Another group of prominent Australians have penned an open letter calling on the prime minister, Scott Morrison, to halt the proposed $498 million redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
The letter comes after the Australian Heritage Council made submissions against the proposal as part of the consultation process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
“We urge the Australian Government not to accept the current proposal. It should be withdrawn and significantly amended, or EPBC Act approval should be refused,” the group said.
Signatories to the letter include architects Roger Pegrum, Penelope Seidler and Penleigh Boyd, professor of architecture Don Watson, heritage architect Eric Martin and architectural historian Peter Freeman. Also signing was John Denton, whose practice Denton Corker Marshall designed the under-threat Anzac Hall. Five organizations, including Docomomo Australia and the Australian branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, are also signatories.
Many of the signatories are part of a group of 88 prominent Australians who signed an earlier open letter to the government in March 2019, which also called on the government to abandon the redevelopment plans.
Despite the growing chorus of critics, the Australian War Memorial continues to defend redevelopment plans, describing the existing Anzac Hall as “no longer fit for purpose.”
The Australian War Memorial development project will have major heritage impacts on the Memorial, a place that has deep meaning for all Australians. The intervention by the Australian Heritage Council, the government’s principal adviser on heritage matters, shows that reconsideration of the project is imperative.
The Council is chaired by the Hon. Dr David Kemp AC, a former Cabinet minister. Its recent submission to the Memorial under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) 1999 concluded thus:
Regrettably the Council cannot support the conclusion that the proposed redevelopment will not have a serious impact on the listed heritage values of the site and recommends that the matters above [set out in the Council’s submission] be given serious attention.
While the signatories to this open letter have multiple perspectives on the many issues raised by the project, we strongly support the Council’s views and are united in our concerns about the heritage impacts. These impacts include:
- the proposed demolition of the award-winning Anzac Hall (2001);
- the loss of the free-standing form of the Memorial building, to be swamped by a huge glazed addition (that will also be visible down Anzac Parade);
- the loss for most visitors of the existing commemorative entry, with entry mostly being via the lower ground level; and
- on the overall landscape setting of the Memorial from changes to the Parade Ground in front of the Memorial, the expansion of other buildings on site and the overall hardening of what is currently a respectful balance of built and landscape elements.
The Memorial must be supported to achieve its core functions, but this should (and can) occur without damage to its core commemorative strength – the iconic heritage building and site.
We urge the Australian Government not to accept the current proposal. It should be withdrawn and significantly amended, or EPBC Act approval should be refused.
In view of the importance of this issue, a copy of this letter has been forwarded to the Ministers for the Environment and Veterans’ Affairs, the Acting Chair of the Public Works Committee and Members of the House of Representatives.
Yours faithfully, the following organisations and individuals,
Organisations
Australia ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites): Helen Lardner, President
Australian Historical Association: Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, President
Docomomo Australia: Dr Scott Robertson, Australian President (Docomomo is the international organisation concerned with the documentation and conservation of buildings and areas of modern architecture)
National Trust of Australia (ACT): Gary Kent, President
Walter Burley Griffin Society (Canberra Chapter): Brett Odgers
Individuals
Geoff Ashley, heritage consultant
Blake Ayshford, screen writer
Vicken Babkenian, researcher, Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Paul Barratt AO, former Secretary, Department of Defence
Professor Emerita Joan E Beaumont AM FASSA FAIIA, Australian National University
Dr Margaret Beavis, Vice President, Medical Association for Prevention of War
Professor Diane Bell
Professor Frank Bongiorno AM
Max Bourke AM, founding Director, Australian Heritage Commission (later Council)
Penleigh Boyd, architect
Dr Alison Broinowski AM, former Australian diplomat
Richard Broinowski AO, former Australian diplomat
Bishop George Browning, former Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn
Pamela Burton
Richard Butler AC
Professor Marie Carroll
Dr Peter Cochrane FAHA, historian, Hon. Associate, University of Sydney
Peter G. Corlett OAM, sculptor
Associate Professor Martin Crotty, University of Queensland
Paul Daley, author and journalist; Walkley Award winner
Professor Joy Damousi FASSA, Director, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University
Mark Dawes, former Assistant Director, Branch Head, Corporate Services, Australian War Memorial
Emeritus Professor Phillip Deery, Victoria University
John Denton, architect, Australian Institute of Architects gold medallist
Dr Meredith Edwards AM
Hon. Elizabeth Evatt AC
Dr Romain Fathi, Senior Lecturer in History, Flinders University
Stephen B. Flora, veteran and citizen
Peter Freeman OAM, architectural historian, conservator and writer
Dr Bill Gammage AM FASSA, historian
Dr Rolf Gerritsen, Professorial Research Fellow, Charles Darwin University
Paddy Gourley, former First Assistant Secretary, Department of Defence
Emeritus Professor Tom Griffiths AO FASSA
Major General Steve Gower (Ret’d) AO, AO Mil, Vietnam veteran, former Director, Australian War Memorial
Dr David Headon, historical consultant
Alistair Henchman RPIA, tourism planner
Dr Carolyn Holbrook, ARC Senior Fellow, Deakin University
Dr Douglas Hynd, Adjunct Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
Professor Tracy Ireland, Professor of Cultural Heritage, University of Canberra; editor, Historic Environment
Dr Benjamin T. Jones, Central Queensland University
Brendon Kelson, former Director, Australian War Memorial
Dr Julie Kimber, Senior Lecturer, Politics and History, Swinburne University of Technology
Emeritus Professor Hon. Dr Carmen Lawrence, chair, Australian Heritage Council 2010-18
Richard Llewellyn, former Registrar, Australian War Memorial
Dr Judith McKay, former Curator, Australian War Memorial; former member, Queensland Heritage Council
Professor Mark McKenna, Chair, Department of History, University of Sydney
Dr Michael McKernan, historian; former Deputy Director, Australian War Memorial
Eric Martin AM, heritage architect; former access consultant, Australian War Memorial
John Menadue AO, publisher
Stewart Mitchell, former head of heritage, buildings and services, Australian War Memorial
John Myrtle
Dr Douglas Newton, historian
Brett Odgers, Walter Burley Griffin Society (Canberra Chapter)
Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, Chair of History, Flinders University; President, Australian Historical Society
Roger Pegrum, architect
Margaret Pender
Michael Piggott AM, former Senior Curator, Australian War Memorial
Richard Reid, former Senior Historian, Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Professor Henry Reynolds
Professor Noah Riseman, Australian Catholic University
Associate Professor Tilman Ruff AO, Co-President, Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Professor Lyndall Ryan AM
Penelope Seidler AM, architect
Wendy Sharpe, artist and Australian War Memorial official war artist
Professor Peter Stanley FAHA, UNSW Canberra
Dr David Stephens, convener, Heritage Guardians
Professor Alistair Thomson FASSA, Professor of History, Monash University
Shobha Varkey
Dr Sue Wareham OAM, President, Medical Association for Prevention of War
Don Watson, author
Dr Don Watson FAIA, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Queensland
Dr Peter Watts AM, Emeritus Director, Historic Houses Trust of NSW
Ernst Willheim, Visiting Fellow, ANU College of Law
Janet Wilson, retired librarian
JB Windeyer
Professor Angela Woollacott, Manning Clark Professor of History, ANU
Professor Clare Wright, Professorial Research Fellow and Professor of History, La Trobe University
Source: Architecture - architectureau
