As the destruction of much of the built heritage of North Lismore gathers pace, there was a community rally on Sunday demanding the preservation of Gwalia, a historic three storey timber building at 7 Coleman Street, built in the 1920s.
The buildings that once contained the ashram and restaurant 20,000 Cows, along with numerous other iconic structures, are already rubble.
NSW Greens MLC and Lismore local said, ‘I’m here at this beautiful gathering outside the historic home Gwalia. This is a symbolic gathering as well as very much an action gathering. This is about our recovery.
‘In 2022, we experienced one of the most catastrophic floods, climate-induced, and it changed our lives forever. Today is about checking in with everybody, and it’s about the next steps,’ she said.
‘We have seen so much destruction around us; these beautiful old historic homes. Many of us have had enough of the destruction, people want to have more say and more claim in the next steps of our recovery. We talk about community-led recovery. That’s what today is about.’
Fenced off for months now, it is currently unclear whether Gwalia House will be preserved, relocated or demolished. After being extensively restored by the previous owners, the building was affected by flooding in 2022 and has since been acquired under the NSW Government’s Resilient Homes Program.
Numerous other buildings around Lismore have already been destroyed, with materials not being salvaged in many cases and gardens and productive trees also being consigned to landfill.
Unique heritage
Legendary artist, musician and North Lismore local Jimmy Willing said, ‘We busted our guts to save the joint in the great flood and Lismore is still worth saving…
‘Gwalia should stay right where she is as she is a unique piece of our architectural heritage. I can’t imagine thew Venetians pulling down Venice because it goes underwater. The idiotic spree of rapacious destruction unfolding in Lismore beggars belief.’
This morning he added on social media, ‘It is becoming difficult for me to do my work and paint my birds as the noise and destruction is relentless.
‘At some point The Rape of Lismore will end and the carpetbaggers will fuck off back to the city with their bags bulging with the millions that was supposed to be spent on the flood survivors. At that point we will be abandoned and left to deal with a broken, ruined and impoverished town.
‘I know that it was not supposed to be this way, I know that this road to Hell was paved with good intentions but the fact is that we have not one person in power with the guts to call a halt to the madness.’
Photos and interview with Sue Higginson by Tony Batchelor:
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