
Dear Supporter and Concerned Community Member,
The Government seems intent on alienating the community from its connection and access to our history and our precious heritage icons. In recent weeks we have seen serious threats to the fate and future of State Heritage listed Martindale Hall and Ayers House.
Martindale Hall
Environment Minister David Speirs has introduced a Bill into Parliament seeking to divert Martindale Hall, and its surrounding Conservation Park, from the protection it currently enjoys under its establishment Trust, the Heritage Places Act, and the watchful eye of the National Trust of SA.
Instead, under the proposed legislation, the Trust and the Conservation Park would be abolished, and the ‘care, control, and management’ of the Hall would be ‘vested in the Minister’. Although the Bill provides that the uses of the Hall are determined under the Heritage Conservation Policy, it also states that ‘The State Planning Commission will be taken to be the relevant authority…..in relation to any proposed development at Martindale Hall’. In other words the fate of the Hall will be in the hands of an unelected body; an Agency of a Government which has shown that it cannot be trusted to safeguard our heritage.
There is widespread public concern about the implications of this Bill. I believe that the Minister is unaware of the widespread opinion in favour of the retention of safeguards for Martindale Hall, and of the public support for an enhanced role for the National Trust in conserving and enhancing the property as a major tourist attraction.
Last week, the Government’s bill narrowly passed the Lower House and may be considered in the Legislative Council as early as next week. Now, only a vote of the Legislative Council against the bill can stop it from removing key protections for Martindale Hall as a community asset. I encourage you to contact the non-government members of the Legislative Council to prevent the passage of this Bill.
Ayers House
The recent announcement of the Government’s proposed takeover of Ayers House raises many concerns about its future as a heritage asset for all South Australians. We are faced with the alarming prospect of 50 years of National Trust stewardship of the House being abrogated and replaced by a tenancy ceded to a bureaucratic Government Agency, the History Trust, as its headquarters and administrative centre.
The manner in which the Government effected its appropriation of the future of Ayres House was as offensive as it was cruel. The National Trust Executive received a hand-delivered eviction notice from Minister Speirs via his Departmental Head. This required the House to be vacated within 31 days.
I am concerned that this extraordinary action by the Minister is a vindictive response to the campaign by the National trust to safeguard Martindale Hall in the face of his proposed legislation.
It is vital that the ongoing lease of Ayers House should reside with the National Trust of SA which is the pre-eminent guardian of our history and heritage.
We are seeing increasing evidence that the Government and its administrative arms cannot be trusted in this role.
A Call to Action
I urge you to act now to help protect these two heritage icons and to safeguard their place in the public domain as tourism hubs within our community and for the many interstate and overseas visitors they will continue to attract.
You can help protect our precious heritage icons by contacting your State Member of Parliament, by downloading and sharing the petition to Parliament in respect of Martindale Hall or by signing and sharing the Ayers House online petition.
The National Trust is inviting everyone to special open days at the Ayers House Museum this weekend 10am-4pm. Admission is free by you are required to pre-register for Covid-rule compliance. Register here and come and see what is at risk of being lost.
Thank you for your interest and support.
Yours sincerely
Warren Jones AO
Ask the Legislative Council to say no to privatising Martindale Hall
Please write to members of the Legislative Council and ask them to oppose the Government’s bill to allow the privatisation of Martindale Hall.Download a list of State MP contacts
Professor Warren Jones AO is the Convenor of the Protect our Heritage Alliance, a coalition of concerned organisations and individuals, working to protect our built and natural environment. GPO Box 2021 Adelaide, SA 5001
Phone: 0419 852 622
Email: convenor@protectourheritage.org.au
Web: www.protectourheritage.org.au
Facebook: protectourheritageSA
You must be logged in to post a comment.