The 2018 Cumberland Local Heritage Award winners have been announced at a ceremony at the Holroyd Centre, Merrylands.
Mayor Greg Cummings said valuing our heritage is important to help us understand our story as Cumberland, our identity, our people and our history.
“The high calibre of entries received for the Local Heritage Awards year highlights the commitment of our residents to help shape that story,” Mayor Greg Cummings said.
“Council are committed to preserving and celebrating the history of our community and we are proud of our rich history. The area we now call Cumberland was first home to the Darug nation for thousands of years and then to European settlers from the early days of colonisation.
“Our Heritage program, which combines the Awards and Heritage Rebate gives us an opportunity to involve and educate our residents about our local history and the importance of maintaining our heritage sites. Council and the community share a responsibility to conserve, protect and promote our heritage and the benefits it has for Cumberland.
“Heritage buildings are assets for the entire community and contribute to the character and charm of our region. The entries received for the property categories demonstrate the significant time, investment and energy that have been put into the overall presentation and heritage value of the properties.
“This year we added two new categories to the Local Heritage Awards to encourage more school aged children to get involved. An incredible 135 entries from children at ten schools were received.
“I congratulate all of our entrants and winners and thank them for their commitment to supporting Cumberland’s heritage. If residents wish to become involved in the Heritage Committee or find out more about our rebate and awards programs visit Cumberland.nsw.gov.au.”
The 2018 winners of the six categories were:
Category 1: Best Maintained Heritage Property
Winner: Hafez Kassem, 60 The Avenue, Granville
Category 2: Restoration and Development
Winner: The Owners of Strata Plan 59070, 15-17 Thomas May Place, Westmead
Category 3: HistoResearch: researching our local history
Winner: Sue Stenning for her work on the Greystanes House Visitors Book
Category 4: Keeper of the Stone: Children’s Heritage Award
Division 1 (Kindergarten to Year 2)
- Winner: Esther Kim in Kindergarten at St Joachim’s Catholic Primary School
- Highly Commended Awards: Highly Commended Award - Benji Eyers in Grade 1 at St Joseph the Worker Primary School.
- Highly Commended Award - Hale Nur Erkan in Grade 2 at Amity College
- Highly Commended Award - Nesibe Sagmen in Grade 2 at Amity College
Division 2: (Year 3 and Year 4)
- Winner - Jina Lee in Grade 4 at St Joachim’s Catholic Primary School who will also care for the Cumberland Heritage Stone for 12 months
- Highly Commended Award – Mena Nebhan in Grade 3 at Amity College
- Highly Commended Award – Shawn Mcghee in Grade 3 at St Joseph the Worker Primary School
Category 5: Writing Competition
Winner: Mohammed Elmourad in Grade 5 from Amity College for his short story entry titled ‘Humming Bird’
Category 6: School Poster Competition
Winner – ‘My culture and my stories’,
- Eli Andrews, Grade 2, Westmead Christian Grammar School
- Niven Nagpal, Grade 2, Westmead Christian Grammar School
- Meira Patel, Grade 2, Westmead Christian Grammar School
Highly Commended Award –‘Let’s Celebrate Multiculturalism’,
- Jia Pandya, Grade 5, Westmead Christian Grammar School
- Aanya Rao, Grade 5, Westmead Christian Grammar School
- Dante Assaf, Grade 5, Westmead Christian Grammar School
2017 Award winners who were also presented with their awards:
Category 1 Best Maintained Heritage Property
Winner: Peter and Robyn Coyle, 21 Montgomery Avenue, South Granville
Category 2 Restoration and Development
Winner: Charlie Daher, Building 66, 17 Brooks Circuit, Lidcombe
