People have long cared about heritage
And in Melbourne in 1963, as many as 10,000 people gathered at Ripponlea Estate to oppose its “seizure” by the ABC, with federal government backing, so it could expand its Elsternwick television studio. The historic 19th-century mansion was later bequeathed to the National Trust.
In 1972, under the Liberal Hamer government, in line with international trends, Victoria became the first Australian state to introduce historic buildings legislation. Two years later, the federal Labor Whitlam government proposed the objective of heritage was to safeguard “the things that you keep”.
Over the next two decades, every Australian government followed Victoria’s lead. The result was a mosaic of local, state and national heritage protections.