ASSESSMENT OF CULTURALHERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE ANDEXECUTIVE DIRECTORRECOMMENDATION TO THEHERITAGE COUNCIL

NAME: Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve

LOCATION: Magpie Street Golden Point, Ballarat City

HERITAGE OVERLAY NO: NA

FILE: 14/002783

HERMES NUMBER: 197074

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE HERITAGE COUNCIL: That the place NOT be included in the Victorian Heritage Register [Section 32 (1)(b) of the

Heritage Act 1995].

TIM SMITHExecutive Director Recommendation Date: 19 September 2014

NOMINATIONHeritage Council CriteriaThis place was nominated on the basis that it satisfies Criteria A, B, C, G and H of the Heritage Council of Victoria's Criteria for Assessment.

The nomination is provided as Attachment 1 to this document.

ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE [s.34A(2)(d)]

It is the view of the Executive Director that the Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve should not be included in the Victorian Heritage Register.

RECOMMENDATION REASONSREASONS FOR NOT RECOMMENDING INCLUSION IN THE VICTORIAN HERITAGE REGISTER [s.34A(2)(c)]Following is the Executive Director's assessment of the place in the context of the Heritage Act 1995 and against the tests set out in The Victorian Heritage Register Criteria and Thresholds Guidelines (2012).

1. INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF LOCATION

Section 21(1) of the Heritage Act states that the Executive Director ‘must include in the Heritage Register sufficient details to identify the places or objects included in the Heritage Register.’ Section 46 (4) states that all notices of registration ‘must include sufficient information to provide reasonable identification of the place or object’.

The nominator states that the Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve was the location of the Gold Commissioner’s Camp established in September 1851. Yet the available historical evidence is unclear about the location of this Camp. Historian Weston Bate is quoted by the nominator: ‘Gradually the government camp took shape and its routines developed on the quartz hill, later Post Office Hill, overlooking the diggings’ (extract from Lucky City, p.14). Post Office Hill is a large area (see survey map on p.6). Extant archival records are not precise about the location of the Gold Commissioner’s Camp within this area.

The Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve may or may not contain the entirety, or part of the location of the Gold Commissioner’s Camp. The Gold Commissioner’s Camp may have been located fully or partially on nearby freehold land now occupied by housing.

It is the view of the Executive Director that a place known as the Gold Commissioner’s Camp existed in September 1851, but that there is insufficient evidence of its precise location for consideration for the Victorian Heritage Register at this time.

Under the Heritage Act, there is statutory protection for all historical archaeological deposits in Victoria (s.127). If any historical archaeological remains are exposed at any time during works on

Name: Former Golden Point Primary School ReserveHermes Number: 197061

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Post Office Hill, it is an offence for them to be disturbed without consent from the Executive Director.

Criteria A, B, C & GIt is inappropriate to assess this place under criteria A, B, C as the nominator’s claims about the significance under these criteria largely depend on the association of this place with the Gold Commissioner’s Camp.2. CRITERION H

Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Victoria’s history.

The Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve has been nominated on the basis of its association with William Dunstan, a winner of the Victoria Cross in 1915 and former student of the Golden Point Primary School.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S ASSESSMENT The Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve is known informally by some in the community

as the ‘William Dunstan Reserve’. This place has a direct association with the community member William Dunstan. William Dunstan was a former student at the Primary School and was awarded the Victoria Cross

for his service at Gallipoli in 1915. William Dunstan, as an individual, did not make a strong and influential contribution to the

course of Victoria’s history. William Dunstan was one of hundreds of students from that Primary School and one of 77

members of the First AIF who were awarded Victoria Crosses during World War I.

STEP 1: A BASIC TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION H

The place/object has a DIRECT ASSOCIATION with a person or group of persons who have made a strong or influential CONTRIBUTION to the course of Victoria’s history.

PlusThe ASSOCIATION of the place/object to the person(s) IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the

place/object and/or in documentary resources and/or oral history.Plus

The ASSOCIATION:directly relates to ACHIEVEMENTS of the person(s) at, or relating to, the place/object; or

relates to an ENDURING and/or CLOSE INTERACTION between the person(s) and the place/object

It is the view of the Executive Director that Criterion H is not likely to be satisfied.

It is noted that there is a plaque dedicated to William Dunstan located in Sturt Street Ballarat which was unveiled in 2013.

DESCRIPTION SUMMARYThe Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve is a 1.2ha reserve with frontage onto Magpie and Bradshaw Streets. There is an access track and gate onto Wainwright Street. The reserve is

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predominantly grass and is ringed by native plantings. There is a rough asphalt area in the southern section, two cricket practice nets in the southeast section, and two remnant asphalt tennis courts at the northwest section.

HISTORY SUMMARYThe Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve is located in the area known as Post Office Hill. Gold was discovered at Buninyong on 8 August 1851 and at Poverty Point on or about 21 August 1851. The richness of the gold sparked the State’s first major rush. On 19 September 1851 the Commissioner Doveton arrived at Golden Point. He set up a government camp (Gold Commissioner’s Camp) in the Post Office Hill area, and announced his attention to issue licences and restrict the size of claims to eight feet square. By the middle of October 1851 it was estimated that there were some 2,000 tents near Golden Point, and 10,000 men at work with 1,200 to 1,300 cradles in operation. For several weeks fantastic yields were obtained, but the shallow deposits on the hill side could not withstand the furious rate of extraction. By the end of the year, Ballarat was nearly deserted for new rushes to Forest Creek and Bendigo. In July 1852 (some ten months later) a more substantial Government Camp was established at Camp Hill between Lydiard Street and Camp Street, in the area of the current site of the Art Gallery of Ballarat. By 1855 the Post Office Hill area became an open cut quartz mine. It is understood that a pine plantation was established on this site during the early to mid-twentieth century.

In 1971 this place was gazetted as a State School Purposes Reserve (Temporary) Crown Reserve. It was used by the nearby Golden Point Primary School for student sport and recreation purposes. In 1994 the Golden Point Primary School was closed and the Reserve was deemed surplus to requirements by the Department of Education. The Reserve was purchased as freehold land by the Sovereign Hill Museum Association. Between 1997 and 2012 it was used as an overflow car park by Sovereign Hill during peak times. In June 2014 the Reserve was sold to the current owner. The place is known informally within the community as the William Dunstan Reserve after a former student and Victoria Cross recipient from World War I.

VICTORIAN HISTORICAL THEMES 4.0 Transforming and managing land and natural resources

4.5 Gold mining8.0 Building Community Life

8.2 Educating people9.0 Shaping Cultural and Creative Life

9.1 Participating in sport and recreation

INTEGRITY/INTACTNESSThis place has been disturbed by extensive mining activities and other land development activities (such as levelling for the sports ground) since the 1850s. As a result of this the likelihood of extant archaeological deposits is extremely low.

CONDITIONThe grounds (turf) – good conditionThe tennis courts – poor conditionCricket pitch – good condition Trees – good condition

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COMPARISONS It is unclear whether this place was the site of the Gold Commissioner’s Camp of September

1851. Therefore it cannot be compared with other places with a similar association. This place was used for gold mining in the 1850s and as a primary school reserve in the 1970s. It

can be compared with thousands of places across Victoria with substantially the same association.

KEY REFERENCES USED TO PREPARE ASSESSMENTNomination materialVictorian Heritage Database

ATTACHMENTSNomination material

IMAGES

Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve with proximity to Sovereign Hill and the Ballarat Gold Museum (Google Maps).

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Ballarat Gold Museum

Sovereign Hill Museum

Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve

Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve Aerial Photo.

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Post Office Hill (Contour Map) with the Former Golden Point Primary School Reserve highlighted in pink.

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Remnant tennis courts in the north section (2014).

Eastern access to Wainwright Street (2014).

View towards the northern section (2014).

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View towards the southern section showing cricket practice cages (2014).

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