The Future of the Past—A Cautionary Lesson: Heritage and Financial Mismanagement at the Port Arthur Historic Site, 1987–1996

Authors

Keywords:

Port Arthur Historic Site, Heritage Management, Heritage Conservation, Heritage Funding, Tasmanian History,

Abstract

The former relics and ruins of Tasmania’s infamous secondary penal station, the Port Historic Site is arguably Australia’s premier non-Indigenous historic site. Since the tragic events of 28 April 1996, when 35 people were killed and another 23 wounded the Site has received an increased public profile which has translated into significant public funding of both its tourism and conservation operations. However, public funding in the two preceding decades evidenced a pattern of largesse followed by parsimonious tightfistedness by both State and Federal governments. Such fickle funding arrangements have had a major impact upon the cultural significance of the Site and have wider implications in respect to the community’s access to its history and heritage. This paper will explore the failure of successive Federal and State governments to intervene effectively for the long-term conservation of the Port Arthur Historic Site.

References

Australian Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, ‘Executive summary’, Australian Convict Sites: World Heritage Nomination, Canberra, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2008.

Marquis-Kyle, Peter and Walker, Meredith, The Illustrated Burra Charter: Making good decisions about the care of important places, Australia ICOMOS, Sydney, 1992.

Mason, Randall; Myers, David and de la Torre, Marta, ‘Port Arthur Historic Site: A Case Study’, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 2003,

http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/pdf_publications/pdf/port_arthur.pdf.

Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority, http://portarthur.org.au/.

Tasmanian Audit Office, Auditor-General Special Report No 21: Special Investigation into Administrative Processes Associated with Preservation and Maintenance of the Port Arthur Historic Site, State of Tasmania, Hobart, 1997.

Brain Dunnett on Mandolin – BushMusic Club Rehearsal at National Folk Festival.

Downloads

Published

2016-12-03

Issue

Vol. 31 (2016): Marking the passing of Brian Dunnett, and dealing with matters of Pitcairn Island

Section

Studies in Australian Folklore

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Copyright of items in their Australian Folklore format, and any associated fees (e.g.CAL), remains the property of the Association. This includes making articles freely available on the journal's website. 
  2. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  3. Authors are welcome to archive their pre-print and post-print pdf copies of their articles under the SHERPA RoMEO 'Green' copyright classification.
  4. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.