Council to establish Action Committee for Henry Lawson Cottage

29 Aug 2019 5:28 PM -

Leeton Shire Council had a strong discussion around strengthening the governance and optimising the income generating potential of the Henry Lawson Cottage at its August Ordinary Council Meeting.

Deputy Mayor George Weston put forward a notice of motion to the August Ordinary Meeting to discuss with Council restating its recognition of the value and importance of the Henry Lawson Cottage to Leeton Shire both for its heritage significance and for its potential and to endorses an application being made for the Cottage to be listed as State Significant.

Council acquired the Henry Lawson Cottage in 2001 for $45,000 with support from a crowd funding campaign to save the building. The Cottage is of local heritage significance for several reasons, being both the residence (for approximately 2 years) of renown Australia poet, Henry Lawson, and as one of the last surviving examples of a typical worker’s house during the establishment of the MIA.

Deputy Mayor George Weston also stated in his notice of motion to Council that the original idea to keep the Cottage project sustainable, was to access grant funds where possible for its refurbishment but to also rent out the space to earn income to pay for its upkeep. Any rental agreement was to allow for the Cottage to be open to the public for 3 to 4 weeks of each year.

“There has been very little ability to set aside funds for the future maintenance of the Cottage which has become reliant on Council’s building maintenance budget for occasional repairs.”

“Heritage places such as Henry Lawson Cottage are attractive tourism destinations which can be marketed effectively to attract visitation and increase overnight stays. Appropriate tourism use of the Cottage could contribute to its conservation via revenue generation. It would also raise awareness of the inherent cultural heritage value of the Cottage and add variety to the experiences offered to visitors to Leeton.”

“Improvements to the Cottage are being recommended to bring the accommodation up to a standard for public exhibition and to enable the Cottage to be let as short-term accommodation to visitors.”

Councillor Michael Kidd seconded the Motion but felt it important that medical staff and students should still be supported to stay there when required.

An Action Committee comprising between 3 to 5 persons of which at least 2 must be elected Councillors, will be established with an allocation of up to $15,000 allocated to the Committee to ensure the conservation of the
Cottage and the realisation of its full potential.