Life at the National Trust continues at its usual frenetic pace and only shows signs of getting busier!

Catherine Hill Bay, Currawong and effort to save the Large Erecting Shop at the Eveleigh railway workshops name just a few major issues before us.

Our campaign against the proposed Heritage Amendment Bills, which are soon to be heard in State Parliament is also still front of mind and again, I urge you to take up your pens and write to your local State Member, the Minister for Planning, and the Premier to make known your concern over the effect these changes will have on heritage in NSW.

There was concern too at the National level recently when Prime Minister announced the 2020 Summit agenda and the omission of Heritage was noted. Trust President, Dr. Zeny Edwards acted quickly calling together 16 eminent architects, historians and heritage experts for the inaugural National Brains Trust Forum to analyse the elements that define Australia’s heritage, and to extract lessons from the past to guide decision-makers in the best directions for the future. I am delighted to say that the Brains Trust Submission has been finalised and was sent to both the Prime Minister and to Minister Garrett on 8 May 2008. Click here to see the submission.

The fight to protect our heritage continues apace and we need your support. If you are not yet a member please consider joining. Donations over $2 are tax deductible or come along to our properties, events or functions where you will always receive a warm welcome.

The Trust needs you more than ever just as heritage needs the Trust!

Help us keep up the fight!

Steve White
Acting Executive Director

National Trust Heritage@Risk Charity Gala Dinner and Auction
Dr Zeny Edwards, President and the Board of Directors of the National Trust of Australia (NSW) request the pleasure of your company at the National Trust Heritage@Risk Charity Gala Dinner and Auction in the presence of Her Excellency, Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales and Sir Nicholas Shehadie AC OBE. The dinner will raise funds to help us continue our advocacy campaigns to conserve our natural and built environment and our cultural heritage for future generations; and to implement conservation works to our heritage properties, which are in urgent need of maintenance and repair due to the adverse effects of weather and the passage of time.

 WEDNESDAY, 21 MAY 2008
7.00-10.30pm
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, MACQUARIE STREET, SYDNEY

The National Trust Award of Excellence in the Built Environment will be presented by Richard Johnson RAIA Gold Medallist. The evening will be compered by Ray Martin, with music by concert pianist Ambre Hammond, and auction conducted by Tim Goodman.

Now, more than ever, financial support is crucial to the National Trust’s ability to do its work during this particularly volatile period when our heritage is at risk.

Please call Natalie Gross on (02) 9258  0181 for further details. Please click here to download an RSVP form. RSVP by 14 May please.

Donate to the National Trust and Lower your Tax Bill!
Make a donation to the National Trust before 30 June to receive a tax benefit. The National Trust is Australia’s oldest and largest conservation charity. It receives no ongoing government funding. Please donate now to help us continue our work of conserving environmental, cultural and built heritage for those who come after us. Right now, the Trust is campaigning to save Catherine Hill Bay from destruction by rampant overdevelopment. This idyllic mining village from the 1870s on the Central Coast (30 kms south of Newcastle) comprises about 100 homes set in rolling green hinterland fronted by a pristine surf beach. Developers plan to build 900 dwellings here totally engulfing the town. Help us to vigorously campaign to save Catherine Hill Bay. Make a tax deductible donation today via our secure online service or call 02 9258 0156 to donate over the phone.
Thank you sincerely for helping us to protect our shared heritage for future Australians.

Callan Park
In its 21 December enews the Trust invited members to examine and comment on the Callan Park Land Use Plan on public exhibition over Christmas. The Trust's submission, here [add link], noted that the Plan was inconsistent with the Callan Park (Special Provisions) Act 2002 and could not be legally implemented. At the time of its enactment the community was assured that "the whole site, including the buildings … and the open space, the gardens, foreshore, will be entrenched in public ownership forever...Residential development of any kind, public or private is ruled out." The Plan now proposes a dozen 3 – 4 storey buildings where the Conservation Management Plan recommends the maintenance of an open character with scattered groups of trees. The Trust is deeply concerned that the ad hoc development process now underway gives no legislative protection for proper consideration of the community's submissions. 

National Trust Position on the Planning System Changes
The National Trust has made a formal submission to the NSW Department of Planning on the proposed changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979 and the Heritage Act, 1977. Click here to view the submission. The Trust is calling on State MPs to oppose the changes soon due to be debated in parliament. The proposed changes severely undermine heritage protection in NSW, removing many of the rights of residents and local communities to protect their properties and neighbourhoods – such as the right to comment on developments in their own area. The changes also erode the role of local government. Further, the legislation is being rushed through without time for proper consideration. See the Trust’s media release here for the key objections to the reforms. Click here to contribute to the Trust’s appeal on the crisis in heritage – we need support to campaign against these sweeping reforms which render environmental and built heritage throughout NSW vulnerable.

On Monday 28 April, the National Trust held a Brains Trust forum of 17 leading heritage experts and architects to discuss the current crisis in heritage protections, including environmental heritage, to remedy the omission of heritage from 2020, and to propose ways forward to ensure natural and built heritage is protected for future generations.

The Brains Trust resolved that sustainability is at the core of heritage conservation. Eminent, much-awarded architect Richard Johnson (RAIA gold medallist), a key Brains Trust participant, emphasised that the Paddington terrace and the Australian colonial farmhouse are exemplars of sustainable building practice and architecture. The point was made at the Forum that many heritage items can teach us sustainability, providing models for building in harmony with environment. We need to learn from heritage places’ sustainability values, such as, in the case of colonial farmhouses, their use of windmills, water tanks, large verandahs and eaves etc. It is vital that we “learn from the genius of the past”.
 
National Trust property Dundullimal in Dubbo is a case in point, an 1840s farmhouse and a model of sustainability and energy efficiency with its long low roof, wide eaves, extensive verandahs, thick, insulated walls, and louvred, multiple-paned glazed windows opening onto the verandah.

Dundullimal is reputedly Australia’s oldest surviving timber slab building. In 1988, a restoration program commenced under the supervision of architect Clive Lucas.  More recently, the long neglected turn of the century Southern Cross windmill was restored. It now pumps water from the Macquarie River supplying around 85% of the homestead's water (there is a requirement to have town water for drinking). A twenty-first century innovation is the installation of soil moisture sensors and weather stations to enable optimum water savings. Roof run-off water tanks have also been installed.  See a story from National Trust Magazine on the windmill here. 

The Trust, through its Sustainability program, is looking to further enhance the sustainable values of Dundullimal and its other properties by retrofitting them with contemporary technologies like solar, complementing traditional energy and water conservation techniques. They would then become public showcases of sustainability incorporating the genius of the past and present. To do this work, we need your support. Please give to our Sustainability Program appeal here.

John R Walker: Journey through Landscape – S.H. Ervin Gallery, Observatory Hill, Sydney:
9 May – 15 June
The National Trust S.H. Ervin Gallery presents the first opportunity to examine the landscape oeuvre of John R Walker, one of Australia's foremost painters. Looking at work from the past decade, this exhibition features paintings, gouache, artist’s books and ink studies. Major works are on loan from important private & public collections and there are selected works not previously exhibited. John R Walker has immersed himself in the Australian landscape since childhood and is now considered one of the leading practitioners of the genre. Click here for more information on John R Walker: Journey through Landscape and our Public Program of guest talks each Sunday at 3pm.
Image right: John R Walker The Dry Dam, Bedervale 2004, archival oil on canvas. Courtesy Utopia Art Sydney.

Morpeth Coach Trip – Sunday 25 May
Join the After Hours Committee on a luxury coach day trip to the historic Hunter Region town of Morpeth. Cost: $75 per person. Tickets still available by Ticket Application Sheet. Closing 16 May.

Walking Tour of Long Reef Aquatic Reserve – Thursday 5 June, 1.45pm - 4.30pm
Join the Tours Committee on World Environment Day for a guided walking tour of Long Reef Aquatic Reserve (1.5hrs approximate duration) followed by afternoon tea at Long Reef Golf Club overlooking Fisherman's Beach. Tickets still available by Ticket Application Sheet. Closing 28 May.

Friday the 13th Ghost Tour at Old Government House – 13 June
Explore this 205-year-old Georgian mansion by candlelight and hear tales of strange incidents and psychic encounters in this property, which has so much to tell about Australia's past. Refreshments and supper included. Cost: $25, due 14 days in advance. Bookings: 02 9635 8149 or 0415 187 402 or visit Friends of Old Government House. Cheques to 'National Trust (NSW)', Friends of OGH, PO Box 431 Parramatta 2124

Join Ian Kiernan for Breakfast at the QVB – Thursday 19 June, 7.30am
Join Ian Kiernan, AO, Founder and Chairman of Clean Up Australia and Clean Up the World – a community based organisation which aims to inspire and work with communities to conserve our environment. Clean up the World partners with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to inspire individuals and communities from every corner of the globe to make their environment a cleaner, healthier place to live. Ian will be speaking on “The importance of planning and architecture for the benefit of the environment”. Cost: (incl GST) $60 NT Members, $80 non members, $600 table of 10. Click here for more information and to download a booking form.

Donate to the National Trust and help preserve our heritage for future generations.
For details of our latest appeal, click here.
To leave a gift to the National Trust in your will please call 02 9258 0182 or click here for further information.

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