About State Heritage Areas

Overview

South Australia currently (2005) has a total of 17 State Heritage Areas in diverse locations across the State. These clearly defined regions represent significant aspects of South Australia's rich natural and cultural heritage and, as a group, encapsulate much that is the State's identity and character.

Port Adelaide State Heritage Area

The first designated State Heritage Area was the historic precinct of Port Adelaide in 1982, with the most recent authorisation being the Mount Torrens State Heritage Area in 2002.

No two State Heritage Areas are alike, differing in size, significance and location. Amongst the largest are a 40-kilometre stretch of the Cooper Creek near Innamincka and 880 hectares of the fragile Arckaringa Hills, south-west of Oodnadatta. The entire township of Burra, the complete suburb of Colonel Light Gardens, the Mount Gambier Volcanic Complex and Belair National Park are other substantially large Areas, while Penola's Petticoat Lane, the Mount Gambier Cave Gardens or Gawler's Church Hill precinct are quite small by comparison.

Some of these highly significant places are recognised for their architectural merits, for their town plan or contributions to South Australia's development, while others are predominantly natural areas of aesthetic or geological importance.

They range from the State's far north (Innamincka/Cooper Creek, Arckaringa Hills and Beltana) to the south-east (Penola, Mount Gambier and Mount Schank) and include the mid-north towns of Burra and Mintaro, the former mine site at Moonta and part of the river port of Goolwa. Nearer Adelaide are historic precincts at Port Adelaide and Gawler, the garden suburb of Colonel Light Gardens and the Adelaide Hills towns of Hahndorf and Mount Torrens.

What is a State Heritage Area?

Simply described, a State Heritage Area is a clearly defined and continuous region with outstanding natural or cultural elements of significance to South Australia's development and identity.

A more precise definition was provided in section 13(1) of the former South Australian Heritage Act 1978, where a State Heritage Area was described as

(a) an area of land [which] is part of the environmental, social or cultural heritage of the State;
and
(b) the area is of significant aesthetic, architectural, historical, cultural, archaeological, technological or scientific interest,

Colonel Light Gardens State Heritage Area

The creation of a State Heritage Area is official acknowledgement, by the South Australian community, of the heritage significance of the area. It is important to recognise that no two State Heritage Areas are alike and that the significance of each rests on qualities that are considered exceptional, not commonplace. Each State Heritage Area has a distinct character or 'sense of place' formed by the buildings and structures, the spaces and allotments, the patterns of streets, natural features or the developed landscape.

State Heritage Areas are subject to special protection under South Australian legislation and, while places or sites within the region can be altered or developed, any work should be sympathetic to the character and significance of the Area.

What is not a State Heritage Area?

South Australia contains many localities with significant heritage elements, but which are not so outstanding that they have been created as State Heritage Areas. Local Heritage Areas, Historic (Conservation) Zones, Historic Precincts or Historic Policy Areas are examples of regions recognised for their heritage character and significance at a local, rather than State, level.

Belair National Park State Heritage Area

The significance of some State Heritage Areas is related predominantly to their natural qualities - for example the beauty and fragility of the Arckaringa Hills, the wetlands of Cooper Creek near Innamincka, the geological features of Mount Schank and Mount Gambier and the National Park at Belair. It may seem that there is little difference between these State Heritage Areas and regions of the State that have been established as Parks or Reserves but, although there may be links and similarities, the differences are quite marked. Parks are primarily established to conserve an area's biodiversity and to ensure responsible use of its natural resources. A State Heritage Area however, is created to highlight and protect the historical context, built fabric, landscape or natural features of a region.

Creating a State Heritage Area

• Declared (Designated) vs Authorised
• Guidelines to assess the heritage value of an area
• The process

Declared (Designated) vs Authorised:

Arckaringa Hills State Heritage Area at sunrise

Prior to 1994 (under the South Australian Heritage Act 1978) steps to conserve and protect areas of State heritage value involved a process of assessment and designation by the responsible Minister, through gazettal in the South Australian Government Gazette. Between April 1982 and January 1993, thirteen State Heritage Areas were declared in this way.

A new legislative framework for the creation of State Heritage Areas was established in 1994, with the proclamation of the (former) Heritage Act 1993 and the Development Act 1993. The legislative process to authorise areas of State Heritage significance now exists through the preparation of Plan Amendment Reports (PARs) under the Development Act 1993.

State Heritage Areas authorised through the preparation of a PAR, as well as all those declared under old legislation, are subject to the same controlling and referral mechanisms.

Guidelines to assess the heritage value of an area:

Mount Gambier Volcanic Complex State Heritage Area

The Heritage Places Act 1993 provides that, to be of heritage value, a place must meet one of the criteria in Section 16(1) of the Act. Although the Act does not specifically require this for Areas, the Department for Environment and Heritage has also chosen to assess nominated areas against the same criteria.

In addition to this measure of an area's heritage value, other guidelines have been developed to assist with the assessment and establishment of State Heritage Areas. They should, for example, possess qualities that are exceptional, not commonplace, and should be comprised largely of significant fabric relatively free from unsympathetic intrusions. The State Heritage Area boundary should constitute a unified region and should take in the continuously significant area without the addition of a buffer zone. It should be simple in outline, clearly defined and should follow cadastral boundaries where possible.

The process:

The establishment of a new State Heritage Area involves a lengthy process of assessment and consultation, and the preparation of a Plan Amendment Report (PAR). It requires liaison between local councils, the Department for Environment and Heritage (Heritage Branch) and Planning SA, and requires the support of the South Australian Heritage Council, the Minister for Environment and Conservation and the Planning Minister.

The information below provides an outline of the steps for creating a State Heritage Area, but is only a brief summary of that process. Anyone requiring detailed information about any aspects of the establishment of a State Heritage Area should contact the Heritage Branch of the Department for Environment and Heritage or Planning SA.

• Identifying areas of State heritage significance
  The initial assessment and recommendation of a State Heritage Area is most often undertaken by Heritage Branch staff or heritage consultants as part of a heritage survey of a particular Council or region, but nominations from the public are also accepted.
• Informal consultation with stakeholders of properties within the proposed State Heritage Area
  Interested parties are informed of the proposal for a new State Heritage Area, through correspondence and public and/or private meetings. Following this informal consultation, a decision is taken to either proceed with the nomination (perhaps with an amended proposal) or to reject it.
• South Australian Heritage Council
  If the recommendation proceeds it is referred to the South Australian Heritage Council for their consideration under Section 5(A) of the Heritage Places Act 1993.
• Minister for Environment and Conservation
  If the South Australian Heritage Council supports the establishment of a new State Heritage Area, they formally request that the Minister for Environment and Conservation write to the Minister for Transport and Urban Planning asking that a Plan Amendment Report (PAR) be prepared.
• Plan Amendment Report
  If the Planning Minister considers the request favourably, a PAR to establish the new State Heritage Area is undertaken by either Planning SA or the local Council. This process includes comprehensive formal public and agency consultation.
• Gazettal
  When the PAR is completed it is gazetted in the South Australian Government Gazette, to form an amendment to the relevant Council's Development Plan - thus establishing a new South Australian State Heritage Area.

Value of State Heritage Areas

Moonta Mines State Heritage Area

The establishment of a State Heritage Area provides the basis for protecting the locality's heritage significance. It ensures that the region's unique qualities are protected from unsympathetic development and enhances the community's ability to work together to conserve the character and features of the area. It also provides a basis for setting priorities with regard to funding and restoration work, and in many cases has enhanced the economy of the region by raising its profile for recreation and tourism.