UNESCO honour for Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute

A UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Culture Heritage Conservation presented to the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute puts Ballarat on the world stage.Heritage Council of Victoria's Jim Norris was in Ballarat yesterday to present the honourable mention award for refurbishments of the BMI completed since 2001.He told the assembled crowd of BMI members and contributors to the restoration project, it was a "significant" award that put the institute in "proud company".The awards are for excellence in the conservation of heritage buildings worldwide.He said the scope of buildings involved in the awards was enormous with many of them ancient and vast.The Hong San See temple in Singapore won the top award this year with other winners coming from Japan, Pakistan, China, India and Indonesia."It is an asset worth working hard for, worth fighting for and worth maintaining for the future," Mr Norris said.In the refurbishments the 1859 building had its facade restored and interior works redone including a lift put in.Mr Norris said the refurbishments have combined the new and the old to great effect, giving modern detail but maintaining the original atmosphere of the building.BMI president of the board Frank Hurley said neither the restoration nor the award could have been achieved without local trades people and craftsmen."We have great craftsmen in Ballarat and we're very fortunate to have their skills and expertise," Dr Hurley said.As part of the ceremony a plaque was unveiled and 20 individual certificates were presented to contributors.