The Burra Charter is a document published by the Australian

ICOMOS The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; french: links=no, Conseil international des monuments et des sites) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the worl ...

which defines the basic principles and procedures to be followed in the conservation of Australian heritage places. The Charter was first endorsed in 1979 as an Australian adaptation of the

Venice Charter ''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 rest ...

, but with the introduction of a new analytical conservation model of heritage assessment that recognised forms of cultural heritage beyond tangible and physical forms. The Charter was the first national heritage document to replace the Venice Charter as the basis of national heritage practice. The Charter has been revised on four occasions since 1979, and has been internationally influential in providing standard guidelines for heritage conservation practice.

History and development

In 1979, the ''Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance'' was adopted at a meeting o
Australia ICOMOS
(

International Council on Monuments and Sites The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; french: links=no, Conseil international des monuments et des sites) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the worl ...

) at the historic mining town of

Burra, South Australia Burra is a pastoral centre and historic tourist town in the mid-north of South Australia. It lies east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, and on Burra Creek. The town began as a single company ...

. It was given the short title of ''The Burra Charter''. The Charter accepted the philosophy and concepts of the ICOMOS ''

'', 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'' 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 The Australian Heritage Council is the principal adviser to the Australian Government on heritage matters. It was established on 19 February 2004 by the ''Australian Heritage Council Act 2003''. The Council replaced the Australian Heritage Commi ...

(December 2004), the

Heritage Council of New South Wales The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Herita ...

(December 2004), the

Queensland Heritage Council The Queensland Heritage Council is an independent statutory authority created by the Queensland Parliament under the ''Queensland Heritage Act 1992''. The Council advises and reports to the Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and ...

(January 2005) and the

Heritage Council of Victoria The Heritage Council of Victoria is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria responsible for the protection and conservation of the state's history. It is responsible for maintaining the Victorian Heritage Register and administerin ...

(July 2010).Australia ICOMOS > The Burra Charter
Full text of the 2013 revised version of the Burra Charter. Retrieved 9 January 2014. It is also recommended by the Heritage Council of Western Australia and the

Tasmanian Heritage Council ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

.Heritage Tasmania > Publications
Retrieved 16 August 2011.

The Burra Charter begins with a series of definitions, such as : * ''Cultural significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations.'' * ''Conservation means all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance.'' The types of actions that might be taken in the Conservation of a heritage place are defined as : *''

Preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

: Maintaining a place in its existing state and preventing further deterioration.'' *''

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

: Returning a place to a known earlier state by removing accretions or by reassembling existing elements without the introduction of new material.'' *''

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

: Returning a place to a known if there is sufficient evidence. and is distinguished from restoration by the introduction of new material.'

References

{{Reflist International cultural heritage documents Architectural history Urban planning Historic preservation Historic preservation in Australia Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage

History and development

Contents

References