Community Campaigns
Unions back campaign to save Parramatta heritage buildings
Unions, including the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association, are supporting a campaign to save historic buildings, Willow Grove and St George’s Terrace, after the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union NSW (CFMEU) branch placed Green Bans over the site.
The sites have been earmarked for demolition by the Berejiklian Government, to make way for the proposed new Powerhouse Museum in Parramatta.
The two heritage sites have played key roles in Parramatta’s post-colonial history. For example, the Italianate Villa, Willow Grove, served as Western Sydney’s maternity hospital for the first half of the 20th century.
CFMEU NSW Branch Secretary Darren Greenfield has committed his union to supporting the preservation of the sites.
“We will not stand by and watch as more local heritage is destroyed,” he stated, announcing the union’s Green Bans.
Other organisations involved in the campaign to preserve the historic sites include the North Parramatta Residents Action Group, the National Trust of Australia, and the Historic Houses Association.
You can show your support for the campaign here.
We must preserve what is left of our historical buildings. Here in Australia we have to put up with these beautiful buildings being torn down, usually for money or for some project that could be located elsewhere. We are a large country and should not have to demolish something of heritage value for something new!