Professional Documents
Culture Documents
55
Figure 19
A time-line of the history of cultural heritage within the NSW park system and how values and management have changed over time
Aboriginal people
arrived in Australia
Estimates suggest
that Aboriginal
people were the first
to colonise the
Australian continent
between 40,000 and
60,000 years ago.
Pre 1700s
56
1788:
Port Jackson penal
colony established
1901:
Australian Historical
Society was founded
1947:
The NSW National
Trust was founded
1960s:
A rise of the New
Archaeology
Membership was
predominantly
anglo-celtic, middle
class and male.
It represented early
middle class interest
in heritage sites.
It focused on the
preservation and
restoration of stately
homes. A register of
buildings was
established and
buildings were
classified on
aesthetic style rather
than technological or
historical criteria.
1700s
1800s
1900s
1967:
Establishment of the
NPWS through the
National Parks and
Wildlife Act
Through this Act the
historic site became
a park category
specifically devoted
to the management
of cultural values.
Five of the six
historic sites
gazetted in this year
were to preserve
historic heritage and
one to conserve
Aboriginal heritage.
The Act also provided
for the protection of
Aboriginal relics.
1970:
Aboriginal Sites Unit
established in the
NPWS
This unit undertook a
ten-year survey of
sites of significance
and built an
Aboriginal Sites
Register. The NPWS
also established an
Aboriginal Relics
Advisory Committee
composed of
representatives from
the Australian
Museum, the Mines
Department and the
Anthropological
Society of NSW. There
were no Aboriginal
representatives on
this committee.
1974:
National Parks and
Wildlife Act
amended
This amendment
created the Act that
currently governs the
NSW park system
and provided for the
protection of
Aboriginal places as
places of special
significance with
respect to Aboriginal
culture.
1979:
The Burra Charter
adopted by Australia
This charter was a
major force in
establishing the fourpart framework of
significance
categories: aesthetic,
historical, scientific
and social.
1994:
Native Title Act
This Commonwealth
legislation provides
for a process of
recognising prior
ownership and
allows for negotiated
outcomes between
native title holders
and landholders.
1996:
NPW Act
amendment
(Aboriginal
Ownership)
This Act specified
parks of special
cultural significance
that can be returned
to a local Aboriginal
Land Council to hold
on behalf of the
Aboriginal owners.
The park can then be
leased back to the
NSW government
under mutually
agreed conditions,
with payments to be
spent on the
management of the
park. Under a leaseback agreement a
board of
management, with
majority Aboriginal
representation, cares
for the park.
1998:
Heritage Act 1977
amended
2001:
Cultural Heritage
Assessment
This amendment
established the State
Heritage Register to
list historic heritage
of state significance
and established a
regulatory
framework to
manage it.
2004:
NSW park system
Almost 6 million
hectares of land
managed by the
NPWS as part of the
Department of
Environment and
Conservation. Eight
parks have comanagement
arrangements with
local Aboriginal
communities and a
further four
agreements are
being negotiated.
The NSW park
system currently
contains 15 historic
sites and 11
Aboriginal areas
managed primarily
for cultural values, in
addition to cultural
heritage across the
park system.
2000s
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CASE STUDY 10
59
CASE STUDY 11
Figure 20
Level of information about Aboriginal heritage places and
sites available to guide planning and decision-making
within parks
(Data source (ii); n=469)
Percentage of
NSW park system
by area
766,016 ha 50 parks
Information on Aboriginal places and sites is
sufficient to support planning and decisionmaking
275,604 ha 91 parks
There is insufficient information available on
Aboriginal places and sites to use in planning
and decision-making
Map 11
The number of Aboriginal sites, places and landscapes per park
recorded through the AHIMS
(Data source (iii))
Byron Bay
Coffs Harbour
Cobar
Broken Hill
Dubbo
Newcastle
Sydney
Griffith
Wollongong
Wagga Wagga
ACT
Batemans Bay
1-5
6 - 10
11 - 20
21 - 50
51 - 100
101 +
50
100
200
kilometres
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Map 12
The number of historic sites per park recorded
through the HHIMS
(Data source (iii))
Byron Bay
Coffs Harbour
Cobar
Broken Hill
Dubbo
Newcastle
Sydney
Griffith
Wollongong
Wagga Wagga
ACT
Batemans Bay
1-5
6 - 10
11 - 20
21 - 50
51 - 100
101 +
62
50
100
kilometres
200
Figure 21
Level of information about historic heritage available to
guide planning and decision-making within parks
(Data source (ii); n = 424)
Percentage of
NSW park system
by area
524,109 ha 78 parks
Information on historic heritage is sufficient to
support planning and decision-making
192,572 ha 63 parks
There is insufficient information available on
historic heritage to use in planning and decisionmaking
Key findings
Park managers consider the condition of Aboriginal
heritage to be generally good in parks constituting 78 per
cent of the area of the NSW park system
The condition of historic heritage is generally considered
to be good in parks constituting 52 per cent of the park
system
Within the NSW park system the condition of cultural heritage
values is generally reported favourably. Figure 22 shows that the
condition of Aboriginal heritage is reported to be better on
average across a greater area of the NSW park system than is
the condition of historic heritage. Contributing to this difference
in condition may be the built structures generally associated
with historic heritage, which are complex and costly to
maintain, particularly as they get older.
When these data are further examined we find that the
condition of Aboriginal heritage is considered to be poorer
where parks have a large number of neighbours. This may
simply indicate that it is more difficult to maintain the condition
of cultural values when parks are used by many people and in a
landscape with many different uses. Similarly, the condition of
historic heritage values is more likely to be reported as good in
small parks. This may be because large parks, particularly those
in the Sydney region, tend to have more historic heritage and it
is a greater challenge to keep it all in good condition.
Figure 22
The condition of cultural heritage within the NSW park system
(Data source (ii); n=238 Aboriginal heritage; n=205 historic heritage)
Percentage of
NSW park system
by area
ABORIGINAL HERITAGE
483,221 ha 41 parks 11%
Most important cultural values are in excellent
condition
Percentage of
NSW park system
by area
HISTORIC HERITAGE
3%
126,936 ha 18 parks
Most important cultural values are in excellent
condition
43,490 ha 12 parks
Important cultural values are being degraded
3%
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CASE STUDY 12
Figure 23
Performance in the management of threats to cultural values
(Data source (ii); n = 430 Aboriginal heritage; n=329 historic heritage)
Percentage of
NSW park system
by area
ABORIGINAL HERITAGE
423,326 ha 29 parks
A planned approach to managing this issue is
being implemented that is resulting in a
significant reduction in negative impacts on
important cultural heritage values
Percentage of
NSW park system
by area
6%
8%
7%
338,158 ha 21 parks
A planned approach to managing this issue is
being implemented that is resulting in a
significant reduction in negative impacts on
important cultural heritage values
HISTORIC HERITAGE
9%
482,747 ha 82 parks
Despite management efforts negative impacts
on important cultural heritage values are
increasing or are unknown or there is little or no
management undertaken to address this issue