Physical Conservation

Risks to Avoid

We have identified the following risks to be avoided:

• inadequate or ill-informed expert advice resulting in poor conservation outcomes and avoidable heritage impacts

• unqualified practitioners being engaged to carry out conservation works resulting in adverse heritage impacts

• inadequate or poor documentation of conservation work

• adverse impacts to significant convict-era fabric in order to conserve fabric of lesser significance from a later period

• adverse impacts to post-convict era fabric due to conservation of convict-era fabric in circumstances where careful planning could have conserved the fabric of both periods

• damage to the fabric of Fremantle Prison caused by environmental factors that could have been avoided through an ongoing program of monitoring and maintenance or thorough risk preparedness (e.g. fire, flood, rising damp)

• use of inappropriate or low-quality materials in undertaking conservation works to the fabric of Fremantle Prison

Statutory Framework

Schedule 5 (Reg. 10.01) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 includes the management principles that apply to places on the WHL. These emphasise that the primary purpose of management of the cultural heritage of a World Heritage property must include protecting and conserving the World Heritage values of the place.

Schedule 5B (Reg 10.01E) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 includes the management principles that apply at places on the NHL. These emphasise that the objective in managing National Heritage places includes to protect and conserve their National Heritage values.

The EPBC Act governs ‘actions’ that have, or are likely to have, a significant impact on a matter of ‘national environmental significance’. Places on the WHL and NHL (such as Fremantle Prison) are matters of national environmental significance. An ‘action’ may include a project, a development, an undertaking, an activity or a series of activities. It may include conservation works to buildings at Fremantle Prison, especially where such works would require significant intervention in original or historic fabric. Minor repairs and conservation works are unlikely to be ‘controlled actions’.

Before taking an action that could have a significant impact on the heritage values of Fremantle Prison, the action must be ‘referred’ to the Australian Minister for the Environment and Energy. The Minister will determine whether or not further and more formal assessment and approval is required, i.e. a ‘controlled action’.

The Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990 protects places included on the SRHP, including Fremantle Prison. Certain works to places on the SRHP require a ‘development referral’ including some ‘conservation and remedial works’. However, minor works (such as maintenance and some like-for-like repairs) do not need to be referred. It will be necessary to assess the need for a development referral for proposed physical conservation works on a case-by-case basis.

Non-Statutory Framework

Article 87 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention states that the integrity of places nominated to the WHL must be of a high level. Integrity is a ‘measure of the wholeness and intactness’ of the place’s heritage values. It states that this can suffer as a result of ‘neglect’, e.g. failure to implement physical conservation in a timely manner.

Article 96 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention emphasises the importance of protecting, managing, sustaining or enhancing the OUV, including the integrity and authenticity of the place. ‘Authenticity’ refers to the ability of people to understand the value attributed to a place having regard to its ‘credibility’ and ‘truthfulness’. Highly invasive conservation works can adversely impact Fremantle Prison’s authenticity.

Article 3.2 of the Burra Charter states that: ‘Changes to a place should not distort the physical or other evidence it provides, nor be based on conjecture’.

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Article 15.1 of the Burra Charter states that: ‘Change may be necessary to retain cultural significance, but is undesirable where it reduces cultural significance. The amount of change to a place and its use should be guided by the cultural significance of the place and its appropriate interpretation.’

Article 22.1 of the Burra Charter states that: ‘New work such as additions or other changes to the place may be acceptable where it respects and does not distort or obscure the cultural significance of the place, or detract from its interpretation and appreciation.’

Article 22.2 of the Burra Charter states that: ‘New work should be readily identifiable as such, but must respect and have minimal impact on the cultural significance of the place.’

Article 27.1 of the Burra Charter states that: ‘The impact of proposed changes, including incremental changes, on the cultural significance of a place should be assessed with reference to the statement of significance and the policy for managing the place. It may be necessary to modify proposed changes to better retain cultural significance.’

Constraints

Fremantle Prison is located in a marine environment which makes it susceptible to a range of unavoidable environmental factors, e.g. salt attack.

The limestone historically used at Fremantle Prison is generally highly porous and susceptible to the following kinds of decay:

• detachment (disintegration)

• clumping/granular disintegration/powdering.

• detachment (scaling) – spalling.

• alveolization (erosion) – loss of matrix/differential erosion/erosion

• alveolization (mechanical damage) – impact/abrasion

• microkarst (perforation) – pitting

• discolouration/deposit – efflorescence.

• biological colonization – lichen/moss/plant

Fremantle Prison is a popular tourist attraction that hosts large numbers of people making its fabric susceptible to cumulative adverse impacts through ‘mechanical damage’ (e.g. bumps and abrasion).

Sometimes, even where inexpensive repair is possible, a more costly conservation approach will be required by the place’s heritage values.

There is a diminishing number of tradespeople with the traditional skills required for the conservation of Fremantle Prison’s fabric.

Development approval is sometimes required for urgent conser­vation works that are slightly more than simple ‘maintenance’ and therefore meet the definition of ‘development’ under relevant legislation. This can cause delays that are a risk to the place’s heritage values.

Opportunities

The WA State Cultural Heritage Policy includes among its strategic objectives: ‘Promote sound practice in the conservation, management and adaptation of heritage places’. There are opportunities to utilise Fremantle Prison for training and skills development for students and early career professionals in materials conservation and traditional crafts.

Overarching Policy Framework

POLICY 58
Where there are competing demands on Fremantle Prison’s resources, Fremantle Prison will have regard to the ways in which those elements embody and express the place’s OUV (in the first instance), its National Heritage values (in the second instance) and the site’s state significance (in the third instance). This will be done on a case-by-case basis. In some circumstances it will be appropriate to (for example) conserve fabric that does not embody the place’s OUV instead of fabric that does, where that OUV is adequately embodied and expressed through other fabric or means.

POLICY 59
The maintenance and/or reinstatement of aesthetic treatments (i.e. paintwork, renders, pointing etc) at Fremantle Prison will be informed by historical research, expert knowledge and physical investigation.

POLICY 60
The removal of later fabric should be considered in preference to its repair, especially where the later fabric obscures earlier and more significant fabric.

POLICY 61
Fremantle Prison should continue its approach of repairing doors and other elements (such as joinery and carpentry) by salvaging components from a stock of original doors and windows, bolts, screws, nuts etc. This solution provides a consistent aesthetic outcome ensuring all components appear visually consistent. However, this cannot be a long-term approach to conservation due to limited supply/sources. Where the Prison’s stock of original elements is insufficient, it would be appropriate to replace failed elements from other sources observing the like-for-like principle.

POLICY 62
Fremantle Prison should continue its policy of reinstating/maintaining original pointing treatments and the scribing of ashlar lines in mortars to assist viewers to understand the architectural presentation of the buildings.

POLICY 63
Fremantle Prison will continue to maintain a comprehensive record of conservation and change, observing the ‘Keeping a Record’ Overarching Policy. Record-keeping will inform ongoing conservation works and will be used to assess the performance of works and will be used in future decision-making.

POLICY 64
Decision-making at Fremantle Prison in relation to fabric conservation will be transparent and robust in the face of public scrutiny.

POLICY 65
Fremantle Prison will continue to maintain a cyclical and regular monitoring and maintenance program. The physical condition of the site will be assessed at least every three years through a Building Condition Assessment prepared by Building Maintenance Works (WA Department of Finance). Based on the results of the Building Condition Assessment, the Schedule of Conservation Works maintained by Fremantle Prison will be regularly updated and the relevant data will inform existing and future zone-by-zone Conservation Management Strategies.

POLICY 66
To ensure the timely and cyclical implementation of necessary conservation work, Fremantle Prison’s Schedule of Conservation Works and its zone-by-zone Conservation Management Strategies will include Implementation Plans. These will provide clear timeframes for the completion of specific conservation works.

POLICY 67
Fremantle Prison will review and, where necessary, update the Disaster Preparedness Plan dated April 2016 every three years.

POLICY 68
Where Fremantle Prison leases parts of the site to tenants, the lease agreements will make allowance for the mechanics of maintenance, upgrade and upkeep by tenants. This will include clearly identified responsibilities for individual parties.