Managed to scrounge up a bit more info today regarding why Guilfoyle Wreckers have a banner on the heritage building at 129 Durham Rd Sunshine.
After using the ‘Contact Us’ form on Western Health’s website last week and getting no response, I called random numbers there today until I finally got through to be told that yes, Western Health do own the land and building at 129 Durham Rd and also, that the engineering department plan to demolish the building but have not yet decided what they will do with the site. Yikes!
I got onto Brimbank City Council (BCC) straight away and was slightly relieved to be told that:
1) Western Health had applied for a demolition permit for the site but it had not been approved yet, due to the Heritage Overlay HO23_-_McKay_Housing_Estate_-_Durham_Road. (The words used were “it has been knocked back” and I got the impression that it normally would have been a rubber-stamp approval except that this site has a heritage overlay).
2) A council officer had just gotten off the phone with the Engineering department at Western Health explaining that they were not allowed to commence any works until advised by BCC.
3) That Natika (spelling??), the BCC heritage officer, will return to work next Tuesday and her assessment will inform what BCC allow Western Health to do to the building.
It was also noted that if the building was structurally unsound, then that would be a consideration in granting permission to demolish.
So – here is where I think we should put in just a little effort. Imagine if Natika gets back to work on Tuesday and finds some emails or phone messages from concerned locals supporting the retention of the original home of Headlie Taylor. Surely that will add more weight to determining how ”structurally unsound” a property must be before the cost of repair outweighs the loss of a heritage building.
Because, the retention of heritage fabric in a community does cost money. And with modern progress, and the other challenges faced in a municipality such as Brimbank, you can’t retain and/or maintain everything. But since I came to Sunshine 2.5 years ago, I’ve been staggered by the amount of nationally historic heritage buildings and places that I’ve learned were here but have been wiped from existence.
People are proud of the history in Sunshine. But without living amongst it…. it will be forgotten. Documentation of the histories and a few photos comes a very poor second to retaining what we actually have left.
If you would like to share your thoughts with BCC, here are the contact details:
Email: info@brimbank.vic.gov.au Attn: Natika – Heritage Officer
Tel:+613 9249 4000 Fax:+613 9249 4351
- TTY users phone NRS on 133677 then ask for 03 9249 4000.
- Speak & Listen (speech-to-speech) users phone NRS on 1300 555 727 then ask for 03 9249 4000.
- Internet Relay users connect to NRS on www.iprelay.com.au then ask for 03 9249 4000.
Skippy is right, we should tell the BCC that we do no want the building demolished. This is not just an old house, this is Headlie Taylor’s house and, hence, the heritage overlay. I don’t want to be saying “this is where Headlie Taylors house use to be”, we have too many of these “where this used to be” markers in Sunshine already. Western Health can’t try to build communities self esteem with one hand through provison of health care and at the same time rip it down with the other by decimating more of our heritage as so many unscrupoulos and ignorant organisations and committees have done before them, from inside and outside the suburb. Both affect the well being of residents. We have it on good authority that the property was previously used by another group unrelated to Western Health (name escapes me just now) to assist with drug rehabilitation, they floundered and Western Health took over the rehabilitation program but did not own the building. This other group then donated the property to Western Health, we don’t think it was purchased by them. They say they have a problem with vandals, which is no wonder since there seems to be only a security guard who visits the site. I haven’t driven past the site recently to see what other security controls there are but there should be, at the very least, temporary cyclone fencing and boarded windows. We need to tell Council that they must put pressure on WH to provide this level of security now because this is a valuable community asset that needs to be protected. This property can be restored and incorprated into any development and integrated into any usage for the site planned by WH. This is a marriage that all of us would love.
People who think we only need to record the stories and memories of our past just don’t get it because all memories fade in time without any bricks and mortar for evidence. You will not get anyone reading or caring about Headlie Taylor or Mckay’s if we just keep demolishing everything associated with them. It’s the fabric that sparks the interest and gets people wanting to learn more about our heritage and it’s the buzz you get after reading about our history and findingh out that you can actually visit and see a part of it for real that cements our interest in the suburb……..and it’s feeling good about where you live that reduces the crime rate (Everything helps.). Sunshine has one of the most significant labour and industrial histories in Australia with the McKay Gardens and Bulk store (behind the library) registered as of National Historical significance by Heritage Victoria and National Trust. As much pressure as possible should be put on BCC to not allow demolition and to file legal proceedings against those who demolish or destroy our heritage without permission aka the Sunshine fire station
Well said Speroulla! That’s very interesting that Western Health were donated the building and didn’t purchase it.
I suggested to BCC on twitter today that as they are consolidating a lot of their premises to Sunshine, they should ask WH to donate the building to them and fix it up for council use.
Is there any updates with this building? I grew up in a street around the corner, in a heritage listed property and know for a fact that the council were very difficult to deal with when recent renovation work was completed.
i know that this property is not heritage listed, however given the extensive history, is there not some way to prevent the demolishmwnt if this building?
I drove past a few days ago and the signs on the exterior fence, for the company were no longer there.
When I was growing up, the property was the drug rehab place, (around the 90s) but seemed busy and successful in its enterprises so I was surprised when it shutdown, but since understand the budget did not accommodate for such organisations to continue, despite the obvious need for it.
I would be very upset if this building were to disappear, please tell me some good news!!!
Thanks for sharing your story about what the building means to you, Dovey. I’ve got it on my list to ring council two weeks ago for an update so will actually do it this week! Fingers crossed for a good outcome.
Hi, I have it on my list as well to call council. The building is plenty large enough and restorable to convert into offices. I’ll also contact someone who is associated with Western Health (and a sympathiser) to find out what their latest intentions are. WH couldn’t afford to buy the place so how can they afford to demolish and rebuild??? Dovey have you rung council? I assume you would have. The more people ring the better. Can we get in touch with the McKay family (the Hunt family?) or Trust. Skippy, I think you have those contacts. Maybe they would be interested in what’s happening and offer some assistance. I can call John Lack, Historian, at Melb Uni and ask him to also send a letter to council. I’m definitely calling Natika tomorrow to find out what her intentions are as well. It’s about time Heritage Officers and groups purporting to care about our heritage actually did something to prevent this sort of thing happening. Over the years it seems it’s been those we would expect to be protectors of our heritage that have done the most damage.
Pingback: Ball’s in your court, Western Health | Good Day, Scumshine!!