What the Experts Say

Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo: On-line Survey Questionnaire and Live Consultations, March 2022

Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo: On-line Survey Questionnaire and Live Consultations19/20 March 2022 Introduction and background   Answers (copied or recalled) to aspects of the Survey   Comments about the Consultation sessions 1.0 Introduction and background: In early March 2022, the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) announced a free ‘Powerhouse Ultimo Open Weekend’ on … Continue reading Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo: On-line Survey Questionnaire and Live Consultations, March 2022

It’s Time to Re-Think the Move of the Powerhouse Museum – Kylie Winkworth

Kylie Winkworth, Powerhouse Museum Alliance November 2019 1 The Move of the Powerhouse does not Stack Up 1.1 After five years of community opposition to the ‘move’ of the Powerhouse Museum (PHM) to Parramatta it is time for a re-think. Closing the Powerhouse is not a fait accompli. The government can keep the Powerhouse and build an iconic … Continue reading It’s Time to Re-Think the Move of the Powerhouse Museum – Kylie Winkworth

Class A Asset Stripping of the Powerhouse Museum – Kylie Winkworth

‘Class A Asset Stripping of the Powerhouse Museum’ Kylie Winkworth 2 January, 2019 One day economic historians will document the vampire squid epoch in NSW history; the colourful term coined to describe the influence of Goldman Sachs, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In NSW the vampire squids have their … Continue reading Class A Asset Stripping of the Powerhouse Museum – Kylie Winkworth

Submissions to Upper House Inquiry: Museums and Galleries, 2016

The list below includes submissions of specific relevance to the argument for not relocating the Powerhouse Museum. These papers include support for developing a new cultural facility in Parramatta, within a strong policy for museums and galleries in NSW. They were submitted by members of the informal lobby group, the Powerhouse Museum Alliance, with related … Continue reading Submissions to Upper House Inquiry: Museums and Galleries, 2016

PMA statement: Ticking the Consultation Box for the PHM’s `move’ to Parramatta

6 April, 2020 Ticking the Consultation Box for the PHM’s `move’ to Parramatta The Powerhouse Museum Alliance rejects the faux consultations on the Parramatta museum, now underway by Infrastructure NSW, in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis.1 It is not community engagement when you are only consulting on decisions that have already been made. That … Continue reading PMA statement: Ticking the Consultation Box for the PHM’s `move’ to Parramatta

Size does Matter: Shrinking the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta – Kylie Winkworth

Size does Matter: Shrinking the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta Kylie Winkworth, 26 June 2020 The size of the Powerhouse Precinct building at Parramatta has been continually misrepresented in public statements and media releases as larger than the real Powerhouse Museum at Ultimo. It is not.  The Powerhouse Museum’s exhibition space is being downsized at Parramatta … Continue reading Size does Matter: Shrinking the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta – Kylie Winkworth

Heritage Impacts and Issues, Parramatta: Response to EIS Submissions – Kylie Winkworth

Kylie Winkworth November, 2020 Read here, for a link to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and its reports and community responses, https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/project/26576?fbclid=IwAR0bB-du2l8qvLLOoTEoS-6fBmRsQNumHAwb5O2hQsqaoxFSoeAtba7vx1I Powerhouse Parramatta EIS and Response to Submissions SSD-10416 Heritage Impacts and Issues 1:  No Alternate Locations for the Parramatta Museum were Analysed in the EIS The RTS records that 91% of public submissions … Continue reading Heritage Impacts and Issues, Parramatta: Response to EIS Submissions – Kylie Winkworth

Rebuttal of the EIS/ RTS Site Assessment Requirements – Kylie Winkworth

Rebuttal of the EIS/ RTS Site Assessment Requirements  Kylie Winkworth December 2020 Museum and heritage consultant, Powerhouse Museum Alliance Read here, for a link to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and its reports and community responses, https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/project/26576?fbclid=IwAR0bB-du2l8qvLLOoTEoS-6fBmRsQNumHAwb5O2hQsqaoxFSoeAtba7vx1I The Secretary’s Requirements (SEARS) for the EIS required the EIS to consider, among a range of social impacts, … Continue reading Rebuttal of the EIS/ RTS Site Assessment Requirements – Kylie Winkworth

‘Floodplain Manager’ Editorial, Powerhouse Parramatta – Steven Molino

Floodplain Manager Editorial by Steven Molino, 3 August 2020 Floodplain Manager is a publication provided by Molino Stewart, Environment and Natural Hazards specialists, to connect and inform floodplain managers throughout Australia and the world. See: https://molinostewart.com.au/floodplain-manager/  For this editorial see: https://molinostewart.com.au/editorial/floodplain-manager-july-2020/ See also: Kylie Winkworth, submissions to Select Committee Inquiry, No. 137a Ms Kylie Winkworth  and … Continue reading ‘Floodplain Manager’ Editorial, Powerhouse Parramatta – Steven Molino

Breaking up the Powerhouse Museum: 10 Years of the LNP at Work: Kylie Winkworth 13/5/21

Breaking up the Powerhouse Museum: 10 Years of the LNP at Work Posted on 13 May 2021 by Allison Hore in (red here:) City Hub Featured City Hub  0 Comments {photo} The same spot Perrottet and Harwin smiled for the cameras for the announcement the Powerhouse in Ultimo would stay (Photo: SMH), is today a construction site (Photo:Tom Lockley) Opinion … Continue reading Breaking up the Powerhouse Museum: 10 Years of the LNP at Work: Kylie Winkworth 13/5/21

Policy, power and the cultural and heritage values of the Powerhouse Museum – Jennifer Sanders

  FOR ILLUSTRATED VERSION, READ HERE:  PMA Australia ICOMOS JS Australia ICOMOS 2019 SYDNEY TALK SERIES NUMBER 6 Tuesday 1st October 2019 POLICY, POWER AND THE CULTURAL AND HERITAGE VALUES OF THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM KYLIE WINKWORTH AND JENNIFER SANDERS, POWERHOUSE MUSEUM ALLIANCE JENNIFER SANDERS THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM: ITS PLACE IN THE WORLD, OUR NATION, NEW … Continue reading Policy, power and the cultural and heritage values of the Powerhouse Museum – Jennifer Sanders

The Powerhouse and Notre Dame: a tale of destructions – Jennifer Sanders

A tale of destructions: Notre Dame – Sydney International Exhibition Building – The Powerhouse Museum 17 May, 2019 The conflagration in April 2019 which consumed Notre Dame, the spiritual and emotional heart of Paris, is undoubtedly a cultural heritage disaster of epic proportions given the cathedral’s great age, beauty and its place in world history. … Continue reading The Powerhouse and Notre Dame: a tale of destructions – Jennifer Sanders

Briefing notes about the Powerhouse, an update: Jennifer Sanders

A: THE CASE AGAINST: THE NSW GOVERNMENT’S PLAN TO MOVE THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM TO PARRAMATTA B: THE CASE FOR: A DISTINCTIVE, NEW ‘CULTURAL BEACON’ IN PARRAMATTA Jennifer Sanders: update 1st February 2017 ___________________  A: THE CASE AGAINST:  THE NSW GOVERNMENT’S PLAN TO MOVE THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM TO PARRAMATTA The Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo:  since 1893 … Continue reading Briefing notes about the Powerhouse, an update: Jennifer Sanders

High risks for MAAS on Parramatta floodplain – Debbie Rudder

This paper, compiled by Debbie Rudder in October, 2017, identifies problems raised by experts who consistently draw attention to the extremely high flood risk at the proposed riverside site for the new MAAS in Parramatta, through the following documents:  Parramatta Council paper re flood risk (current document) SES submission to Greater Sydney Commission, 2017 Draft … Continue reading High risks for MAAS on Parramatta floodplain – Debbie Rudder

Shrinking the Powerhouse to Parramatta: Lies, Spin and Delusions – Kylie Winkworth

21 November 2018 The New Museum Western Sydney (NMWS) to be built from the rubble of the demolished Powerhouse Museum (PHM) is the ONLY museum development project anywhere in the world where the new museum and facilities will be smaller, less accessible and inferior to what the Powerhouse already owns at Ultimo. The PHM has … Continue reading Shrinking the Powerhouse to Parramatta: Lies, Spin and Delusions – Kylie Winkworth

Royal Society NSW: ‘From the President – Moving the Powerhouse Museum’

28 September, 2018 ‘From the President – Moving the Powerhouse Museum’ President of the Royal Society of New South Wales, Ian Sloane, wrote to members in their September Bulletin: ‘I want to share with you the fact that the Council of your Society has resolved to oppose the relocation of the Powerhouse Museum from Ultimo … Continue reading Royal Society NSW: ‘From the President – Moving the Powerhouse Museum’

The Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta ‘move’, a critical view of the NSW Government’s planning and costing processes: Lindsay Sharp  

Contents: Introduction: The Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta ‘move’ Summary of key facts and figures Part 1:  Inadequacies and implications of the NSW Government’s planning and development process and decisions   1.1 The NSW Government’s approach to planning and development 1.2 Governance: clients and manager 1.3  Lack of transparency 1.4 A comparison of Museum size and quality … Continue reading The Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta ‘move’, a critical view of the NSW Government’s planning and costing processes: Lindsay Sharp  

Parramatta Council minutes document early concerns for proposed relocation of the Powerhouse Museum – Tom Lockley

Tom Lockley is Convenor of the Pyrmont History Group PHM committee. He submitted Sections 1 and 2 of this paper to the Committee of Inquiry on 12 September 2017, and has since adapted it to share with others. [Note 28 May, 2018: see addition at end of document about the Parramatta Council’s Committee of Review … Continue reading Parramatta Council minutes document early concerns for proposed relocation of the Powerhouse Museum – Tom Lockley

Does the Powerhouse Have a Future? by Todd Packer

Published in Artichoke, Australia’s interiors and design magazine, Issue no 55, June 2016, P14:  http://architectureau.com/magazines/artichoke/  ——————————————————————– Think about what inspired you on your first visit to Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. For me it was the moment I emerged through a tiny opening, high up in the vast industrial cavern of the repurposed turbine hall, and came … Continue reading Does the Powerhouse Have a Future? by Todd Packer

Parramatta project: questions of ownership, management and development procedure – Grace Cochrane

In mid-October, 2017, a position was advertised for a ‘Senior Development Officer: Museum Expert’ in Parramatta. See: AdDevManagerOct2017  also noted on 25 October, in https://powerhousemuseumalliance.com/find-out-more/a-news-chronology/ It was discovered shortly after that the City of Parramatta Council had placed the advertisement, but the circumstances remained unclear. For all those waiting in anticipation for the report on … Continue reading Parramatta project: questions of ownership, management and development procedure – Grace Cochrane

The Significance of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney’s Transport, Engineering and Manufacturing Heritage Precinct – Max Underhill

Darling Harbour, and surrounding area, is Sydney’s most important Transport, Engineering and Manufacturing Heritage Precinct. The former Ultimo Power House, currently preserved as part of the Powerhouse Museum, is critical to this precinct, firstly in its own right as heritage building, secondly an appropriate housing for the collections of large power technology, transport, engineering and … Continue reading The Significance of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney’s Transport, Engineering and Manufacturing Heritage Precinct – Max Underhill

An assessment of costs and risks of the proposed relocation of the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta: Jennifer Sanders

Following are key points regarding the Baird Government’s plans to relocate the Powerhouse to Parramatta and demolish the Powerhouse Museum at Ultimo. It is mystifying that such major and complex undertaking could be announced without a comprehensive business case or transparent evidence convincingly arguing the case for this unprecedented action. Since the announcement on 11 … Continue reading An assessment of costs and risks of the proposed relocation of the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta: Jennifer Sanders

Moving Museums: Jennifer Sanders

MOVING MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES: A BRIEF SURVEY When you search the internet for ‘museums that have been relocated’ and ‘museums that are being moved’: The only references to a large museum being relocated are for the Powerhouse Museum! Lots of media and Government announcements. The only other museum that turned up, large or small, is the … Continue reading Moving Museums: Jennifer Sanders

Industrial and Engineering Heritage: Debbie Rudder

Briefing note: The Powerhouse Museum’s industrial and engineering heritage The Powerhouse Museum building is an important industrial heritage site, and it houses several large engineering objects of high heritage significance. The synergy between building and objects ensures a distinctive museum experience that inspires visitors to take an interest in technology. It helps them understand how … Continue reading Industrial and Engineering Heritage: Debbie Rudder

Six Questions for the Premier on Transparency and Planning for the Development of a new Museum in Parramatta: Kylie Winkworth

The government’s plans to develop a new museum in Parramatta are warmly supported. But the location, form, facilities and content of the new museum must be based on deep consultation with communities in Parramatta and western Sydney. And it should not be predicated on the closure and sale of the Powerhouse Museum at Ultimo. The … Continue reading Six Questions for the Premier on Transparency and Planning for the Development of a new Museum in Parramatta: Kylie Winkworth

Powerhouse Museum. Photo by OzinOH/Flickr.

Myth Busting: Kylie Winkworth

1. It’s a choice between a museum at Ultimo or Parramatta. Why? The Powerhouse Museum does not have to be sold to build a new museum in Parramatta. The government has the funds in its $600m cultural infrastructure fund to build a new museum in Parramatta. They also had an $860m stamp duty windfall last … Continue reading Myth Busting: Kylie Winkworth

Rally Speeches: 10 December, 2016

Speeches: Protest Rally, 10 December, 2016  At a further protest rally organised by the Save the Powerhouse lobby group held on the forecourt of the Powerhouse venue of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, eleven speakers discussed a range of compelling arguments for keeping the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo, while looking at better options … Continue reading Rally Speeches: 10 December, 2016

Rally paper 3: Expectations of audiences: Grace Cochrane

Grace Cochrane was one of four former PHM staff who spoke with others at the Save the Powerhouse rally, May 28, 2016.                                                    Photo: Rod Bamford It is hard to believe that any government would want to be remembered as the one responsible for destroying so many things we all believe to be important. And yet, … Continue reading Rally paper 3: Expectations of audiences: Grace Cochrane

The MAAS Collection, scope, scale and endless delight: Christina Sumner OAM

The remarkable diversity and cultural significance of the collection of Sydney’s Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences is easy to underestimate, simply because of its immeasurable breadth. The attached summary  MAAS collection 28Feb12 ,  incomplete though it surely is, was constructed by me in early 2012, in collaboration with my curatorial colleagues at that time, in an … Continue reading The MAAS Collection, scope, scale and endless delight: Christina Sumner OAM