Trevor Huggard, who was a long serving member of the Princes Hill Community Centre, sadly passed away on 19th September 2024 at the age of 80.
As a resident of North Carlton, Trevor was very community minded and was associated with our Community Centre for over 30 years from 1975 until October 2017, serving all those years on the Committee and some 15 years as President .
In his professional life Trevor had his own company, Trevor Huggard & Associates, Consulting Engineers and Planners, which was established in 1972. In 1975 the School Park Centre (later changed to the Princes Hill Community Centre) was established. With the Centre premises (One-C-One building)being an Education Department building and part of the Princes Hill Secondary College, an agreement between the College and the Centre was drawn up where the cost of all building repairs and maintenance was the responsibility of the Centre in lieu of rent. As a result, Trevor’s expertise with historic building matters was invaluable in dealing with the many building issues encountered with the Centre over those many years.
Trevor was committed to community actions and wellbeing at the time when the Centre had an extensive program, ranging from Adult Education to Holiday programs for children. He was also involved in the campaign to save the North Carlton Railway Station on Solly Avenue from being turned into a factory, and its transition to a community resource, the North Carlton Railway Station Neighbourhood House , a process supported by the Centre.
Anyone who had joined one of Trevor’s historic walks around Princes Hill or known him through other community events or activities will remember his breadth of knowledge, generosity and kindness.
Trevor’s company specialised in historic buildings and structures for over 40 years and in that period received 18 awards for excellence in that field, including the Lachlan Macquarie National Award for restoration and recycling. During the early 90’s he was involved with the repurposing of the West Brunswick Primary School into a communal eco-housing development. Westwyck , at the time was a progressive project to save the school from demolition and reuse the existing buildings.
Apart from the considerable time involved with the Community Centre and his business and family, wife Jan, daughter Titia and son Tim, it is quite staggering to understand how Trevor had the time and energy in his life to also have been involved with so many other organisations and activities as listed below :
· Councillor of the City of Melbourne from 1982 to 1992, including a period as Lord Mayor
· Recipient of the Robin Boyd Award from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects for contributions to the Build Environment
· Longstanding consultant to the Historic Buildings Council of Victoria, Heritage Victoria, the National Trust of Australia, the National Estate, the Ministry of Housing and the Education Department of Victoria
· Lecturer in Advanced Construction, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at Melbourne University for 15 years
· Recipient of the Order of Australia in 2015 for significant service to the community through a range of roles with heritage conservation, cultural and sporting organisations
· Chairman of the Seaworks Foundation
· Board member of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund and the Environmental and Sustainability Panel
· President of Travellers Aid Australia
· Passionate Ocean Racing Yachtsman and the Inaugural Inductee into the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s Hall of Fame, having competed in a record 37 consecutive Hobart Yacht Races and over 150 International Blue Water Races around the world
· Founding member and long serving board member of the Koori Heritage Trust which he helped establish in 1985 to preserve and advance south eastern Australian Koori culture and provide opportunities for indigenous Koori members. He was very honoured to have been recognised as a Moogji by the Koori Heritage Trust Moogji Club and considered himself very fortunate to have grown up in a large aboriginal community and that his father pioneered housing and social improvement opportunities for that Aboriginal community over many decades.
On 22nd April, 2018 the lane on which the Centre is situated, which was previously unnamed, was given the aboriginal name of Bagung (meanlng meeting place)and the Centre’s address changed from Rear 270 Macpherson Street to 5 Bagung Lane, which made in easier to locate for first time attendees. At the official naming ceremony on that day, Trevor proudly unveiled the new sign acknowledging the First Nations People.
Trevor Huggard holds a very special place in the history of the Princes Hill Community Centre and we extend our sympathy to his wife Jan, daughter Titia, son Tim and their extended family for their loss of a great man.