Historic Administrative Precinct conservation plan underway

A comprehensive conservation plan is underway for Beechworth’s historic Administrative Precinct with recent federal funding of $240,000. The successful joint funding application for an Australian Heritage Grant was made late last year by the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE) with Old Beechworth Gaol and Indigo Shire Council. The application was supported by Beechworth History and Heritage Society. ACRE CEO Matt Pfahlert said the range of significant buildings in the precinct needed an up-to-date conservation plan following the precinct’s registration as a National Heritage Place in 2024 and ahead of a proposed Victorian Goldfields UNESCO World Heritage bid. Old Beechworth Gaol is one of these key buildings. “Working together helps prioritise preservation across the entire precinct and for the UNESCO bid,” Mr Pfahlert said. He said the OBG team looked forward to working with Indigo council and the Beechworth Historic Precinct Partnership - comprising ACRE and OBG, Beechworth History and Heritage and Beechworth Inc - on the conservation plan. “It means that not only is ACRE part of the working committee, but that there is input from the community, too,” he said. Mayor Cr Sophie Price said the conservation plan project was an essential first step in ensuring the protection, conservation and activation of the precinct meets heritage best practice. “A contemporary conservation plan is a key requirement for National Heritage places,” she said. “The finished plan will also align with World Heritage place requirements, in readiness for a potential Victorian Goldfields nomination to UNESCO.” The council will also develop a heritage assets capital works plan for the precinct. This will include a detailed evaluation of conservation requirements for each building and a costed 10-year conservation plan. A management and maintenance plan is the third part of the project. Cr Price said the project had commenced, with early work including completion of the funding agreement with the federal government and preparing tender documentation with a new project working group. The project working group includes members of the Beechworth Historic Precinct Partnership. Cr Price said community consultation would be a key component of the conservation plan’s development. Community members will be invited to participate in the plan’s development during next year, with completion by March 2029. The project working group will also develop a detailed communications plan setting out the timing and format of community engagement taking place in 2027. The project working group can also create specific community reference groups throughout the project, to help inform the plan’s development. The collaborative project includes project partners, council and the Old Beechworth Gaol. In a statement from Beechworth History and Heritage, president Jamie Kronborg said BHPP was established to represent and advocate for the community’s interests in the historic precinct following its National Heritage Listing in July 2024. “We are working together to bring our community’s voices to the table for the maintenance, preservation and interpretation of the precinct,” he said. “BHHS recognises the urgency and significance of protecting, preserving and telling the stories of the precinct’s buildings, environment, the activities and events that took place and traditions commemorated here, and the aspirations, work and legacies of the people who shaped them. “For us, it’s fundamentally important that the community is encouraged, its voice heard and its ambitions acknowledged in what follows, by active engagement in discussions about the conservation plan and in the decisions to be considered by the project working group.” Independent federal member for Indi Dr Helen Haines said the funding would help protect the historic precinct that tells those stories and support Beechworth’s ambition for UNESCO World Heritage listing by preserving the authenticity and integrity of its heritage.

Historic Administrative Precinct conservation plan underway

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