Local Heritage - Places and Spaces

History month is about celebrating our history throughout South Australia. In Yankalilla, the Council is holding a Youth Art Competition that will illustrate Yankalilla’s historic places and spaces.

Entries that depict an historic scene, character, building, place or activity that is part of the area’s history, both ‘then’ and ‘now’.

It is open to all young people aged from 5 - 18 years of age for those living in the Yankalilla Council district.

There are 2 categories:

Junior aged 5 -12 and Senior – aged 13 -18 years.

First Prize is $100 and Second Prize of $50 in both categories

Closes Tuesday the 31st May, 2016

Local heritage is there to benefit everyone, people or groups with a special passion for history.

Council is currently calling for nominations for local people who have enriched the past or present as part of the Heritage Month of May.

Nominations should be for people who have lived, or live currently, in the District Council of Yankalilla.

Heritage heroes are people who have contributed to the social, economic and environmental heritage of the district. In ways that care for existing historic places, vistas, and structures.

Get your nomination in by Tuesday the 31^st May, 2016.

The review process of the 1985 Region 4 Heritage survey will inform the project where to start. However, because local heritage is to benefit everyone, people or groups with a special passion for history can be local heroes, by talking to friends and encouraging people to tell their stories.

The assistance of local heroes, especially the Yankalilla and Districts Historical Society, is gratefully appreciated by council. So far the review has been conferring with the Society and accessing all sorts of historical material from their collection. It is interesting to note that the society offers, for a modest fee, a well researched historical report of private homes and a plaque for the wall that summarises the history for owners interested in the story of their own building. If interested, please contact the secretary, Dr Margaret Morgan, PhD. The Yankalilla and District Historical Society is a valuable resource for people interested in local history, and is generally represented every Wednesday morning at the Community Library from 10 am to noon to assist people seeking historical information. Check it out.

As well as sending us details of your favourite place(s) or space(s), Council will be consulting on the following policies at township meetings within the district early in 2016.

These public consultations will include an opportunity to tell us about places and spaces that contribute to the special landscape and the heritage of the district.

For further information regarding the public consultation please check this space!

Council has initiated a check on the heritage places within the Yankalilla District that were identified by a regional heritage survey of the Fleurieu Peninsula in 1985.

There were 185 places recorded. Of these, 56 were identified as being of State significance with 20 places currently recognised within the State Heritage Register. There are no places of Local heritage value currently recognized by the Development Plan.

Since 1985 six historic buildings have been demolished, and many unoccupied stone cottages have become ruins. Your input will help Council to develop ways of making heritage an asset to owners and to the community in general. Some places appear to have been missed too.

So look around – and let us know what should be conserved and cared for.

Yankalilla & Districts Historical Society is a wonderful source of information about places and spaces in the District. The Society provides help to people wanting to know more about local history every Wednesday morning from 10 -12 in the community library.

Please take the time to go into our document library and see what was identified back in 1985.

The regional heritage survey identified places by number on a cadastral map, and listed places as either recommended for State heritage as 'A' or local heritage listing as 'B' in the associated schedule for that part of the council district.

Our review has identified a number of places that have been demolished since 1985, and many ruins listed were not evident. See if you can find a place and let us know if you can help with any information about the listing!

Heritage can be many things. The following is a list of criteria that are considered for heritage listing.

Types of heritage listing

Local heritage

A place or object may be considered to have local heritage value if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

• displays historical, economic or social themes that are of importance to the local area
• represents customs or ways of life that are characteristic of the local area
• has played an important part in the lives of local residents
• displays aesthetic merit, design characteristics or construction techniques of significance to the local area
• is associated with a notable local personality or event
• is a notable landmark in the area
• is a tree of special historical or social significance or importance within the local area.

Local heritage places and objects are established through the Development Act. It may be that either state or local listing is appropriate. Local listing establishes a need to obtain approval to demolish a building that is of historic significance and recognised as such in the Development Plan. Otherwise, demolition approval for an unlisted building is automatic. While buildings are a small part of the range of heritage that can be recognised, it is important to try to retain places of cultural and historic significance and allow consideration of all options.

State heritage

A place, area or object may be considered to have state heritage value if it meets one of more of the following criteria:

• demonstrates important aspects of the evolution or pattern of the state's history
• has rare, uncommon or endangered qualities that are of cultural significance
• may yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the state's history, including its natural history
• is an outstanding representative of a particular class of places of cultural significance
• demonstrates a high degree of creative, aesthetic or technical accomplishment or is an outstanding representative of particular construction techniques or design characteristics
• has strong cultural or spiritual associations for the community or a group within it
• has a special association with the life or work of a person or organisation or an event of historical importance.

State heritage places, areas and objects are established through the Heritage Places Act.