Local icons to be listed on heritage register

Five sites in the Otford, Stanwell Tops and Stanwell Park areas will soon be heritage listed by Wollongong City Council.

The former Garden of Peace, now part of Tumbling Waters Retreat, is being considered, as is a former railway cottage and the Station Master’s House at 40-42 Lady Carrington Drive in Otford.

St George’s Anglican Church in Stanwell Park and the Garrawarra Hospital’s cemetery round out the list of local properties of heritage significance due for listing.

Wollongong Council identified the sites as part of the 67 judged worthy of listing during a recent audit of buildings and places throughout the city.

It wants to include the sites as heritage-listed items on the Local Environmental Plan and has applied to the NSW Planning Minister Craig Knowles to endorse the changes.

A council spokesperson said if potential heritage properties were in private hands, the owners were notified that they were under consideration.

Tumbling Waters Retreat manager Sonja Keller was pleased the Garden of Peace, built by philanthropic owner Henry Halloran during the Depression, would be listed.

“It’s nice to have part of the area heritage listed,” she said.

Wollongong Council strategic planning manager Fay Steward said the listing of privately owned properties actually gave owners greater flexibility.

“Some zonings prevent owners from doing certain things but those restrictions are lifted as a result of heritage listing although any redevelopment or renovation is subject to permission from Council,” she said.

Ms Steward said listing also gave owners access to heritage grants to help with any repairs, maintenance or renovations.

Architect and former Wollongong heritage committee member Andrew Conacher said most of the items on the list fell into the community values category.

The common myth that owners could not do anything with heritage-listed buildings led to them being vandalised and even knocked down.

“Listing is not necessarily the disaster many people think,” he said.

- Additional reporting Illawarra Mercury