Heritage taskforce for Eveligh rail yards Redfern

Guido Gouvernor with heritage listed items at Eveleigh photo: Phil Rogers

The move comes after heritage groups criticised the government, saying the rail yards were forgotten and neglected.
The Taskforce will also look at wider heritage issues in Redfern Waterloo including the area’s unique industrial and indigenous history.

Representatives involved will be drawn from the Redfern Waterloo Authority, RailCorp, the Heritage Office, Tourism NSW, Housing NSW and Sydney Council.

The Taskforce will report back to Ms Keneally by the end of the year.

Redfern Waterloo Authority CEO Roy Wakelin-King said the move was part of the government’s desire to see heritage retained wherever possible as the area is redeveloped under the Redfern Waterloo strategy, which began about five years ago.

“It’s designed to look at opportunities for promotion and preservation of heritage across the Redfern Waterloo area,” Mr Wakelin-King said.

“Not just rail heritage — we are looking at a range of heritage issues across the whole area, with a particular emphasis on aboriginal languages and places and their relationship to more contemporary heritage.”

Expressions of interest are being sought for two indigenous positions on the Taskforce.

“We are seeking to engage the aboriginal community in the Taskforce and have advertised the two positions,” Mr Wakelin-King said.

Proposals will be welcomed from the local community, he said.

“It’s important to have community representation of core groups in the process and then sub groups looking at specific proposals.”

Geoff Turnbull from community group REDWatch praised the inclusion of community groups in the Taskforce.
“This structure will enable a wide range of people to both make proposals for projects and to become involved in working on projects of interest to them,” he said.

“It will also cater for rail heritage groups to put up their heritage proposals.”

Guido Gouvernor, who runs Wrought Iron Artworks, a restorative blacksmithing shop at the rail yards said the government needed to honour an earlier commitment to the former rail workers and locals to preserve the area’s unique heritage.

“The former workers were promised by the government that these machines would be looked after and conserved,” he said.

Mr Gouvernor previously spoke out when the Australian Technology Park tried to remove several heritage machines late last year.

The park management backed down and has said the machines, which had been marked for removal, would now be kept and preserved.

“They are unique and are of great significance – machines that showed the engineering ability and history of Australia,” Mr Gouvernor said.

“The problem is that there has never been an overall heritage strategy put into effect.

‘‘Every time there is a revaluation of the heritage situation, items go missing or get dumped.”

Source: http://sydney-central.whereilive.com.au/news/story/heritage-taskforce-for-eveligh-rail-yards-redfern/