OUR HERITAGE AT RISK -  SOUTH AUSTRALIA - 2009

• Lower Lakes and Coorong
• Port Adelaide Maritime Heritage
• Glenside Hospital

MOST AT RISK PLACES

Place: Lower Lakes and Coorong
Threat: Destruction, continuing deterioration

Description of Risk:
The Lower Lakes and Coorong contain a high diversity of ecological systems and species including many of particular conservation significance (at National, State and Regional level).  The area is recognised as one of the top six water bird sites in Australia and is listed as a wetland of international significance under the Convention of Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran 1971). The Lower Lakes and Coorong region is also of high cultural value to the Ngarrindjeri people who maintain a strong connection to the land, fish, birds and other living things. It is a major tourist and holiday destination popular for recreational, social and cultural activities.

Existing regulatory structures and excessive water extraction have, for many years placed stress on the natural systems of the Lower Lakes and Coorong by changing the volume and pattern of seasonal flow of water. This has been exacerbated by the current drought and will further deteriorate under proposed new regulatory structures and reduced River Murray flow. The SA Government is taking three actions at present, none of which address the problem of lack of provision for environmental flows.  The ecology of the region has already changed under this stress. Studies show there has been an ongoing decline in biodiversity and population abundance for various species, including aquatic plants, migratory and sedentary birds, fish and frogs.

Desired Outcome / Vision:
Our vision is that the biodiversity of the Lower Lakes and Coorong be restored and  conserved. This can only be achieved by ensuring critical environmental water requirements are met by increasing the volume of water reaching the Lower Lakes and enabling seasonal flow patterns to be at least partially restored into the Coorong.   The EIS for the temporary weir shows that the impacts are not manageable or environmentally responsible.

Water  for environmental purposes must be allocated at the same time as allocations for irrigation, urban and other uses. Water extraction upstream must be reduced through buy-backs by federal and state governments urgently, thereby enabling flushing flows into the Lower Lakes and Coorong that replicate  natural seasonal patterns as far as possible.

Place: Port Adelaide Maritime Heritage
Threat: Destruction, deterioration

Inc Waterside Workers’ Federation Hall, and the ketches “Falie” (also known as “Hollands Troaw”) and Nelcebee,  Customs House, North Bank Marine (slips, dock & surrounding buildings & waterways), and Port Adelaide Sailing Club .

Description of Risk:
The Port of Adelaide was one of South Australia’s earliest settlements, and has historically been the major port of entry to the State. Its diverse maritime heritage includes the old Customs House [ on the State Heritage Register ], the Fletchers Slip, [now provisionally on the State Heritage Register], the ketch ‘Falie ‘, the auxiliary ketch  ‘ Nelcebee’, the Port Adelaide Sailing Club and the Waterside Workers Federation Hall. Lack of appropriate maintenance, and in the case of the last two items, the threat of demolition from Port Adelaide waterfront development puts this important maritime heritage at a very real risk of being lost.

Desired Outcome / Vision:
Urgent maintenance, and where appropriate, heritage listing.

Place: Glenside Hospital
Threat: Destruction

Description of Risk:
Glenside Hospital occupies a large site of over 130 acres close to the Adelaide CBD. The hospital is one Australia’s best examples of mid nineteenth century planning for the mentally ill. The original concept was for a series of substantial and high quality stone buildings, formally arranged within a park like campus, surrounded by farms.

The heritage values of Glenside relate not only to the architectural quality of individual buildings but also the sophistication of the original site planning. The quality of this scheme has been diminished, particularly by the design and location of new buildings erected from the 1970s, but remains discernable and recoverable. The spirit of the original campus plan has the potential to provide a sympathetic basis for guiding the location, form and scale of new buildings on the site.  T

he 2003 Conservation and Management Plan does not adequately assess the significance of this aspect of Glenside. The campus includes nine State Heritage listed buildings, eleven structures nominated for local heritage listing and almost two hundred significant trees. The Department of Health plans to erect a new hospital on part of the site. This program involves the sale and redevelopment of large areas of the campus for commercial purposes including a shopping centre, and does not protect the local heritage buildings, and irrevocably changes forever the park-like character.

Desired Outcome / Vision:
The site be retained for mental health facilities. The maximum area of green space be retained  after provision of hospital and supported housing. Trees to be retained but acknowledging that a small number may need to be sacrificed for the redevelopment. A first step must be preparation of a properly scoped masterplan for the whole site with full public consultation.

The brief should be prepared in consultation with the Heritage Branch of DEH and the National Trust to ensure that heritage qualities are identified and assessed, and that key qualities conserved including appropriate re-use of redundant buildings. No action should be taken regarding the sale and further demolition of any part of the campus until the masterplan is completed.