Engineering Heritage WA (EHWA) has received a prestigious award from the Heritage Council of Western Australia for the group’s contribution to heritage recognition and conservation.
At the recent 2017 Western Australian Heritage Awards, Minister for Heritage, the Hon. David Templeman MLA and Heritage Council of Western Australia’s Chair, Anne Arnold presented EHWA with the Contribution by a Public or Private Organisation category award.
The award recognises EHWA’s leadership over more than thirty years in the identification, conservation and recording of the state’s engineering, industrial and technological heritage.
In accepting the award, EHWA Chair Karen Riddette MIEAust thanked the Heritage Council, saying she was delighted that the work of EHWA’s volunteers, past and present, was being recognised.
"I'm incredibly proud of the effort that this committee has put in over the years to ensure the engineering achievements of Western Australia are recognised and valued", Ms Riddette said.
"We aren't slowing down either - this year we are excited to be offering a first-ever training course in Heritage Engineering, which will provide engineers with the skills to get more involved in the conservation of heritage sites."
EHWA is the Western Australian branch of Engineers Australia’s peak heritage body; Engineering Heritage Australia. Its activities support the national Engineering Heritage Recognition Program, which encourages the conservation of Australian engineering heritage.
Engineering sites that are successfully nominated for recognition are judged to be of local, national or international significance. Each site is awarded a permanent marker and an interpretation panel is installed to raise community awareness of the important contribution of engineering.
To date some 25 sites in WA have been successfully nominated, including the Rottnest Island Lighthouse and Signal Station and the East-West Telegraph (Perth to Adelaide). Three of the sites are recognised for their international significance: Goldfields Water Supply, NASA Space Tracking Station Carnarvon and Pilbara Heavy Haul Railways.
In addition to the recognition program, EHWA provides advice to government and the community on engineering heritage significance and management options for various sites. Through its continuing education program, EHWA supports the engineering and heritage communities develop their skills to identify, maintain and conserve WA’s heritage.
Winners in other categories at the 2017 Western Australian Heritage Awards included the former Dalgety Wool Stores in Fremantle, which have been conserved and adapted for re-use as apartments; Friends of Australian Rock Art; the Shire of Murray; the Monsignor Hawes Heritage Centre in Geraldton; and the Busselton Jetty Experience.
Find out more about the sites listed on the Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.
Image: (L-R) The Hon. David Templeman MLA, Minister for the Heritage; Karen Riddette MIEAust, Chair, Engineering Heritage WA; and Anne Arnold, Chair, Heritage Council of WA at the 25th Western Australia Heritage Awards.