Canberra Planning Activist, 1965-90 (bulk 1983-90)

 
Component identifier:
Series 15
Content Summary:

Harrison retired from the Urban Research Unit of the Australian National University in 1983. His interest in the planning of the national capital, however, remained as strong as ever. Until his death in 1990, Harrison was very active as a private citizen in seeking to resist Canberra planning policies that he felt were contrary to earlier NCDC principles. Particular concerns included the move away from the 'neighbourhood' principle in residential areas, the overdevelopment of Civic Centre, and flaws in the leasehold system, including changes to lease purpose clauses that benefited lessees. Harrison's increasing disillusion led to his resignation from the Design and Setting Review Committee (Series 13), Royal Australian Institute of Architects (Series 14) and even from the Order of Australia (Series 1).

This series contains a range of material, both printed and manuscript, created and accumulated by Harrison. It reveals the extent of his efforts as a planning activist, including his considerable research. There is a significant group of documents on the various court cases involving office development in Civic, most of which involved Harrison. Other subjects represented include the Metropolitan, National Capital and Civic Plans; the 1982 Committee of Review of the NCDC; transport and parking; heritage and environment; inner suburban development, including the Reid Residents Association; and planning in Woden and Tuggeranong. There are research notes; court transcripts and submissions; NCDC proposals and policy reports of various kinds; correspondence, including Harrison's letters to The Canberra Times as well as to the NCDC, Interim Territory Planning Authority and National Capital Planning Authority ; and other papers. Many of the publications and reports bear Harrison's annotations. These reports, although printed, were often internal documents or had only limited circulation.

Court Cases (Pieces 1-54) (see also folders 175-191)

Immediate source of acquisition:
The papers were donated to the Library by Sheila Harrison in 1991. Small additions were made by Mrs Harrison in 1996 and by Ed Wensing in 1997.

Contents

Access and use

Parent Restrictions:
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2202164).
Parent Terms of Access:
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: