NOMINATIONS are being sought for the Mornington Peninsula Shire and National Trust 2021 Heritage Awards.
The shire and the trust’s Mornington Peninsula branch are behind the awards which recognise projects and people who have demonstrated excellence in preservation, restoration and reuse of heritage places on the peninsula.
While the word heritage conjures images of built forms, the scope of the awards goes further to cover landscape, cemeteries, wetlands, interpretive signage, and people who have contributed to the longevity of heritage.
Heritage includes public and private places, buildings, gardens and objects, which organisers say are an important part of our culture and environment.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate some of the exceptional places and people on the peninsula and I encourage the community to apply,” the mayor Cr Despi O’Connor said.
“Community members using their skills and ingenuity to restore and maintain heritage places deserve to have their work recognised.
“These awards serve to highlight and inspire our community to celebrate the unique heritage of the Mornington Peninsula.”
National Trust, Mornington Peninsula branch president, Judy Walsh said: “These annual awards present an opportunity to acknowledge individuals, groups and practitioners who have demonstrated expertise in restoration or creative reuse of built and environmental forms of heritage and excellence in interpretive signage.
“Heritage in its various forms is a cultural asset of the peninsula and these awards are a contribution to preserving places of significance for the future.”
Categories include:
Restoration of a heritage place: best practice heritage restoration work in built form, landscape, wetlands, cemeteries, monuments or heritage gardens;
Creative reuse of a heritage place: a process that changes a disused or redundant heritage place to a different purpose while retaining its original integrity;
Sustainability and/or greening of a heritage place: to increase awareness of the contribution to environmental sustainability of heritage places;
Specialist heritage trade skills: recognition of tradespeople using specialist and traditional methods and craftsmanship to a very high standard, and
Excellence in interpretive signage: recognition of interpretive signage of a high quality that has contributed to the heritage of the Mornington Peninsula.
Nominations close on 26 July.
Nominate online at: mornpen.vic.gov.au/heritageawards or call the shire on 5950 1000 or 1300 850 600.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 6 July 2021
