Detailed below is "the story" explaining the history of the heritage protection the Golf Links Estate now enjoys.
The estate was given heritage protection in the late 1990s after
an attempt by a developer in 1995 to build a dual occupancy residence at 66
Fairmont Avenue. Over the decades prior to this the estate was vulnerable to
inappropriate development, and it is indeed fortunate that it survived almost
unscathed.
A group of residents formed the Golf Links Estate Residents
Association to oppose the intended development at 66 Fairmont Avenue. The core
group consisted of Colin Denovan, Warwick Ball, Mark Lang, Hugh Cameron and Rowena Tuck. They
were successful in generating widespread media coverage of efforts to save 66
Fairmont, with large metropolitan and local newspapers featuring the story on
their front pages.
Colin contacted Barry Humphries in Switzerland where he was
writing his autobiography and he was more than willing to write a letter to The
Age, denouncing what was happening in his old neighbourhood. John Landy, the
great Australian athlete, and later governor of Victoria, lived just off the
estate in Christowel Street and made a submission to Council urging that the development
be rejected, while Professor Blainey also supplied a statement stressing that
any attempt to tamper with such a historic area must be examined critically.Thankfully, a standing committee of council rejected the
application, going against the council's own officers who, surprisingly,
endorsed it.
However, the battle wasn't over with the developer appealing to
what was then known as The Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Again, the
residents were victorious and the application was rejected. It should be noted
that the Golf Links Estate Residents Association had to engage a lawyer to
present its case at the AAT which necessitated a fund raising drive. Happily,
many households donated $50 and after meeting other expenses, we had a surplus
that was donated to The National Trust which strongly supported the residents
at council and the AAT, making detailed submissions.
66 Fairmont Avenue was a wake-up call, making us realise how
vulnerable the estate was. The council was also aware of this and suggested we
survey the residents regarding a heritage overlay. The response was
overwhelmingly in the affirmative, which resulted in the council formulating
the protection that we now enjoy.
The Heritage Overlay.
To learn more click "Heritage Overlay"
Special thanks to Colin Denovan, who fixed spelling and grammatical errors on this site and also wrote and provided the information and newspaper clips detailing the history of the estate becoming heritage listed.
