Burwood Square Pty Ltd general manager Leon Kmita has issued an apology for demolishing the childhood home of the Young brothers, Malcolm and Angus of AC/DC and their producer, brother and Easybeats co-founder George Young.
Kmita is blaming the previous owner of the property for not alerting him to the historical significance of the house. “We regret that the previous long-term owner did not share this vital part of the property’s background with us Kmita said.
“Learning about this connection after our plans were already underway has shocked us. We are genuinely sorry for this oversight.
“On behalf of the team at Burwood Square, I want to convey our heartfelt regret,” Kmita continued.
“We now recognise how deeply this location resonates with the AC/DC community and fans worldwide. We feel a strong responsibility to honour AC/DC’s legacy and to make amends to all the fans who hold this band in such high regard.
“While we cannot change the past, we are dedicated to celebrating this significant part of their story.”
The property was listed by the National Trust List of Historic Homes in 2013 but the trust has no legal powers to protect a property.
While Burwood Square Pty Ltd is shifting the blame to the previous owner a lot of the blame must go to Burwood Council and its Mayor John Faker.
Under New South Wales law:
2.7 Demolition requires development consent
The demolition of a building or work may be carried out only with development consent.Note—
If the demolition of a building or work is identified in an applicable environmental planning instrument, such as this Plan or State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, as exempt development, the Act enables it to be carried out without development consent.
It should have been at the approval part of the demolition process when Burwood Council should have questioned the approval. While that would not directly be a job of the Mayor, it is now up to John Faker to ask how this happened.
AC/DC are expected to announce Australian dates for later in 2025. The 2025 Australian tour will come 10 years since the last tour, ‘Rock Or Bust’ in 2015.
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