A DECISION to heritage-list the Pioneer Settlement museum village has forced Swan Hill Council to reassess how it moves forward with plans for a $10 million interpretive centre on the site.
But Swan Hill Council Mayor Jade Benham says it’s time to move the popular tourist attraction into the 21st century.
“Council wants to be able to keep the core of the Settlement, but keep adding to it over time to maintain visitation,” she said.
“We will now have to look at options when progressing development. The Heartbeat of the Murray (laser show) is due for an upgrade, and we just don’t know if we will have to apply for permits for that space, and anything else we had planned, we now have to go through a process.”
The nearly 60-year-old museum village tourist attraction was officially declared to be of state-level heritage significance last week, with the Pioneer Settlement added to Victoria’s Heritage Register.
Credited with inspiring the hugely popular Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, it contains 52 buildings, of which 20 are buildings relocated from the Mallee region.
Council had opposed its listing on the register at a public hearing last year. It was concerned about the potential impact the listing could have on the day-to-day operation of the Settlement and “more importantly, the ability to renew and add to the Settlement to meet the needs of a changing tourism market”.
Cr Benham said council was still “trying to understand what this all means, but we already have options.”
“We will work with Heritage Victoria officers to find out what we can do and what we can’t do,” she said.
“Pioneer Settlement needs to evolve like all visitor attractions do to maintain and encourage repeat visitation.
“There is more competition now than when it was first built … it was influential of its type, not saying it wasn’t, but it has quickly been overtaken by Sovereign Hill in terms of folk museums and education of the pioneer history.”
Council had noted that Sovereign Hill, despite “being better understood with the folk village movement”, was not subject to any heritage protection.
The Heritage Council, however, found the site “has had a strong and influential impact on the course of Victoria’s history”.
It said the majority of the more than 500 submissions it received were supportive of a listing for the Pioneer Settlement.
Friends of the Pioneer Settlement – the volunteer group that helps to run and maintain the Settlement – made a submission objecting to the heritage listing.
Cr Benham said a lot of effort had been put into the settlement maintaining relevance with the broader visitor market.
“The introduction of the Heartbeat of the Murray laser light show in 2015 was an innovation that has provided diversity that appeals to all ages,” she said.
“The cost has varied in recent years from about $700,000 to $980,000 and those costs could escalate when specialist advice is needed in relation to any refurbishments or additions,” she said.
“The exemptions provided as part of the registration for maintenance are welcomed by council, but are yet to be tested.”
Cr Benham said council was yet to examine opportunities for funding, which was usually limited to grants of about $200,000 for specific works on buildings.
No state funds currently exist for recurrent or operational expenses.
A submission for Pioneer Settlement’s heritage status was made by an individual after Swan Hill Council voted to build Our Place, a $10 million interpretive centre on the grounds of the facility.
Our Place is proposed to become the new Pioneer Settlement entrance, an art gallery, visitor services and cultural experiences centre.
Cr Benham said she believed that the broader community generally supported the development of Our Place.She acknowledged that the heritage listing was “great for those people that originally did the hard yards and worked hard to get it up and going”.
“The fact it’s still going and still open, 60 years after it was first established is a great way to acknowledge those who were first in setting it up and we thank them for doing so.”Decision is a “badge of honour”, says ex-mayor
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THE heritage listing of the Pioneer Settlement should be “a badge of honour,” former Swan Hill Council mayor David Quayle says.
He argued there should be no more advertising the attraction unless it encouraged people to visit the “heritage-listed concept”.
“The listing really is a badge of honour,” Mr Quayle said.
The resident has been outspoken in his opposition to Our Place being built in the grounds of the Settlement, arguing it impacts on the theme of the living museum.
“We don’t want the Settlement being disrupted by putting a new building inside and taking away the theme of the place that it was intended for,” Mr Quayle said.
He claimed council wanted to make the bottom line look worse than it really was, saying council spent about $800,000 each year on the Settlement, not $1 million.
“The fact is even if it’s $800,000, and council saying the bottom line is too high, they are looking at the negative aspect, but not look at the positive of the commercial value it brings to the town,” he said.
“The heritage listing shouldn’t make any different at all, they can still receive exemptions as outlined in the report, it’s not as restrictive as they portray.
Mr Quayle disputed that council would need to consult with a heritage specialist.
“That’s a cop-out because they don’t need to bring in a consultant,” he claimed.
“All they need to do is plan what they want to do and submit it for approval. If approval is met and the Heritage Council think it’s suitable to the facility, it’s all go.”
Cr Benham rejected this, saying significant costs and time delays were expected with the new laser light show and entry activation currently funded and being planned.
“By way of example, council will spend just under $9000 in specialist advice to seek an exemption for the renovation of a car park at Lake Boga’s Catalina museum (the whole site of the museum is on the state register),” she said.
Mr Quayle said opponents of Our Place weren’t advocating to fight with council.
“We have never said we don’t want Our Place building, we just said we don’t want it inside the Pioneer Settlement,” he said.
Cr Benham hoped that the supporters of the heritage registration would “do this with their feet by becoming ambassadors and volunteers”.
She said there was a vacancy for a car driver on weekends and “people just need to contact the Settlement and find out how easy it is to help”.
Mr Quayle said a good starting point would be to have a discussion between council and representatives of other groups.
He said the group opposed to the Our Place development didn’t lodge the application.
“An individual person did it because they feared the place would be wrecked and it could come too late,” he said.
“We always encouraged heritage listing because it’s all about being a place of heritage … heritage listing is a badge of honour, it really is.”
Cr Benham said there was no evidence to suggest a heritage registration drove more visitation to any place and would “welcome evidence to the contrary, if available”.
