SA Heritage Heroes 2012 Award winners

Congratulations to the 2012 award winners Thursday 24 May 2012

Minister's Award for the GROUP category

Friends of the Loxton Historical Village

This long running volunteered group, the Friends of the Loxton Historical Village, have had a passionate interest in the history of Loxton since the early 1970s. Currently 35 people assist in making the Loxton Historical Village one of the Riverland’s most popular tourist attractions. The Village includes over 45 buildings, which are fully furnished with fascinating displays, equipment and memorabilia.

Minister's Award for the INDIVIDUAL category

Dr Susan Marsden

Dr Susan Marsden has made a significant contributed to the conservation of South Australia's heritage, both in a professional capacity but most importantly voluntarily, for over 35 years. Susan is well respected across the history and heritage community of South Australia and her publications, media work, lectures, guided historical walks and radio talks and interviews attest to her passion for the history and heritage of our State. She has served voluntarily on numerous bodies including the Oral History Association, the Professional Historians Association, the Councils of the National Trust and the Historical Society of South Australia to name but a few.

Special Minister's Award in the INDIVIDUAL category for the late Margaret Ragless

Maggy Ragless was a passionate historian and supporter of heritage conservation in South Australia, who we recently lost too soon. She dedicated herself to detailed historical research and the preservation and promotion of our heritage places. Perhaps Maggy's lasting legacy will be the inspiration she has engendered to those around her for all aspects of South Australian history and heritage, mostly particularly within the City of Mitcham.

Minister's Commendations within the GROUP category   

Clayton Farm Heritage Museum

This dedicated group of volunteers involved in the Clayton Farm Heritage Museum have conserved and restored the farm buildings of the old Weise farm, south of Bordertown, for over 32 years. In doing so they have preserved an important piece of the farming history of the Tatiara district. Local schools use Clayton Farm to learn how farming used to be without modern tractors and implements, whilst older generations visit the farm and reminisce about days gone by.

Mount Torrens & District Community Association

The Mount Torrens and District Community Association have worked tirelessly in promoting the heritage values of Mount Torrens, which was designated a State Heritage Area in 2002. The Association prepared a five-year plan and many of the projects in the plan have been completed, including the development of a historic walking trail with co-ordinated interpretative panels and establishment of a town photo and artefact archive.

Minister's Commendations within the INDIVIDUAL category

Dr Iris Iwanicki

Dr Iris Iwanicki has had a long career in heritage conservation and town planning in South Australia including working with both State and local government agencies. Of note is her recent role as the President of the South Australian Division Planning Institute of Australia, where she has had a particular interest in the future challenges of the care of our cultural capital through managing heritage places and future development sustainably. She has recently completed her PhD examining the role of cultural heritage in the sustainability of remote communities using the township of Woomera as a case study.

Marcia Lorenz

Having arrived in Beachport in 2003, Marcia Lorenz and her husband Fred quickly became involved at the National Trust's Old Wool and Grain Store Museum, which is listed as a State Heritage Place. Marcia has been one of the Beachport Museum's most energetic and deeply involved volunteers for more than eight year and has served as a Chairperson of the National Trust’s Beachport Branch Executive. Her efforts significantly contributed to the 2008 ABC National's 'Marvellous Museums' Award for the Best Volunteer Operated Museum in Australia being presented to the Old Wool and Grain Store Museum.

Peter Savage

As a lifetime resident of the township of Kalangadoo in the South East, Peter Savage holds the town dear to his heart. At the time of the closure of the Kalangadoo Railway Station in 1985, Peter Savage was its Station Master. In 1999 after fourteen years absence from the station property, Peter took up the role of Auspine's Rural Yard Co-ordinator and began returning rail memorabilia to the station, setting up the Kalangadoo Railway Museum. This museum has now become a reference point for those interested in the railway history of the South East of South Australia.

Robert Swarbrick

Though he migrated to Australia from England in 1957, Bob Swarbrick did not move to Cockatoo Valley until 1974. He has had a keen interest in all things historic, especially military nautical and mining history. In 1987 Bob Swarbrick was elected the Chairman of the Barossa Goldfields Historical Society and has been an active participant ever since that time. The Society aims to collect, preserve and share local history with a focus on the gold mining history of the Barossa Goldfields. Of special mention was the rebuilding of the Bowden Cottage in the Para Wirra Recreation Park, where Bob co-ordinated the restoration of the Cottage and its grounds.

The finalists in the GROUP category

The Friends of Carrick Hill

The Friends of Carrick Hill exists to exclusively support the State heritage-listed Carrick Hill in all its activities and heritage endeavours. The Friends includes seven group of volunteers - volunteer guides, flower arrangers, the bushcare group, garden volunteers, oak furniture polishing group, gift shop volunteers and the Friends Committee. In 2009 a group of the Friends decided that one of the most meaningful things they could do to celebrate their 20th anniversary was to publish the souvenir guide book entitled Carrick Hill - Heyday of the Haywards 1940-1970.

Hindmarsh Historical Society

The Hindmarsh Historical Society is one of the oldest historical societies in South Australia, having been formed in 1967. The main function of the Society is the operation of the Hindmarsh Museum. Over the last 40 years the Hindmarsh Historical Society has established an extensive collection of artefacts, photographs and documents relating to the development and history of Hindmarsh.

Dave & Pauline Rickard - Migration Museum Volunteers

Dave and Pauline Rickard have been volunteering at the Migration Museum since 2004. Since then the Museum has relied on them for their skilled and willing support for many of the Museum's curatorial and public programs, including the installation of exhibitions, the preparation of props and exhibition furniture for display and assisting the Museum staff at public launches.

Mitcham Local History Heritage Volunteers

The Mitcham Local History Heritage Volunteers have volunteered their time, talent and knowledge for over twenty years and have been an important part of the Mitcham Local History Service. Without their assistance the amount of research and promotion of the heritage of Mitcham would not have been possible.

Old Reynella Horse Changing Station Work Gang

The Work Gang for the Old Reynella Changing Station are all volunteers who work tirelessly for the local Reynella community. Through their dedication and commitment they have rebuilt the State heritage-listed Horse Changing Station at Reynella. This historic building would have been lost without the efforts of these hard working volunteers. Since the completion of that project, a new working gang has evolved to rebuild Alexander Cottage.

Prospect Local History Group

Formed in 2005, the Prospect Local History Group aims to promote community interest in the history of the Prospect area. Apart from publishing a number of books on Prospect's local history, the Group have researched and designed nine interpretative panels for a self-guided walk of the Prospect Soldier's Memorial Gardens and Prospect Oval precinct. Their current project is the conservation of a local Air Raid Shelter, possibly for a local history museum.

Finalists in the INDIVIDUAL category

Allan Campbell

Allan Campbell negotiated the return of the Nora Heysen art collection to 'The Cedars', the former home of the artist Hans Heysen and Nora's family home. His efforts then led to the establishment of the Nora Heysen Foundation, whose vision is to acknowledge the late Nora Heysen as being highly significant to the history of Australian art and to promote her as one of Australia’s outstanding female artists.

Tom Gluis

Tom Gluis is an original member of the first Cummins House Garden Committee, which was established in 1984, and has been volunteering as a gardener for twenty eight years. Under Tom's leadership the grounds of Cummins House at Novar Ga4rdens have been restored and the garden includes a variety of shrubs and trees from many countries. Tom has personally devoted many hours to the Cummins House garden and has endeared himself to his team of voluntary gardeners.

Leith Mudge

As a result of his love of heritage, Leith Mudge joined the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre in Peterborough about 3 years ago, volunteering to restore and upgrade various rail displays in the museum. He also trained as a tour guide and has specialised in handling the group business tours of Steamtown.

James L Potter

Having lived most of his life in Salisbury, James Potter was a founding member of the Salisbury and District Historical Society. He has recorded and catalogued many buildings, events and groups of the Salisbury area and has authored two books and compiled another on Salisbury's history, all of which were published by the Society.

Tim Rowe

Tim Rowe has been a committee member of the Naracoorte Lucindale Council's Heritage Committee since its establishment in 1998. As an active photographer Tim has also been a driving force behind the Committee's heritage photo project. He purchased the State heritage-listed Naracoorte District Council office he has faithfully restored this building, at his own expense.

Dr Tony Slavotinek

In 1995 Dr Tony Slavotinek became President of the SA Medical Heritage Society and a member of its management committee. Whilst the Society hoped to establish a medical museum in Adelaide it became apparent that the cost of such a museum made that desire difficult to achieve. Tony recognised the need for a website devoted to the display and storage of information about South Australia's medical heritage. He then began the task of documenting and photographing items related to the medical history throughout the State and has created a 'Virtual Museum' for the Society.

Max Steen

Max Steen has been continuously involved in the Sir Thomas Playford ETSA Museum at Kurralta Park since it was set up in 1995. The museum covers all aspects of the generation, transmission, supply and consumption of electricity in South Australia. Max was appointed the Museum Manager about ten years ago and personally conducts museum tours and with Max's showman-like delivery these tours are both appealing and enjoyable.

Harold Twartz OAM

Harold Twartz has lived in the Yorketown district for all of his long and busy life. He was a founding member of the Yorketown Lions Club and the Yorketown Historical Society. With a particular commitment to preserving and recording local history and heritage of the Yorketown area, Harold was also Chairman of the Jubilee 150 Committee in 1986 and the Bicentennial Committee in 1988 and organised many events to make these two significant historical occasions.

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