Stage 2 Construction Historic Heritage Sub Plan...concept design proposal. The remains of the two pipes and the sandstone slots will be destroyed by the current concept design proposal

Hunter Expressway Alliance

HISTORICAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT SUB PLAN

Historical Heritage Management Sub Plan_Final_020610 Page 30

APPENDIX C Historical Heritage Assessment of Two Brick Weirs, a Fan Shaft and a Stone Wall, Minmi Creek

November 2009

A Historical Heritage Assessment of Two Brick Weirs, a Fan Shaft and a Stone Wall, Minmi Creek, Seahampton, NSW

Roads and Traffic Authority

A Historical Heritage Assessment of Two Brick Weirs, a Fan Shaft and a Stone Wall, Minmi

Creek, Seahampton, NSW

Prepared by

Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited

on behalf of

Roads and Traffic Authority

This report was formerly 2149/R01/V5

2/20 The Boulevarde PO Box 838

Toronto NSW 2283

Ph: 02 4950 5322 Fax: 02 4950 5737

Email: [email protected] Website: www.umwelt.com.au

Project Director: Jan Wilson Project Manager: Tim Adams Report No. 2437/R04/V2 FINAL Date: November 2009

Historical Heritage Assessment, Minmi Creek Table of Contents

Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited 2437/R04/FINAL November 2009 i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction .............................................................................. 1.1

1.1 Overview ............................................................................................1.1

1.2 Location and Features of the Study Area........................................1.1

1.3 Methodology ......................................................................................1.1

1.4 Study Team ........................................................................................1.3

1.5 Acknowledgments.............................................................................1.3

1.6 Report Structure................................................................................1.3

2.0 Context ...................................................................................... 2.1

2.1 Physical Context................................................................................2.1 2.1.1 Results of Site Inspection................................................................................2.1 2.1.2 Potential Movable Heritage Items ...................................................................2.2

2.2 Consultation and Research ..............................................................2.3 2.2.1 Heritage Branch, Department of Planning Consultation .................................2.3

2.3 Historical Context..............................................................................2.4 2.3.1 The Development of Coal Mining and Railways in the Hunter Valley.............2.4 2.3.2 Historical Themes............................................................................................2.7

2.4 Archaeological Context ....................................................................2.8 2.4.1 Heritage Database Searches ..........................................................................2.8

2.5 Heritage Studies and Archaeological Reports..............................2.10 2.5.1 Minmi Conservation Study (1989) ................................................................ 2.10

2.6 Discussion .......................................................................................2.11 2.6.1 Fan Shaft ...................................................................................................... 2.11 2.6.2 Weirs............................................................................................................. 2.12 2.6.3 Stone Wall .................................................................................................... 2.13 2.6.4 Sandstone slab with slots and the remains of the metal pipes .................... 2.13

3.0 Significance Assessment ........................................................ 3.1

3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................3.1 3.1.1 Australia ICOMOS (The Burra Charter) under the Act....................................3.1 3.1.2 Heritage Branch, Department of Planning Standard Criteria ..........................3.3

3.2 Evaluation of the Significance of the Potential Relics within the Study Area .........................................................................................3.4 3.2.1 Statement of Significance................................................................................3.4

3.3 Condition and Integrity .....................................................................3.6 3.3.1 Condition..........................................................................................................3.6


Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited 2437/R04/FINAL November 2009 ii

3.3.2 Integrity ............................................................................................................3.6 3.3.3 Summary of Condition and Integrity ................................................................3.7

3.4 Summary of Significance..................................................................3.8

4.0 Heritage Impact Statement ...................................................... 4.1

4.1.1 Proposed Impacts............................................................................................4.1 4.1.2 Heritage Impact Statement..............................................................................4.1 4.1.3 Discussion .......................................................................................................4.2

4.2 Conclusions.......................................................................................4.3

5.0 Statutory Context ..................................................................... 5.1

5.1 Heritage Act, 1977 .............................................................................5.1

5.2 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW)...........5.1

5.3 Summary ............................................................................................5.2

6.0 Management ............................................................................. 6.1

6.1 Mitigation of Impact on the Visual Context and Historical Setting6.1

6.2 Mitigation of Impacts on Potential Heritage Items Obscured by Vegetation ..........................................................................................6.2

6.3 General Recommendations for Mitigation of Impacts to Heritage Items during Construction................................................................6.3

7.0 References ................................................................................ 7.1

7.1 Primary Sources................................................................................7.1

7.2 Secondary Sources ...........................................................................7.1

FIGURES

1.1 Approved Road Corridor of the Proposed Hunter Expressway from Seahampton to Branxton ..........................................................................1.1 1.2 Road Corridor and Historical Heritage Items and Areas ........................1.1 2.1 Location of the Study Area within Duckenfield Colliery on Newcastle District Colliery Holdings, map circa 1918 ............................2.1 2.2 Fan Shaft Located within the Study Area on New South Wales, West Wallsend, Map Area 1941.................................................................2.1 2.3 Duckenfield Colliery photographed by Ralph Snowball in 1855............2.9


Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited 2437/R04/FINAL November 2009 iii

PLATES

1 Facing East, Fan shaft capped with concrete .........................................2.1 2 Facing West, Weir 1 ...................................................................................2.1 3 Facing West, Eastern pier of Weir 1 .........................................................2.1 4 Facing North, Weir 2 ..................................................................................2.1 5 Facing East, Weir 2 top of sandstone wall showing the mortar and

cobbles on top of the sandstone construction .......................................2.1 6 Facing West, Weir 2’s bricks, note striations on edges indicating the wire cut process of manufacture .......................................................2.2 7 Facing East, Weir 2’s bricks, note the circular impression and

rectangular frog mark................................................................................2.2 8 Facing North, Near Weir 1 Stone Wall......................................................2.2 9 Facing North, remains of a metal pipe, close up of shackle on pipe…..2.2 10 Facing East, remains of a cast iron pipe/joint .........................................2.3 11 Facing East, Sandstone slab with slots...................................................2.3

APPENDICES

1 Copies of Searches and Listings 2 Draft Concept Bridge Design Provided by RTA

Historical Heritage Assessment, Minmi Creek Executive Summary

Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited 2437/R04/FINAL November 2009 1

Executive Summary The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) proposes to con struct a road corridor connecting the F3 Freeway near Seah ampton to t he New En gland Highway near Black Creek, west of Branxton. The approved road corridor co mprises about 40 kilo metres of dual lane carriageway and is referred to as the Hunter Expressway (refer to Figure 1.1). An Aboriginal archaeological su rvey was undertaken as part of the environmental assessment carried out for this pr oject (Umwel t 2005). During this survey, two weirs, a mining shaft, a stone wall and three semi-circu lar stone arrangements (believed to be of Aboriginal o rigin) were identified to the west of the existing Newcastle Interchange and in association with Minmi Creek. The original pla n for construction of th e Expressway was t o pass throug h these ite ms. The d esign of th e Expressway was cha nged to avoid direct impact on t he stone arrangements. Construction works proposed by RTA for this area now include a br idge designed to span Minmi Creek and a lso the heritage items and A boriginal stone arrangements. Umwelt Australia Pty Li mited (Umwelt) was commissioned to provide an assessment of the h istorical heritage values and signif icance of th e two weirs, mining shaft and stone wall, th e potential impacts of t he proposed Expressway on these items an d an appropriate manage ment strategy to guide RTA in the design and location of the bridge abutments proposed for construction in this area. The study area is defined as the area enc ompassing the heritage items located on and adjacent to Minmi Cree k and within the area to be impacted by the road corrido r of the Hunter Exp ressway (refer to Figure 1.2). The study area is approximately 1 kilometre southwest of Seahampton and 1.25 kilometres north east of the township of Minmi. Consultation Process and Research Detailed historical re search of the h istorical use , occupat ion and develo pment of th e study area was undertaken for the specific items through consultation with the following organisations: • Department of Mineral Resources Library, Maitland;

• Mining Subsidence Board, website and online database DIGS;

• Picture Australia, National Library of Australia Photographic Database;

• Coalfields Heritage Library;

• Newcastle Regional Library including Local Histories Section;

• Heritage Branch, Department of Planning Library;

• National Archives of Australia;

• Mitchell Library, PICMAN catalogue (Pictures and Manuscripts), State Library NSW;

• Newcastle Family History Society Inc;

• Newcastle & Hunter District Historical Society Inc; and

• Richmond Vale Preservation Cooperative Society Ltd.

The histor ical and ar chaeological context provided in t his report are b ased on inf ormation from these sources. T he results of the rese arch are discussed in the report ( refer to



Section 2.2 to Section 2.6). Cons ultation was also undertaken with the Heritage Branch, Department of Planning in relation to the significance assessment and management strategy presented. The signif icance assessment and managemen t strategy presented co nsidered specific advice provided by the Heri tage Branch, Department of Planning during a meeting with Umwelt and the R TA on 8 Ju ne 2007. A briefing not e was provided to the Heritage Branch, Department of Planning prior to this meeting for discussion. The briefing note included a description of this project, identified heritage items wit hin the study area, significance assessment and propo sed managemen t. This report wa s revised to consider the outcomes from this meeting. Site Inspection – Methodology and Results A literature review confirmed that t here are no known sites of registered National or Stat e significance located within the impact area. There are no known heritage items within the study area listed on her itage database searches undertaken for Commonwealth, State and local agencies searched for this assessment (refer to Section 2.4). The two we irs, mining shaft and st one wall identified during the Aboriginal archa eological survey were re-inspected and recorded in detail. During this re-inspection the remains of two pipes and a slab of sandstone with slots were identified (re fer to Section 2.1 for discussion and detailed descriptions of all items). Significance and Impact Assessment The significance of all heritage items is provided in Table 3.1 in Section 3.0. Weir 1 and Weir 2, the stone wall and the fan shaft are assessed a s having local heritage significance only. This assessme nt is based on the association of these items with th e original Duckenfield Colliery, John Brown’s first co lliery. These items are also of high physical integrity and their fabric is not subst antially modified. The fan shaft has been capped with a concrete slab and Weir 2 has had some modification from its original sandstone construction but none of these modifications ha ve degraded these items to a deg ree that det racts from the assessment of their significance at the local level. T hese three items are considere d unlikely to have State significance as there are other earlier and more intact heritage items in a local cont ext listed on the State Heritage Inventory such as the Stone Ford, remains of a shaft and brick vent shaft for Co-op Coal Company listed in Table 2.3. The Stone Ford and the shafts a re associated with Brown’s other Duckenfield collieries and o ther early collieries in the Min mi area. The remains of the pip es and san dstone sla b with slot s have poor integrity and are not rare industrial artefacts and therefore are conside red unlikely to have local heritage significance and to be of limited, if any, research potential. Weir 1 and Weir 2 will not be impa cted by pro posed works. The fan shaft will be covered with a new reinforced concrete sla b and approximately 7 metres of fill under the current concept design proposa l. The remains of the two pipes and the sandstone slots will be destroyed by the current concept design prop osal. A de tailed impa ct asse ssment and Heritage Impact Statement is provided in Section 4.0. Proposed Management Strategy The proposed manage ment strategy refers to all heritage items inspected and assessed in Section 6.0. The following recommendations were made: • Remains of the metal pipe, ca st iron pipe/ joint and sa ndstone sla b with slot s are

considered unlikely to have heritage sign ificance. T herefore, no furt her investig ation, salvage or recording is recommen ded. Consultation was undertaken with Mr Brian Andrews of the Coalfields Heritage Group for the potential repository of these ite ms on



7 April 2008. These items were not identified for relocation due to the ir fragile condition and the lack of storage space at the Coalfields Heritage Group Museum.

• The Urban Design Tea m involved in the Hunter Expressway project should take into account the existing heritage items in this area and take into account the heritage values of the study area (historical, natura l and Aboriginal) and incorporate these themes into the design of this section of the Expressway where appropriate.

• Existing native trees should be retained as far as possible. The native woodlan d that surrounds the weirs, fan shaft and stone wall are part of its present nat ural and historical setting and should be conserved wherever possible.

• Minmi Cree k is an important part of the natural and histo rical sett ing of these heritage items. Disturbance of Minmi Cree k should b e minimised during co nstruction o f the bridge/road corridor.

• Clearing of much of th e natural v egetation surrounding t he fan sh aft will change the current context of this heritage item; however, as the area would have been substantially cleared and impacted at the time of shaft construction it will not unduly change its historical context. Thus clearing in this area is not seen as deleterious to the historical context of this item (refer to Section 6.2 for further details relating to clearing).

• Burial of the fan shaft is not seen as problematic as in its present condition (capped by a concrete slab) it is not possible to view its fabric. If, however; it is necessary for RTA to remove the concrete capping to in fill the shaft prior to bri dge constru ction an ar chival recording ( photographic and drawings) of the fan shaft should be undertaken by a qualified archaeologist to the stand ard required by the Heritage Branch, Departme nt of Planning for an item of local heritag e significance. A copy of this reco rding should be deposited in the local histories section of the Newcastle Regional Library. If RTA plans to remove the capping a nd infil l the shaft they will not req uire a Sect ion 140 per mit or exception application from the Heritage Branch, Department of Planning as this item is a work and not a relic. I t is therefor e, not prote cted by Section 139 of the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW).

• The two weirs and the stone wall should b e fenced off and protected prior to the commencement of pro posed ground disturbin g works. A qualified ar chaeologist should be present to inspect f enced areas and ensu re that they protect and include th e full extent of th e stone wall and the two weirs. A qualified archaeologist will be present to monitor vegetation and soil clearance to reveal the extent of the stone wall and th e two weirs. The two weirs and the stone wall items will be protected and managed as part of a Historical Heritage Management Plan (HHMP) for the proje ct (refer to protocols outlined in Section 6.3).

The site inspection indicated that vegetation may obscure remains of potential herita ge items within the study area. It is possible that during clea rance of vegetation f or bridge construction, further historical heritage items relating to early coal mining in the area (specifically the Ducke nfield Collie ry) may be revealed. According t o Section 1 46 of the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW), in the event that unexpected or significant archaeological remains not identified as part of this study are discove red at the site, all works in this are a should cease and the Heritage Branch, De partment of Planning sh ould be not ified. The following management recommendations are proposed to meet the requirements of Section 146: • If any unkn own heritage items are identified during vegetation clear ing for constr uction

(i.e. items that are not discussed in Section 6.1), work will cease immediately in that area and the Site Environmental Officer and the RTA Environmental Officer will be notified.



• The Site Environmenta l Officer will be responsible for no tifying the Heritage Branch, Department of Planning.

• The Site Environmental Officer will seek advice from a qualified archaeologist or heritage consultant to determine the significance of the item/s and determine an appropriate management strategy in consultation with the NSW Heritage Branch.

A draft HHMP has been developed for the Hunter Exp ressway in consultation with the Heritage Branch, Department of Pla nning and the RTA. T he draft HHMP includes genera l recommendations for mitigation of impacts to heritage items during construction such as: • All heritage items must be mappe d on construction drawings and plans used by site

workers and site planners.

• Site workers and planners need to be briefed about the location of the heritage items and their heritage status in an induction prior to working on site. As part of this briefing, they should also be made aware of the Section 1 39 and Section 146 p rovisions of the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW). Briefings and indu ctions will i nclude the i nput of a qualified archaeologist or heritage consultant . The construction contr actor must ensure that these inductions include a cle ar process for notification (names, roles and telephone numbers) if an unknown heritage item is identified during construction (refer to Section 6.2).

• The weirs a nd the ston e wall must be contain ed within th e fenced ar eas prior to the commencement of ground distur bing works to le ssen the possibility of site workers accidentally damaging the fabric o f these it ems during co nstruction, particularly those operating plant and machinery. These fenced areas must be signed to indicate the status of these it ems as heritage site s and the requirements for the ir protectio n and conservation. These f enced area s must be checked by a qualified archaeolog ist or heritage co nsultant to ensure the full extent of the two weirs and th e stone wall are protected.

Historical Heritage Assessment, Minmi Creek Introduction

Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited 2437/R04/FINAL November 2009 1.1

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Overview

The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) proposes to con struct a road corridor connecting the F3 Freeway near Seah ampton to t he New En gland Highway near Black Creek, west of Branxton. The approved road corridor comprises about 40 kilometres of dual lane carriageway and is referred to as the Hunter Expressway (refer to Figure 1.1). An Aboriginal archaeological su rvey was undertaken as part of the environmental assessment carried out for this pr oject (Umwel t 2005). During this survey, two weirs, a mining shaft, a stone wall and three semi-circu lar stone arrangements (believed to be of Aboriginal o rigin) were identified to the west of the existing Newcastle Interchange and in association with Minmi Creek. The original pla n for construction of th e Expressway was t o pass throug h these ite ms. The d esign of th e Expressway was cha nged to avoid direct impact on t he stone arrangements. Construction works proposed by RTA for this area now include a br idge designed to span Minmi Creek and a lso the heritage items and A boriginal stone arrangements. T his report provides an assessment of the historical heritag e values and signif icance of the two weirs, mining shaft and stone wall, the pot ential impacts of th e proposed E xpressway on these it ems and an appropriate management strategy t o guide RTA in the design and location of t he bridge a butments proposed for construction in this area. 1.2 Location and Features of the Study Area

The study area is defined as the area enc ompassing the heritage items located on and adjacent to Minmi Cree k and within the area to be impacted by the road corrido r of the Hunter Exp ressway (refer to Figure 1.2). The study area is appro ximately 1 kilometre southwest of Seahampton and 1.25 kilometres north east of the township of Minmi. Other relevant information about the location of the study area is shown in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 - Location Data

Topographic Map Sheet Wallsend 9232-3-S

Grid reference/range Framed within 367000 to 367000 and 6361000 to 6359000

Parish Hexham

County Northumberland

Local Government Area Newcastle

1.3 Methodology

The objectives of this assessment are: • to provide archaeological data to enable appropriate appreciation of th e archaeology and

cultural heritage issues associated with the project and t o provide a foundation for decision-making;



• to comply with the criter ia for such studies and assessment that are established b y the NSW Heritage Manual of the NSW Heritage Council, in particular ‘Heritage Assessments’ [NSW Herit age Office (NSWHO) et al 1996] and ‘Asse ssing Herit age Significance’ [NSWHO 2001]; and

• to address the anticipated requirements of the Heritage Branch in relat ion to applications for Excavation Permits under ss139 and 140 of the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW) (the Act) in the conduct of the study to facilitate the preparation of an appropriate Assessment Report in respect of the study area.

These obje ctives which were requir ements of t he brief, we re achieved using the f ollowing methodology outlined in Umwelt’s proposal to the RTA dated 16 November 2005: • graphic definition of the study area in its region and locality;

• statement of current statutory controls;

• identification of the archaeologist conducting the study and preparing the report;

• statement of the methodology employed in the study and report;

• review of the archaeolo gical context of the study area, including revie w of all heritage listings and reference to previous studies and reports;

• review of th e historical context of the study area by refere nce to primary and secondary sources in o ur holdings and those of local libraries and local, State and Commonwealth authorities;

• examination of the phys ical context of the Study Area, by way of ph ysical inspect ion of the material evidence of the study area;

• synthesis of the components of study area context;

• explanation of the potential for archaeological material evidence, based on synthesis;

• identification of relevant research themes and t he questions that the archaeology of the study area poses;

• statement of cultural sig nificance, against the standard crit eria established by the NSW Heritage Council;

• identification of the issu es that may be raised b y the adoption of each alternative route option and consideration of possib le conseque ntial heritag e management issue s and options;

• recommendation of the less intrusive route option, together with recommendation for the management of heritage values;

• acknowledgment of dat a, information and input provided b y others in t he course of the study; and

• references to the sources from which data/information has been drawn.



1.4 Study Team

The study t eam was p rovided by Umwelt (Au stralia) Pty Limited (Umwelt). Jan Wilson (Manager Cultural Herit age) and Mary-Jean Su tton (Senior Archaeologist) underto ok a sit e inspection o f the stru ctures at Minmi Creek, Se ahampton on Monday, 18 July 200 5. The background research was assisted by Emma St-Pierre (Archaeologist). Sources regarding bricks were provided by Gillian Goode (Histo rical Archaeology Assistant). The as sessment report was written by Mary-Jean Sutton and reviewed by Ja n Wilson an d Barbara Crossley (Director). 1.5 Acknowledgments

The following people are acknowle dged for their assistan ce in provision of informa tion used in this report: • Brian Andrews, Secretary, Coalfields Heritage Group;

• Lynne Barrum, Librarian and Archivist, Mineral Resources Library;

• Libby Robertson, Librarian, Heritage Branch, Department of Planning;

• Ross Zimmerman, Librarian, Local Histories Section, Newcastle Regional Library;

• Rod Mountford, Consultant Historical Archaeologist; and

• Sarah Cameron, Heritage Officer, Newcastle City Council.

1.6 Report Structure

Chapter 2 describes the heritage items and provides the context of the study area including the historica l and archaeological co ntext and o utlines histo rical themes which relate to the heritage items. Chapter 3 provides a significan ce assessment of the study area and the identified heritage items. Chapter 4 provides a heritage impact statement and a discussion of proposed impacts within the study area. Chapter 5 provides a statutory co ntext to provi de an understanding of relevant legislation and how it applies to the study area and the heritage items within it. Chapter 6 provides a managemen t strategy for the proposed development and it s impacts on the ide ntified herit age items and othe r potential heritage items that may b e uncovered/identified during ground clearance works in the study area and in its proximity.

Documents

Stage 2 Construction Historic Heritage Sub Plan...concept design proposal. The remains of the two pipes and the sandstone slots will be destroyed by the current concept design proposal