101 objects from across the Bega Valley Shire have been selected for inclusion on a ‘Bega Shire Hidden Heritage’ listing that has recently been compiled for South Coast History Society.
The selection, made by three local heritage advisors, took three months to complete with more than 500 different objects, all of which were suggested by the community, being considered in that time.
“It’s a selection that is probably best described as ‘interesting’ and ‘eclectic’,” South Coast History Society’s President Peter Lacey said.
“And it’s absolutely nothing like the list of heritage items that I had initially thought would be compiled,” he added.
“For a start, it includes no buildings. There are numerous other existing lists of historic buildings, and the heritage advisers felt there was little point in simply duplicating those lists.”
“And most locals will not even be aware of the existence of many of the items on this list. I certainly wasn’t, and I’m sure many people will be amazed to discover how many historically important and very interesting objects there are that are scattered throughout the Shire,” Mr Lacey said.
“Many objects were included on this 101 listing because of the stories they have to tell, or have intriguing histories related to them. For example, something as simple as an old Bega Town Band bass drum that has been included on the list enables us to also document information about the important role of town bands and other local bands in years past, and allows us to relate stories about community music making, and even about other associated community entertainments such as theatre, cinema and local dances.”
“And that is our next big challenge over the next six months, assembling libraries of information about each of these 101 Bega Shire Hidden Heritage objects,” Mr Lacey said.
“These will be published on-line and will be freely available to any- and everyone who cares to access them.”
“So a huge, new bank of information about the area’s history and heritage is progressively becoming available which will significantly benefit many different groups and people in our community.”
This Bega Shire Hidden Heritage project is being supported by the Heritage Near Me program which is an initiative of the NSW Government’s Office of Environment and Heritage.
The full listing of the Bega Shire’s 101 Hidden Heritage objects is now available at www.bit.ly.101objectsindex or from southcoasthistory@yahoo.com. Several examples of the libraries of information being compiled for each of the 101 objects are also available at these sites.
Further information about this local initiative is available from South Coast History Society, 0448 160 852.
