Heritage Victoria’s decision to save Federation Square’s Yarra Building from demolition is no doubt a great victory for the heritage movement, and the people of Melbourne. Launched soon after the announcement in November 2016 that the Yarra building was to be replaced with a flagship
The April 2019 decision by Heritage Victoria to reject plans for the demolition of the Yarra building at Federation Square to make way for a flagship Apple store will be remembered as one of the great victories of heritage conservation in Victoria.When the National Trust nominated Federation Square to the Victorian Heritage Register, many questioned how a place that’s only 16 years old could be considered “heritage”. While it is unusual for a place so “young” to be considered for its heritage values, it is not unprecedented. The National Gallery of Victoria, another monumental government project, completed in 1968, took only 14 years to be included in the Government Buildings Register (a precursor to the Victorian Heritage Register).