City of Doncaster and Templestowe Heritage Study (1991) Pt0B Conserving Our Heritage

What is heritage?

This report is about the cultural heritage of the City of Doncaster and Templestowe.
By "cultural heritage" we mean the places that humans have created and given special meaning in our lives. It is a term that distinguishes between nature and the works of humans.
Our heritage is our inheritance. It is what we receive from our forebears and can choose to hand on to future generations. Conserving some of our historic places doesn't mean stopping development; rather it means taking all of the values into account when making decisions about future land uses and devel­opments.
And what remains today is only a remnant of the places created in the past. Much has been lost that we may now regret, and now is the time to take stock and decide whether or not to protect what remains for the future.

This report focuses on the places that date from the time of colonisation of the Port Phillip district in 1836; another report for the council has already examined the Aboriginal history of the area and.the evidence that remains today(1), and natural environmental values have been examined in other reports (see list in Appendix C).
The term place has a special meaning in relation to cultural heritage; the most commonly accepted definition is:

'place' means site, area, building or other work, group of buildings  or other works together with associated contents and surroundings'.(2)

Based on this definition a place could be a town, stone quarry, house, group of buildings, rural landscape, and so on. Essentially a place contains some physical evidence of past ac­tivities. Not all human activities leave evi­dence in the physical environment. Some things leave little trace - the travel route or landing place of an explorer, for example.
While most attention is given to a place, the artefacts, records, memories and oral tradi­tions associated with the place are also impor­tant.
A glossary of other terms can be found at the start of this report.

Why conserve our heritage?

There are many reasons for identifying and conserving our heritage. Heritage assets provide tangible evidence of our history, reflect­ ing past lifestyles, work practices, industries. and perspectives. A sense of history and tradition-is an integral part of our society, and places evoke a sense of the past that can't be gained from books. Many people are interested in learning more about history. from children doing their school assignments to tourists who flock to heritage sites.
People who have lived for a long time in an area may value familiar places, and mourn their loss if destroyed. Places may be impor­tant because we have a direct connection to them - our church, football club, workplace, childhood home. Other places help create the character of our local area - local landmarks such as a town hall, church spire, clock tower, pine windbreaks reminiscent of a lost or­charding landscape, old farm houses within a suburban street.

Some places are important because of their association with significant past events, and some will become the focus of ongoing commemorations
Other places that may appear to most of us to have little value may in fact be a treasure trove of information to the skilled researcher.
There are also sound economic reasons for conserving an area's heritage assets. Firstly, heritage an asset - a special feature distin­guishes one locality from another, and that may provide a competitive strength. For example, the Economic Strategy for Victoria recognises that the character and amenity of Melbourne, much of which relies on its nine­teenth century design and buildings, will enable Melbourne to compete with other capital cities.
In a suburban community, where much of the housing is recent, the older buildings and features that reflect past land uses and human activities, add to the character of that locality, making it a much more interesting place to be or move to.

Assessing significance

There is an enormous amount of physical evi­dence that we can identify that tells us some­ thing about the past. Not all  such  evidence can be or should be protected. This means selecting the places that are important enough to be conserved. In judging the value of a place, there are certain questions that need to be considered such as:

1. How  valuable  is  a  place  to the community, or to particular parts of the community?
2. What  are  the  factors  which make up the value of a place?
3. How does it  rate against  other similar places? For example - Are there other places like it? Is it the best or a representative example of its type?  Is its value enhanced by  being part of an area or group of sites?

The term cultural significance has been used to describe all the heritage values that could be encompassed by a place:

Cultural significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific or social value for past, present or future generations.

Cultural significance is therefore a concept which helps in estimating the value of places. The places that are likely to be significant are those which help us to an understanding of the past or enrich the present, and which we believe will be of value to future generations.
The cultural significance of a place is considered to be embodied in its fabric, its contents and its setting, and to be supported by associated documents and other evidence. Many heritage organisations throughout Australia have now adopted a set of principles and guidelines - The Borra Charter and Guidelines - to assist in assessing significance. These documents also define what  is meant  by conservation and the associated terms such as restoration (see Glossary).
The basic process of identifying and assessing places used by most heritage organisations  and in local government heritage studies, such as this one, involves the following:

1. Locating, inspecting and recording of the place.
2. Research of documentary and oral evidence about the place and its con­ text.
3. Consultation with people knowledgeable about the place and similar places.
4. Comparison of the place with other similar and/or related places.
5. Assessment of the significance of the place.
6. Preparation of a citation describing the place, its history and associations, and its cultural significance.

To assess the heritage value of a place, spe­cific criteria are usually defined. These crite­ria are based on three concepts:

• A place may be important because its physical form and fabric illustrates (or demonstrates) significant aspects of history.
• A place may be regarded as of great beauty or excellent design.
• A place may be important because it was associated with significant events even though no physical evidence remains.

The nature of the significance of a place is usually formally expressed in detailed crite­ria:

1. History: Does the place provide physical evidence of history?
2. Design: Does the place demonstrate a particular .design style or tradition in re­lation to the type of place?
3. Aesthetic value: Does the place demonstrate qualities that are considered to contribute to contemporary aesthetic val­ues?
4. Cultural sentiment: Does the place provide physical evidence of cultural or social sentiments to a majority or minor­ity group within the community?
5. Research value: Does the place provide physical evidence that is of additional value for research and investigation  due to its ability to yield important informa­tion contributing to the understanding of history?
6. Association: Does the place have asso­ciational links related to significant events, significant persons, other cultural activities?

In assessing the heritage value (or cultural significance) of a place it is usual to describe how the place measures against these criteria in terms of the nature of its significance  and its relative importance (as compared to other places). This means comparing a place to other known places that reflect similar aspects of history, architecture, and so on. The abil­ity of a researcher to compare places depends on the information available on other places, and currently the lack of a comprehensive State register or inventory makes this task quite difficult.
For places identified in the study, an indica­tion as to the relative level of significance has been given. The levels of significance used in the study are as follows:

• Places of national or State significance
• Places of regional significance, that is of importance within the metropolitan or the eastern region.
• Places of local significance within the municipality.
• Places of local interest, or contributing to the value of an area, or those places of value but much altered.

In describing the significance of a place, the nature and level of significance are often combined into a phrase such as 'of regional architectural significance'.
These rankings of heritage significance are also used to indicate the type of protection available to local or other levels of govern­ment. This is explained further in Section 4.
Within these criteria are two distinct ideas about significance; firstly that some places are valued as outstanding examples (e.g. "the finest example of ..."), and secondly  that some are valued as representative or typical examples (e.g. a representative example of a water-powered flour mill built in the style typical of the region).
Intactness modifies significance; a place changed beyond recognition will contain little evidence of its previous history, and therefore little significance.
There is also a need to recognise the diversity
of community values within any community, and to ensure that this diversity is reflected in heritage assessments.
Applying these criteria should result in a statement of the cultural significance of a particular place; this then forms the policy basis for future decisions about the place.

(1) Isabel Ellender, The City of Doncaster and Templestowe; The Archaeological Survey of Aboriginal sites', 1990.
(2) Australia ICOMOS Charter for the conservation of places of cultural sianificance [The Burra Charter}, revised 1988.

Source: City of Doncaster and Templestowe Heritage Study (Context Pty Ltd, Peterson R & Stafford B, 1991). p. 1-4 http://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/file/26126/download