoperable and without being able to
witness its purpose is boring to the uninitiated. That’s if you can get in to
view it. Not what you’d call a successful outcome.
The only machinery that is
dynamic is the forges, furnaces, power hammers and presses in the blacksmiths
shop. As you know in March of this year we were rewarded for this with an
eviction notice from the Government. We were not given a reason. The RWA had
not been attempting to negotiate with us for a lease as they said they had. We
were written to later by Robert Domm that we were evicted for fixing a section
of the floor.
As a result of a strong media- campaign, which culminated in a very
successful Open day in mid August Wrought Artworks was given a “Heads of
Agreement” document to sign. The actual lease contract has yet to eventuate. We
were told if we didn’t they would find someone ‘sympathetic’ that would.
The license period granted is for 12 years. Whist
it is affordable now, it is of concern the annual 5 % rental increases along
with a 20% capped increase every 4 years will compromise the
viability of the Heritage Workshop operating in perpetuity. It is not
known why the Government requires the workshop to have such a substantial overhead
in years to come. The true value of their asset lies in it succeeding as a
heritage restoration facility with the right people running the show.
The issue that lead to the eviction – an uneven floor surface as a
result of services being laid during the refurbishment of the Australian
Technology Park has been resolved with the landlords agreeing to not only give
the requested approval for the floor to be repaired, but are now also
prepared to undertake the works themselves. We will see if this eventuates or
remains a matter to be ignored.
Non-the-less
the focus it has bought to this important historical Railway site has been a
positive one. The requirement, in the Development Consent Conditions for
the ATP, of a self-funding operating heritage blacksmithing workshop has
now been recognized by the Government.
Long overdue, the NSW Planning Department and the overseeing State
Authority must also recognize the guidelines of the Regional
Environment Plan and Conservation Management Plan for the other heritage machinery
on the site, in accordance to the Plans statement -a ‘comprehensive
package’ for the machinery was to be prepared …“in ways that protect its cultural significance, continue its
useful life and contribute to the activities of Eveleigh as both an engineering
and educational resource“.