- State Government funding of $1.22 million allocated to 22 heritage places
- Grants will help generate about $3.4 million in conservation works across WA
The former CBH Grain Silos in Bunbury and the Catherine McAuley Centre in Wembley are among 22 Western Australian heritage places to receive funding under the State Government's 2018-19 Heritage Grants Program.
The program, overseen by the Heritage Council of Western Australia, offers dollar-for-dollar funding of up to $100,000 to help private owners conserve and revitalise their properties.
The Heritage Grants Program has awarded almost 790 grants, totalling $20.8 million since the program's inception in 1997.
As noted by Heritage Minister David Templeman:
"The CBH Grain Silos in Bunbury were the first advance storage and mechanical bulk grain handling facility constructed in WA.
"In 2000, work started on a significant adaptive reuse project to transform the historic grain silos into residential apartments.
"The restoration of this landmark building heralded a new era for Bunbury and helped revitalise Bunbury's Marlston Waterfront tourism precinct.
"A $100,000 grant will assist a structural engineer to undertake a full inspection of the exterior walls of the former CBH Grain Silos and to repair significant cracking of the concrete facade.
"Three projects will receive the maximum grants of $100,000, including Albany's Royal George Hotel and the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office in the Midland Railway Workshops precinct.
"Funding will allow the owners of the Royal George Hotel in Albany's Stirling Terrace to reinstate an original two-storey verandah and to finish painting the hotel's facade.
"The heritage award-winning Catherine McAuley Centre which forms the centrepiece of MercyCare's Wembley campus has been awarded almost $82,000 to assist with reinstating the original shingle roofing using local sheoak on the Stables, the only remaining structure from the Benedictine Monastery of New Subiaco.
"In total, this year's Heritage Grants Program will allocate $1.22 million which, when combined with owner contributions, will generate approximately $3.4 million in conservation around the State.
"This funding will allow private owners to conserve and revitalise 11 regional and 11 metropolitan State Registered heritage properties, protecting some of our State's most valuable heritage assets and stimulating heritage tourism."
