A total of three Greater Shepparton Heritage Advisory Committee members were elected as Office Bearers for the 2022-2023 period at its November meeting.
The Committee meets monthly to provide expert advice to Greater Shepparton City Council on cultural heritage and conservation issues. The role of the Committee also includes promoting the region’s unique historical legacy, raising awareness, and encouraging conservation and preservation of significant heritage places, objects and knowledge. The three elected Office Bearers are:
- Chairperson, Geoffrey Maynard (Shepparton Heritage Centre Inc.)
- Deputy Chairperson, George Ferguson (Tatura and District Historical Society Inc.)
- Secretary, Marjorie Earl (Katandra and District History Group Inc.)
Since 2012, the Committee has encouraged Council to support a variety of programs and initiatives that seek to raise awareness of places of heritage significance across Greater Shepparton. These include the biennial Greater Shepparton Cultural Heritage Awards, to be held in April 2023, which recognise heritage places and buildings, local heritage publications, interpretive signage, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage, community and multicultural events, and student or youth contributions. The Awards alternate with the biennial Bruce Wilson Memorial Heritage Lecture, honouring the immense contribution of the Committee’s original chair.
The Committee also organises the Greater Shepparton Heritage Open Days event and assists in the assessment of applications for the Greater Shepparton Heritage Conservation Grants Program. The Committee is currently progressing the Greater Shepparton Heritage Plaques Pilot Program and plans to launch this initiative in early 2023, seeing places of significance identified with blue plaques and a short description of their significance.
Mayor, Cr Shane Sali, said it was exciting to see the Heritage Advisory Committee going from strength to strength in its eleventh year.
“Greater Shepparton’s history is distinctive and diverse, reflecting all of the buildings, places, and stories that are important to our community,” he said.
“Our history also includes important industrial elements, such as irrigation infrastructure and food production facilities, cemeteries and memorials, and World War II internment sites and collections.”
Committee member, Cr Fern Summer, congratulated the three elected Officer Bearers on their appointment.
“We look forward to working closely with the Committee and the elected Officer Bearers over the next year on any matters of cultural heritage and conservation within the region,” she said.
“The Committee have an important role to play in the cultural heritage space and Council is fortunate to have such a knowledgeable group of members to take on this role.”
