Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area Advisory Committee September 2023 Meeting Communiqué

The Advisory Committee for the Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (KAVHA) met on 27 September to discuss a range of issues relating to site engagement, capital works and the Heritage Management Plan.

The Committee discussed expanding the provision of food and beverages on site, which was raised as a key priority in the recently finalised KAVHA Site Master Plan.

An Expression of Interest (EOI) will be shortly released for any interested people or organisations to provide pop-up style food and beverage options in Kingston.

The Site Master Plan is available in hard copy at the library and online at https://kingston.norfolkisland.gov.au/heritage-management/publications_and_projects

The former Legislative Assembly table is now in place on the second floor of the main building in Old Military Barracks and will be used for KAVHA Advisory Committee and Norfolk Island Governance Committee meetings going forward, a move which was supported by the Norfolk Island Museums Trust.

The Committee was provided with an overview of progress on a range of Kingston projects including the commencement of the Government House roof restoration and the progress and challenges affecting the repairs of the Slaughter Bay sea wall. They were also shown interesting finds made during stage one of the sewer works project.

These items can be viewed in the Settlement Guard house, 8:30am – 3pm daily.

The Heritage Management Plan for Kingston is nearing final stages of review and is expected to be available for community exhibition in early 2024.

Committee members were provided an overview of the future work of the museums, including the upcoming visit by maritime archaeologists, the planned ideas to celebrate Captain Cook’s 250^th Anniversary of landing to the island and museum storage.

The Advisory Committee includes three community members (Duncan Evans, David ‘Dids’ Evans and Susan Prior), three expert members (Duncan Edward, Janet Carding and Jane Harrington) and is chaired by the Administrator of Norfolk Island.

The next Committee meeting is scheduled for 5-6 December 2023. At this meeting, we will farewell Duncan Evans and David ‘Dids’ Evans as their tenure on the committee is complete. An Expression of Interest for two new members will be advertised towards the end of the year.

Mr Brendon Christian is the KAVHA Site Manager. He can be contacted through the KAVHA secretariat on KAVHA.secretariat@infrastructure.gov.au or on 23315.

For further information or discussion, please contact the Office of the Administrator (phone 22152 or email office.administrator@infrastructure.gov.au).

George Plant

Chair, Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area Advisory Committee