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| Australasian Society for Heritage Conservation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australasian Society for Heritage Conservation |
| Abbreviation | ASHC |
| Formation | 1970s |
| Type | Non-profit professional association |
| Headquarters | Sydney |
| Region served | Australia and New Zealand |
| Fields | Heritage conservation, built heritage, cultural heritage |
Australasian Society for Heritage Conservation is a professional association focused on the practice, documentation, research and advocacy of heritage conservation across Australia and New Zealand. The organisation acts as a nexus between practitioners, institutions and policymakers involved with historic places, conservation science and cultural landscapes. It engages with museums, archives, universities and statutory heritage bodies to promote standards, training and best practice across preservation, restoration and adaptive re-use projects.
The Society emerged in the postwar heritage movement that intersected with campaigns around Sydney Opera House, Botany Bay, Port Arthur Historic Site, Fremantle Prison, and the preservation efforts that followed the passing of instruments such as the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 and the establishment of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (later Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga). Early membership drew specialists from institutions such as the National Trust of Australia, National Trust of New Zealand, Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of Otago and state heritage services including Office of Environment and Heritage (New South Wales), Heritage Victoria and Queensland Heritage Council. The Society’s formative conferences convened alongside events at Australian Museum, Powerhouse Museum, Te Papa Tongarewa and state archives in response to controversies over sites like Green Bans-related precincts and Lake Pedder campaigns. Over successive decades the Society has intersected with professional regulation debates involving Engineers Australia, Royal Australian Institute of Architects, New Zealand Institute of Architects and legislative reforms such as amendments to the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 and regional planning instruments.
The Society’s objectives include setting conservation standards compatible with charters such as the Burra Charter, promoting conservation science linked to laboratories at CSIRO, and supporting craft skills found in workshops associated with Art Gallery of New South Wales and regional museums. Activities encompass accreditation programs related to practice areas represented by bodies like Australasian Society for Computers in Heritage and collaboration with tertiary programs at RMIT University, University of Melbourne, University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington. The Society provides technical advice on conservation approaches used at sites such as Port Arthur, Waitangi Treaty Grounds, Old Parliament House (Australia), Parliament House, Wellington and built-work involving firms with affiliations to Icomos Australia and ICOMOS New Zealand.
Membership historically spans practitioners and institutions including conservators trained at Melbourne Conservatorium, curators from Australian Centre for the Moving Image, archaeologists from Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology, heritage planners from state agencies, and volunteers from branches of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria). Governance follows a board and committee model with officers elected at an annual general meeting held in rotation between cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Wellington and Auckland. The Society maintains specialist panels on materials conservation, maritime heritage, and indigenous heritage that liaise with organisations like Carving Workshop Trust, Federation of Australian Historical Societies, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and statutory advisory bodies including Australian Heritage Council.
The Society publishes peer-reviewed journals, technical bulletins and conference proceedings that draw contributions referencing collections and projects at institutions such as State Library of New South Wales, Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of Australia and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Biennial conferences rotate among Australasian centers and have been co-hosted with ICOMOS International Scientific Committees, Council of Australasian University Museums and Galleries, Australian Institute of Architects and Engineers Australia sections, attracting papers on case studies from Eureka Stockade, Mawson's Huts, Kāwhia Wharf interventions, and adaptive reuse examples like The Rocks, Sydney. Special symposia have focused on disaster response in heritage following incidents involving Black Saturday bushfires, earthquake recovery models from Christchurch, and climate adaptation measures relevant to Great Barrier Reef-adjacent cultural sites.
Project work facilitated by the Society ranges from technical interventions at maritime sites listed under the Underwater Cultural Heritage registers to conservation management plans for precincts such as Hobart Battery Point, Rundle Mall, and heritage railways like Puffing Billy Railway. The Society has provided expertise on material science studies with partners including Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and research groups at University of Canterbury and University of New South Wales addressing stone decay, timber pests, corrosion and historic paint analysis. Practical training and apprentice schemes have been delivered in collaboration with trades organisations and heritage workshops linked to Stonemasons Guilds, traditional Māori carvers associated with Ngāti Porou, and conservation labs at Australian National Maritime Museum.
Advocacy efforts are coordinated with national and international partners such as IUCN, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS, Austroads (for infrastructure impacts), and regional agencies like Local Government NSW and Auckland Council. The Society has campaigned on policy issues affecting listing and protections in cases connected to major developments at Barangaroo, Anzac Parade memorial changes, and resource projects near heritage landscapes like Mawson Plateau. Collaborative memoranda and position statements have been issued with Australian Conservation Foundation, Heritage New Zealand, Friends of the Earth Australia and professional bodies including Royal Society Te Apārangi to influence statutory frameworks and funding for conservation research and training.
Category:Heritage conservation organizations Category:History of Australia Category:History of New Zealand