Historical Records Now Available

Response to Conservation Management Plan for Fletcher Jones factory and gardens

Concluding Comments

I would hope that that Pleasant Hill can be remembered as a place of employment, a place where people, thousands of people, worked and regarded it as a good place to work.

I would also hope that its future use will bring people back to the site to work, or live, or visit, within a garden setting.

The ‘heritage’ of Fletcher Jones is far more profound than the preservation of particular buildings or bits of buildings; it is about a vision, an ethos, and a business ethic.

Although I accept that the 1948 – 1957 buildings looked good. I also know that they were not functionally efficient. FJ Trousers Pty Ltd (the manufacturing company) prided itself in being efficient. It was recognised as an exemplar of modern clothing manufacturing production methods. This recognition remained until economic realism bit hard and less costly import substitutes were available.

The rest is history!

I do not accede to the ‘architectural zenith’ concept. It is a concept that pretends that architecture is the yardstick by which preservation worthiness is measured.

All of the structural changes that took place at Pleasant Hill since 1957 were a response to the changing demands of the market place and the need for improvements in manufacturing methods and processes. We did not ever regard Pleasant Hill infrastructure as ‘precious’. Were we wrong?

My father would say – “Hats of to the Past; Coats off to the Future”. He would be correct.

We should preserve the heritage of the Company he founded; and do it on this site; but not in this way.

Throughout this series of consultancies there has been a fundamental lack of real understanding and recognition of what ‘drove’ the business.

Any recommendations that relate to corporate culture therefore should be regarded as superficial and usually a misrepresentation.