Press - Jan - April 2009
POST Newspapers 25 April 2009
Premier on Cliffe
Premier Colin Barnett said his government would not return the Cliffe to the State Heritage Register.
He said: “I know where Giz Watson is coming from. It has been a long and exhaustive issue. It is private property and it is very dilapidated.
“The Cliffe is not a priority for this government.”
Greens MLC Giz Watson wants the Cliffe back on the register.
The WEST AUSTRALIAN 20 April 2009
Fresh bid to heritage-list home
BY BEATRICE THOMAS & JESSICA STRUTT
New attempts are being made to save historic peppermint Grove homestead The Cliffe, with Greens MP Giz Watson pushing to overturn a decision to take it off the State’s heritage register while an elite girls’ school has shown interest in acquiring it.
A 13-year battle by millionaire prospector Mark Creasy to demolish the Bindaring Parade house built in 1894 came to a head last May when the Upper House upheld an unprecedented decision by the heritage minister Michelle Roberts to remove it from the register.
Ms Watson said yesterday she had tabled a notice of motion to be considered by the Upper House when State Parliament resumed next month for the vote to be rescinded and a message sent to the Lower House.
She said a report, kept under wraps by Mrs Roberts and released by Heritage Minister John Castrilli in December, showing strongly worded advice from the Heritage Council that The Cliffe should be preserved, should have been released before the vote.
“Parliament made that decision without being able to have the advice from the Heritage Council.” Ms Watson said.
She said she would seek to establish whether to amend the Heritage Act to make it compulsory for MPs to see any advice from the Heritage Council before a vote on delisting.
“It’s a total nonsense to have a Heritage Council and then not be able to actually see their view on a significant heritage building,” Ms Watson said.
The report, only released after questions in Parliament, said the Government received advice from the State Solicitor’s Office to remove the property from the register to avoid “undefined costs to the State”.
Mr Creasy threatened in 2006 to enforce a little-known clause in heritage law that would force the Heritage Council to buy the property for its then-market value about $20 million.
Premier Colin Barnett, who supported the delisting, said yesterday the building was severely dilapidated and was not of any great significance.
Peppermint Grove Shire president Brian Kavanagh said staff from Presbyterian Ladies’ College, which is adjacent to the homestead, had toured the 4800 sq m riverfront property and sown interest in it for expansion.
He said rezoning could be possible with a review of the town’s planning scheme, adding there were not too many opportunities for the school to acquire extra land in the area.
Cr Kavanagh said a committee established to find a way to save The Cliffe was contemplating whether to retain, relocate or demolish the homestead, with a report due next month.
Mr Creasy has refrained from demolishing the house until the process is over.
Cr Kavanagh said he was disappointed Ms Watson has failed to contact the shire by re-registering the property was not on its agenda.
POST Newspapers 18 April 2009
Will PLC take over the Cliffe?
BY ROMY RANALLI
A saviour for the Cliffe might be just around the corner.
The sale of the on-off heritage property to Presbyterian Ladies’ College next door has been touted as a potential solution, says Peppermint Grove shire president Brian Kavanagh.
The college, which celebrates its 100th birthday in 2015, is running out of space and could expand on to the property and restore the house as a classroom.
Mr Kavanagh said PLC staff had been invited to visit the Cliffe.
“They walked through and had a good look,” he said. “There are not too many 5000sq.m places that become available in the school’s precinct.
“It is a one-off opportunity that won’t present itself again.”
Fremantle councillor and Cliffe committee member John Dowson attended PLC as a pre-schooler and said community donations could assist it to buy the place.
Boys can attend the school until the age of five and the early learning centre from six months until Year 1.
“New classrooms could be built and named in honour of those who join what would be a very inspiring project,” Mr Dowson said.
“Neil McNeil, the Cliffe’s original owner, was one of the founders of PLC and a generous contributor and benefactor to the school.
“The original building is in much better condition than previously thought and it would take less than $1 million to get it up and running.”
PLC principal Beth Blackwood is overseas and will meet the Cliffe committee again when she returns.
But a spokesperson said the school had nowhere near the $10 million to $20 million the Cliffe is believed to be worth and the opportunity could only become a reality if the community supported the idea.
POST Newspapers 18 April 2009
Greens aim to reverse de-listing
BY ROMY RANALLI
Greens MP Giz Watson will try to save the Cliffe using parliamentary law.
Ms Watson has formally asked parliament to overturn its decision to remove the property from the state’s register of heritage places.
She said a report into the Cliffe’s de-listing was not released until after parliament had voted.
“Parliament made a decision without knowing the facts,” she said.
The report was released after the Greens put pressure on the government under Freedom of Information laws.
It revealed the Heritage Council of WA told the former Carpenter government that legal advice suggesting the state would be forced to buy the property to keep it on the list was incorrect.
Later, the National Trust said the State Solicitor’s Office told then Heritage Minister Michelle Roberts that the government could be exposed to a $20 million compensation claim based on the value of the property.
But the heritage council report said Canada was the only Commonwealth jurisdiction where the law had been tested.
The Canadian court ruled that heritage listing did not prevent the property being used.
Ms Watson said: “We must revisit this decision now that we have all the facts.
“The report was specifically requested at the time but not provided and we now know that the Heritage Council did not recommend the delisting.”
A notice of motion to rescind last year’s vote on the de-listing was issued by Ms Watson last week and will be heard when parliament resumes next month.
While in opposition, Premier Colin Barnett led the push for the de-listing and, with the support of Labor, said the property was beyond repair.
But supporters of the Cliffe say its owners should have been punished for demolition-by-neglect.
The POST Newspaper 7 March 2009
Cliffe ownership swaps
BY ROMY RANALLI
Peppermint Grove’s historic mansion, the Cliffe, has a new owner.
Landgate records show the property was transferred from Sharon Creasy to Mark Creasy in April 2008.
A spokesperson for the wealthy mining couple confirmed they had separated.
No stamp duty was payable on the transfer and transfer documents do not record a valuation.Property transfers between partners are not subject to stamp duty.
The transfer shows a restrictive covenant on the property, in force since 1962.
Historian and Cliffe supporter Bleddyn Butcher said the restriction limited development to a single residence and was placed in 1962 when Gavin (Tom) Bunning sold the home to doctors Harold and Athel McComb who sold it to Sharon Creasy in 1995.
“This restrictive covenant may be a problem for Mark Creasy if he wants to develop the site,” Mr Butcher said. “It was inserted by Tom Bunning in order to protect what the Heritage Council calls ‘the amenity of those who live close to the Cliffe’.
“But Heritage Council documents we’ve sourced under Freedom Of Information (FOI) show they supported the removal of the covenant if selling off some of the gardens allowed the Creasys to preserve the Cliffe.”
Mr Butcher said other documents showed Mr Creasy discussed erecting two 10-storey apartment blocks on the site in 2005.
“There is a specific section of the Heritage Act dedicated to setting out the steps a Heritage Minister can take if he or she believes an owner is pursuing a policy of neglect,” he said.
“Why did no one make use of that section?”
There have been seven owners of the Cliffe. “Neil McNeil bought the strip of land on the north side of McNeil Street between what’s now Stirling Highway and the river in 1893,” Mr Butcher said.
“McNeil purchased the land with profits from his jarrah exports and built the Cliffe in 1894 to show off the wood’s beauty and durability.
“Peppermint Grove Road Board promptly passed a bylaw prohibiting building in wood.
“In 1915 McNeil subdivided the property, selling 19 lots in the western part and retaining the Cliffe and surrounds.”
The property was sold on his death to Hugh Lance Brisbane, Mr Butcher said. “Then Brisbane got a job with a brick-and-tile company and passed the Cliffe, with its freakish jarrah shingles, to his brother David.”
Cotswold Investments, run by Tom Bunning, bought the property when David died.
“He was the son of Robert Bunning, one of McNeil’s fiercest competitors in the timber trade.
“Tom grew up in the family home in Johnston Street and, as far as I can tell, lived in Peppermint Grove all his life.
“When he subdivided the McNeil estate into six lots, he took the choicest lot for himself and sold the other front lot to the Ledger family.”
Sir Frank Ledger, the greatgrandfather of late actor Heath Ledger, lived in the home he built on the block overlooking Freshwater Bay until he died in 1993.
It was auctioned by his bank for $1.2 million to recover debts racked up by Heath’s father Kim Ledger, according to court documents.
“The lot now occupied by Mark Creasy’s mother – 35 McNeil Street, I believe – was originally sold to the Plunkett family,” said Mr Butcher. “The other three lots were sold to the McComb family after the auction failed to generate higher bids.
“Bunning lived close to the Cliffe himself; he lived next door and, incidentally, seems to have developed a grandfather-like relationship with the young Dave McComb, the late front man for Australian legends the Triffids.”
The POST Newspaper 7 March 2009
Triffids man’s link to Cliffe mocked
BY ROMY RANALLI
Bleddyn Butcher was the subject of mocking and jeering by Peppermint Grove councillors.
He was one of five nominees to a committee to oversee the future of the controversial Cliffe mansion, the birthplace of the Triffids band. Real estate agent Mack Hall, architect John Taylor and Fremantle councillor John Dowson were appointed to the committee.
Councillors laughed at Mr Butcher’s nomination and at the fact that he lived in Redfern, NSW. One councillor said: “Is he for real?”
Another laughed and said: “Yes, let’s put him on and pay all his expenses to come over.”
Councillor Melanie Lynn said: “He’s the music guy.”
There was no further deliberation about Mr Butcher’s suitability but several more laughs. The treatment of his nomination was not surprising, Mr Butcher said by phone from Sydney.
“It’s pathetic, but I know what they are like, it’s a rigged game,” he said.
“They are rejecting me because I have a different point of view and something different to contribute, but I would be no more biased than a property developer.
“If they were worried about how I can be there, they could have easily asked me, because one of the requirements is you give your phone number.”
The Triffids have reassembled for their first home-town shows since the death of lead singer and songwriter Dave McComb 10 years ago. Their three shows at the Perth International Arts Festival were sold out.
The band is one of Australia’s most successful international exports and has been inducted into the Aria Hall of Fame.
The Triffids’ most popular songs, Bury Me Deep In Love and Wide Open Road, have been covered by artists as diverse as Kylie Minogue, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Little and Nick Cave.
Mr Butcher has written about the influence the unusual house had on the band.
“The Triffids recorded six collections of original songs at the Cliffe,” Mr Butcher said. “Its peculiar location, an eyrie on Devil’s Elbow overlooking Freshwater Bay, gave David a startling perspective as well as a beautiful view.”
Among fans at the Perth shows was local real estate identity Mack Hall, whose nomination for the committee had been successful.
Mr Hall said shire president Brian Kavanagh had asked him to nominate to provide a real estate perspective as a service to the area.
Mr Butcher said: “As if there are not enough real estate people on the council.”
Mr Hall said: “If I was hankering to get the property for sale I might have a conflict of interest, but I’m not.”
He was not aware of discussions about subdividing the Cliffe’s gardens to fund the restoration of the house and had not been involved with the house in the past.
“I don’t agree with high density in Peppermint Grove,” he said. He was not considering becoming a councillor, he said.
Mr Dowson’s appointment was not supported by all councillors. Councillor Peter Bacich asked if only two public members could be appointed but was told by shire CEO Graeme Simpson three had been advertised and must be appointed.
Mr Dowson has publicly opposed the heritage delisting of the Cliffe, saying Mr Bacich should not be on the committee as documents showed he had tried to buy and subdivide the property.
Architect John Taylor, who was also appointed, said he had prepared reports on the property and knew the house “quite well”. He said he would not comment on what he thought should or could be done with the house.
Ian Baxter, former CEO of the Heritage Council of WA, w as nominated for the committee by a third party but disqualified after Mr Simpson said he had not confirmed whether he wanted to be on the committee.
Mr Baxter told the POST he was unaware of the nomination but it was “completely inappropriate” given the Heritage Council’s 14-year fight to protect the house.
Shire president Brian Kavanagh said the mocking was “just throwaway lines”. He said Mr Butcher’s location was a just consideration, as all other candidates were past or present residents.
“The Triffids part of it will be acknowledged at a later point – where we are going is more about business,” Mr Kavanagh said. “I think we got it right with choosing three people with good backgrounds – architectural, heritage and business.”
Mr Butcher said: “I’m not annoyed and had expected nothing less.”
The house was in a fine condition until it was sold and the Creasys should be prosecuted for neglecting the property, its supporters say.
The Creasys were helped by Cottesloe MP Colin Barnett, who successfully argued for the building’s heritage protection to be lifted.
Mr Butcher said instead of supporting the Creasys, Parliament should have prosecuted them for “demolition by neglect”.
Mr Barnett told Parliament the Cliffe had little heritage significance and was not worth restoring.
He said: “It is in extremely poor condition. It is not safe. No one is living in it. No one could live in this house. I would not spend a night in it.
“The Creasys will not spend that money (architects estimated $2.8 million was now needed to bring it to the standard of other houses in the area) on a dilapidated house.”
POST Newspapers 14 Feb 2009
Questions hover about the Cliffe
Audrey Hine
Wanneroo
When the McComb family bought the Cliffe in 1962, a covenant was placed on the title deeds.
Surely, then, the present owners, Mark and Sharon Creasey, would have known all the facts before buying?
Putting aside heritage issues, should they – or did they – challenge the status of the covenant?
How would Peppermint Grove council, or the people who live close by, feel if permission was given for two 10-storey blocks of flats to be built on the land, when the covenant stipulated development was to be limited to one residence to protect the people nearby?
Had it not been for the Freedom of Information requests pursued by Greens leader Giz Watson and Independent MP Shelley Archer, as well as their questions without notice in parliament, plus reports in the POST, the public would have known nothing of this disturbing episode.
The house should be restored to its former glory, and there are plenty of wonderful craftsmen who would willingly volunteer their time to prove the politicians wrong.
