Interpreting Main Street : Australian Strategies for Cultural Enhancement

Elizabeth Vines, B.Arch (hons), ARAIA
Partner, McDougall & Vines, Conservation and Heritage Consultants, Adelaide, Australia

Heritage Conservation is a global concern as people in different countries and cultures struggle with the challenge of conserving things from their past. Over the past twenty five years in Australia there has been a remarkable shift in attitude by Australians to their history and cultural heritage. Australians at large have discovered that we do have a history and national culture and our post colonisation heritage sites despite being of recent age in comparison to those of our origins, are of considerable significance. Protective heritage legislation was first introduced in Australia in the 1970s with each state surprisingly having its own legislation. Tasmania was the last state to legally protect its many significant places, introducing its heritage legislation in March of last year.


Proposals for The Rocks in Sydney in 1971 intended to replace heritage buildings (left) with high rise towers (right). This heritage precinct is now a major tourist drawcard and illustrates the dramatic shift in attitude to heritage conservation.
The work of Australia ICOMOS has contributed to the internationally recognised high standard of Australian cultural heritage conservation practice. The Burra Charter is now widely accepted and adopted as the standard for conservation practice in Australia. The Charter was adopted in the early 1980s at much the same time as the Secretary of the Interior Standards were being prepared here in the US. The Burra Charter is currently under review and one of its major omissions is reference to indigenous conservation issues, a complex and many layered matter. Our neighbours, New Zealand, introduced their ICOMOS Charter in March of 1993 and this clearly includes reference to indigenous cultural heritage at the outset of the document. This legislative and philosophical framework, while now well developed, still needs reinforcement. Our Federal Liberal Government, through the sale of the National Telecommunications Telstra, has established a billion dollar Natural Conservation Fund, a fund which specifically excludes protection and management of the cultural heritage environment. The involvement of the Federal Government body, the Australian Heritage Commission, in funding the built environment is being wound back. Australia's natural environmental issues are at the forefront of major funding initiatives, yet the promotion and management of the built heritage is losing recognition and political support, despite the proven social and economic value of its retention.

Throughout Australia there are many examples where physical improvements to heritage precincts have dramatically transformed the economic structure of once depressed and threatened environments. The Rocks in Sydney, which was the location of the first British settlement in the new colony, shows this dramatic shift in attitude to heritage precinct management. The 1971 Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority Scheme proposed major demolition of a large section of The Rocks with the construction of high rise towers. This did not proceed and the management of this area is vastly different today than what was envisaged twenty-five years ago and it is hard to contemplate Sydney without this major historic tourist attraction which fronts Sydney Harbour and is near our famous Opera House.

Elsewhere within the last five to ten years many significant heritage precincts and main streets across the country have similarly been revitalised. A notable case is in my home city Adelaide, in the East End which for the second time has just served as the host location to the colourful Fringe Festival as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts. Any upgrading of such historic precincts and accompanying interpretation strategy must at the outset embrace a clear understanding of the cultural significance of the place. Detailed research is essential and part of this process must be the compiling of a volume of early photographs of historical precincts, an invaluable reference tool, but a step so often overlooked. These volumes provide clear evidence of changes which have occurred over time and also provide information about the original appearance of buildings which have been changed or mutilated by the addition of hoardings or subsequent alterations. This exercise highlights that historically, institutions and corporate bodies, particularly banks and post offices, often had the most elaborate buildings constructed which were often the first to be replaced. Little consideration has been given to how the corporate architectural styles of this replacement development relate to the traditional character and context of the street. How often do our interpretation programs clearly present what we have lost ? Or indeed interpret some of the "near misses" where replacement development proposed was fortunately not proceeded with such as the "Something Insurance Company Building" proposed to replace a significant 1870s corner building in Adelaide. Retention of all authentic building fabric contributes so much to the unique character of our traditional heritage precincts. Facadism is sometimes seen as the best compromise with only the front walls of heritage buildings being retained with new development behind. In many cases this has only limited success - is most cases "facsodomy" is a disaster.

The 1950s and 60s in Australia saw the cladding over of many buildings and the removal of many post-supported verandahs as required by Council by-laws. This attitude has now shifted, and verandah reinstatement and general facade upgrading is now pursued in main streets with a dramatic impact on the appearance of buildings and streetscapes.

Many Government led initiatives throughout Australia encourage verandah reconstruction and building conservation.
An 1850s Adelaide building before (left) and after conservation (right).

Numerous Government management initiatives, such as heritage advisory services which operate nationally, despite being strangled for funds, are being implemented in many locations with dramatic impact on the appearance of buildings and streetscapes. How often do the positive economic impacts of these initiatives become politicised, and the outcomes translated into number of new jobs, or increased visitor numbers? This information should form part of any management strategy. Revitalisation of our traditional built heritage is best achieved when an overall enhancement strategy is adopted. Attention to detail with physical enhancement and careful interpretation and management of place are our essential roles as custodians of heritage places for future generations.

Australian country towns are constantly looking for ways to increase their share of the tourist dollar. Australians are increasingly holidaying within the country for a number of reasons - costs, uncertainty of jobs (with shorter holidays to ensure that your job is there when you return to work), but most importantly the increasing recognition that interesting cultural tourist experiences are possible in Australia. Broken Hill, a remote outback city of 23,000 people, has a mining history of world significance - despite minimal rainfall and extreme summer temperature it has survived as a unique settlement with a strong community spirit and civic pride. Established around the discovery of silver in 1883 the city developed confidently in the late 1880s, with prominent city buildings designed by architects from Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. The city has always been at the forefront of union activity in the country, the major issue being wages and conditions for miners culminating in the big strike of 1909, which caused huge community upheaval. Various funding initiatives have been used to establish the whole of the city as a "living museum" to compliment the "living desert" beyond the cities edges. The provision of heritage incentive funds for improvements to buildings , together with coordinated interpretive signs allows the city to be appreciated by visitors in an interesting and innovative manner. The 1993 sculptural symposium, and the enormous interest in outback art have consolidated this remote city as a significant Australian destination.

In Australia specialty travel to heritage towns like Broken Hill is coming into the mainstream and special interests increasingly define the way people like to travel. Travellers are now demanding more. They want new and more intensive experiences, and to have contact with local people and events to become immersed in a culture. Australia, the "lucky country", provides experience of open space and vastness which are so unknown to our densely populated Asian neighbours and Malaysian and Japanese tourists are aghast at the silent magnificence and vastness of our red centre, in such contrast to any previous experience they may have had. Making accessible the now abandoned and fragile cultural landscapes in the centre of Australia is an ongoing challenge. The Kinchega Shearing Shed is a remarkable memory of a once vibrant, noisy, smelly and above all profitable, working station carrying 20,000 sheep. It is now a key focus in the National Park, but the experience of this hive of activity is not conveyed to the visitor. The nearby farmhouse site is silent to the stories of hardship, such as the doctor who fell off his horse and perished on route to assist a family member - it is only the researcher who knows of these poignant tales.

The remote Kinchega Shearing Shed in New South Wales - an interpretation challenge.
For visitors travelling to such destinations, first impressions are all important - Busselton Airport in Western Australia charmingly welcomes visitors with incorporation of public art into the fabric of the building and these initiatives are so complimentary and essential, consolidating positive first impressions. We need to extend visitor interpretation to creatively engage visitors in exploring and discovering their destination from the outset. In the Australian urban environment there are some excellent examples of innovative interpretation of significant sites and two are discussed here. The Hyde Park Barracks, arguably the most significant

Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney
secular building surviving from Australian colonial development, has been presented to display fragmentary evidence of the thousands of men and women (convicts and others) who lived and worked there during 175 years. A rich and colourful history is revealed through pictures, sound, models, documents, artefacts and the fabric of the building in itself. This building had one of the first legal Conservation Orders under the New South Wales Heritage Act applied to it in 1981,and in 1990 a second phase of refurbishment of the building occurred removing old displays, inappropriate modern services and extensive conservation works were undertaken. Comprehensive documentation (beginning with a detailed conservation plan in accordance with Burra Charter principles) was undertaken. The museum as it is presented today brings a whole range of experiences to the visitor, creativity, imagination, conservation, design and drama. Past and present co-exist and the ghosts of previous life could make claim to their place and possessions. The building allows the visitor to peel back layers of history by the careful preservation of doorways, fireplaces, ceilings, paint and plaster which have now been revealed. The previously removed southern staircase is indicated by a steel line - reconstruction was decided against and one is left to imagine the path of convicts who used this stair to plod upstairs to their hammocks.

The Museum of Sydney is constructed on the site of the first 1788 Government House, the symbol of British colonisation of Australia, until its demolition in 1846.

Museum of Sydney - a modern building constructed adjacent to important archaeological remains which survive under the forecourt paving.
The modern museum and interpretive displays are constructed on a concrete slab which preserves the physical stone and brick footings, foundations and drains of Government House underneath. The museum tells the colourful story of Sydney, explaining the physical remains of Sydney's first house, the symbolic statement of the bush and first contact of the indigenous community with the colonists through the edge of trees. Two areas of footings have been exposed for interpretation and the layout of the house indicated in modern granite paving which rests gently upon the ground, so that each square could be lifted to reveal the remains of the footings below. The museum, which opened in 1995, involved transferring development potential from what is now a vacant plaza area onto the adjacent high rise tower.

A month ago in Australia we held a constitutional convention, the outcome of which was the decision to hold a referendum to determine whether the nation should become a republic. A majority yes vote will break the last formal link with Britain and the Australian Republic could be inaugurated on the centenary of Federation, 1 January 2001. This will make the care, conservation and interpretation of historic and colonial sites even more essential and our challenge is to always be open to new ways of exploring our history and cultural identity and share it with those who come as cultural tourists.

The use of historic photos is essential in main street and streetscape improvement projects - conservation opportunities are revealed through careful research (Building in Riverton, South Australia)

The introduction of outdoor cafes throughout Australia has transformed street usage and more attention is now paid to street design and pedestrian areas.
Facadism in most cases is a disaster - this development in Brisbane is to retain only the front wall, with new development behind.