Time and weather are catching up with a heritage gem and rare survivor of Canberra's pastoral past, Blundells Cottage.
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On the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin, the cottage, a popular tourist attraction, has rising damp and leaks from failing gutters, roof and chimneys. The garden is overgrown and huge trees face the axe. The National Capital Authority is calling for comments on a draft heritage management plan which includes protecting heritage values should the cottage change hands.
A spokeswoman said the authority had no intention of selling the cottage.
The draft management plan for Blundells Cottage identifies works needed and a priority order.
The authority is calling for tenderers for a heritage landscape master plan to provide a more historically appropriate landscape setting for the cottage that interprets the 19th and early 20th century pastoral character of the area.
George Campbell built the brick and stone cottage on what was then the huge Duntroon estate for farm workers in about 1860. It was never intended to be a tourist building.
Roof drainpipes empty onto the ground rather than into drains and the watertank leaks. Mortar is being lost inside the cottage, and stone and bricks need repointing.
In the garden, trees have grown immensely, thanks to park irrigation, and their canopies overshadow the building.
Himalayan and Roman cypress linked to previous occupants east of the cottage pose maintenance, fire and storm risks.
Roman cypress west of the cottage obscure the view of the building and pose a storm risk. According to the management plan, these trees can be removed.
The plan also recommends removing a white picket fence, which was installed by the Canberra and District Historical Society, and to reinterpret the historic cottage as part of a farm landscape.
During preliminary consultations, staff strongly expressed their wish to move office use into a new building. This would free up space for interpretation and a temporary exhibition space. Schools represent the largest visitor group, with 40 to 45 people visiting at a time, which is too many for the cottage's small size.
If collection items leave the cottage, the ACT Government Cultural Facilities Corporation and the Donald Horne Institute at the University of Canberra may have an interest in acquiring objects or providing care away from the cottage, according to the management plan.