Nominations have opened for Orange City Council's 2027 Cultural Heritage Awards.
An initiative of Orange City Council's Heritage Community Committee, the awards aim to encourage excellence in the conservation and promotion of Orange's rich cultural heritage.
The awards are held every two years to recognise outstanding heritage conservation, restoration, reuse and community heritage projects across the city.
Nominations have opened earlier than previous years to give the community more time to identify and nominate worthy projects and individuals. Nominations will remain open until 30 June 2027.
Heritage Community Committee Chair, Cr Gerald Power, says the awards acknowledge the commitment of property owners, volunteers, community groups and individuals to maintain and conserve the city's heritage. and aim to recognise the tremendous effort people put into preserving Orange's heritage for future generations.
"As you walk around town you can see former buildings that have been repurposed, beautifully restored homes and revitalised commercial buildings that make an important contribution to our streetscapes and local identity," Cr Power said.
The award categories are:
- Restoration of a residential heritage building, including streetscape element restoration
- Adaptive reuse of an existing building
- Infill development - a new building in an existing heritage streetscape, including unit and duplex developments
- Best heritage treatment of a commercial building
- Best work on a heritage building in Lucknow, Spring Hill or a rural area
- Best conservation or improvements to landscape/garden design
- Best improvements to a building under 60 years old
- Best Personal Heritage Contribution
- Best Group Heritage Contribution
Some examples of previous award winners include The Mac apartments, which demonstrated how contemporary development can be sensitively integrated within a heritage streetscape, and Dirty Janes, which showed the successful reuse of an existing building, and the restoration of a late Victorian residence at 156 McLachlan Street.
"It's great to see someone taking the time to transform a neglected building into something special that enhances the character of our community," Cr Power said.
Anyone can submit a nomination, however, it is important to obtain the owner's permission. Projects must have been completed within the last 5 years.
Nominations close at 5pm on Wednesday 30 June 2027, with winners to be announced at a presentation ceremony in September 2027.
The nomination form and guidelines can be downloaded from Council's website here
