To whom it may concern,
I am writing in support of the move of the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta.
As a resident of Parramatta, I am excited about the redevelopment that has been occurring in Parramatta over the last few years, which has shifted the view of many on their perception of Parramatta as a city.
Growing up in Sydney’s east, Parramatta had seemed almost foreign to me and I must say it was a big move for me to buy a property in Parramatta in 2015, but I did this because I could see the potential. It was obvious to me that Parramatta was a booming city and will become the central city of Sydney.
For this reason alone, our Central City deserves its own museum!
We deserve more than only 1% of Commonwealth arts program funding.
Art should not be centralised to one region, it should be widely accessible to all and to further this point, if any art is going to be of relevance to Western Sydney it will be art of popular culture, which the Powerhouse Museum has featured through its exhibitions over the years, including those of Harry Potter 2012, Star Wars 2019 and Kylie Minogue 2006 etc.
As noted by Jennifer Sanders “It is unknown if the population of the region will be a major source of visitors to a relocated Powerhouse”. While, this project will cause doubt in many minds, the population of Western Sydney continues to grow, we represent 1 in 10 Australians, we have the population to make this a viable success and while Western Sydney continues to grow as a tourism destination, this will only encourage domestic and international travellers to choose Western Sydney as the place to be.
There is no time more crucial than right now to boost tourism domestically, we need to change the thought pattern of our country and encourage our people to spend their money within Australia. COVID-19 has closed our international borders, there is no time better than now to build Western Sydney’s profile as a tourism destination for the future. The Powerhouse Museum will be a game-changer for other Western Sydney tourism destinations such as Sydney Zoo and Sydney Coliseum Theatre West HQ and together they can build Western Sydney to be a world class Central City.
Parramatta and Western Sydney need this project to proceed for so many reasons, we are speaking up because we are proud to live in Western Sydney, Sydney city has been the central district for art for too long now and we as a state need to move with the times, we need to evolve and most importantly we need to grow!
Kind regards,
Lauren Rountree

Please find attached my objection to this project. This replaces the previously submitted version dated 28th June which I am advised was not in the correct format. I have now included my address details and the Application No. The rest of the document is unchanged.

The project is misleadingly described. It is not now about relocating an existing museum. The more we learn the less the project seems to have to do with preserving the historic collections and developing the modern collections of the Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo, on a new site. It seems about providing a cultural and entertainment facility for Parramatta. As the project has developed NSW is to lose a centrally located museum and gain a differently focussed regional facility. The Ultimo museum has the capacity to show historic collections. The proposed facility seems to be envisaged as a site for changing exhibitions and use without much relevance to these collections. Developing a a cultural and entertainment facility in Parramatta may be a good idea but the idea should be evaluated on its merits not in misleading terms of the transfer of the existing museum and its collections.
Discussion of the storage facility at Castle Hill is also misleading. Why Ultimo has to close to extend Castle Hill is not clear. In addition reports are that the storage facility at Castle Hill is difficult for the public to reach and will not be effective if that is where the collections from Ultimo are to end up.

Other objections:
The Parramatta site is flood prone and not suitable for whatever cultural objects are to be shown there.
The Parramatta site has heritage buildings that will be lost in the new construction.

The original proposal was rushed and misconceived. It is developing in a way very different from the original proposal.

I object to the Parramatta Project. To me, it is inconceivable to demolish Sydney's current powerhouse museum in Ultimo and move it to Parramatta, where more heritage buildings will be demolished to make way for the would-be museum. We already have a top class museum operating in central Sydney. It has served Sydneysiders and visitors alike for generations. I remember going there on excursions several times throughout primary and high school. Each time i was exposed to and reminded of the innovative world of power, electronics and technology, and how these things have shaped our current world. These experiences are hugely influential and inspiring for a young person. This is an experience lost for many if the museum is moved, and I fear that the experience replacing it one of less calibre. I highly doubt, as somebody who grew up in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, that these excursions would have taken place for my schoolmates and I if the museum was in Parramatta. It is utterly important that our central precinct of the city retains its cultural precedence, so that people from all areas of the city can find a shared cultural space. The lockout laws and other licensing restrictions have already taken away a lot of the character this area once had. Endless high-rise and motorway development through this area has had its part as well. Now, with the current pandemic affecting our livelihoods, we are seeing the cultural impact to be even more devastating, losing many more venues, establishments and art precincts across the city; most notably and recently, Carriageworks. To voluntarily remove one of our remaining institutions and place it (in a much lesser and inferior form) in Western Sydney during this time would be a complete disaster of a decision. It is disappointing that, in order to have a cultural precinct formed in Parramatta, we need to take away from already formed precincts to justify the developments. I have spent most of my adult life working in the arts, most recently as a technician at Carriageworks. I know first hand what institutions like these mean to the people of Sydney, and the significance of the work undertaken in them. I also know what it's like to lose your job because of the ruthless decision making of a government which values big money and urban developmental opportunities over art and culture. Please don't go through with this.

I would like to submit my objection as a long time Sydney resident and visitor to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and also Parramatta. I do not agree that the Powerhouse Museum should be moved to the location chosen in Parramatta for the following reasons:
The museum should be further developed on site in Ultimo as it is a great location for all visitors to access
I object to the plans for the new museum as it will not provide sufficient space for the display of the current collection
I object to the plans for the new museum as the risk to the collection being damaged in the process of being moved to the site is too high
I object to the plans for the new museum on the grounds that its a flood zone and housing a museum of priceless artefacts in this location is too high risk
I object to the plans for the new museum as they currently involve the destruction of two important local heritage buildings - Willow Grove and St Georges Terrace should be saved for future generations.

I hereby formally lodge OBJECTION to the proposal to demolish the “Willowgrove” & “St Georges Terraces” (see below) adjacent to the Parramatta River, Parramatta, & I also object to creation of the proposed Museum on the proposed site.
Certain of my objections include the facts that the mentioned buildings are HERITAGE & significant to the reality of Parramatta as the earliest base of power in NSW; the area currently occupied by the former DJ’s carpark is a flood zone (witnessed by myself on more than one occasion,) & this is unlikely to change, even though not a regular event; & the whole of Parramatta is a lack of parking nightmare, and has huge, poor traffic flow issues, which are clearly not going to improve as our population continues to grow with more & more high rise residential accommodation, & the introduction of the light rail/tramway may well add to the current, ongoing traffic & parking issues.
The proposed project, clearly will NOT allow even reasonable displays of “Museum” items, as shown in the available papers.
The “Powerhouse” needs to stay where it is in the short term, & if a move is essential, ANY new site needs to be elsewhere other than in a FLOOD ZONE & well away from an already heavily compromised Parramatta CBD.
Regards, BobM. (cc).