Tasmanian Heritage Register

The Tasmanian Heritage Register is a list of those places in Tasmania that have been recognised as having historic cultural heritage significance. These places are important to Tasmania and Tasmanians because of their contribution to our culture and society. They are also important as part of the cultural fabric of the State that is so much a part of our tourism industry. The Register is maintained by the Tasmanian Heritage Council under the Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995.

How do I get information from the Tasmanian Heritage Register?

Click here to view a list of all permanent and provisionally entered places in the Tasmanian Heritage Register. The list contains:

• Tasmanian Heritage Register identification number
• Name of the place
• Address
• Municipality
• Registration status (permanent or provisional)

The following tips will help you when searching:

• To complete a search, click on the "search" button, type in your required search and hit enter.
• You only needto type the first few letters of a word or text, eg. "bell" will find "Bellerive". Please note, however, that the letters will be found in any context (ie entering "George" will find addresses in "George Town" as well as "George Street")
• The search function is not case sensitive (ie entering "bell" will find "bellerive" as well as "Campbell").
• No abbreviations are used in the list (ie 'Street' not 'St', 'Road' not 'Rd').
• The best results are achieved by rntering the least information (eg road name, town name).
• It is best to search by entering the Street Name (eg Davey Street, type 'Davey'). This is especially important as some places may be listed as co-joined properties (eg 13-15 Davey Street).
• It is reccomended that you do not search a property name. Incorrect spelling may result in an unsuccessful search.

Absense of a place or unsuccessful searches does not mean a place is not entered in the Heritage Register. (Last updated: 25 July 2008)

If you require confirmation that a place is/is not heritage listed, or require a complete copy of the information contained in the Heritage Register (including images, history and description) you can:

• Contact Heritage Tasmania with your request by clicking here or by phoning 1300 850 332 (cost of a local call) or 6233 2037;
• Search for places on the Australian Heritage Places Inventory website; or
• Complete a Heritage Register Search and a hard copy of the information will be forwarded to you. This is recommended if you are considering purchasing an historic property (fees apply).

Important Note: Many heritage listed places are privately owned and the public does not have any right of access to these places. If you wish to visit any privately owned places you should first obtain permission from the owner(s).

What must a Heritage Register entry include?

The first element is grid coordinates or latitude and longitude.

The second is the land title or registered plan.  Where one title covers many hundreds of hectares as well as the buildings with which the Act is concerned an exclusion agreement or statement of heritage interest is drawn up between the owner and the Heritage Council.  The agreement states which parts of the property or title are of heritage significance for registration purposes.

The third requirement is a description of the property.  This need only be brief but needs to be sufficient to enable the significance of the place to be understood.  The many different styles of architecture may lead to confusing and conflicting descriptions, thus the Council at an early stage in the registration process adopted the standard definitions contained in 'Identifying Australian Architecture', Styles and Terms from 1788 to the present by Apperly, Irving & Reynolds 1989 to avoid confusion.  This publication is used to provide the style description in all cases where the registration is primarily for architectural reasons.

The fourth requirement - and essentially the most vital - which must be included is the statement of historic cultural heritage significance.  It does not have to address all the criteria comprehensively for each place prior to entering it on the provisional register.  It is only necessary for the Council to identify and substantiate one criterion to enable the Council to enter a place on the provisional register.  This does not mean that in subsequent proceedings the Council may not add other criteria or that in considering a Works Application other criteria may not be the subject of consideration by the Council and on appeal by the Tribunal.

The statement of historic cultural heritage significance must address one of the following criteria:

1. it is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Tasmania's history;
2. it demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Tasmania's heritage;
3. it has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Tasmania's history;
4. it is important as a representative in demonstrating the characteristics of a broader class of cultural places;
5. it is important in demonstrating a high degree of technical achievement;
6. it has a strong or special meaning for any group or community because of social, cultural or spiritual associations;
7. it has special association with the life or work of a person, group or an organisation that was important in Tasmania's history.