Pizzey Report- Conservation and Cultural Management Plan. March 2008.

The Hunter Regional Committee of the National Trust support the Coal River Precinct Conservation and Cultural Tourism Management Plan (draft 2008).
The plan sets out many relevant strategies and recommendations in regard to conservation and management issues of the Coal River precinct that contains significant historic sites. The Coal River precinct is an important national historic site and this plan will help to ensure that the city’s historic sites are considered in future conservation planning and tourism management.
Further the plan will enrich the city’s cultural heritage and potentially attract a tourism market that seeks out historic destinations, and experiences. This aspect of tourism is an untapped market, and this plan, and interpretative strategies offer this exciting opportunity, and promotes heritage.
Support of the following:-
*key interpretative concepts such as the Newcastle sky canons and interpreting the birthplace site and Shortland’s camp.
*Interpretation of key positions of Fort Scratchley, Nobbys and Pilot Station.
*Audio interpretative devices an effective way in telling stories.
*Supports the plans of an Interpretative Centre, preferable in area of TS Tobruk.
*Need for expert and professional heritage advice to guide and implement Conservation Management Plan related to the precinct.
*7.6.1 Of plan, “Statutory –Commonwealth, included on the Register of the National Estate are TS Tobruk and Fort Scratchley” (currently Commonwealth owned). This section should also include Nobbys headland and lighthouse that are on the Commonwealth heritage list and the Register of the National Estate.
*Part 8.4 of plan should be reviewed in light of recent research “Where Did Ensign Barrallier Camp in 1801”, by Professor John Fryer of the University of Newcastle’s Coal River Working Party. This report suggests the likely Newcastle birth place position to be at the base of Fort Scratchley, an area which has the potential for interesting and creative interpretive displays. This plan is necessary in order for appropriate outcomes to be gained for the Coal River Heritage Precinct that balances heritage conservation and future tourism.

Coal River National Nomination

The Hunter Regional Committee of the National Trust supports the nomination of the Coal River Heritage Park to be selected for National Heritage listing. This precinct is a unique national heritage site which has a rich early European and convict history and shows the transition from penal settlement to civil society.
The proposed Coal River Heritage Park marks a series of important transitions in Australia’s journey to nationhood; from government industry to private enterprise, from convict to free labour, from punishment to profit, from a natural to a human-fashioned landscape. The Coal River Heritage Park tells these stories in a dramatic fashion; through its changing landforms shaped by the demands of industry, through its archaeological remains in tact and in situ, and through the continued and inescapable presence of a bustling working harbour.
The area retains significant natural and cultural landmarks including Nobbys Head, Flagstaff Hill, Newcastle Harbour and the Hunter River. These landmarks are of outstanding heritage significance for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. At the heart of Newcastle city, the Park is filled with people daily, and represents a remarkable fusion of heritage and the everyday. Such a highly accessible and culturally-valued landscape allows for a creative engagement with its Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage. The National Trust has a long history in supporting conservation of this area.