Australia’s Heritage at Risk
The Chairman of the Australian Council of National Trusts, Dr Graeme Blackman OAM, speaking on behalf of all eight National Trust organisations and their 80 000 members, announced in Melbourne today the top places in Australia nominated as being most at risk under the 2012 ‘Our Heritage at Risk program.
This program, now in its sixth year, is intended to raise awareness of heritage issues in Australia by identifying those places and objects we value which are at risk.
The final list for 2012 was derived from places throughout Australia identified by public and National Trust nominations earlier this year. A panel of judges comprised of heritage experts from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Australia), the Federation of Australian Historical Societies and the National Trust made the final selection of places. The 2012 list of nominations includes single and groups of buildings, housing precincts, and ecosystems, which have natural, historic and Indigenous values.
The places are (in alphabetical order):
Argus Building, Melbourne, Vic
Brocks Creek Military Detention Barrack, NT
Castlemaine Gaol, Vic
Elder Park Bandstand, Adelaide, SA
Housing Precincts of Ainslie, Blandfordia5 and Reid, ACT
Lake Burley Griffin West Basin, ACT
Law Court Building, ACT
Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA
Significant Trees, Qld
Thompson Square, Windsor, NSW
The whole of the Murray Darling Basin was again nominated as a region of natural, historic and Indigenous values at risk due to the delays involved in producing an effective management plan, which would ensure sufficient and sustainable flows for the environmental needs of the system and the agricultural practices, which are vital to all Australians. Dr Blackman noted that,
“Our heritage places, natural, Indigenous and historic are important in understanding our past and who we are and how we as a nation can conserve them for future generations. By raising awareness of the inherent values and the risks to our heritage, as this program does, we hope to avert losses and retain the places that are important to us.”
Please click here for the 2012 National heritage at Risk comprehensive listing.