Sibella was struggling this time to get
Marnie and Dale to fight; for all the discomfort that taking on such a project
and lifestyle involved, they seemed pretty level headed and calm. When the show
was announced by Richard Finlayson back in November 2014, the
line was: "stylist Sibella Court follows a group of Aussie battlers who
are working to restore some amazing Australian heritage buildings in
RESTORATION AUSTRALIA". So the participants were labelled and stereotyped from
the start.
The antagonist this time was the poor
council building permit officer. At least four times we are told how the work
is being held up by slow council approval. The "Piss off heritage
people" was given plenty of prominence. A shame really, since the show was
a lost opportunity for bringing parties together. Preserving and re-using old
buildings has to be a compromise between conservation and change, something evident
in every choice that each
of the restorers in this show make. Perpetuating the conflict myth only serves
to further distort public views. A case in point is Reimund Zunde's photostory on Vince. On
the surface it seems to be a proud old man surrounded by his family history,
but look deeper and the photos speak of insularity, superstition and decay. He was greatly dishonoured
in this show. Lisa
G. has also filled
us in on the dynamite myth. The only damage I could see looked pretty much like
water had undermined the wall after the adjoining roof collapsed.
A look at the Heritage Study citation
shows some discrepancies with the way the show describes the place. No mention
of Granny's House or a Blacksmith, and the real estate listing
suggests Granny's house is earlier than the big house. As Lisa suggested, it
would be useful to update the citation and statement of significance. Site
descriptions are sparse and I can't find the HV permit, but looking at some photos, it
seems there were details of history, fabric and potential archaeology that might not have been given the study
they deserved. The best-practice approach would be a Conservation Plan, but
what happens when the battler
can't afford best practice, and the heritage people would rather see anything done rather than inevitable decay. Some heritage might just be
considered sacrificial, either because its state of decay and the economics mean that no one will ever
front up the repair cost, or that if someone is crazy enough to do something
with it, they should be given all possible leeway, because otherwise it would
just crumble to dust.
One irony is that if it were to crumble,
it would probably become more obviously an archaeological site, and so the
level of scientific rigour and excavation would be more likely to be applied.
For example the nearby "Former Gervasoni Farm Building Ruins" are on
the inventory, but not the register H7723-1165. I saw archaeology everywhere in
the show, but the "3-400mm of crap" in the basement floor seems to
have just been dug out and dumped. I guess it is in a secondary depositional
context now.
Another irony of course is that as the
place is more lived in, with the accoutrements of modern comfort, it will be
less picturesque. The subtle patina of age and "ruin aesthetic" that
attracts people to it now will
be diminished. The old chestnut about distinguishing between what is old and
the' definitely new' results in the PWD toolshed extension while the new layers
over the existing iron roof have distorted the original proportions.
There is a well understood aesthetic
appreciate often applied to such projects in Europe – in
fact whole real estate companies devoted to selling ruins for
reconstruction and restoration. I
will give Marnie and Dale time and the benefit of the doubt, but the concrete
slabs, tin sheds and penchant for pushing walls around with screw jacks doesn't
fill me with confidence that my own heritage aesthetic will be satisfied.
Speaking of screw jacks or acrow props, I
would say that one good reason for the "bossy bureaucrats" permits
and heritage red tape is to protect the restorer's from themselves.
g
Update
In 2017 the big house was nearly ready to move in and in May this year the verandah had been reconstructed. In the absence of reality TV, the owners seem to have managed to do some actual restoration.
https://www.facebook.com/TheOldStonehouse1854/
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