Every nation has a culture and a history that they want to preserve, at least in part. Australia is no different, despite being a fairly young nation in terms of Western civilization. Cultural heritage management in this country is essentially a two phase project. On the one hand, there is the protection and preservation of sites significant to the indigenous people of Australia and there is also the protection and preservation of various buildings and other architecture that have cultural and historical significance.
Read on to learn more about preserving Australia’s culture and history and what exactly cultural heritage management is all about.
What Is Cultural Heritage Management?
Cultural heritage management involves (usually a team) of cultural heritage consultants. It generally requires a balancing act of social sustainability and progress with the need to preserve and conserve the nation’s cultural heritage. Construction methods unique to the past are also of concern and need to be preserved wherever possible when the restoration of a historic building is undertaken.
In order to preserve Australian culture and historic buildings, specific knowledge is mandatory and it’s the job of a cultural management team to be equipped with this intimate and specialised knowledge. There needs to be a deep understanding of the materials and building methods used in particular eras to more accurately be able to preserve and restore structures of cultural importance.
There is very little point in restoring a Heritage-listed building or other structure of historic value unless authenticity is maintained as much as possible. Otherwise, the end result will look and feel very different to the original structure, rendering the restoration process rather pointless in the end.
Just some of the tasks a cultural heritage management team will undertake include:
- Cultural heritage consulting services
- Industrial heritage restoration
- Providing dilapidation reports
- Recycling of timber and other building materials during restoration processes
- Restoration of doors and windows
- Carpentry and building methods consistent with the era
- Timber flooring repair
- Offering strategic heritage advice
- Monitoring of the restoration site
- Performing historic heritage assessments
- Due diligence assessments
- Formulating management plans for cultural heritage
- And more…
Why Maintaining Cultural Heritage Is Important
Remaining in touch with a country’s history helps to preserve it. It also helps us to remember our past and how the country got to where it is today. The preservation of culturally significant sites and the protection and restoration of historic buildings means this connection is never lost and will continue to be admired and enjoyed by generations to come.
Sustainability can also come into the picture when older residential and commercial structures are preserved and restored, rather than being torn down, the site excavated and a brand new building or structure erected. To a degree, it also reduces the occurrence of land development taking place in other locations. There is less of a dependency on new materials when old buildings are preserved as well.
In addition, there is the educational aspect attached to anything of cultural or historic significance. Everyone of all ages can learn from the past and gain a deeper understanding of our history and our ancestry.
Historical buildings are also drawcards. People like to visit areas steeped in history and get a glimpse into the past. Maintaining structures that are Heritage-listed or culturally important can attract tourists and boost the economy in various regions throughout the country.
Locating Cultural Heritage Consultants
There are numerous companies around the country that specialise in cultural heritage consulting and the restoration of buildings and locations considered to have historic significance. If you need advice or have a restoration project in mind and you need information on what’s involved, or what you’re allowed and not allowed to do, go online and perform a search for your local area.
Examples for Sydney searches are below, but simply substitute Sydney with your location.
- Heritage consultants Sydney
- Heritage restoration Sydney
- Sydney based cultural heritage consultants
- Cultural heritage management Sydney
- And so on…
In Conclusion
It’s vital that Australia does everything it can to preserve our cultural heritage and to maintain and restore structures of historic significance. This can be achieved with the professional assistance of cultural heritage management and consultancy services. In fact, everyone should strive to play some role in preserving Australia’s culture and history.
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