Published on Thursday, 16 December 2021 at 10:07:27 AM
Shire of York President Cr. Denese Smythe accepted the prestigious Winner’s Award in the category ‘Conservation or Adaptive Re-Use of a State Registered Heritage Place’ at the recent Western Australian Heritage Awards held in November.
York is WA's oldest inland town and a seismic hotspot. Benefits to the community, the State and the nation relating to the preservation of York's exceptional built heritage, are recognized through this award. The Residency Museum has been the pilot project for applying research by Geoscience Australia and the University of Adelaide to strengthen the building, particularly its chimneys, against earthquakes together with future-proofing the museum. The goals were to make the building more resilient against multi natural hazards and tackle outstanding legacy conservation issues such as damp, decay and degradation.
The judges described it as “a model of best practice in its approach, the thoroughness of planning, preparation and implementation future-proofing the last extant Convict Depot Superintendent’s Quarters in Western Australia”.
The result is the preservation of this precious piece of the State’s heritage for a long time to come, good value for the Shire of York and its ratepayers and a shining example of what can be achieved on a very limited budget if the will to conserve heritage places is turned into reality.
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