Bankfoot House awarded again

Bankfoot House, the Sunshine Coast’s heritage listed house museum, was up in lights again last week (October 29) receiving two High Commendation awards at the prestigious 2019 Queensland Heritage Awards.

Presented by The National Trust of Australia (Queensland), the annual awards acknowledge the quality of heritage work that is carried out across Queensland. The awards promote best practice approaches and encourage innovation and collaboration to celebrate the diversity of heritage places in Queensland.

Bankfoot House was highly commended in the Interpretation and Promotion category for its Enhancing Experience project and in the Conservation Work category for the Shed Conservation and Restoration Project.

Heritage Portfolio Councillor Rick Baberowski said the projects were designed to enhance the visitor experience by creating new interpretive and interactive opportunities throughout the Bankfoot House Heritage Precinct.

“It’s fantastic for this work to be recognised through the awards and also to have demonstrated how exhibition and interpretation can raise the benchmark for visitor experiences by providing local, national and international visitors with an authentic Sunshine Coast cultural heritage experience,” Cr Baberowski said.

“The projects involved restoring the shed, enhancing existing exhibitions, introducing temporary exhibitions, developing public programs, exploring educational initiatives and collaborating with festivals and events.

“The projects have opened a myriad of avenues to more comprehensively tell the story of Bankfoot House and the three generations of the same family who lived on the property for 134 years. Research on the family began in 2006 with the Friends of Bankfoot House and continues today as more stories unfold from this amazing collection.

“If you haven’t been to Bankfoot House recently, or if you have never visited, make sure you get out to the Glass House Mountains and see the fabulous views and this fascinating piece of our region’s history for yourself”.

Bankfoot House holds a significant place in Queensland’s history as the only known oldest surviving Cobb & Co coach station on the Brisbane-Gympie route. The precinct represents the tenacity, resilience and ingenuity of the early pioneers and subsequent farming generations. In addition, it holds an intact collection of more than 6500 items including equipment, furniture and objects.

The Bankfoot House Heritage Precinct is a two acre property that incorporates Bankfoot House, the Mary Grigor Centre, outbuildings including laundry and dairy, restored shed and grounds including the wagon shed, vehicle ramp and gardens.

Bankfoot House is open 10am–3pm, Friday–Sunday and guided-tours are available.

Visit council’s heritage website to find out more about Bankfoot House and to see the list of exciting upcoming events - https://heritage.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Places/Bankfoot-House

New volunteers are always welcome so if you would like to volunteer at Bankfoot House contact Cultural Heritage Services [email protected] or phone 5420 8600. You can gain skills such as paper preservation, textile preservation, digital scanning and oral history recording, as well as helping to share the stories of the families that lived at Bankfoot House.

Image: Jonathan Fisher, CEO National Trust of Australia (Queensland), Hon Leeanne Enoch, Minister for the Arts (Qld Govt), Peter Connell, Sunshine Coast Council Coordinator Cultural Heritage Services.