9/1/04
Two significant places in the history of the South-West have been recognised with a permanent listing in the State Register of Heritage Places.
Heritage Minister Tom Stephens said the registration of the store in Northcliffe and the Pemberton Timber Mill Workers' Cottage Precinct would ensure the places were conserved for the community and future generations.
Mr Stephens today handed over a registration plaque to Northcliffe store owner Phillip McIlwain.
The Minister said the store was one of only two remaining examples of a timber framed store of a design associated with Group Settlement scheme in the South-West in the 1920s.
"The store was the first commercial premises to be erected in Northcliffe and is the only remaining building from the original Group Settlement period," he said.
"Constructed two months before the gazettal of Northcliffe in 1924, it provided goods for a growing community of Group Settlement scheme labourers."
The store, which continued to provide services to the town until it closed in 2001, is to be restored and will operate as a craft shop.
The building was also used as an environmental centre, playing a central role in the 1990's campaign to save old-growth forests.
Mr Stephens said the Pemberton Timber Mill Workers' Cottage Precinct was a large collection of timber mill workers' cottages that were built for the State Sawmills between 1913 and 1920.
"While the cottages are no longer used to house timber mill workers, the precinct makes an enormous contribution to the tourism value of the town, providing a link to the region's history and growth," he said.
"The cottages, along with related buildings, form a significant timber townscape.
"They are set on the side of a hill rising above the mill with a re-growth timber backdrop.
"Viewed from the western approach to the town, the group contributes to a picturesque cultural environment.
"The precinct contributes to the local community's sense of place as an integral part of the mill town around which the Pemberton of today has developed."
Minister's office: 9213 6500
