THE fight for Griffith House may have been lost, but community campaign leader Anne Field has done her best to turn a negative into a positive.
Ms Field has prepared a substantial report about the community effort to save the historically significant house, which she entered in the inaugural advocacy category of the National Trust Heritage Awards.
She said the state's heritage was under threat and other community activists could learn from the Kogarah experience.
Griffith House, a two-storey Victorian Italianate villa in Gray Street, was built in 1890 by German immigrant and former Kogarah mayor Peter Herrmann.
Ms Field also submitted the online publication, Saving Our Community's Heritage and Action Plan, a document prepared by five heritage advocates: Peter Duggan, June Bullivant OAM, Kate Mackaness and Leesha Payor and herself.
It has been submitted in the education category of the awards.
"The online document, which is dedicated to Griffith House and to Peter Herrmann junior, was produced in the second half of 2013 and was launched on November 10 by the opposition spokeswoman on heritage, Barbara Perry," Ms Field said.
"The document can be downloaded, so is freely available to everyone. It can be found on a number of heritage websites."
Ms Field said the first document aimed to encourage communities to protect their heritage and provided case studies of wins and losses.
The second document, the action guide, provided valuable advice on how to run a heritage campaign.
"Griffith House, and the campaign fought to save it, must be acknowledged for the historians of the future," Ms Field said.
"The report on Griffith House is wide-ranging in its subject matter and reflects the strong community campaign, which was run in an attempt to save the house. It includes many newspaper articles, which were published by the Leader."
The awards will be presented May 7.
Do you think there needs to be a strong campaign to protect heritage buildings?