The Times Australia
The Times World News

.

when we demolish socially significant places, we demolish part of who we are

  • Written by Iain Butterworth, Honorary Associate Professor, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University
Flinders Street Station

The John Curtin Hotel in Carlton, another of Melbourne’s cultural landmarks, is set to close. Nearly 150 years old, the pub has long been a haunt[1] of the union movement, Labor leaders, detectives, journalists and the live music scene[2].

The building will probably be sold to overseas property developers[3]. While the building has some degree of heritage protection, there appears to be nothing to prevent developers[4] from gutting the interior, keeping the façade and then building a further six stories on top of the lobotomised carapace.

There’s no requirement that this site continues to provide a community setting for people to build social ties[5], both strong and weak.

Once again, Australian planning systems are set to fail the individual and collective identities and biographies of those who live here, and those who came before us.

Once again, residents of a colonial Australian city are experiencing what First Nations, other colonised peoples, asylum seekers and climate refugees have long known: when we are forced to leave a loved place, or when that place changes beyond our control, we experience loss and grief, and our individual and collective identities can be wounded.

Read more: The John Curtin Hotel is a home for Melbourne's musicians, activists and unionists. Shutting it down is a loss for our cultural heritage[6]

A feeling of destierra

Social psychologist Irwin Altman said the loss of buildings and places where we have lived our lives and built community can feel like the loss of a personal relationship which we expected to last indefinitely. Our experience of a change in a place is[7] “both a serious environmental issue and a deeply personal one”.

In Returning to Nothing: the meaning of lost places[8] (1996), historian Peter Read challenged us to not “underestimate the effect which the loss of dead and dying places has on our own self-identity, mental well-being and sense of belonging”.

Read pointed out that, unlike the English language, there’s a word in Spanish, destierra, which describes the psychological trauma of being uprooted, displaced or dispossessed from a loved place.

Flinders Street Station
How would your relationship to Melbourne change if its architecture was lost? Fabian Mardi/Unsplash

Our colonial planning laws, which are steeped in the tradition of terra nullius,[9] give very limited weight to the personal and collective emotions and identities of those who seek to preserve the links between threatened buildings, places and spaces, and their own biographies, ongoing Indigenous presence and community identity.

Liveable cities

With its focus on healthy, liveable neighbourhoods, the Victorian government’s Plan Melbourne[10] has sought to build on the legacy of Melbourne’s claim to be the world’s most liveable city.

Certainly, the Australian Urban Observatory[11] shows that many parts of Melbourne offer easy physical access to diverse affordable housing, local employment, social infrastructure, fresh affordable food, green space, walkable neighbourhoods and efficient public transport.

But liveable places also welcome us. They make it easy for us to feel like we belong and to experience a sense of community.

The Astor theatre in Saint Kilda Buildings are an important part of how we feel like we belong. John Torcasio/Unsplash

The built environment is far more than a backdrop to our lives. Environmental economist and planner Michael Jacobs said[12] “People do not simply look out over a landscape and say, ‘this belongs to me’. They say, ‘I belong to this’”.

Our overtly formal and “rational” planning and heritage laws typically assess the value of buildings and places on their architectural merit alone, rather than how these places and spaces serve as repositories of cultural memory and settings for building community.

Read more: Cities are made from more than buildings and roads. They are also made by ambiences – how a city makes you feel[13]

The loss of The Greyhound

While the John Curtin Hotel has never been one of my tribal haunts, its significance resonates.

In 1996, I moved to Melbourne to study. I found a flat in Balaclava, and immediately felt at home. The urban form provided a sense of intimacy that I’d never experienced living elsewhere in Australia.

One of my favourite St Kilda haunts was the Greyhound Hotel.

This raffish, Victorian/art-deco pile had served as a community meeting place for local LGBTQ+ residents and other locals for almost 100 years.

The Greyhound Hotel, photographed in 1937. State Library Victoria

The hotel, and nearby St Kilda Town Hall, each on opposite sides of Brighton Road, served as a symbolic gateway to my local neighbourhood. The Greyhound certainly wasn’t a fancy building, but it was quirky. For 160 years, it had been a vital “third place[14]” for building community: a space we gather in away from home and work.

The Greyhound was integral to the character of the local neighbourhood, and to people’s individual and collective stories.

Despite its acknowledged social significance[15] and a community petition, neither local heritage laws nor the State Planning Minister[16] would protect the Greyhound Hotel from destruction in 2017 by the international consortium that had bought it.

Because the original Victorian hotel had been remodelled extensively in the 1930s, the council indicated that it could not include the building on its “historic” register, which apparently only recognises buildings that remain largely unchanged. Think about all the historic buildings in Europe that have evolved continuously over the centuries.

Locals mourned the Greyhound’s destruction and took home bricks as mementos. Several years following the hotel’s demolition, the site remains an empty scar: there’s no history there at all. Even now I try to avoid going near it.

May the John Curtin Hotel – and those who identify with it and love it – experience a different fate.

References

  1. ^ the pub has long been a haunt (www.theage.com.au)
  2. ^ the live music scene (www.theage.com.au)
  3. ^ to overseas property developers (www.theage.com.au)
  4. ^ nothing to prevent developers (www.theage.com.au)
  5. ^ build social ties (www.bbc.com)
  6. ^ The John Curtin Hotel is a home for Melbourne's musicians, activists and unionists. Shutting it down is a loss for our cultural heritage (theconversation.com)
  7. ^ a change in a place is (doubleoperative.files.wordpress.com)
  8. ^ Returning to Nothing: the meaning of lost places (www.goodreads.com)
  9. ^ terra nullius, (australianstogether.org.au)
  10. ^ Plan Melbourne (www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au)
  11. ^ Australian Urban Observatory (auo.org.au)
  12. ^ Michael Jacobs said (www.tandfonline.com)
  13. ^ Cities are made from more than buildings and roads. They are also made by ambiences – how a city makes you feel (theconversation.com)
  14. ^ third place (www.brookings.edu)
  15. ^ acknowledged social significance (www.portphillip.vic.gov.au)
  16. ^ neither local heritage laws nor the State Planning Minister (www.theage.com.au)

Read more https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-a-loss-of-place-when-we-demolish-socially-significant-places-we-demolish-part-of-who-we-are-177612

Times Magazine

Headless CMS in Digital Twins and 3D Product Experiences

Image by freepik As the metaverse becomes more advanced and accessible, it's clear that multiple sectors will use digital twins and 3D product experiences to visualize, connect, and streamline efforts better. A digital twin is a virtual replica of ...

The Decline of Hyper-Casual: How Mid-Core Mobile Games Took Over in 2025

In recent years, the mobile gaming landscape has undergone a significant transformation, with mid-core mobile games emerging as the dominant force in app stores by 2025. This shift is underpinned by changing user habits and evolving monetization tr...

Understanding ITIL 4 and PRINCE2 Project Management Synergy

Key Highlights ITIL 4 focuses on IT service management, emphasising continual improvement and value creation through modern digital transformation approaches. PRINCE2 project management supports systematic planning and execution of projects wit...

What AI Adoption Means for the Future of Workplace Risk Management

Image by freepik As industrial operations become more complex and fast-paced, the risks faced by workers and employers alike continue to grow. Traditional safety models—reliant on manual oversight, reactive investigations, and standardised checklist...

From Beach Bops to Alpine Anthems: Your Sonos Survival Guide for a Long Weekend Escape

Alright, fellow adventurers and relaxation enthusiasts! So, you've packed your bags, charged your devices, and mentally prepared for that glorious King's Birthday long weekend. But hold on, are you really ready? Because a true long weekend warrior kn...

Effective Commercial Pest Control Solutions for a Safer Workplace

Keeping a workplace clean, safe, and free from pests is essential for maintaining productivity, protecting employee health, and upholding a company's reputation. Pests pose health risks, can cause structural damage, and can lead to serious legal an...

The Times Features

Duke of Dural to Get Rooftop Bar as New Owners Invest in Venue Upgrade

The Duke of Dural, in Sydney’s north-west, is set for a major uplift under new ownership, following its acquisition by hospitality group Good Beer Company this week. Led by resp...

Prefab’s Second Life: Why Australia’s Backyard Boom Needs a Circular Makeover

The humble granny flat is being reimagined not just as a fix for housing shortages, but as a cornerstone of circular, factory-built architecture. But are our systems ready to s...

Melbourne’s Burglary Boom: Break-Ins Surge Nearly 25%

Victorian homeowners are being warned to act now, as rising break-ins and falling arrest rates paint a worrying picture for suburban safety. Melbourne residents are facing an ...

Exploring the Curriculum at a Modern Junior School in Melbourne

Key Highlights The curriculum at junior schools emphasises whole-person development, catering to children’s physical, emotional, and intellectual needs. It ensures early year...

Distressed by all the bad news? Here’s how to stay informed but still look after yourself

If you’re feeling like the news is particularly bad at the moment, you’re not alone. But many of us can’t look away – and don’t want to. Engaging with news can help us make ...

The Role of Your GP in Creating a Chronic Disease Management Plan That Works

Living with a long-term condition, whether that is diabetes, asthma, arthritis or heart disease, means making hundreds of small decisions every day. You plan your diet against m...