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Independent Assessor’s
Report
Queensland Heritage Council
Attachment ‘A’
Report
1.0
Preamble
I, Ursula Kerr, being the Assessor appointed under the
Section 28 of the Queensland Heritage Act 1992 in respect to objections dated 20
December 2002 by PW and GR Webb and 23 January 2003 by Deacons (Solicitors) on
behalf of the Pine Rivers Shire Council (the owner of the place), have inquired
into the objections.
The objections have been lodged in respect to the entry of
Lakeside International Raceway, Lakeside Drive, Kurwongbah (“Lakeside”) in the
Heritage Register.
I have formed the opinion that the place is not of
cultural heritage significance
2.0
Description of Place
The place is located in the Pine Rivers Shire at
Kurwongbah, approx. 28km northwest from the Brisbane G.P.O. and is accessed from
the Narangba Road via Lakeside Road (Drive).
The place has an area of more than 50 hectares and is in 4
titles (see property description above). The site lies adjoining Pine Rivers
Golf Course and has extensive direct frontage to Lake Kurwongbah.
The site is clearly identifiable as a former raceway with
a remaining bitumen track, and about 38 scattered structures ranging from sheds,
to signs, towers etc. (refer to Building Certifier’s report dated 15 January
2003). All built facilities are in a state of poor repair and have minimal to no
building approvals.
Lakeside’s position in relation to the water supply dam of
Lake Kurwongbah places far reaching environmental and duty-of-care obligations
on the owners and managers of the site, under both the Environmental Protection
Act and the Water Act.
Current low key uses of the site have been observed as
specialist driving school (4-8 vehicles) and cattle grazing on the higher slopes
of the property. The majority of the place can be described as vacant.
3.0
Grounds for Objections and Comments
3.1 P.W. & G.R. Webb
This objection does not directly address the criteria under
the Heritage Act.
It proposes that the land be better used for community
recreational purposes than a racing track.
It is dismissive of previous users as “ex-hoons and
unfriendly petrol heads”.
Comment:
There is no evidence available of the future intentions by
the owner, Pine Rivers Shire Council, other than in the new zoning of the site.
This is described as follows:
“Special Facilities – Accommodation Units (Ecotourism),
Animal Husbandry, Caretaker’s Residence, Driver Training Facility, Educational
Establishment, Farm Forestry, Intensive Recreation, Local Government Purposes,
Local Utilities, Motel, Outdoor Recreation Grounds, Park, Place of
Entertainment, Place of Assembly, Place of Worship, Public Utilities, Radio
Station, Recycling Depot, Restaurant, Retail Nursery, Veterinary Hospital.”
Motor sport or racing is not proposed to be included by
the Pine Rivers Shire Council for this site in the new Planning Scheme.
Personal views by objectors about other community members
cannot be regarded as valid objections in the context of the Heritage Act.
3.2
Deacon’s (Solicitors) on behalf of Pine Rivers Shire Council. This
detailed objection dated 23 January 2003 was further expanded on by a detailed
report dated 8 April prepared by Allom Lovell
3.2.1
Deacon’s objection dated 23 January 2003
a)
The objection states that Lakeside does not satisfy any criteria for
entry in the Heritage Register. T relies on a global interpretation of the
criteria rather than a detailed examination of each criterion.
Comment:
I believe that the proposed interpretation is not valid in
establishing cultural heritage significance, although it attempts to give a
distinction between “popular” and “significant”. My preference is for each
criterion to be applied as a “test” to the places proposed to be entered in the
Register, rather than applying an unspecified threshold test proposed by the
objector.
b)
No prospects of any cultural heritage significance being conserved.
This is the focus of Deacon’s objection. The main points
are:
- Any re-opening of the race track would be assessable
development under the PSC planning scheme and would require assessment under
the Environmental Protection Act.
- The new zoning of the land does not support motor racing
as a use.
- Other approvals cannot be obtained.
- Building Safety and environmental risks: soil water,
contamination, noise.
- Traffic issues on the public road system.
- No economic and practical liability of carrying on with
a motor racing use.
Comment:
Following 2 site inspections, interviews with PSC officers
and review of available technical reports on the condition of various aspects of
the site development, I have come to the conclusion that there is no prospect of
any cultural heritage significance being conserved.
The clearest impact on this prospect is the issue of the
site being almost surrounded by a water supply dam (a source of flooding of the
track during periods of high rainfall in the past).
The risk of contamination of the water supply from septic
system, oils, greases, degrading tyre materials, soil erosion, etc., it
mitigates against the re-establishment of the motor racing activity in the
format of the existing Lakeside track and facilities.
The protection of a source of drinking water makes an
adjoining motor racing venue with highly fluctuating visitor crowds incompatible
for the duration of the life of the dam. (Usually several hundred years).
3.2.2
Allom Lovell report on Lakeside International Raceway April 2003
Comment:
This report addresses the issue of cultural significance in
Chapter 4. I have carefully reviewed the report and obtained independent
published references on motor racing. I have to concur with most of the findings
in the Allom and Lovell Report.
Motor racing is a sport with a very small active
participation rate, but of some (growing) spectator appeal. How is cultural
heritage value of such an activity best conserved, interpreted and entered into
the Register?
Should triathlon circuits be entered into a Heritage
Register? Or is it preferably to have documentary or electronic records of
events, some of the key technological innovations etc., which can be made
accessible to the broad community in some sporting exhibition or club premises?
Is the RACQ such a keeper of cultural heritage significance?
The existing Heritage Register and Blake’s (1996)
Queensland Cultural Heritage Context study give little guidance on this issue.
Lakeside is one in a series of motor race tracks in
Queensland which have undergone changes or have been abolished for a variety of
reasons.
There is no evidence that would distinguish Lakeside from
other race tracks warranting its entry in the register in preference over
others.
4.0
Criteria raised in Draft Entry in Heritage Register
The draft entry suggest that Lakeside International
Raceway meets criteria a, b, d and g.
a)
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of
Queensland history.
Comment:
There is no evidence presented in any documentation
available to me who supports the suggestion that neither Lakeside International
Raceway, nor any prior use of the place has been of such importance in relation
to Queensland’s history.
b)
The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of
Queensland’s cultural heritage.
Comment:
Unfortunately, the place of motor racing in Queensland’s
cultural heritage has not been researched or established by the Heritage Council
to date. There is no authorised reference point which enables me to place
Lakeside International Raceway into the context of Queensland’s cultural
heritage. Walker (1995) identifies 95 motor racing tracks in Australia, of which
13 were located in Queensland. There has been subsequent loss and modification
of such tracks over time, resulting from changing standards, practices and
perceptions of the environmental impacts of the sport.
Hingham (95) states that between 1928 and 1994, 59 major
international motor races occurred, 7 of those were in Queensland, 2 of those in
Lakeside. In the description of race courses, Lakeside is not mentioned as a
particular place, however, Surfer’s Paradise is.
My conclusion is that there is no evidence that Lakeside
meets criterion b.
d)
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristic of a
particular class of cultural place.
Comment:
As there is no evidence available in respect of the class
of cultural places to which the raceway belongs, this criterion may not be
applied, in my opinion.
Blake (1996) suggests further exploration of sporting and
recreation facilities, indicating an interest in grandstands and clubhouses. I
am not aware of such context studies being available for motor sport in
Queensland, nor of the priority the Heritage Council would place on such
research.
It would seem to me that other sports such as horse
racing, lawn bowls, swimming, cricket and rugby are more expressive of
Queensland’s cultural heritage than motor racing.
These sports have high participation in the Queensland
community and high impact on the economy of the State. They also contribute to a
sense of identity and community in Queensland on a broad, Statewide level. I
believe this cannot be said about motor racing at Lakeside.
g)
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristic of a
particular class of cultural places
Comment:
I believe that there is strong affection for Lakeside by a
relatively small sector of the community. This is demonstrated by the proposal
to enter the place in the Heritage Register and letters of support which I
understand have been lodged with the Heritage Council.
I do not consider that those members of the public are a
particular community or cultural group with strong or special association. As
motor racing supporters they may well have affection for other raceways in
Queensland, Australia and overseas.
Their affection for Lakeside may be inspired by the belief
that entry into the Heritage Register may assist in re-establishing the activity
at Kurwongbah. There is no prospect of this occurring (see 3.2.1 b).
The cessation of racing at Lakeside would seem to point
towards a decline in support, rather than a strong and special association,
which could secure the activity on the site into the future.
References
Blake,
Thorn (1996) Queensland Cultural Heritage Context Study – report
prepared for the Cultural Heritage Branch, Dept. of Environment.
Higham,
Peter (1995) The Guiness Guide to International Motor Racing
Guiness Publishing Ltd, Enfield
UK
Walker,
Terry (1995) Fast Tracks
Australia’s Motor racing
Circuits 1904 – 1995
Turton & Armstrong, Sydney
John
Holmes Toowoomba
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