The Burra Charter

• What is the Burra Charter?
• The Burra Charter Principles
• Use of the Charter at Heritage Places

The following information is taken from the brochure by M. Walker Understanding the Burra Charter (Australia ICOMOS,1996). The Burra Charter, or to give its full title, the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance, was first adopted at Burra in 1979. The current (1999) Charter is the 3rd revision.

What is The Burra Charter?

The Burra Charter defines the basic principles and procedures to be followed in the conservation of heritage places. These principles and procedures can be applied to a monument, a courthouse, a garden, a shell midden, a rock art site, a cottage, a road, a mining or archaeological site, a whole district or a region.

The Burra Charter has been adopted as the standard for best practice in the conservation of heritage places in Australia. Government grants for heritage places give preference to work that follows an accepted conservation philosophy such as that of The Burra Charter.

The Burra Charter Principles

These are the principles inherent in the Charter:

• There are places worth keeping because they enrich our lives - by helping us understand the past; by contributing to the richness of the present environment; and because we expect them to be of value to future generations.
• The cultural significance of a place is embodied in its physical material (fabric), its setting and its contents; in its use; in the associated documents; and in its meaning to people through their use and associations with the place.
• The cultural significance of a place, and other issues affecting its future, are best understood by a methodical process of collecting and analysing information before making decisions.
• The safeguarding of existing records, and keeping accurate records about decisions and changes to the place helps in its care, management and interpretation

The aims of The Burra Charter are to ensure that people involved in the conservation of heritage places:

• Understand the place and its cultural significance, including its meaning to people, before making decisions about its future;
• Involve the communities associated with the place;
• Care for the culturally significant fabric and other significant attributes, taking account of all aspects of significance;
• Care for the place's setting;
• Provide an appropriate use;
• Provide security for the place;
• Use available expertise;
• Make records of the place and changes to it, and the reasons for decisions and actions; and
• Interpret and present the place in a manner appropriate for its significance.

Use of the Charter at Heritage Places

The Burra Charter advocates a cautious approach to changing a place, doing as much work as is necessary to repair and secure and to make it function, but as little as possible - so the history of the place can continue to be recognised in its physical material (fabric). Use, management and change at a place are guided by a conservation policy prepared following the assessment of significance and the investigation of the issues affecting the future of the place.

The Charter does not prescribe the techniques to be used or the manner in which an individual place should be cared for. The decisions and works must be appropriate to the place and circumstances, but the investigations should always involve a number of essential steps.

STEP 1 Assess Cultural Significance

• collect information about the place
• analyse information including comparison with other places
• decide what is significant about the place

STEP 2 Develop Conservation Policy and Strategy

• collect information about the issues affecting the future of the place
• analyse information and consider options· prepare a conservation policy which addresses all the issues
• decide upon a conservation strategy to carry out the policy

STEP 3 Carry out the Conservation Strategy

More information:

See the Charters & Publications page of the ICOMOS website.