A RARE splash of color lit up Parramatta when artists came to town to protest against the NSW Government’s plan to demolish heritage properties to make way for the new Powerhouse Museum.
The Western Sydney artists “love-bombed” St George’s Terrace through their “guerilla gallery” of paintings, drawings and colorful yarns down at St George’s Terrace, in George St, with the theme of saving those buildings as well as Willow Grove, the 1870s Victorian Italianate villa up the road.
North Parramatta Residents Action Group president Suzette Meade said the day was a great success with many passers-by vowing to “stand in front of the bulldozers” if necessary to support the CFMEU green ban on the demolition of those properties.
“This is one of the most well-supported green bans placed on heritage destruction in decades,” Ms. Meade said.
“CFMEU was inundated after the announcement of the green ban, with emails and letters from all over the state.”
NPRAG and other heritage advocates want the Powerhouse to be built in the Fleet Street Heritage Precinct, on the site of the Cumberland Hospital, to become part of an invigorated tourism mecca – especially as it is on the route of the new light rail.
“This site just makes sense as a future cultural tourism destination for Parramatta. It already has World Heritage-worthy narratives, such as the Female Factory, expansive garden setting, room for growth of our arts industry, a light rail stop, and the fact it doesn’t flood,” Ms. Meade said.
While Parramatta Council has concerns about flooding and demolition of the heritage buildings, it is happy with the riverside site.
