[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] B [/dropcap]luestone Magazine is part of a growing grassroots campaign to save the best of the iconic Fletcher Jones site in Warrnambool from being lost through neglect.
The site is rapidly deteriorating and yet there is still no firm plan in place to preserve what has been deemed a place of state significance. It is also an important part of Warrnambool’s social history and holds a special place in our hearts.
Shortly after we wrote two opinion pieces on this issue, two people – Julie Eagles and Tonia Wilcox – started a Facebook page for those who wish to see the gardens, the silver ball and other important parts of the site saved. An enormous number of people are sharing their memories and images on this page, some of which we have collated for our youtube clip.
[box] You can join the Save the Silver Ball and Fletcher Jones Gardens group by clicking here.[/box]
You can also read our latest opinion pieces about the Fletcher Jones site below:
Close Flagstaff Hill; save Fletcher Jones
Who will step up for Fletcher Jones?
The Warrnambool Planning and Heritage Group wrote a report 18 months ago that warned Fletcher Jones faced the same fate as the demolished 94 Merri St, which dated back to the earliest days of Warrnambool in the mid 1800s, unless action was taken now. The Warrnambool City Council’s response to the group’s 15 recommendations was tabled at its 9 December 2013 meeting (see a summary here).
For more information you can also read the Heritage Victoria statement of significance on why the site is important and which parts have been listed for protection.
[box] If you are passionate about the future of the Fletcher Jones site, as we are, please take a moment to read the latest and to get involved. Bluestone Magazine will have regular updates as the campaign unfolds.[/box]
Great cause! I remember as a little girl in the late 50’s always stopping at Warrnambool on our way to Mt. Gambier just to see the beautiful gardens of Fletcher Jones. Dad always had at least one pair of Fletcher Jones trousers in his wardrobe. They were a must for the modern man.
We were very proud of Fletcher Jones he was a man with a vision!
My cousin had her wedding photos taken under the archway back in the 60s. Most school holidays when we were kids we would go and have picnics in the garden and watch the goldfish in the pond. We loved it and still do.
I worked there and had my first wedding photos there too.