TAMWORTH Regional Council has taken over ownership of one of the city’s oldest buildings, purchasing the former Crown Land’s office on Fitzroy Street off the NSW Government for just $1.
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Crown Land staff moved from the 118-year-old building to Noel Park House in December, 2017. It will be given a new lease on life under council, who have promised to only use it for community or recreational purposes.
Fearfully the historic Victorian building would go under the hammer and potentially knocked down, Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson requested it be kept in public hands.
“The default position on many old buildings these days is to first knock it down, sell it, and build everything brand new – I’m not a fan of that,” Mr Anderson said.
“I much prefer that if there is an old historic building that tells us about our history, we preserve it.
“I was delighted that the Treasurer and Finance Minister agreed to my request and the $1 price tag for council to take ownership of the historic property.”
Tamworth mayor Col Murray said council was yet to decide what specific role the building would play, and was open to taking suggestions from the community.
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“We do have a shortage of space in the city for community use,” Cr Murray said.
“There are a lot of community groups out there looking for a meeting space or something similar. It will be great to be able to work on this project with the community.
“Tamworth has had some criticism over many years for not retaining heritage buildings. This is a great example of how that can be done with the assistance of the NSW government.
“This is a great community asset and a great opportunity to protect our heritage.”
Building a testament to history
The building was completed in October 1900, at the cost of 5000 pounds and is considered to be one of Tamworth’s best examples of late-Victorian architecture.
It was designed by the architect Warren Vernon, who was the government architect at the time.
Mr Vernon has a swagger of iconic buildings under his name, including designing the Fisher Library at Sydney University, Prince Alfred Hospital, the Mitchell Libraries, Central Station in Sydney and the Lands Department building in Sydney.
The land had previously served as the postmaster’s cow paddock and had a frontage on Fitzroy Street.
Jamieson Murphy
Newcastle Herald news director and business reporter. Interested in any and all yarns. Whisper g'day mate to me at jamieson.murphy@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Newcastle Herald news director and business reporter. Interested in any and all yarns. Whisper g'day mate to me at jamieson.murphy@austcommunitymedia.com.au
