A convicted arsonist and murderer, Thomas Whitton, may be buried underneath the McDermott Centre, which is being converted for the venue.

Then again, Mr Whitton, hung for his life of “villainy” on March 19, 1840, could be under the Post Office, council general manager Warwick Bennett told a meeting on Tuesday. 

An archaeological report has identified the possibility that Whitton, one of 19 prisoners executed at the old Goulburn Jail, behind the McDermott Centre, is buried somewhere in the vicinity. He was the only one not interred in consecrated ground, according to the report.

Archaeological inspections and excavations are underway in consultation with the NSW Heritage Division and NSW Health.

“This part of the process could be quite slow because of the archaeology,” Mr Bennett told councillors on Tuesday.

Mayor Bob Kirk said the council was taking time to ensure the conservation work was “done properly” before the project started.

“It’s critical we respect the social and built history represented by the McDermott Centre,” he said.

Whitton terrorised the Lachlan with another bushranger named ‘Scotchie,’ research by Post columnist Ray Williams revealed.

But historian Ransome T White wrote that his “depredations were committed in and around Goulburn.”

The Sydney Monitor described him on March 25, 1840 as a man who had “a career prominent in villainy and matchless in atrocity.” 

After the law caught up with him he was incarcerated at the Goulburn jail, at that time located behind Auburn Street, believed to be near the current McDermott Centre’s site.

“The morning of the 19^th having arrived, shortly after eight o’clock, 17 mounted troopers, all well armed, and under the command of Lieutenant Christie, 80^th regiment, rode up to the lock-up, a gallows having been erected some days previously, and also a grave dug within a few feet of it, both being immediately in the rear of the lock-up,” the Australasian Chronicle reported.

“...The unfortunate Whitton died after a few struggles, and his body was interred near the place of execution.”

A heritage report for the performing arts centre project by Edward Higginbotham and Associates Pty Ltd states that the lock-up is located next to the McDermott Centre at 165 Auburn Street.

“But the burial may not have been directly or precisely behind the building, even though it was reported ‘immediately in the rear of the lock-up.’ There is a possibility that it is located on the subject site,” the report stated.

His exact whereabouts are a matter of conjecture but archaeologists are treading carefully.

The heritage report has also identified a cess pit at the rear of the building, also requiring investigation.

If Whitton doesn’t delay the process, Cr Margaret O’Neill’s rescission motion may.

On Tuesday she lodged a notice of motion calling for a temporary stop work on the $11.4m performance venue until the council reassessed its priorities. With the aquatic centre’s upgrade on the books, she feared the organisation was “over committing.”

On Wednesday she realised this should have been a rescission motion. On Thursday she was confident of gaining two supporting councillor signatures to debate the motion. 

Mayor Bob Kirk said it meant preliminary work would have to stop on the performance venue until councillors debated the motion at the February 21 meeting.

This included the calling of tenders for demolition of the McDermott Centre’s rear additions, making way for the arts venue.

Councillors signed off on this on Tuesday, despite Cr O’Neill’s objections. Cr Sam Rowland also voted against it. The tenders would only be considered “well after” DA submissions closed and if the Joint Regional Planning Panel approved the development. 

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Cr Margaret O'Neill calls stop work on Goulburn performance venue

Cr O’Neill says she has no regrets about her attempts to halt work.

“I’ve had a lot of phone calls of support,” she said.

“I was always against it. I’m getting so many people coming to see me because there hasn’t been enough consultation and it seems like it’s being railroaded through the council.

Cr O’Neill said the performing arts centre would attract a maximum 400 people at once but many more were thronging through the aquatic centre’s doors daily. She argued the council should focus on the pool instead.

“...The cost was $8m, then it was $11.4m and we haven’t even thought about car parks, the fit-out and ongoing running costs. We went through all that with the Lilac Time Hall,” she said.

Cr O’Neill pointed out that the council sold the Lilac Time Hall because it was “no longer feasible to have an interest in public entertainment.” 

Her motion asks that all work cease until councillors hold a workshop and conduct a “needs and priority based assessment” of the performance venue and “objectively decides if or when it commits or continues to commit to the project.”

A development application is on public exhibition until February 18. Crown Lands has consented to the DA’s lodgement and the Joint Regional Planning Panel will decide the project on a date to be determined. Council planners hope this will be at the Panel’s March sitting.

The project must be completed by December, 2018 under the National Stronger Regions grant guidelines.

On Wednesday, Cr Carol James said she disagreed with Cr O’Neill.

“It’s (the venue) a wonderful thing for Goulburn and it’s in the right location,” she said.

“We have timeframes we have to comply with and personally, I think we can work on both projects (the pool and the performance centre) at the same time. Both are a high priority for me.”

She believed parking concerns could be overcome, stressing that people also had to walk a few blocks at other major performance venues.