SA Heritage Heroes 2009
2009 South Australian Heritage Heroes Awards
Presented by the Hon Jay Weatherill MP, Minister for Environment and Conservation
Tuesday 25 August 2009
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Presented by The Department for Environment and Heritage and the SA Heritage Council in conjunction with the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at UniSA
MINISTER'S AWARD - GROUP
- South Australian Maritime Museum Volunteers who maintain and crew the Heritage Vessels S.T. Yelta and M.V. Badenoch
- Cummins Society Incorporated
- Holdfast Bay History Centre Volunteers
MINISTER'S AWARD - INDIVIDUAL
- John Moore - volunteer at the Whyalla Maritime Museum
- Chris Hughes - volunteer at the National Trust of South Australia – Burnside Branch
- Margaret Cusack - volunteer at the Textile Conservation Laboratory at Artlab Australia
MINISTER'S COMMENDATION
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Group:
- Friends of Para Wirra
- Marion Historic Village Community Project Group
- The Walks Volunteer Tour Guides
Individual:
- Bob Sutherland
- Debra Jeisman
- Barbara Parker
- Norma Neil
- Joan Durdin
- Leita Fennell
- Tony Kearney
- John Williams
- Linda Hay
- Graham Truman
Citations
Minister's Award - Group
South Australian Maritime Museum Volunteers [who maintain and crew the Heritage Vessels S.T. Yelta and M.V. Archie Badenoch]
The Museum Volunteers of the South Australian Maritime Museum crew, operate and maintain the Museum's heritage vessels.
The volunteers look after the only remaining heritage craft still actively plying the waters of the Port River. The vessels are the last in-survey steam tug boat in Australia: the ST Yelta, which is 60 years old this year, and the former South Australian Police launch MV Archie Badenoch, which was built as a naval workboat at the General Motors Holden plants at Woodville and Birkenhead in 1942.
The group's backgrounds are from a wide cross section of the community: retired business owners, retired and still-employed seamen and stevedores. The one thing they all have in common is a great respect for South Australia's Maritime Heritage and a burning desire to see this heritage is kept and preserved in trust for future generations of South Australians.
Cummins Society Incorporated
Cummins House was built in 1842 for Sir John Morphett and was lived in by four generations of the Morphett family. The Corporation of the City of West Torrens has leased Cummins since 1987 and the Cummins Society has supported its operation since 1984.
Every Friday morning, up to 20 members devote themselves to planting, pruning, weeding and generally maintaining the grounds.
Some members researched and trained themselves in the history of the family, the house and the furniture, and act as guides for the regular Open Days and volunteer for the popular mid-week group tours - which are provided with a Devonshire tea.
Some members of this dedicated and enthusiastic group of people have been members of the Society since its inception 25 years ago. They still give their time willingly and selflessly as an expression of their devotion to the preservation of Cummins House. Their devotion and enthusiasm demonstrates a remarkable commitment over a long period of time and it is little wonder that the West Torrens City Council recognises that the operations of Cummins House would be a formidable undertaking without the assistance of the volunteers.
Holdfast Bay History Centre Volunteers
Since 2000, over 40 volunteers of the Holdfast Bay History Centre have been looking after the City of Holdfast Bay's history, and monitoring its built heritage.
With the guidance of a part-time Local History Officer they look after Council's collection of objects, paintings, archives photographs and memorabilia - which are of national, state and local historical significance.
At the History Centre, volunteers keep scrapbooks of clippings taken from the daily and local newspapers about the Holdfast Bay's daily events. They also compile information files on local identities, the area's built heritage and assist people with their historical and genealogical research.
The Holdfast Bay History Centre volunteers are a dedicated, enthusiastic group of people with a passion for conserving the history and heritage of the Holdfast Bay area. The Holdfast Bay History Centre could not provide the service it does without the volunteers' knowledge, goodwill and enthusiasm for Holdfast Bay's history and heritage.
Minister's Award - Individual
John Moore
John Moore, originally from Scotland, is an experienced Marine Engineer who worked for BHP Whyalla for many years. He is a valuable volunteer at the Whyalla Maritime Museum, contributing to the successful restoration and maintenance of HMAS Whyalla, which was built in Whyalla in 1941.
John has been the principal advisor and active worker on the engine room restoration.
Between 1987 and 2009, John worked tirelessly and with great commitment to the project. He restored the steam generator to working order and contributed to the restoration of Captain’s cabin, Officers' quarters and wardroom, while tutoring young Naval Cadets helping with the project.
The HMAS Whyalla has become a symbol for Whyalla. The Maritime Museum has been listed as one of the major attractions in South Australia since 2003, welcoming thousands of local, state, national and international visitors every year. The excellent state of the restored engine room contributes to the best impact on these visitors and is a testimony to John Moore's twenty two years of commitment.
Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes has been an active member of the National Trust of South Australia for over 30 years and a Life Member since 1981. As a member of the Young Trust Group in the 1970s and 1980s, he worked as a volunteer on a number of restoration projects for National Trust properties at Port Lincoln, Burra, Jamestown, Willunga and Mundulla. He was Treasurer of the Group for many years, and has been Treasurer of the Burnside Branch of the National Trust since its inception in 2005. He recently joined the Victoriana Society and regularly dons period costumes to attend historic occasions and celebrations.
All the volunteer work and countless hours Chris has contributed enables the National Trust - Burnside Branch to show off the property in its best light to visitors on open days, and to members of the community who hire the property for ceremonies and functions. Chris Hughes is a true Heritage Hero for his outstanding contribution to the National Trust of SA - Burnside Branch.
Margaret Cusack
Artlab Australia is responsible for the conservation of moveable heritage that belong to the State government's collecting institutions. These collections contain many textiles that are extremely important and of great worth to the people of South Australia.
Margaret Cusack has volunteered in the Textile Conservation Laboratory at Artlab Australia for ten years. She assisted in the conservation of numerous iconic textiles including:
- The William Morris Textile Collection at the Art Gallery of South Australia, the largest collection of the 19th Century Arts and Craft textiles by Morris outside England, which contains many rare and valuable textiles.
- The Bradman Collection at the State Library of South Australia.
- The Mawson Collection at the South Australian Museum. Sir Douglas Mawson, the famous South Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer, donated many of his personal items of clothing to the Museum.
All of Margaret's conservation work is behind the scenes and frequently not visible to visitors at an exhibition. But without this unseen effort, the textiles, which are such a vivid reminder of the past and an instant connection to a person's life, would not have been displayed.
Minister's Commendation
Friends of PS Oscar W
The Oscar W is a 100 year-old authentic wood-fired paddle steamer built in 1908 by Franz Oscar Wallin at Echuca. It is the last remaining cargo or towing vessel still in operation on the River Murray and is located at the historic Goolwa Wharf in South Australia.
The Oscar W was restored to river-worthy condition on 31 March 1988 and was later handed over to the Alexandrina Council. In 2008, after many years of ongoing maintenance and restoration, the Oscar received her survey certificate and now operates a successful tourism attraction offering short cruises and carters on the River Murray.
The PS Oscar W is cared for and operated by volunteer support group "The Friends of the PS Oscar W" on behalf of the Alexandrina Council. The Friends have 170 financial members and a core group of 34 active volunteers who promote, operate and maintain the Oscar. In the past two years this group has contributed 19,374 hours and travelled over 19,000 kilometres in support of the conservation and operation of the Oscar.
With the continued support of the Friends, the Oscar is a sustainable
tourism operation that provides passengers with the experience of travelling
on the river on an authentic wood-fired paddle steamer. The income generated
ensures the conservation of the Oscar for future generations to enjoy.
While the views presented by speakers within the Hawke Centre public
program are their own and are not necessarily those of either the University
of South Australia or The Hawke Centre, they are presented in the interest
of open debate and discussion in the community and reflect our themes of:
strengthening our democracy - valuing our cultural diversity - and building
our future.