KOGARAH residents keen to preserve the best of the past for future generations had put up a spirited fight to preserve Griffith House, but in the end bureaucracy was too strong for them.
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The two-storey Victorian italianate villa on Gray Street, which was built in 1890 by then-mayor Peter Herrmann, a German immigrant, is to be demolished to make way for St George Hospital’s new emergency department after a long campaign.
Supporters came dressed in black on Sunday afternoon to mourn the old house’s demise.
Campaigner Anne Field talked about the campaign to save the building and said how the state government had failed the community.
Heritage architect from Clive Lucas Stapleton and Partners, Stephen Green, talked about the rarity of Griffith House and why it needed to be retained.
Rockdale councillor Liz Barlow read a poem by June Bullivant, The Question or the Answer, and writer Andrew Greifeneder read his poem Bricks and Mortar.
Kogarah councillors Kathyrn Landsberry and Lachlan McLean read a brief history of Peter Hermann.
Attendees then signed a black book which will be presented to Kogarah Library as a community record of the farewell.
Are you sad to see Griffith House go?
See related stories: http://www.theleader.com.au/story/1299352/griffith-house-loss-a-lesson-to-all/
