Page 1190 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 10 April 2018
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Western Front are the focus of five tours at Jerrabomberra wetlands. A new addition to our program is the Anzac eve peace vigil on Mount Ainslie where, after community singing and ceremony, one makes one’s way towards the War Memorial in a lantern-lit procession, re-imagining the Anzac story away from its exclusive focus on past overseas wars and towards a peaceful and inclusive narrative.
One of the fabulous things about the festival is that it enables many smaller community groups to be involved and have their event promoted. This is something they could not afford—and we would be the poorer for missing them. These are volunteers with a passion for heritage, nature, a collection, or a skill like lace making, shingle making or other old crafts to demonstrate. Over the many past festivals, heritage places not normally open to the public have been made accessible, and the response has been enormous. Last year 3,000 people attended Gungahlin Homestead at Crace. Other places have included the former forestry school in Yarralumla, Parkwood Chapel, the properties of Elm Grove and Cuppacumbalong, Duntroon dairy, Environa and many others.
Each year a dozen or more completed heritage grants are showcased during the festival. This means we can see where funds have been spent. It also means that the program each year is dynamic, with new activities. The ACT government invests in supporting the celebration and protection of heritage through these grants. This year we have a bus tour by Engineers Australia, tours of churches, the heritage-listed Giralang school, Aboriginal walks, an art exhibition and the National Trust’s open day at Lanyon that I am looking forward to.
I have not yet touched on the heritage trails in the ACT as part of Canberra tracks. Over 150 interpretive signs value-add to locals’ and visitors’ experience of Canberra. The Canberra tracks app uses augmented reality technology to bring the Canberra tracks self-drive heritage trails alive. By downloading the free app and then opening it and holding it above certain images on the sign, videos, audios and 360-degree photography are triggered. So if you cannot get inside the building, the internal photography will allow you to examine the interior through your device. This is available at Duntroon dairy, Tuggeranong Homestead and schoolhouse, and other sites as well.
Through heritage grants, the festival and interpretation, we not only educate but also acknowledge the need for protection and conservation. I have mentioned our award-winning architecture that is a focus for the design festival in November, and the heritage festival kicking off on Saturday.
Another important way of celebrating and protecting our heritage is through adaptive reuse. Adaptive reuse can add new layers without erasing the old layers. It becomes part of the long history of a site. It is another stage but not the final outcome.
In the competitive residential and commercial markets, heritage provides a point of difference that delivers an ambience that cannot be replicated by new buildings and development. The retention of heritage places also makes an important contribution to our environmental, social and economic sustainability. The ACT has heritage
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