ACT Heritage Library Manuscript Collection
HMSS 0191 Barton Residents Association Papers
Scope and content notes
Call Number |
HMSS 0191 |
Collection |
Barton Residents Association Papers |
Date Range |
1979-1996 |
Quantity |
0.18 m (1 manuscript box) |
Access Conditions |
open |
Copying Conditions |
with attribution |
Related Collections |
- |
The Barton Residents Association (BRA) was formed in January 1979 to protect the built heritage of Barton, one of Canberra’s oldest suburbs. At the time, new Parliament House was under construction, and some redevelopment in Barton was already proposed. Residents believed that this and other potential development would adversely affect an important area of local and national heritage.
The Association’s activities evolved from recognising and recording heritage buildings, through a court action brought against a proposal to demolish a heritage house, to ongoing monitoring of public policy in heritage matters.
The Collection was came to the ACT Heritage Library in two deposits.
The first deposit were papers collected by Trevor and Joan Lipscombe and are identified as the Lipscombe Deposit.
The second deposit were the personal papers of Ian Morison, an active foundation member of the BRA and resident of Darling Street, Barton. Ian handed his papers to John and Celia Burgess of Belmore Gardens. The Burgess’ in turn provided the papers in 2011 to Nick Swain who is interested in the suburb’s history and planning matters. They agreed that these papers were best held with the other BRA papers held in the ACT Heritage Library.
Collectively the Lipscombe and Morison papers provide a comprehensive record of significant matters affecting the Barton area from the late 1970s through to the mid 1990s. These included the operation of Pine Lodge (formerly Barton House hostel), the fight to save a heritage dwelling from demolition, the lead up to and eventual heritage listing of the Barton Housing Precinct, and a number of planning proposals that would have radically changed the character of Barton. There were community meetings and significant lobbying of local politicians. Importantly these papers cover the period leading up to and immediately after the creation of self-government in the ACT. They show how some matters, such as heritage protection, were put on hold leading up to self-government and then took some time to be sorted out afterwards, providing developers with opportunities that otherwise might not have been available.
Box List
Box No. |
Description |
QTY |
Date Range |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
Lipscome Desposit Part 1: Papers relating to proposals to rezone Barton Papers concerning development proposals and their potential effect on the existing built environment, and the idea and practicalities of heritage listing, including: |
1 file |
1979-1986 |
1 |
Lipscome Deposit Part 2: Papers relating to the court action against demolition of a heritage house in Barton Barton Residents Association newsletters, fact sheets, press releases and circular letters to residents. |
1 file |
October 1988 – May 1992 |
1 |
Lipscombe Deposit Part 3: Papers relating to proposals for future planning for Barton and Kingston National Capital Planning Authority and ACT Planning Authority. Future Planning for Barton: Issues and Opportunities. A Joint Discussion Document. October 1991. |
1 file |
October 1991 – Feb 1993 |
1 |
Morison Deposit |
1 file |
1988-1996 |