What's next for 'The Springs'?

A new plan to guide the development of an historic site with significance for Orange’s indigenous community, is suggesting the installation of public art alongside a walking trail, south of Orange.

The new Heritage Landscape Plan for ’The Springs’ was drafted by expert history consultants in consultation with community members.

Orange City Council has now put the draft plan out for community comment.

Orange Mayor Reg Kidd believes it’s important for the local community to protect sites that tell stories of Orange’s history.

“The area known as ‘The Springs’ has an interesting story to tell from the depression era, about how both indigenous families and impoverished white families lived together in a shanty settlement during the Great Depression,” Cr Reg Kidd said. “It was a rural site that was alongside some orchards and had a good supply of fresh water.”

“It was a place that families who lived remembered for being peaceful, away from busy nearby city of Orange.”

“We now want to put some guidelines in place and seek some government funding to make the most of that site and its history.”

“Now’s the time to check these plans with the community. It’s always possible that the consultation so far has missed community members who’d like to have their say. We’d love to find out some more about what’s planned and let us know what they think.

“People can go to the YourSay Orange site, read some more about it, leave a comment or fill in a quick survey.”

The Springs Heritage Landscape Plan pulls together recommendations from the:

• Archeological Field Assessment Survey and Heritage Study,
• the Conservation Management Plan and
• the results of community consultation

into a single document to guide the protection and enhancement of The Springs over the next 20 years.

Landscape Architects, sala4D worked with community members from Orange including site visits with community who are connected to the site to draft cost estimates, staging and a design report.

The study found that the site was important for its cultural significance, and also as a place of quiet and calm alongside a growing city.

The report suggests funding be sought for basic features such as paths and seats but also interpretive information signs telling the history of the site, its natural environment and its significance as Wirajuri country.

Many parts of the project are dependent upon sourcing funds, but with the help of the contents of this document, grant applications will be assisted through evidence of strong strategic planning.

The Heritage Landscape Plan delivers a staged schedule of projects that Council can use for planning work. The stages are:

• Stage 1 – Land Management Policy
• Stage 2 – Creek line and bushland restoration
• Stage 3 – Interpretation and connectivity to ‘The Springs’.

Key elements of Stage 3 include:

• · Interpretive sculptures providing understanding of ‘The Springs’ as a settlement;
• · Other interpretive elements such as silhouettes . Interpretive silhouette artworks could be placed appropriately in the landscape to allow people to appreciate how people lived at ‘The Springs’ to show their connection to county and the community.

Silhouette designs may include:

• outline ghost houses, showing the scale of the shanty houses
• children stepping over the creek;
• woman hanging laundry;
• school child with a bicycle; and,
• Wiradjuri man keeping lookout at the top of the hill near the dam.

· Totem Pole sculpture providing a strong visual link to Wiradjuri culture;

· Provision of a new boardwalk over the Soak area to provide compliant access;

· A Keeping Place for Wiradjuri culture;

· Linking pathways to town and the health precinct, providing an opportunity for interpretation of the routes residents of The Springs used to take

· Picnic areas and seats to provide basic park amenity

· thought-provoking phrases in the footpath, to use family names of residents at ‘The Springs’, ·