Powerhouse Parramatta

I wish to register my objection to the government proposal to remove Willow Grove from Phillip Street and replace it with a replica beside Parramatta Gaol.
This exceptional villa and its social history must remain in Phillip Street where it was built for Annie and Thomas Gallagher and their four children,140 years ago.

It is with utter disgust that I have been following the PowerHouse Parramatta and Willow Grove fiasco for some time.

Australia has a modern history dating back just 250 years, and governments and developers seemed determined to just knock that down.

Can you imagine all the buildings that have been built in Europe for 100's and sometimes over 1,000 of years old being knocked down effectively "just for the sake of it"

Parramatta's history is slowly being trashed for projects that are disliked, inefficient and sometimes damn right ugly - is the Light Rail really worth the massive destruction and disruption to business owners ?

It has happened elsewhere where new buildings have been built around historic ones - but NSW Politicians do not have any foresight in such matters. I would love to know how many of them have actually been to Parramatta, seen what is happening, and fully understood the impact on the local area and its people ?

I STRONGLY OBJECT TO ANY ATTEMPT TO DESTROY WILLOW GROVE AND ST GEORGES TERRACE, NOR ANY ATTEMPT TO RELOCATE THE UNRELOCATEABLE !!!

Regards

Rod Norris
Business Owner in North Parramatta area

I object to the proposed demolition of yet another part of our living history. Willow Grove has great educational value. It is totally shameful how historic artefacts are treated in Australia, whether ancient rock caves or colonial era buildings. They belong to all Australians present and future. Shame! Stop trying to obliterate the past. Learn about the past with a tangible building. Are you so rigid in mindset that this is the only place you can think of to plonk an innapropriate modern building? Think creatively and leave Willow Grove to beautify and educate the community.

I wish to register my objection to the government proposal to remove Willow Grove from Phillip Street and replace it with a replica beside Parramatta Gaol.
This exceptional villa and its social history must remain in Phillip Street where it was built for Annie and Thomas Gallagher and their four children,140 years ago.

I object to the proposed demolition of Willowgrove. I do so not just as a parramatta resident of over 30years but as an Australian.
Are we so rich on history & so short in vision that we cannot find an alternative or compromise. Surely this rare piece of history can be incorporated into the proposed development or an alternative site found.
The old parramatta golf course could accommodate both a new swimming centre & a museum.
Please find some way of saving this piece of history.

Historic preservation is the practice of protecting and preserving sites, structures or districts which reflect elements of local or national cultural, social, economic, political, archaeological or architectural history.
To remove Willow Grove from Phillip Street and replace it with a replica beside Parramatta Goal is called Disneyland, there is nothing historic or any kind of preservation of our heritage about it.
Leave Willow Grove where it was built, where people lived and died, that is History !

The one thing we cannot make is history. And we have little enough of it in Australia. Willow Grove is a beautiful example of it.

If we destroy what remains, what is there to remind future generations of their past? A faded photograph in an obscure museum?

Please don’t do this. There are enough brownfield sites around that can be used instead.

I would like to strongly object to the demolition or removal of Willow Grove.

It is a beautiful heritage house in it's original location with a small section of it's remaining garden.
It would be absolute criminal if this house was demolished and/or removed.

I cannot understand why you would consider doing this for the creation of a Museum. That seems absolutely ridiculous. We are losing our historic buildings at an incredible pace. This must stop if we want to retain a sense of what came before.

We travel overseas to Europe to see the incredible cities and their historic buildings, but what do we do here??? We destroy them.

Please retain this wonderful old house exactly where it is. PLEASE!!!!!!!!

I wish to OBJECT the planned "move" of Willow Grove from Phillip Street, Parramatta.

This will destroy a loved heritage property and its surrounds which should remain where it has always been.

I object to the proposal to remove Willow Grove from Phillip Street and replace it with a replica elsewhere.

As a musician (violinist and former Concertmaster) and respecter of The Arts, I can't imagine on what planet it would be advisable to destroy a heritage listed building, simply to replace it with the half-concocted idea that is the 'Powerhouse' Parramatta.

Then to suggest that Willow Grove be removed, and built from scratch elsewhere. That is a replica, not the actual building, which must remain on the site it was built on.

It can only stand to reason that you're trying to destroy the delightful heritage of Parramatta without consideration or concern for current and future residents.

I object to the demolition and removal of Willow Grove - a unique and important of our history to be replaced by a second and not so unique Power House museum.

Citizens and tourists can easily visit the PH Museum 2 where ever it is situated, however once something of significant historical value is changed or removed it loses its currency immensely or forever to current and future generations.

We are more intelligent and not so ignorant to allow this to happen. So I, who was once a young, now old local citizen, implore you to do what is right for our cultural and historical value vs our commercial value alone. The PHM2 will survive and maybe even thrive more situated in another area of the City.

Keeping Willow Grove as it is, where it is situated, is the only right thing to do.

I strongly object to the removal of Willowgrove from Phillip street Parramatta .

I object to the governments insane proposal to remove Willow Grove from Phillip Street and replace it with a replica beside parramatta gaol.

This exceptional Villa and its social history must remain in Phillip Street where it was built for Annie & Thomas Gallagher and their four children 140 years ago.

Parramatta is a nightmare with the construction for the light rail and the many Jane construction sites around the CBD

Surely its easier to leave this beautiful building where it is and has been for decades.

#SaveWillowGrove

Dear Sir, as someone passionate about retaining our colonial history I am appalled at the thought of these buildings being destroyed or moved. I’m 60 years old and I’ve been a Lib voter for the last 25 years. Will not vote Lib again if this history is bulldozed.

I object to any denolition or dismantling of Willow Grove in Parramatta,

It’s significant social heritage as well as its physical appearance make it essential for its retention where it is.

It must stay there, it belong to Parramatta’s history, and should not be demolished, or relocated. It’s location is part of its signicance, and we all know that dismantling and rebuilding is a furphy. That will not work, and will also loose its visual signifance from the centre of Parramatta.

Leave it where it is, and look after it instead of once again giving developers freedom in NSW. Respect it as part of our history. Not just of Parramatta, it is part of the history of NSW.

I object to the Powerhouse Museum at Parramatta being built on the site of Willow Grove. It's absurd that a 140 year old Historic Private Home be demolished for such a Museum. It's ironic that this old Italianate Home which is a link to our past history, be treated in this manner.

Parramatta has already suffered more than most areas of Sydney for its historic houses & buildings being demolished in such a way that we no longer recognise our old suburb. It was once a desirable place to live & work but now it is unrecognisable.

Our future generations have nothing now to recognise that Parramatta was once proudly known as the Second Colony of Sydney. I fear for the future of this once beautiful old town along the Parramatta River lined with willow trees and Jacarandas.

I am a former resident of O'Connell Street Parramatta and one of the 5 Howard children where my own history dates back to 1899 when my widowed Great Grandmother, Bridget Carroll came to Parramatta from Orange to eke out an existence for her huge family.

I would like to object to WillowGrove being dismantled and relocated elsewhere because I don't really think you understand that it isn't cost effective and would more than likely ruin the building. Do you really understand? I can see it now IF that idea goes ahead......' Oh my goodness now we will have to replicate this structure because we have destroyed it while dismantling it' Leave WillowGrove where it is so it can be part of Parramatta's history to be enjoyed by everyone. They will see the talent of past Architects and the longevity of any construction that was built in bygone eras. There is so much history that has been, and is being destroyed there already! Everyone can see the only reason is financial gain by greedy developers. It's an absolutely beautiful building and should be enjoyed! When we enjoyed overseas travel lots of people went to the UK and Europe to site see castles etc spending their precious dollars there instead of taking advantage of our own history.
SAVE WILLOWGROVE please.

I wish to reiterate my objection to the proposed design of the so-called Powerhouse Parramatta, and the associated destruction of Willow Grove – the birthplace of my uncle Jack Sharpe – and its remarkable curtilage.

Parramatta's history is slowly being trashed for projects that are disliked, inefficient, ineffective and down right ugly. I urge you to accept that the proposal to effectively demolish Willow Grove and create a replica using some of the original materials is simply ludicrous.

The NSW state government should cancel the existing proposal, and revisit the architectural designs that complied with the original design brief to preserve both St George's Terrace and Willow Grove.

I object to the demolition of Willow Grove and St Georges Terrace. Knocking down heritage to build a museum is crazy. Wrong place for a museum anyway - flooding, no parking, bad access, not enough space. They wanted to knock down the QVB years ago for a carpark and we understand how criminal that would have been NOW, let us save ourselves the embarrassment of knocking down some of our last pieces of heritage for this milk crate, which could be anywhere and doesn't need to be on this spot.

I object to the relocation and subsequent destruction of Willow Grove.

It is an 140 year old building and is irreplaceable to both to the community and to our history.

It has such potential to the community and a wonderful addition as part of the museum precinct.