Heroes and Villains is a new theme that Maitland City Council plans to harness to drive renewed interest in the city centre.

The initiative will create new attractions based on Maitland’s famous and infamous personalities, including artisans, professionals, tradespeople, politicians, murderers, prostitutes and thieves.

Plans to bring the Heroes and Villains theme to life have not been finalised, but ideas include establishing a Heroes Wall in central Maitland depicting the city’s heroic figures, or giant vertical images of heroes set up in the city centre.

People could submit their own hero nominations for inclusion on a dedicated heroes website, or a Heroes and Villains heritage walk could be established.

A modern spin on the theme includes printing QR codes on buildings in central Maitland that reveal the story of a historic hero or villain when scanned with a smart phone.

Council’s heritage officer Clare James said it was important to emphasise the good things Maitland residents had done throughout history. 

But she said telling stories of “the shady side of Maitland” would create a level of intrigue.

Ms James said figures such as Constance Cant could prove tricky for people to pigeonhole as a villain or  a hero because she worked as a nurse, but was also a murderer.

“I think history is about identity,” she said. “It’s important that people who live here or might come here to visit understand how the place has come to be.”

Council will run a Heroes and Villains installation at this year’s Aroma Festival which will ask participants to guess whether a figure is a hero or a villain, based on their name or a picture of them.

The concept is part of Maitland City Council’s Heritage Interpretation Master Plan, designed to use the city’s past to shape the future in innovative ways.

The master plan is on public exhibition.  Visit www.maitlandyoursay

.com.au to tell council what you think about the Heroes and Villains concept, or to suggest your own ideas for the concept.

See tomorrow’s Mercury for the next instalment of our in-depth look into the master plan.