Angela George – Advocating and educating about New South Wales’ cultural heritage

Born and raised in Pambula, a tiny but historically rich town on the far south coast of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, I’ve been involved in cultural heritage management and interpretation for around twenty-five years.

I’m currently curator of both the online Museums of the South East (MoSE) and the Merimbula RSL Club Inc.’s Community Cultural Display Case, and have recently been appointed as Museum’s Advisor for the Bega Valley Shire, a Local Government Area on the Far South Coast of NSW. Other recent projects have included museum collection and object significance assessment, volunteer training, collection preservation and care, and built heritage identification, research, assessment and listing nomination. I maintain a number of cultural heritage and history blogs and contribute to a range of local histories as well as publishing a number of my own books. I’m also involved in a voluntary capacity with a number of local community organizations.

I remember becoming particularly concerned about the future of cultural heritage in rural and regional Australia in 2013 when demolition of an historically important century-old former hotel building (the Hotel Australasia) in Eden (NSW) was threatened. The situation highlighted the desperate need for better and more proactive identification and protection of heritage, particularly in rural and regional Australia. Since then, I’ve embarked on compiling a more comprehensive and representative document of significant extant heritage structures and sites in my local region. To this end, recent successes have included the addition of the 1905/06 Hotel Australasia, the 1904/05 Thompson’s Point Ocean Baths and 1961 Eden Memorial Swimming Pool to Schedule 5 (Heritage listings) of the Bega Valley Shire Council’s Local Environment Plan.

More about what I do and why

I can't really remember a time when I wasn't interested in the stories associated with the history and heritage around me.

I think that "hands-on" activities that allow people to see, explore and experience tangible examples of heritage / history, and seem to have the most powerful impact on audiences, particularly when they can be brought to life by personal stories, anecdotes and connections.

It's incredibly gratifying when people learn something new from my work that brings about deeper understanding of why protection and interpretation of our heritage is so important not just for present generations but also those who follow. Along the same line, I find unwillingness to even consider the value of heritage and history really discouraging.<h3></h3>

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What I’ve learned

Whenever and wherever the opportunity offers to try to improve public and / or governmental understanding and value of heritage – whether it’s speaking to groups, writing articles, posting on blog sites and developing outreach programs – seize the chance.

How I work

Conducting research
Curating interpretative exhibitions
Writing books and blogging
Participating in built heritage protection lobbying
Working on cultural heritage collection management and interpretation in public and private facilities
Completing collection and artifact significance assessment
Developing brochures and flyers
cultural heritage site interpretation
cultural tourism projects
identification
nomination and interpretation of Heritage Conservation Areas

Connect with me

“South East Cultural Heritage” – A New South Wales community-driven, cultural heritage preservation Facebook group.

Below is a photo gallery of some of the community exhibitions I’ve collaborated on, as well as highlights of local history sites that have been featured in the South East Cultural Heritage Facebook group:

: “Women’s Work” is the latest exhibition (2018) on show in the Merimbula RSL Club’s Community Cultural Display Case.

: The display, developed in collaboration with the Merimbula-Imlay Historical Society, features an extensive selection of images & objects associated with the domestic work of women in days gone by.

: The artefacts on show in the exhibition have been drawn from the Merimbula Old School Museum’s collection as well as private individuals.

: “Trench Art: From Conflict to Creativity” was the 2017 exhibition to be installed in the Merimbula RSL Club’s Community Cultural Display Case.

: The display, developed in collaboration with the Merimbula Imlay Historical Society in time for Remembrance Day, looks at the fascinating practice of service men (and later women) using the spoils of war to craft individual pieces of art during times of conflict.

: A special feature of the exhibition is the inclusion of an extensive private collection of original trench art pieces, mostly dating from WWI, that have been loaned by local resident Pat Raymond.

: “Anniversaries” was the 2016 exhibition in Merimbula RSL Club’s Community Cultural Display Case.

: it looked at the anniversary of a range of conflicts in which Australia and Australians have been involved in.

: I work closely with the Merimbula-Imlay Historical Society to bring this and other exhibitions to life.

: Apart from memorial halls and other commemorative structures erected across the region to honour the service of locals during conflict, one of the more unusual examples is the Eden Memorial Swimming Pool at the southern end of Aslings Beach. Click here for the full story of this unusual and heartfelt memorial.

: A brief history of the Pambula Goldfields:

: By 1891, eleven companies were in operation & an estimated 2,000 men, women & children were living in the immediate vicinity.

: The first six years of the field were the most productive, although it remained active until 1916. Even after that time, work was carried on sporadically, with some prospectors continuing until the late 1960s.