Tasmania's historic heritage is the story of European exploration, settlement and development.
With each new wave of settlers and with each new decade, the people who call Tasmania home have shaped our social and cultural identity.
The skills, practices and views they brought to Tasmania were adapted in response to challenges they faced. Their aspirations are reflected in our landscapes, streestcapes, farms, suburbs, towns and cities.
Our historic heritage, like our Aboriginal and natural heritage, is greatly valued by locals and tourists alike, and is important to current and future generations.
Historic heritage places represent different things to different people.
Grand buildings, quaint streetscapes, cultural landscapes, ordinary cottages inhabited by extraordinary people, all are part of our historic heritage.
Ruins, gardens, churches, cemeteries, meeting halls, schools, industries and shipwrecks also add to the unique and rich mix of places.
They are the strong visual signs of our history which build on other moveable heritage artefacts and oral histories to build a complete picture of our past.
Together they tell the story of who we are and how we have grown. They tell a story of changing ideas and values, tastes and interests. They highlight the economic booms and busts, and remind us of important people, social events and times.
They help to define our state's identity and our community's sense of place.
By conserving significant examples of our historic heritage we protect those places which are important to us.
For local communities, heritage places provide a link to the past, provide a strong social base, establish identity and differentiate one suburb or town from another.
They can also contribute to our state and local economy, particularly in supporting tourism activities.
Each generation has a responsibility to protect and conserve our heritage. Our actions today will shape our heritage for future generations to enjoy.
When conserving and managing heritage places our actions must follow the Burra Charter (www.icomos.org/australia).
Heritage owners and community members want to protect historic heritage places.
People seek to protect a place because of its look, feel and charm, or for the place's values.
Formal protection measures can be achieved by nominating a heritage place for listing on a heritage register. Listing may result from a nomination from the owner, a member of the public, or a professional heritage survey.
Heritage registers list those place recognised to be of great value to current and future generations. There are many registers that help to distinguish the level of significance of a place, and a place may be on more than one list:
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This page has been produced by Heritage Tasmania, a unit of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.
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