11 October, 2023

John Carr retired from his role on the Board for the Newcastle Historic Reserve Land Manager in October, after being a stalwart supporter of the reserve for over 35 years.

John had been involved with the buildings that form the basis of the Crown reserve since 1970 when as a part time architectural student he was employed by the Department of Public Works as an architectural assistant in the former Public Works building on the corner of Hunter and Watt Streets, which was previously the second Newcastle post office.

When Public Works moved to new offices in the Newcastle government office block, John was appointed project architect for the restoration of the three buildings that now form the reserve. John also managed the repair works to the three buildings following the 1989 Newcastle earthquake and the many upgrades since.

John's principal involvement in the reserve was to serve on the board and provide expert architectural input into the function of the reserve to maintain and preserve the buildings based on his extensive knowledge of the buildings and his expertise as a heritage architect.

His knowledge of the building’s heritage fabric is second to none - there is no element of the building he is not familiar with, no down pipe, box gutter, wall or roof he hasn’t inspected or advised on. It is John’s extraordinary knowledge and cataloguing of the building’s minutiae and history that the reserve’s chairperson, Gillean Shaw, is most in awe of!

Over his long tenure, which has seen many others come and go, John’s advice and support to his colleagues has enabled these treasures of Newcastle’s earliest history to remain for future generations to celebrate and interact with via the community engagement space known as The Lock-Up, an award-winning contemporary art space.

His contribution to one of the most significant heritage blocks in Newcastle’s CBD is an extraordinary achievement of service not only to the reserve but the community as a whole. Crown Lands thanks John for his long service helping to preserve, maintain and improve this significant community asset.

John Carr, previous Newcastle Historic Reserve Land Manager Board Member