Burra Charter

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The Burra Charter: the Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance
Created1979
Author(s)ICOMOS Australia
PurposeBasic principles and procedures to be followed in the conservation of Australian heritage places

The Burra Charter is a document published by the Australian ICOMOS which defines the basic principles and procedures to be followed in the conservation of Australian heritage places. [1] The Charter was first endorsed in 1979 as an Australian adaptation of the Venice Charter, but with the introduction of a new analytical conservation model of heritage assessment [2] that recognised forms of cultural heritage beyond tangible and physical forms. [3] The Charter was the first national heritage document to replace the Venice Charter as the basis of national heritage practice. [4] The Charter has been revised on four occasions since 1979, and has been internationally influential in providing standard guidelines for heritage conservation practice. [5]

Contents

Burra Charter
The Burra Charter edition 7.jpg
The Illustrated Burra Charter 2004
AuthorMeredith Walker
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genre Non Fiction
Published2013
PublisherAustralia/ICOMOS Peter Marquis-Kyle
Media typePrint (paperback)
ISBN 0-9578528-2-7

History and development

In 1979, the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance was adopted at a meeting of Australia ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) at the historic mining town of Burra, South Australia. [6] It was given the short title of The Burra Charter.

The Charter accepted the philosophy and concepts of the ICOMOS Venice Charter , but wrote them in a form which would be practical and useful in Australia. The Charter is periodically revised and updated, and the 2004 publication The Illustrated Burra Charter [7] elaborates and explains the principles of the 1999 version in an easy to understand form. In 2013 the Charter was again revised and updated.

The Burra Charter has been adopted by the Australian Heritage Council (December 2004), the Heritage Council of New South Wales (December 2004), the Queensland Heritage Council (January 2005) and the Heritage Council of Victoria (July 2010). [8] It is also recommended by the Heritage Council of Western Australia [9] and the Tasmanian Heritage Council. [10]

Contents

The Burra Charter begins with a series of definitions, such as :

The types of actions that might be taken in the Conservation of a heritage place are defined as :

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Council on Monuments and Sites</span> Cultural heritage organization

The International Council on Monuments and Sites is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964, and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic preservation</span> Preservation of items of historical significance

Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries’ development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property</span> Process of preservation of historically significant buildings

Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator-restorer. Decisions of when and how to engage in an intervention are critical to the ultimate conservation-restoration of cultural heritage. Ultimately, the decision is value based: a combination of artistic, contextual, and informational values is normally considered. In some cases, a decision to not intervene may be the most appropriate choice.

The Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites is a set of guidelines, drawn up in 1964 by a group of conservation professionals in Venice, that provides an international framework for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings. However, the document is now seen as outdated, representing Modernist views opposed to reconstruction. Reconstruction is now cautiously accepted by UNESCO in exceptional circumstances if it seeks to reflect a pattern of use or cultural practice that sustains cultural value, and is based on complete documentation without reliance on conjecture. The change in attitude can be marked by the reconstruction in 2015 of the Sufi mausoleums at the Timbuktu World Heritage Site in Mali after their destruction in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage</span>

The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage, usually known by its acronym TICCIH, is the international society dedicated to the study of industrial archaeology and the protection, promotion and interpretation of the industrial heritage. TICCIH's Nizhny Tagil Charter (archived), signed in 2003, is the international guidance document for the industrial heritage. In 2011, the Joint ICOMOS – TICCIH Principles for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage Sites, Structures, Areas and Landscapes, also called "The Dublin Principles", were adopted in Paris.

Australia ICOMOS is a peak cultural heritage conservation body in Australia. It is a branch of the United Nations-sponsored International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a non-government professional organisation promoting expertise in the conservation of place-based cultural heritage. Its secretariat is based at the Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific at Deakin University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Facadism</span> Preservation or reconstruction of a facade, but not the rest of the building

Facadism, façadism, or façadomy is the architectural and construction practice where the facade of a building is designed or constructed separately from the rest of a building, or when only the facade of a building is preserved with new buildings erected behind or around it.

The Barcelona Charter, in full the European Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Traditional Ships in Operation is an informal but widely accepted standard for maintenance and restoration projects on historic watercraft that are still in operation as active sailing vessels.

The Australian Heritage Commission (AHC), was the Australian federal government authority established in 1975 by the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 as the first body to manage natural and cultural heritage in Australia until its demise in 2004. It was responsible for the creation of the Register of the National Estate.

Archaeology Under the Canopy is a conservation strategy developed by Dr. Anabel Ford for the preservation of pre-Columbian Maya monuments at the archeological site El Pilar, an ancient Maya center on the border of Belize and Guatemala. This style of conservation encourages the conservation of rainforest foliage for the protection of monuments and the strategic exposure of ancient structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Values (heritage)</span>

The values embodied in cultural heritage are identified in order to assess significance, prioritize resources, and inform conservation decision-making. It is recognised that values may compete and change over time, and that heritage may have different meanings for different stakeholders.

The Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China is a conservation charter promulgated in 2000 by China ICOMOS with the approval of National Cultural Heritage Administration. It provides a methodological approach to the conservation of cultural heritage sites in China.

The Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe is a legally binding instrument which set the framework for an accurate conservation approach within Europe. For a total of forty three member states of the Council of Europe, the convention's total ratification/accession has reached forty-two countries since it was opened for signature in 1985. It entered into force on 1 December 1987.

Lisa Gervasoni is currently the Senior Stakeholder Policy and Advocacy Advisor at the Victorian Farmers Federation. Gervasoni is strategic planner, photographer and artist. She was born in Melbourne, Australia. Gervasoni is part of a long family tradition of working with heritage sites in Australia. She is a member of ICOMOS and was a 2-term member of their executive committee. She has been a keynote speaker in Victoria, Australia. Gervasoni was instrumental in getting Hepburn Pool listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Ian Stapleton is an Australian heritage architect and a partner at Lucas, Stapleton, Johnson and Partners Pty Ltd. a heritage architectural firm in Australia. Stapleton has carried out and contributed to heritage projects throughout Australia, including the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, Walsh Bay Redevelopment, the Sydney GPO and Officials’ houses at Port Arthur, Tasmania. He is also active in the National Trust of Australia, the NSW Heritage Council and Australia ICOMOS. Stapleton has also published works on Australian architectural styles and is a visiting lecturer at various Sydney schools of architecture and building.

James Semple Kerr was an architectural historian and heritage practitioner in Australia, who was prominent in the drafting of the original Burra Charter and its subsidiary documents, and developing standards for conservation practice, particularly in relation to conservation assessments and management reports such as conservation management plans. Kerr's influence in the conservation movement is most notable for his publication of the Conservation Plan, which has guided building conservation in Australia and around the world.

The Conservation Plan is an important publication written by James Semple Kerr in 1982, and revised many times. It was a landmark in Australian conservation. The document "...outlines the logical processes of the Burra Charter, and how to prepare a Conservation Plan to guide and manage change to a heritage item appropriately. Subtitled, "a guide to the preparation of conservation plans for places of European cultural significance it has guided building conservation in Australia and around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes</span>

The International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes (ISCCL) is a committee of scientific experts on cultural landscapes that works, as a part of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), to develop international guidance on cultural landscape documentation and management, and to prepare expert recommendations for prospective World Heritage nominations. The committee functions as a joint effort with members from both ICOMOS and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

Sharon Sullivan is an Australian archaeologist, advocate of Indigenous Australian rights, and author of five books on heritage management. She is best known for her work in establishing protocols and programs for cultural heritage management in Australia.

Phoenix Central Park is a private performing arts venue and art gallery located at 37-49 O'Connor Street, Chippendale, New South Wales, Australia. The location is within the Chippendale Heritage Conservation Area (HCA), item ‘C9’ on Schedule 5 of the Sydney Environmental Plan (LEP) 2012. The site is also within the Chippendale Locality as described in Section 2.3.1 of the Sydney Development Control Plan (DCP) 2012.

References

  1. Logan, William. "Introduction: Voices from the periphery: the Burra Charter in context" (PDF). Historic Environment. 18 (1): 2–8.
  2. Lesh, James (11 July 2019). "Forty years of the Burra Charter and Australia's heritage vision". Foreground. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  3. Gilmour, Tony (2007). Sustaining Heritage: Giving the Past a Future. Sydney: Sydney University Press. p. 155.
  4. Hanna, Bronwyn (2015). "Foundations of an oral history project: The writing of the 'Burra Charter'" (PDF). Historic Environment. 27 (2): 84–95.
  5. Heritage Perth > The Burra Charter Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  6. SA Department of Environment, Water & Natural Resources > The Burra Charter Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  7. "Illustrated Burra Charter". australia.icomos.org. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  8. Australia ICOMOS > The Burra Charter Full text of the 2013 revised version of the Burra Charter. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  9. Heritage Council of Western Australia > Burra Charter? Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  10. Heritage Tasmania > Publications Retrieved 16 August 2011.