‘Everyone has a story about it’: The fight to save a legendary Katoomba cafe - Sydney Morning Herald

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NSW Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe will ask the state’s statutory authority on conservation to prevent Katoomba’s much-loved 105-year-old Paragon Cafe from perishing because of neglect.

Experts say the NSW heritage-listed Paragon is an exemplar of the art deco Greek cafes that once brought Hollywood glamour and ice-cream sodas and sundaes to Australian country towns and suburbs.

The 105-year-old Paragon Cafe is at risk of demolition by neglect, say its supporters.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

A group called Friends of the Paragon has been lobbying for the government to save the cafe.

It says since the Paragon’s closure five years ago, the property has been unloved and neglected, and vandalised and graffitied. It has suffered water damage, dampness and mould that has threatened its famous finishes and plaster interiors.

Under NSW laws, owners of heritage-listed buildings must maintain them, and can face fines.

Hal Ginges, Robert Trenchard-Smith, and Heather Ginges from the Friends of the Paragon, a local advocacy group in the Blue Mountains.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

A petition by the Friends calling on the government to intervene attracted 3800 signatures. “The Paragon Cafe is a state heritage icon,” Sharpe said. “The owners have a responsibility to look after the building, and they cannot simply neglect it so it can’t be repaired.”

Sharpe said she would ask the Heritage Council, a statutory body including experts, to consider whether it should step in and use its powers to ensure the owner maintains the building.

A report by the NSW auditor-general in June identified systemic failures and gaps in Heritage NSW’s records that caused inadequate oversight of more than 1700 items on the register. The records were so poor it knew little about the true physical condition of hundreds of historic properties in its inventory.

In the lead-up to the NSW state election, Sharpe told the National Trust in NSW that a Labor government would review funding and incentives for heritage conservation, develop the state’s first heritage policy, and work to ensure its power and responsibilities met the needs of coming decades.

Her undertaking on the Paragon coincides with the start of the first Australian meeting of the peak global body on cultural heritage and conservation, ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites) which runs in Sydney from August 31. It includes visits by international visitors to the Blue Mountains.

The banquet hall at the Paragon in the 1930s. Credit: Robyn Parker

A spokesperson for the minister said Heritage NSW had been told works were due to commence this month. When its inspectors visited the Paragon on June 9 to check the condition of the building, they were concerned about the building’s maintenance and repair.

John Landerer, a prominent solicitor who controls Conset Investments Pty Ltd which owns the cafe, was granted a development application in 2020 with support from the NSW Heritage office to restore the cafe’s public space.

Landerer said he was more concerned about the condition of the cafe than anyone else. He stressed there was no delay, and said work was expected to start this year. “I am entitled to plan my expenditure in any way I like. This is the time that I plan to spend money on the Paragon.”

Rod Stowe, the chair of the Blue Mountains Branch of the National Trust in NSW, said the building was in a serious state. “It’s a real tragedy, it is such an iconic building. Everyone has a story to tell about it,” he said. “It also has important cultural heritage for Greek migrants who set up cafes and restaurants.”

Stowe said Katoomba had a great collection of art deco buildings, many vacant, and neglected. Cities such as Napier in New Zealand that celebrated their art deco buildings had turned them into wonderful tourist attractions. Visitors interested in heritage spent more and stayed longer than other tourists, Stowe said.

Opened more than a century ago, the Katoomba cafe was designed by its owner, Jack Simos, who migrated to Australia from Kythera in Greece, as an “acme of good taste” that had nothing but the best.

To Effy Alexakis and Leonard Janiszewski, the authors of Greek Cafes and Milk Bars of Australia, the Paragon represented the very best example of the Greek diaspora’s enterprise, ambition, and success.

“This food-catering institution was unquestionably one of the finest examples of the Greek cafe phenomenon of 20th century Australia – featuring high art deco architectural styles and furnishings ... coupled with a reputation for high-quality custom-made chocolates and pastries,” they said.

The Kytherian Association of Australia said Greek migrants had been driven from their homelands by poverty or persecution, and came to Australia to forge a new life.

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‘Everyone has a story about it’: The fight to save a legendary Katoomba cafe - Sydney Morning Herald
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