Fremantle Herald Official: COCKBURN COAST HERITAGE FOCUS World War II WAR II bunkers and significant Aboriginal sites, including limestone caves, face obliteration under a plan to populate the Cockburn coast south of Fremantle. Hamilton Hill historian Paul Watson raised the alarm at a recent Cockburn council meeting, only to be told “military experts” had found nothing of note on the coastal ridgeline. Unconvinced, Mr Watson called in artillery barracks personnel who identified defence sites the Herald visited this week. “Acknowledgement and preservation of the military heritage of this area is essential for the development of a ‘sense of place’,” Mr Watson says. Cockburn planning and development director Daniel Arndt says LandCorp commissioned a cultural heritage strategy covering structure plans for Robb Jetty and the emplacements along the existing Cockburn Road overlooking the sound. “Both local structure plans were referred by the city to the department of indigenous affairs and State Heritage Office,” he says. “Both agencies were supportive of the content of the local structure plans and did not request changes.” Mr Arndt concedes defence personnel were not consulted, ”the South Beach battery remains are contained within a current City reserve and there is no intention to remove the battery”. Mr Watson says the Cockburn coast project and a planned coastal road threaten to demolish heritage sites in the existing emplacement precinct, contrary to the structure plan’s aim of achieving, “a sustainable community that celebrates the area’s past”. He criticised the four weeks Cockburn residents were given to comment on a major coastal development that will take 15 to 20 years to complete. The WA planning commission allows no less than three months for public submissions. He says the council has given little attention to the extensive military complex, which still exists along the ridge pegged for high-density housing. Similarly, LandCorp’s cultural heritage survey, which devotes two and a half pages to defence heritage, undersells the importance of the area, he says. “There is a strong feeling among many residents of Cockburn that any call for submissions to respond to planning instruments is largely tokenistic,” Mr Watson says, adding submissions that raised concerns were largely ignored. (The Fremantle Herlad-June 28, 2013) LINK to rest of the article:heraldonlinejournal/2013/06/28/cockburn-coast-heritage-focus/
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 09:12:57 +0000
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