TWO books about Bathurst and Australia's milling history has been shortlisted for a major heritage award.
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In mid 2022, Dr Jess Jennings and Professor Paul Ashton released The Power of Flour: A photographic history of milling in Australia, along with Branded: Australian Flour Bag Labels Between the Wars, after conducting research for the Australian Milling Museum.
The books were entered into the Resources and Publications category of the National Trust (NSW) Heritage Awards for 2023, and have now been shortlisted alongside six other entries.
Dr Jennings, who is also a Bathurst Regional councillor, was proud to see books make the cut.
"My understanding is it's quite notable, quite a big thing, just to get shortlisted, so we're quite chuffed to have achieved making the shortlist and we'll see how we go with fingers crossed at the final awards ceremony, which is held in Sydney," he said.
The winners will be announced at Doltone House in Pyrmont on Friday, May 12.
Dr Jennings said that, if the books were to win, it would be a great honour and recognition not just for this involved in their publication, but for Australia's milling history.
"It would be a great result for the Australian Milling Museum and recognition of the achievements of the entire milling industry over Australia's economic development period," he said.
"It has changed a lot, but it would really be an acknowledgement from an independent source that the Australian Milling Museum has a lot to contribute to Australia's national story."
He said the national story of the Australian milling industry hasn't been told, and the two books he and Professor Ashton have published are changing that.
"There is nothing that depicts the national story in one publication, so that was the initial impetus and motivation from the Australian Milling Museum, to generate a book that had both research and a lot of pictures to illustrate what the milling industry looked like," Dr Jennings said.
"We worked on that book - Paul Ashton and myself - and in the process of doing that research we came across an archive at the state library of NSW of 160 flour bag art images, literally the graphic design artwork that wasd printed onto flour bags, in particular between world war one and world war two, and were exported to the Asian market.
"We found this archive, and the more we looked at it, the more we thought there was actually an entire book just in that, and the images and artwork that are in that archive are just so endearing, interesting and fascinating and pleasing to the eye that we thought we would put a book together just based on that alone."
In addition to the books, Bathurst has another entry to cheer on in the National Trust awards.
The recently completed Central Tablelands Collections Facility has been shortlisted in the Conservation - Interiors and Objects category after being entered into the awards by Bathurst Regional Council.
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Rachel Chamberlain
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
