ABOUT HERITAGE OPPORTUNITIES

HERITAGE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITIES
As well as expanding a community’s existing base of heritage management and interpretation, new heritage asset based initiatives can help open vast new tourism and community economic development opportunities including;

Heritage enterprise centres to preserve trades and practices of old, and to support commercial production of representative heritage merchandise.
Establishing new attractions, particularly in non-coastal communities and villages to provide the critical mass needed to draw visitors in and promote private investment in tourism related enterprises.
Heritage trails linking and marketing built structures; historic sites, areas and precincts; ruins, archaeological and maritime sites; sites associated with mining, industrial, scientific and agricultural heritage; sites of important events and commemorations; fossil sites; collections that house or collectively promote objects of heritage significance, botanic and public gardens, old trails, local markets, museums, and galleries.
Thematic tours focusing on specific interests – historic buildings, art, music, famous individuals, architecture, birding, nature adventure, food, wine, craft beers, traditional occupations, folklore, textiles, customs, festivals, and including interactions with artists, historians, history re-enactors, and craftsmen.
Enhancement of community museums and keeping places to significantly raise the quality and quantity of the cultural heritage experiences available.
Increased professional support for local museums, including training programmes, specialist services, and assistance with project funding.
Information networks to enhance inter-regional communication, support public research facilities, and provide interpretation and education programmes.
Alternate accommodation options such as boutique lodges, home stays, eco camps, jungle retreats.
Restoring heritage houses, industrial buildings, castles, forts, and converting them into cafes, accommodation, eateries, museums, and art galleries.
Developing unique local experiences which can include cultural shows, home stays, guided walking tours, nature trails and cycling tours.
"It’s time for communities to write the rest of their story, move out of memory lane and beyond the ‘good old days’, and embrace the future that lies before them like an uninhabited land waiting for the pioneers of destiny to explore it."

(David A. Wilson)


HERITAGE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOVERNMENTS
State and Local Governments Heritage Policy should ensure heritage is protected and cherished for the benefit of all whilst encouraging a resurgence of interest in the nation’s history, including the personal histories of individuals.

Implement a holistic strategy for the development of museums, heritage and orientation centres and interpretation facilities, to enable research into the important cultural heritage resources of the nation, as well as promote awareness, learning and education on all the facets of the nation’s heritage for students, residents and tourists, in coordination with the relevant authority.
Promote a partnership approach with local authorities to support the cultural wellbeing of local neighbourhoods, villages, towns, and communities.
Promote learning as a journey of discovery and exploration of the landscape of the nation facilitated by heritage trails and routes linking the destinations or themes of the country’s heritage such as fossil sites or modern heritage.
Honour Unique History and Heritage. Establish a national heritage preservation incentive fund to encourage the preservation of privately-owned and nationally-significant heritage properties that would otherwise be in danger of neglect or demolition.
Ensure that the relevant authorities are consulted at the earliest stage of the development of master plans and zoning plans in order to protect cultural heritage assets and ensure that opportunities for enhancing heritage or interpretation can be identified.
Develop a National Policy on Heritage in partnership with local government, heritage organisations, and central government.
Promote research and awareness raising of traditional crafts, industries, agriculture, animal husbandry and performing arts.
Support the continuation of festivals and events that celebrate the history, traditional culture and intangible heritage of the nation.
Record and document the memories of families and communities that remember or continue the lifeway in the traditional manner in partnership with the relevant authority.
Develop a Heritage Education strategy, to align with school’s curriculum, skills development and life-long learning programs.
Develop a Heritage Visitor strategy that emphasises the contrasting and complementary visitor opportunities and experiences throughout the nation.
Develop a flagship Natural and Cultural History Museum combining with an internationally renowned study centre, children’s education centre, displays and galleries devoted to i.e. palaeontology, botany, zoology, archaeology, industry and intangible heritage, as well as a tourism gateway to the culture and heritage of the nation.
Establish a National Heritage Trail through the nation, with sub-trails in towns and villages, with interpretation facilities at key points.
In co-ordination with the relevant authorities, develop and implement a strategy of wayfinding, signage and interpretation to promote awareness and welcome at each heritage visitor site.
The close association of the unique culture and heritage with the varied landscape of the country should be safeguarded and promoted in research, learning and visitor enjoyment policies.
Investigate potential sites for inclusion on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) List of World Heritage Sites.
Preserve and enhance key cultural landscapes.
Preserve coastal heritage, and raise awareness through the development of eco-tourism and a coastal trail in coordination with the relevant authority.
Linking with proposals for natural heritage and ecological sites, Biosphere Reserves, Conservation Areas and Coastal Landscapes, identify the sites suitable as reserves, and implement Conservation Plans for these areas.
Identify the cultural landscapes suitable for public access, enjoyment and learning and develop audience and access plans to encourage and manage visitor access to these reserves.
Establish an institutional structure within the relevant national and regional authorities that facilitates effective policy formulation for the nation, along with sector strategy planning at product and human resource levels.
Create administrative centres that facilitate development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation with a dedicated team to take the programme forward.
Provide an emphasis on capacity building within the above structures at regional, and local level with respect to tourism and all its aspects.
Develop strong working relationships between all of the relevant stakeholders and agencies and other private organisations, including cultural and sports events organisers, with a mandate for the development of tourism within the nation.
Ensure that tourism product development is compatible with the physical environment and in harmony with the social and cultural patrimony of the region and is responsive to market requirements.
Create a conducive and attractive investment climate for investors and developers including the provision of essential infrastructure, site identification and availability, enhanced public awareness of the country’s tourism offer, and ensuring development is of a sustainable nature.
Generate community awareness of the importance of tourism to the local economy and for employment generation, including specific measures to involve local communities in tourism development projects.
Update antiquities legislation to protect special objects and artefacts.
Provide funding for construction and refurbishment of regional museums and galleries with collections of national significance.
Build the National Library up to be a virtual and actual hub where everyone has good access to the nation’s documentary heritage, and can use that information across their work, leisure and community lives.
Record the nation’s oral histories so that the rich history of our citizen's stories can be preserved for future generations.
Ensure consistent archive systems are in place for archiving historical material, both nationally and internationally. It is important, too, that these are systems all communities can access and contribute to.
Support public and private galleries, libraries, archive organisations and museums to work collaboratively to develop a smart and consistent approach to archiving cultural materials nationally and in the community.
Support Indigenous peoples in their artistic and economic development.
Commit to promoting the richness and diversity of Indigenous cultures through the arts.
Recognise that significant aspects of heritage and identity depend on the sacrifice made by others during times of war and conflict.
Help families learn about their own history and genealogies and develop a rich appreciation of the contribution their families and communities have made to the country.
Support development of a film industry and ensure the countries stories are told.
Support the Domestic Music Industry. Support musicians to access digital markets and maximise the opportunities provided by new technology.
Develop opportunities for people with disabilities to develop creative initiatives.
Offer free access to broadband internet services in public libraries (offers potential for regional cultural and heritage development).
Support young and old to express their national identity on national remembrance days.
Assist families remember the sacrifice made by former generations of servicemen and women by establishing a National War Memorial Museum and Memorial Park.
Using new technologies, record, preserve and protect the nations records and heritage material.
Create opportunities for families and young people to better access the country’s unique history through significant online projects such as digital encyclopaedias.
Harness the opportunities offered by digitisation to make heritage available and accessible to more families, and to ensure the technology used is compatible with future developments.
Speed up critical digitisation of heritage collections so existing collections are available online as quickly as possible.
Give families better access to the wealth of cultural and heritage material relating to them that is held by public institutions, so that young and old can learn about the stories of their past