28th June 2020

Exhibition submission – Powerhouse Museum

Mr Marcus Jennejohn
Planner
Powerhouse Parramatta.
Email: [email protected]

Mr Jennejohn,

I know you’ve had the Powerhouse Parramatta albatross dumped in your work tray and you are entrusted with trying to make best of what is a dog’s breakfast, but seriously, what a complete and utter dud project is being proposed by the NSW Government with the moving of the Powerhouse Museum from Ultimo to Parramatta. The rape of this state’s most precious assets by the current NSW Government is only akin to the shocking Government neglect recently seen in Rio de Janeiro when in 2018 a fire at the Museu Nacional saw a potential 20 million irreplaceable items lost forever.

PARRAMATTA ISSUES
1. The proposed development is within a flooding zone of the Parramatta River. In fact the site has flooded within the past year. Infrastructure NSW’s solution to this in correspondence to me dated 11th May 2020 to build floorspace up to 25 feet above ground level (equivalent to the best part of a 3 storey building). Then there’ll be the equivalent of a further 7 storey structure on top. This raises a number of issues, from the very efficiency of the proposed building itself where so much space is severely restricted and compromised in what it can be actually used for; through to the building’s completely over-scaled footprint without showing any relationship or regard riverside to the narrow neck of the Upper Parramatta River it will sit upon and Georgian masterpieces such as Lennox Bridge. The structure, nearly 70 feet high at Phillip Street level will shadow the immediate area and the design flaws will continue through to Phillip Street, where the proposed monolith shows complete disregard to the streetscape. It will also impact on the Old Government House World Heritage listing, stifling vistas to the Parramatta River, a significant part of the listing.
2. The building is totally unsuitable and out of touch with Parramatta. Infrastructure NSW in an email to me dated 11th May 2020, described the building as iconic and of a standard akin to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. If they actually believe this, then the department is totally delusional and totally lost in their own media spin. This building lacks merit in every way, from the inefficient way it uses space; to the lack of clarity on how the museum will be safely presented within it; to the lack of a relationship with the Upper Parramatta River; to the unnecessary demolition of St George’s Terrace and Willow Grove; to the destruction of established vegetation in the Willow Grove precinct; to the lack of planning around transport accessibility to the site; to the footprint that will impact a flood zone. The building will not be a drawcard as it is not only mundane, but at nearly 70 feet high at street level offensive to its surroundings and relegating the Upper Parramatta River to a sewer through overdevelopment on the site.
3. This development is not a museum and should not be classified as such. Correspondence from Infrastructure NSW on the 11th of May 2020 ha confirmed this site will have accommodation flats for 40 or more people living there for up to 12 months a time while elsewhere the site has been identified as a conventions space with retail and coffee shops. The floor space returned to the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences is around a quarter of what they have at the Ultimo space. There is also no significant on-site storage for collections, with media reporting this weekend that the priceless collection is planned to be sold off or dumped in regional museums. With the plan to fill the site with retail food and cafes, I have seen little work on how the museum will discourage scavenger bird populations (that have become problematic at precincts like the Fish Markets) or the effects the development will have on the Church Street “Eat Street” precinct. There is no plan to show how the museum objects will be historically contextualised, just some vague concept they will be just plinthed and plonked around relatively empty halls like some type of weird theme park.
4. A museum does not destroy the heritage it is supposed to preserve. Collection sell offs and disbursement will have significant impacts on this state’s ability to interpret the past and, and in particular the transport revolution that helped develop NSW. The proposed demolition of Willow Grove and St George’s Terrace also erase valuable and rare 19th century links with pre-Federation NSW. Willow Grove has been described in heritage assessments as unique and exceptional for its rare Victorian Italianate architecture, while St George’s Terrace represent some of the last remaining buildings of their type in Parramatta. Both should be preserved as unique and important legacies of the area’s rich and important history. The development proposal is also out of step with the World Heritage Listing of Old Government House and important vistas to the Parramatta River.
5. The footprint across a flood zone. There has been no detailed study that I can see on how this monolith will impact flood patterns along the Parramatta River. There is no indication as to whether there will be additional impacts downstream, including the weir adjacent to the Parramatta Ferry Wharf, or back upstream to the Georgian Lennox Bridge along Church Street. This building has the potential to dam water back, and potentially impact important colonial structures and other riverside dwellings.
6. There is no integration with the rich cultural opportunity offered by local indigenous populations. The proposed development shows no cultural sensitivity at a site where opportunity presents to build an important bridge between the river, the aboriginal population, the technologies they developed to exploit the river and the 19th century architecture of Willow Grove that was built to support women as a maternity hospital as the population grew. The proposal is akin to sticking a 7 storey tower (the height of this monstrosity) on top of the 1816 Parliament House (ex Rum Hospital) building in Macquarie Street Sydney – but worse.
7. The poor planning projections suggesting the site will attract 200,000 people per year. This is highly unlikely as the ever popular Art Gallery of NSW only attracts 160,000 per year. The factual inaccuracies with even these most basic predictions, cast doubt over the complete plan, with wild guestimates made to please a Minister, not tell the truth.
8. Impacts on an existing museum across the river. Parramatta has a very rich local history museum (the Parramatta Heritage Centre) on the other side of the river which will be overshadowed by this development in terms of scale diminishing the local museum’s viability, limiting their potential to deliver on going quality exhibitions that the public will attend, showcasing the very important localised history of the area. Not only is local history set to be lost with the unnecessary destruction of Willow Grove and St George’s Terraces, the local heritage centre is set to be impacted in a negative way. That museum not only captures the local way of life in the area from indigenous times, through to the development of the railway and tramway, retail institutions including Murray Bros and Grace Bros (first metropolitan store in 1935), theatres, churches, institutions and so on, it is an important resource for local historians and tourists alike, and potential collateral damage from this terrible development.

ULTIMO ISSUES
1. The deliberate destruction of a World Class Collection. Before Sir Lawrence Hargrave passed away in 1915, his collection of box kites was offered to Australian museums for the promotion of peaceful flight. Although his box kite designs allowed the Wright Brothers to fly, he was snubbed by Australian museum curators and instead the 176 box kites ended up in the Deutsches Technological Museum in Munich. With the Museum bombed in Word War 2, only 25 survived. When we finally woke up to our stupidity in the 1960s and asked to copy the box-kites, the German Museum kindly donated back a number of originals to the Powerhouse which “fly” today in the main hall. This story should forever be told so that history never repeats. Unfortunately, we were stupid then and we are stupid now. There is no full assessment of the items in store at the Powerhouse, their condition or a proper conservation plan. This appalling failure is now leading to plans where some of our most valuable items are being readied for sale, or shoved anywhere they can be crammed in run down museums across the state. This is a failure of Government to preserve our most precious cultural artefacts, for what effectively will be a real estate cash grab across the Ultimo museum site.

Further concerns surrounding the collection at the Ultimo site are detailed in the formal letter attached.

Ian Dodd.

Dear Sir,

I respectfully, but strongly object to the plans to destroy Willow Grove and St. George Terraces to make way for the proposed relocation of the Powerhouse Museum.

It is a travesty and pure vandalism to continue to erase the history from Parramatta and NSW of such iconic buildings. Willow Grove and St Georges Terraces are rare examples of architecture that could be lost to the community under the guise of ‘progress’

It is my belief the character of Parramatta could be irrevocably changed and this was not adequately addressed on the Environmental Impact Statement

I have not, ever, made any reportable political donations

Dear Sir,
I OBJECT TO THE POWERHOUSE PARRAMATTA PROJECT
The Powerhouse Museum is currently ideally located in the same Ultimo precinct as its predecessor, the Museum of Arts and Sciences, which was established in 1893. As a child growing up in southern Sydney in the 1950s and 60s, a visit to the Museum was a thrilling part of a visit to the city.

The Powerhouse Museum must remain on its central site, to enable people from all over NSW and interstate to continue visiting this key scientific and cultural Museum. I currently live on the South Coast, travel to Sydney by train, and would be highly unlikely to make the additional journey to Parramatta. My interstate extended families ALWAYS visit the Powerhouse Museum on Sydney visits.
Parramatta has not been consulted about the imposition of the Powerhouse Museum; it is being foisted upon them. It is now quite clear that the proposed new building, on the flood plain, will not even house a museum. Its spaces will hold events rather than a contemporary Museum of Arts and Sciences. The proposed Director has art and event management experience and no museum or collections experience at all.
This is not the cultural institution Parramatta needs and wants. It does not meet the needs outlined in Parramatta Council’s plans. The State Government has ignored the City of Parramatta's own 2017 Cultural Plan key objectives.
The destruction of two of Parramatta’s most significant heritage buildings – Willow Grove Villa and St Georges Terraces – simply cannot be justified. They must not be pulled down to make way for a badly-conceived and unwanted building.
Why is the government ready to wilfully abandon a purpose-built museum just 30-years-old?

I object to the Powerhouse Parramatta Project, for the following reasons:
• Willow Grove is a unique piece of architecture in the Parramatta area and needs to be preserved
• Too many historical sites have already been destroyed in the Parramatta area
• The site is vulnerable to flooding from the Parramatta River
• The proposed Powerhouse will not have enough display space
• It will be expensive to move exhibits from current location

I recently became aware that new Powerhouse museum is set to be relocated to Parramatta and built on a site that will require the demolition of important and unique heritage architecture namely; Willow Grove and St Georges Terraces and I am writing to you to express my objection to the demolition our history.

These buildings are unique to the local area and to Sydney. Parramatta is one of Australia’s oldest cities. It was founded the same year that Sydney was. Over time, much of the rich and unique historical architecture in the area has been demolished. Willow Grove and St Georges Terraces are rare examples of the early architecture in the area and both have played a critical role in our history, including as a maternity hospital for the people of Parramatta.

The destruction of these buildings with have a significant impact to the community and the preservation of our State’s heritage. Too many of these important examples of architecture and our early history are being demolished. What is the point of heritage listing in this State if it is not respected and upheld by everyone?

I also find it offensive that these historic buildings are being demolished to make way for a museum which by very definition is for the key purpose of collecting, preserving and displaying important historical artefacts. Nowhere else in the world would this be allowed to happen and the Trustees of the Powerhouse museum should be ashamed that they have allowed this to happen. In fact, they should all be called upon to resign because this demonstrates a profound lack of respect for the preservation of Australian history.

I request that you stop these plans and the demolition of these buildings.

Sincerely

Emma Rumble

I OBJECT TO THE POWERHOUSE PARRAMATTA PROJECT!! Please for the love of humanity why on earth do we need another museum? People hardly visit the ones we have in Sydney. Please do not demolish our heritage and beautiful building in favour of disgusting monstrous eyesores called ‘contemporary'. We have plenty of awful buildings in Sydney due to the horrible vision the current architects have.

Save our beautiful heritage buildings. We don’t have much history in Sydney and it would be wonderful to save what buildings and heritage we have left. All the stunning buildings have been demolished to make way for other crap. Read about the stunning architecture we used to have around Sydney. We had many many beautiful homes, all destroyed.

Willow Grove is an important part to women’s history as a maternity hospital for over three decades for the people who resided in and around Parramatta in the early 1950s.
This is significant to Parramatta and historical preservation. Same goes with St George Terraces. These are unique and rare examples of beautiful architecture. Why would you want to destroy history?

My family have lived in Westmead since they moved here in 1963. Since then we have seen a dramatic change. There are the awful eyesores on Vernon Street. They are simply distasteful and smelly. Same goes with the football stadium renovation…. We just didn’t need it.

What about the Parramatta and Wentworthville pools, they were just fine where they were. Why do more apartment buildings need to go there. There are plenty of spaces around Sydney. We are losing our past and what we used to represent

As a lover of beautiful architecture and historical buildings, please don’t go ahead with this project.

"Our City is home to many historic sites of national and global significance. In the midst of a new contemporary, cosmopolitan City we need to anchor, promote and share this World Heritage for our local and national community. Our built environment features some of the Australia’s most important colonial buildings, peppered throughout our City’s changing landscape. More than the architecture, these heritage assets tell a story of the past and help us better understand our future."

I trust you will listen to the people and not the coloured pieces of laminated paper lining your pockets.

Thankyou
Kind Regards
Anastasia

Sir;
I object to the destruction of Willowgrove, Parramatta.
Remember;
“ The past should not be forgotten or forgiven only understood “
Mr. Martin