Issues

• Cultural Landscapes
• Heritage Places and Features
• Heritage Objects
• Archival Material
• Memory
• Social and Contemporary Significance

• Planning Scheme Provisions

At a glance

The issue

Memories can be expressed through practical abilities passed from one generation to the next. They can range from mutton birding and boat building through to bottling and jam making. Traditions in the arts, like singing and dancing, or customs and rituals, are also preserved through memory. At times these skills or traditions are deliberately revived, for economic reasons, or to foster community solidarity. Memories also take the form of stories.

Memory is different to other cultural heritage attributes because it is inherently evolving. Whereas an official record contains evidence of policy at a particular time, memories are continually re-shaped by life experiences. An advantage of recorded memories is that they can record the experiences of people who do not leave behind written sources, correcting the imbalance of many archival collections. The fragility of memories makes it important to record them on tape, video, or with pen and paper and document the methodology used to gather the memories.

It is recognised that memory is an important aspect of cultural heritage, but the development of the concepts behind the issue and the assessment of its condition, pressures and management are still in their infancy. Anecdotal evidence suggests there is an increase in the rate of loss of memory or oral history, with only limited locally-based projects aimed at documenting oral histories in Tasmania.

The Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania are currently developing a new strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage condition, pressure, and protection priorities-including memory.

More detailed information and references are contained in the Memory Issue Report. Indicators for assessing the condition and pressures of memory in Tasmania are currently in development and are provided within the Assessing and measuring the current situation section. An assessment of the memory associated with the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is also presented within the section. A separate case study is provided that demonstrates the integrated process of assessing all cultural heritage items associated with the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station.

A number of related recommendations are presented.

• Issue Report - continued in depth