Looking Backwards-Looking Forwards: Free Public Talks on Historic Heritage in Tasmania
Description
Cultural Heritage Practitioners Tasmania (CHPT) and the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) are excited to present this half-day of free public talks by historical heritage specialists in Tasmania as part of National Archaeology Week 2026.
This event marks the significant milestone that 2025 provides in relation to Tasmania’s cultural heritage: the 30th anniversary of the Historical Cultural Heritage Act 1995, and the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal Relics Act 1975 (amended to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975).
Please join us for talks including:
Professor Richard Mackay (Member of the Australian Heritage Council, ICOMOS World Heritage Adviser, Director of Possibilities at Mackay Strategic), presenting 'Who's Who in the Heritage Zoo?'
Annita Waghorn (Manager Historic Heritage, Parks and Wildlife) and Katy Ross (Historic Heritage Officer, Parks and Wildlife Historic Heritage Branch), presenting 'Historic Heritage in Tasmanian Parks and Reserves'
John Stephenson (Registration Manager, Heritage Tasmania), presenting 'The Tasmanian Heritage Register Online Search Portal'
Dr Jody Steele (Head of Cultural Heritage, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery)
Kirsten Brett (Collection Manager [Cultural Heritage], Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery)
Sherrie-Lee Evans (PhD Student, University of Tasmania), presenting 'Australian Cultural Resource Management in Antarctica: The Case of Mawson’s Huts'
Dr Jennifer Jones-Travers (Director, Latitude Heritage), presenting 'Digging 3m Below Campbell Street, Hobart, in the Basement of the Theatre Royal'
More details will be added in the coming days, please check back!
Lineup
Who's Who in the Heritage Zoo? (Prof Richard Mackay, AM)
In Australia and globally cultural heritage is identified, regulated and managed by multiple levels of government and different heritage agencies. There are 21 Australian properties on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and 124 places on Australians National Heritage list but, paradoxically, Tasmania has more places on its State Register than the rest of Australia combined – yet some local government areas have virtually no locally-listed heritage items. Prof Mackay’s presentation will explore the roles and responsibilities for heritage conservation in Australia and offer some brief insights on how effectively our historic cultural heritage is protected and conserved. Prof Richard Mackay, AM is a Member of the Australian Heritage Council, an ICOMOS World Heritage Adviser, former member of the NSW Heritage Council and author of the 2005 Review of Tasmania’s Historic Cultural Heritage Act. Prof Mackay has advised about Tasmanian cultural heritage places for more than 30 years, ranging from the historic railway town at Pillinger on Macquarie Harbour to Maria Island, and from Stanley to Port Arthur.
Australian Cultural Resource Management in Antarctica: The Case of Mawson’s Huts (Sherrie-Lee Evans, PhD Student, University of Tasmania)
My thesis uses archival research and oral history interviews to uncover the history of the conservation of the Mawson's Huts Historic Site, and the development of the Replica Hut in Hobart, to explore some larger questions around understanding what the key drivers of CRM in Antarctica have been and how these have changed over time. At this stage in my research, I have undertaken: - Archival research into Antarctic Division and related files in the National Archives of Australia – Hobart, Melbourne and Canberra - Archival research into transcripts of oral history interviews and documentary collections in the National Library, Canberra - Oral history interviews and transcription of interviews of over 24 people including: cultural heritage practitioners (archaeologists, conservation architects, conservators) past officers of the Australian Antarctic Division, current members of the Mawson’s Huts Foundation and Board, people who worked on the Huts during Project Blizzard.
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