Gaye


Is there an actual demand for new development or is it spec. building?
Can development needs be better met by adaptive reuse of historic
buildings, thereby giving them a new life and some serious cyclical
maintenance.

The issue seems to be not an archaeological one, it could be as easily
a significant wetland or toxic dump that has an environmental cost to
keep or to disturb.  The resource's contribution to the overall
significance of Cossack isn't disputed, but what is the goal that the
developers and council and heritage people are all trying to achieve?
If there isn't a single agreed goal then the whole process of underlying
decision-making is likely to be a fiasco.  At the least the Council and
WA Heritage Council should be asking for a master plan that addresses
the central issue of what all of the affected parties want to achieve.
If there is some consensus that the best way to maintain Cossack's
overall significance involves a development trade-off then you can ask
the questions of how much is feasible, where does it need to be and how
do you guarantee it is a benefit to the heritage values, and not a
curse.

It is entirely possible to get solutions  if everyone's concerns are
clearly understood and accepted as legitimate.  As Cossack is in the
middle of nowhere it may be worth considering land swaps of public /
council land with owners of archaeological properties to create a new
development zone somewhere less sensitive.  There are pros and cons to
this, but focussing on the archaeology may be at the expense of other
values of significance, and as a result the problem isn't solved by
clear and consistent decision-making but instead is bandaided and
random.

Any other problems you want solved?

Denis

>>> [log in to unmask] 01/07/2002 02:30:26 am >>>
Hi

I need to pick your brains!

I have recently found out that there is a proposal before our heritage
minister for sustainable economic development at Cossack my Ph.D
research site. Unfortunately the only way planners in Western Australia
can see to make heritage viable is to sell it off for housing
developments.

Cossack is a ghost town on the side of a sea inlet in the Pilbarra. It
was the port through which the Northwest of the state was colonised
(being both the first and the only port for 20 years) and was the
birthplace of the Northwest pearlshell fishing industry, the second
staple industry for the northern half of WA. The whole town is on our
state register of heritage places. There is a handful of restored stone
buildings in the centre of the town, all from the towns declining years,
the rest of the place (about a mile long by 3 town lots wide) was wooden
and is now an extensive archaeological site, all of which has been
archaeologically surveyed, some has been test excavated and only one
site has been the subject of a major excavation.

The development proposal acknowledges the importance of the town's
heritage and it's tourism appeal and plans to include heritage in its
development plans by not selling off the restored buildings, the town
block which was the central business district and the Chinatown area.
That leaves two thirds of the town to be sold for housing which is
basically the same area where the Northwest colonists and pearling
masters lived.

I can see the local councils need for the town to show some sort of
profit. At the moment it is costing them $200,000 AUS a year to maintain
with virtually no money being earned directly from the town although it
does attract visitors to the area. However, they tend to have a quick
look around and carry on. There is nothing to make them stay longer,
just backpacker accomodation, very basic museum displays which are free
to enter, a couple of art galleries and a boat tour.

I need imaginative alternative suggestions and strategies to give the
shire options other than selling the town off. A strategy which will not
only destroy the archaeology of two thirds of the town (artifacts are
basically in the top 60 cm of soil, well within bulldozer reach) but
will also destroy the ambience of the town as a quiet, beautiful green
and white gem beside the water in red desert country. Which is part of
the reason visitors go there in the first place.

Help!!!!