ASHA is delighted to present this lecture with Dr Paul Irish on 31 July at 12pm, online.

Beyond Heritage Listings – incorporating Aboriginal culture and heritage into Local Government planning

Local government has a significant role to play in protecting Aboriginal heritage and fostering greater public awareness of Aboriginal culture and history. But doing it is harder than it sounds.

One challenge is that heritage legislation and policy is much clearer about protections for non-Aboriginal built heritage than it is about managing the possibility of unrecorded Aboriginal sites being present. Another is building meaningful relationships between councils and local Aboriginal communities, relationships that understand 'heritage' as more than archaeological dots on maps, and that genuinely incorporate Aboriginal cultural perspectives.

In this lecture, I'll explore these challenges and others through examples from projects with several councils around Sydney.

Dr Paul Irish is a historian and director of consultancy Coast History. He began his career around 25 years ago as an archaeological consultant specialising in Aboriginal heritage, before training as a historian. Paul works collaboratively with Aboriginal community members, particularly in the Sydney area, and is the author of the 2017 book Hidden In Plain View: The Aboriginal People of Coastal Sydney, winner of the 2018 NSW Premier's History Award for Community and Regional History.

Contact the host of Beyond Heritage Listings - Dr Paul Irish - 31 July @ 12pm - Online talk