Blue Mountains News

The awards are an annual celebration of outstanding practice, awarding excellence in conservation of Aboriginal, built, natural and cultural heritage.

The Wilson Park Water Feature and Map of Australia is a locally listed heritage item. It is a cascading waterway fed from a natural rock pool comprising a series of ponds, weirs, sandstone lined channels, and the concrete relief Map of Australia.

The water feature and map were originally unveiled more than 90 years ago on 12 May 1932, during a special event attended by local dignitaries and school children from the nearby Stratford Girls School.

Maps of Australia were commonly constructed during the 1930s as part of an education initiative in Australia for school children, but few survived.

The Wilson Park water feature with its integrated relief map, its scale and incorporation of water, integrated into a public recreation reserve, make it a rare example of its kind.

Conservation works were completed in 2023, and includedbridge repairs, stonework and channel restoration, cleaning of the water feature, significant ground water management works, removal of weeds and new interpretative signage.

Council officially re-launched the Wilson Park Water Feature and Map of Australia on 21 October 2023, including the re-creation of the original 1932 launch photograph.

The restoration was funded by Blue Mountains City Council’s Cultural Heritage Rehabilitation Fund (Asset Works Program), and internal resources were drawn together across multiple Council services.

Blue Mountains Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill said: “I am thrilled that this work has been shortlisted for a National Trust Heritage Award. The Wilson Park Water Feature and Map of Australia has important heritage value for both the local community and visitors to the Blue Mountains.

“Council has taken significant steps to ensure the conservation of the Map of Australia and its associated channels and weirs, securing it for generations to come.”

The National Trust Heritage Awards ceremony will be held on Friday 17 May 2024.

For more information, visit here

For more on the National Trust Heritage Awards, visit nationaltrust.org.au/national-trust-heritage-awards-nsw