General News
21 August, 2023
School of Mines vandalism a disappointment for angling club, Working Heritage
Occupants of a historical building in Clunes have been left disappointed after the structure was vandalised last week amid conservation works on the property. Built in 1892, the town’s School of Mines was recently defaced after the word...
Occupants of a historical building in Clunes have been left disappointed after the structure was vandalised last week amid conservation works on the property.
Built in 1892, the town’s School of Mines was recently defaced after the word “shame” was written on the front of the building, which is considered to be a heritage site and an asset to the community.
The graffiti appeared during ongoing maintenance works, undertaken by Working Heritage, a not-for-profit responsible for the management and conservation of the building.
The organisation’s restorative project also included painting the exterior of the building — a move that was previously debated on social media, with some residents voicing their preference to keep the oiled timber of the building intact.
For current tenants of the premises, the Clunes Angling Club, the vandalism, irrespective of the cause, was uncalled for.
“We don’t like what’s happened at all and we’re very disappointed,” the club’s secretary Ken Corney said.
“Hopefully who ever did it, got it out of their system and it never happens again.
“If it wasn’t for Working Heritage, the building would be in disrepair — the town is very lucky to have them come in and spend money on the building, it needed to be looked after.”
The decision to replace the oiled timber with a painted finish, Working Heritage’s executive director Ross Turnbull said, was made following a consultation process.
“We spoke to conservation experts, including architects as well as our in-house experts,” he said.
“It’s a timber-weatherboard building and had been treated with an oil finish and that requires constant recoating every year or so, which can be very expensive.
“It needs to be recoated because it breaks down quickly and can leave the timber exposed to ultra-violet rays from the sun and other weather conditions — so we made the decision to paint it because it provides better protection.”
While the organisation is unaware of the motive behind the vandalism, Mr Turnbull encouraged locals with concerns to get in touch with Working Heritage.
“Nobody has come forward and said anything to us so we don’t know why it happened,” he said.
“I would like to think if people had a problem they would contact us. We’ve got a project management and property management staff who are happy to take questions.
“We’re pressing on with the painting work, we’ve got a team of professional contractors doing the work and we are looking forward to seeing it complete.”