We are very proud to announce that the Bangerang Cultural Centre at Parkside Gardens has been recommended for inclusion on the Victorian Heritage Register. This very special building at Parkside Gardens and a significant amount of land around it (including the moat on the northern side and the billabong on the southern side) should go on to be listed by the Heritage Council. A few quotes from the 7- page report from Heritage Victoria demonstrates just how lucky we are to have such a unique building in Shepparton.
The Bangerang Cultural Centre, originally known as the Aboriginal Keeping Place, was built as part of the International Village project in Shepparton.
The Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council, to which Sandy Atkinson was appointed in 1976, met with the local community with the result that the Shepparton Aboriginal Arts Council Co-operative was set up with funding by the Arts Board.
The Co-operative, managed by Sandy Atkinson, spent many years convincing organisations and individuals to commit to their visionary plan.
First conceived in 1974, the Keeping Place was finally opened in 1982 after many years of planning.
The Bangerang Cultural Centre is historically significant as an important landmark in the struggle of the Aboriginal people to maintain their own culture. As the first Aboriginal managed museum in Victoria to be planned, the Centre is a tangible symbol of the shift of attitude in society from the idea of assimilation to self-determination.
Bangerang Cultural Centre is architecturally significant as a work of renowned architect Frederick Romberg (1913 - 1992). The modest Keeping Place is perhaps the most interesting work from the latter part of his career.
That such a ground-breaking architect as Romberg was chosen for the Keeping Place project adds to our appreciation of this place as an innovative project ahead of its time.
