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There's been a fair amount of talk recently about the possibility of Boggo Road Gaol becoming a National Trust of Queensland (NTQ) site, but one thing that has struck me time and time again when speaking to people about this is that quite a lot of them didn’t really know what the NTQ is. Sure, everybody has heard of the National Trust, but some assumed that it was a government department, some thought it was a private business, while others thought it was some kind of a political party. None of which are correct.
So what is this National Trust thing, exactly? And why do I care?
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| Logo of the National Trusts of Australia, a distinctly Antipodean version of the British logo (see below). |
The National Trust of Queensland is actually a not-for-profit membership-based community organisation, with the Mission Statement* of ‘To identify, preserve and promote our heritage’. It is the largest heritage organisation in the state, with over 7,000 members – which would be more members than the major political parties have here. These numbers include 300 active NTQ volunteers who help to look after the 11 properties managed by the NTQ, including Wolston House, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, and the James Cook Museum. These properties are all open to the public.
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| The Hou Wang Temple, Atherton, another NTQ property (see here). |
The NTQ also preserve and promote our heritage through active campaigning, such as the fight against the controversial Northbank development circa 2005-08. This massive six-skyscraper project on the Brisbane riverbank directly impacted on an important heritage precinct in the city, and the NTQ and many in the community argued against the development, and the NTQ organised a petition, a public forum and media releases and letters. In 2008 the state government announced that the project.would not be going ahead.
Of course all this work costs a considerable amount of money, especially maintaining and operating valuable heritage assets. NTQ relies on the work of its many volunteers, and income generated from ‘membership fees, property admission fees, sponsorships, donations, and some government grants’.
On a wider scale, NTQ is part of a national and global network. There are over 20 other National Trust organisationsaround the world, the original one being started inBritainin 1895 and which currently has a staggering 3.7 million members. The famous oak-leaf logo (below) is a familiar sight around the British Isles.
The various state branches of the National Trust in Australiahave a combined membership upwards of 50,000 people. Between them these branches employ about 350 people, have 7,000 volunteers, and manage over 300 heritage places. These include several heritage gaols, such as Fannie Bay Gaol Museum and Old Stuart Town Gaol (Northern Territory), the Penitentiary Chapel(Hobart) and the Old Melbourne Gaol, which has won Victoria's top tourism award three years in a row and also the national award for Heritage and Cultural Tourism at the Qantas 2009 Australian Tourism Awards. Not too shabby, really...
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| Old Melbourne Gaol |
Anyone who knows the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society will know that we have long believed (since about 2003) that the Boggo Road Gaol would make an ideal National Trust site, especially as NTQ do not own any properties inside Brisbane itself. This is also a very popular idea with the public, and is something we are still working towards as the planning process for the redevelopment of the old gaol proceeds.
The NTQ were actually involved at Boggo Road in the 1990s, when they formed the 'Friends of Boggo Road' group of volunteers, who did some great work in looking after and interpreting the gaol, including re-enactments and the production of booklets and a CD-ROM.
Whether or not Boggo Road becomes an NTQ site in the future remains to be seen, but I am pleased to say that, as of this week, I am a member of the Council of the National Trust of Queensland and looking forward to helping the NTQ itself grow. However the Boggo Road planning process turns out, I'm sure the NTQ will be a strong voicein advocating for the right thing to be done at the gaol. They have a strong history of campaigning for heritage and either working with or standing up to government when needs be.
I just hope that, with a new state government in place, it turns out be a casing of 'working with' rather than 'standing up to'.
Do you support Boggo Road Gaol becoming a National Trust site?
BOGGO BLOG POLL
Do you support Boggo Road Gaol becoming a National Trust site?
* Yes, I hate Mission Statements too.
