Historic building set to make way for convention centre

GEELONG heritage advocates are calling for 150-year-old building to be retained during construction of the Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCEC).

The state government and consortium The Plenary Conventions unveiled plans for the $294 million project last month.

National Trust local branch members say the designs failed to include provision for the existing Waverley building presently on the site.

The 1870 building at the corner of Western Beach Road and Gheringhap Street is slated for demolition to make way for GCEC.

Waverley is within the Woolstores Heritage area Precinct and is within a City of Greater Geelong heritage overlay.

That building was the former home and office of Geelong architects Alexander Davidson and George Henderson.

The designers are best known for their work designing Barwon Park Mansion at Winchelsea among other historic Geelong and western Victorian buildings during that era.

Waverley itself is renowned as one of Australia’s earliest houses to use hollow-brick or cavity walls to improve construction standards.

Geelong and Region Branch National Trust representative Jennifer Bantow said the group was devastated to learn of the plan.

“We’ve been involved in ‘consultation’ over the centre’s plans for about two years, and the Office of the Victorian Architect advised us months ago that Waverley would be incorporated into the design.

“Now we discover the assurances we received from both state and local government officers were untrue, and that Waverley’s demolition will be another example of authorities not wanting to conserve the character of our local distinctive identity.

“As a city that claims to be ‘clever and creative’, Geelong should be protecting and conserving this unique heritage building, rather than allowing its certain destruction.”

The National Trust branch said it would call on state government authorities to revise GCEC plans and preserve Waverley for generations to come.