The University of Sydney along with University Colleges and Victoria Park will join the likes of Queen Victoria Building, the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge as they have just been recognised as places of state significance and will soon be listed on the State Heritage Register.
NSW Heritage Minister, Gabrielle Upton welcomed the announcement, stating that it was ‘only fitting’ that Australia’s oldest university was included on their State Heritage Register.
“This is a time to celebrate, to reflect on the history and the culture of this unique cultural landscape, and to preserve and protect the heritage values of the University of Sydney, University College and Victoria Park for years to come,” the Minister said.
In NSW there are different types of statutory listings for local, state and national heritage items. A property can be deemed a heritage item if it is:
- listed in the heritage schedule of a local council’s local environmental plan (LEP) or a regional environmental plan (REP)
- listed on the State Heritage Register, a register of places and items of importance to the people of NSW
- listed on the National Heritage Listexternal link established by the Australian Government to list places of outstanding heritage significance to Australia.
Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Michael Spence welcomed the Minister’s announcement.
“This announcement demonstrates our commitment as curators and caretakers of some of Sydney’s most historic buildings,” he said, “we recognise we sit on the land of the Cadigal people of the Eora nation and we are immensely proud to be custodians of this site that we share with the people of NSW.”
As part of the listing, several of the University’s most well-known buildings have also been marked as having ‘exceptional’ significance to the state, including the Quadrangle, the Old Teacher’s College, the Holme Building, the Anderson Stuart Building and the JD Stewart Building.
University of Sydney’s Heritage Consultant, Ian Kelly, said the main Quadrangle building, along with the Anderson Stuart Building and the Gate Lodges comprise what is arguably the most important group of Gothic and Tudor Revival style architecture in New South Wales and potentially all of Australia.
“Throughout history, a number of architects have influenced the site, from Edmund Blacket in the 1850s, Professor Leslie Wilkinson in the 1920s and the Government Architect’s Office in 1960s, just to name a few,” he said.
“In particular, Blacket’s location of the Great Hall and the eastern side of the Quadrangle, built between 1854 and 1862, utilised the existing landscape to provide a dramatic presentation of the University on approach from the city, a setting that still remains to this day.”
More information on this announcement can be found here.