3 months ago
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The birthplace of AC/DC may look like it’s been hit by TNT, but Burwood Council has fired a new shot in the dark to win back rock fans: vowing to create a monument to the band that would rival Liverpool’s tribute to the Beatles.
Fans were left thunderstruck in December by the destruction of the former family home of Angus and Malcolm Young, who formed the band while living in Burwood in 1973, to make way for a proposed 39-storey tower featuring a hotel, commercial offices and 48 two-bedroom flats.
Burwood Council resolved last week to invite rock legend Angus Young and other band members when the Power Up Tour arrives in Sydney in November, and it hopes to rename Railway Square as AC/DC Square, among other tributes.
A 300-seat, 242-square-metre performance space within the forthcoming Burwood Culture House will be named the Young Theatre. Mayor John Faker said the council would write to the state government about “larger-than-life-sized bronze statues” that would emulate the birthplace of the Beatles.
The theatre would be part of a $57.8 million cultural centre created at the existing car park outside the Burwood Library and Community Hub, three blocks from the former Young family home.
Under the plan, the existing car park would be moved underground in favour of multipurpose halls, greater public space and a cafe. It is expected to be built by 2029.
Faker said the idea of creating a monument to the band had been in the works for several years, and that it was “not in response” to the destruction of the former Young home in Burleigh Street.
“We are not forgetting about the contribution they have made not just to Australian and world music, but also locally here in Burwood, and we are going to celebrate that,” he said.
“When Angus comes home this November, we’ll be ready to shut down the streets of Burwood to give AC/DC the welcome they deserve.”
Faker said he wanted to ensure Burwood’s tribute was more substantial than Melbourne’s AC/DC Lane. “While it’s a dedication, I don’t think it’s impressive.”
The Beatles statue in Liverpool, which Burwood hopes to emulate with a larger-than-life bronze tribute to AC/DC.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
The proposed 144-metre residential tower and hotel that would replace the former Young family home has become a lightning rod for debate in Sydney’s inner west, and the council lodged one of 22 objections to the plan.
An independent assessment in 2019 found the house did not meet the criteria for heritage listing, after having also been a brothel and a medical centre over the decades. Faker said the completed site would have a plaque.
A mural of Angus and Malcolm will be matched by one featuring older brother George, a songwriter and producer who was a founding member of the Easybeats.
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“You’ll have those as bookends on the terraces, and they’re heritage protected so we won’t be knocking those down,” Faker said.
The fate of the tower will be decided by Planning Minister Paul Scully or his delegate.
With David Barwell
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