Ku-ring-gai Council stood for a minutes silence to honour Jennifer Harvey at its meeting of 18 June, 2024.
Mayor Sam Ngai presented a Mayoral Minutes to acknowledge Jennifer Harvey’s contribution to the Ku-ring-gai community saying:
It is my sad duty to advise the Council and our community of the passing of Jennifer Harvey, one of the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society’s longstanding members.Jennifer joined the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society in 2000, serving as a committee member between 2000 and 2013. She became the Society’s Vice-President in 2008 until 2013, after which she became President for a year.
Her enthusiasm for local history saw her take on a number of other positions in the Society, including collection curator, co-editor of the Society newsletter between 2003 and 2019 and managing the Society’s Built Heritage Group. The group is a dedicated team of specialist volunteers who coordinate a large collection of materials on Ku-ring-gai’s built heritage, an invaluable resource for those researching the history of particular sites or properties.
Over the years Jennifer was the recipient of several awards including the Historical Society’s Historian of the Year in 2006 and a Gem of Ku-ring-gai Award in 2009 recognising her work in advancing the position of local women. In 2012 Jennifer was the first recipient of the Ku-ring-gai Heritage Award presented on Australia Day. The award recognised the significant work done by Jennifer and the Built Heritage Group and their contribution to the conservation and protection of Ku-ring-gai’s built heritage.
As an avid historian, Jennifer was employed by NSW Railway Infrastructure to help research and co-write the statement of heritage impact for Gordon Railway Station.
Notice of Motion 1: Vale Jennifer Harvey, Ordinary Meeting of Council, Ku-ring-gai Council, 18 June, 2024
When the upgrade of Gordon Station was in its planning phase, Jennifer played a key role in contributing to the design of the installation of the lifts and alterations to platforms at the station.
In 2004 Jennifer Harvey was nominated as the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society’s representative on the Council’s Heritage Advisory Committee, a position which she held until stepping down in 2020.
Jennifer’s contribution to the Heritage Advisory Committee included assisting with reviews of Ku-ring-gai’s heritage conservation areas and the identification and listing of new heritage items, in particular emerging post World War Two buildings.
Jennifer Harvey was a passionate and extremely knowledgeable local historian, who worked tirelessly to promote Ku-ring-gai’s heritage. On behalf of Council and our community I express my sincere condolences to her family and friends, as well as her colleagues at the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society.