Australian Convict Sites

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Australian Convict Sites
UNESCO World Heritage Site
PortArthurPenitentiary.jpg
View of Port Arthur, Tasmania one of the 11 penal sites constituting the Australian Convict Sites
Location Australia
Criteria Cultural: (iv), (vi)
Reference 1306
Inscription2010 (34th session)
Area1,502.51 ha (3,712.8 acres)
Buffer zone3,746.68 ha (9,258.2 acres)
Coordinates 33°22′42″S150°59′40″E / 33.37833°S 150.99444°E / -33.37833; 150.99444 Coordinates: 33°22′42″S150°59′40″E / 33.37833°S 150.99444°E / -33.37833; 150.99444
World location map (equirectangular 180).svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Australian Convict Sites in Earth

Australian Convict Sites is a World Heritage property consisting of 11 remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips at Sydney, Tasmania, Norfolk Island, and Fremantle; now representing "...the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts." [1]

Contents

These properties were all individually included on the Australian National Heritage List before inclusion on the World Heritage list.

Preparations began in 1995, and a World Heritage nomination was first made in January 2008. That attempt failed, and the nomination was subsequently reworked. [2]

Penal sites included

A convict ploughing team breaking up new ground - Port Arthur Convict labourers in Australia in the early 20th century.jpg
A convict ploughing team breaking up new ground - Port Arthur

The 11 penal sites constituting the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage listed property are: [3] [4]

  1. Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area ("KAVHA"), Norfolk Island. [5]
  2. Old Government House and Domain ("Old Government House"), New South Wales. [6]
  3. Hyde Park Barracks, New South Wales. [7]
  4. Brickendon and Woolmers Estates ("Brickendon-Woolmers"), Tasmania. [8] [9]
  5. Darlington Probation Station ("Darlington"), Tasmania. [10]
  6. Old Great North Road, New South Wales. [11]
  7. Cascades Female Factory ("Cascades"), Tasmania. [12]
  8. Port Arthur Historic Site ("Port Arthur"), Tasmania. [13]
  9. Coal Mines Historic Site ("Coal Mines"), Tasmania. [14]
  10. Cockatoo Island Convict Site ("Cockatoo Island"), New South Wales. [15]
  11. Fremantle Prison, Western Australia. [16]

Criteria for listing

Out of over 3,000 convict sites remaining in Australia, the 11 constituting the Australian Convict Sites were selected as the pre-eminent examples of the world's convict era satisfying World Heritage selection criteria IV & VI, as follows:

World Heritage selection criteria
Criteria numberDescriptionCitation
Criterion IVEnsemble of buildings/architecture etc., illustrating significant stage in human history"an exceptional example of the forced migration of convicts - an important stage of human history." [17]
Criterion VIDirectly or tangibly associated with events etc., of outstanding universal significance"an extraordinary example of global ideas and developments associated with the punishment and reform of the criminal elements of humanity during the Age of Enlightenment and the modern era." [17]

Related Research Articles

Protected areas of Australia Protected areas in Australia

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Cockatoo Island (New South Wales) New South Wales, Australia

Cockatoo Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the junction of the Parramatta and Lane Cove River in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia.

Longford, Tasmania Town in Tasmania, Australia

Longford is a town in the northern midlands of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 145 m above sea level at the convergence of the Macquarie River and the South Esk River, 21 km south of Launceston and a 15-minute drive from the airport. It is just south of the Illawarra Road, a road connecting the Bass and Midland Highways. It has a population of 3,863 and is part of the Northern Midlands Council area. The region is predominantly agricultural, noted for wool, dairy produce and stock breeding.

Cascades Female Factory

The Cascades Female Factory, a former Australian workhouse for female convicts in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, is located in Hobart, Tasmania. Operational between 1828 and 1856, the factory is now one of the 11 sites that collectively compose the Australian Convict Sites, listed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

Maria Island

Maria Island, is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea, off the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. The 115.5-square-kilometre (44.6 sq mi) island is contained within the Maria Island National Park, which includes a marine area of 18.78 square kilometres (7.25 sq mi) off the island's northwest coast. The island is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) in length from north to south and, at its widest, is about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) west to east. At its closest point, Point Lesueur, the island lies approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) off the east coast of Tasmania.

National Heritage List (Australia) national heritage register of Australia

The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and historic places, including those of cultural significance to Indigenous Australians such as Aboriginal Australian sacred sites. Having been assessed against a set list of criteria, once a place is put on the National Heritage List, the provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 apply.

Brickendon and Woolmers Estates is an Australian National Heritage and World Heritage area, as part of the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Area. It consists of adjacent farming properties Woolmers Estate and Brickendon Estate.

Brickendon Estate

Brickendon Estate is a farm estate located in Longford, Tasmania. It is one of the two main ancestral homes of the Archer family, prominent local pioneers and politicians. Founded in 1824, it consists of a village and manor house, as well as 465ha working farm. The main manor was built in 1829-1830 in a Georgian style.

Woolmers Estate

Woolmers Estate is a farming estate located in Longford, Tasmania, founded in 1817 by prominent grazier and member of parliament Thomas Archer. It consists of an 82ha property, including a two-part manor house, coach house, the National Rose Garden, extensive outbuildings and convict cottages and formal gardens. The main house consists of a brick nog weatherboard homestead, built in 1819, with an attached extensive addition in Italiate style, designed by William Archer and built in 1842-1843.

Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area

Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area (KAVHA) is an old settlement on the Kingston coastal plains, southern side of Norfolk Island, consisting of a large group of buildings from the British Empire's convict era (1788–1855), now considered to be of such cultural significance to Australia and to the World that the area has been formally inscribed onto both the Australian National Heritage List and UNESCO's World Heritage list as amongst:

" .. the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts."

Darlington Probation Station

Darlington Probation Station was a convict penal settlement on Maria Island, Tasmania, from 1825 to 1832, then later a convict probation station during the last phase of convict management in eastern Australia (1842–1850).

Gibraltar Falls

The Gibraltar Falls are a cascade waterfall on the Gibraltar Creek, in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), approximately 50 kilometres from Canberra's city centre, The falls have a 50-metre (160-foot) drop.

William Archer (1820–1874) was an Australian architect, naturalist, grazier, politician and member of the prominent Archer family. He was the second son of Thomas Archer, a prominent pastoralist and politician himself. A keen interest in architecture led to him going to London to study architecture when he finished school, where he studied under William Rogers and Robert Stephenson. During his life he built many colonial buildings across Tasmania, served as a member of both the Tasmanian House of Assembly and Tasmanian Legislative Council and made significant contributions to botany, with several native Tasmanian plants named after him. Despite this he died penniless at his brothers house Fairfield on 15 October 1874.

Archer family

The Archer family are a notable family in Tasmania, Australia, prominent in society, business and politics of Tasmania for the last two centuries. They are best known today for their now world-heritage listed farm estates, Brickendon Estate and Woolmers Estate, but have contributed to many areas of Tasmania throughout their history. Other members of the family have been Mayors of Hertfordshire in England and influential in the American Civil War.

The Tasmanian Heritage Register is the statutory heritage register of the Australian state of Tasmania. It is defined as a list of areas currently identified as having historic cultural heritage importance to Tasmania as a whole. The Register is kept by the Tasmanian Heritage Council within the meaning of the Tasmanian Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995. It encompasses in addition the Heritage Register of the Tasmanian branch of the National Trust of Australia, which was merged into the Tasmanian Heritage Register. The enforcement of the heritage's requirements is managed by Heritage Tasmania.

Isle of the Dead (Tasmania) Protected area in Tasmania, Australia

Isle of the Dead is a small island adjacent to Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. The island is historically significant as it retains an Aboriginal coastal shell midden, one of the first recorded sea-level benchmarks, and one of the few preserved Australian convict-period burial grounds. Isle of the Dead forms part of the Port Arthur Historic Site. This site is part of Australian Convict Sites and is listed as a World Heritage Property, as it represents convictism in the era of British colonisation.

Julie Gough is an artist, writer and curator based in Tasmania, Australia. She was born in St. Kilda, Melbourne, and has also lived in Western Australia and Queensland.

Challenger Battery

Challenger Battery, also referred to as J Gun Battery, is a heritage-listed battery at Entrance Point, Garden Island, Western Australia. Historically, it has is also been known as Garden Battery, Entrance Battery and, finally, Challenger Battery. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004. It was part of the Coastal defences of Australia during World War II and the Fremantle Fortress, protecting Fremantle Harbour.

References

  1. "Australian Convict Sites". World Heritage List. UNESCO. 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  2. Witcomb, Andrea (2012). Albert, Marie-Theres; Richon, Marielle; Viñals, Marie José; et al. (eds.). "Tensions between World Heritage and local values: the case of Fremantle Prison (Australia)" (PDF). World heritage papers: Community Development through World Heritage. Paris, France: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 31: 62. ISBN   978-92-3-001024-9. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  3. Chalmers, Emma; Martin, Saray (1 August 2010). "World Heritage Committee approves Australian Convict Sites as places of importance". The Courier–Mail. Australia. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  4. "Australian Convict Sites". World heritage places. Commonwealth of Australia: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  5. Energy, Department of the Environment and (24 April 2008). "National Heritage Places - Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area (KAVHA)". www.environment.gov.au.
  6. Energy, Department of the Environment and (24 April 2008). "National Heritage Places - Old Government House and Government Domain, Parramatta". www.environment.gov.au.
  7. Energy, Department of the Environment and (24 April 2008). "National Heritage Places - Hyde Park Barracks". www.environment.gov.au.
  8. Energy, Department of the Environment and (24 April 2008). "National Heritage Places - Brickendon Estate". www.environment.gov.au.
  9. Energy, Department of the Environment and (24 April 2008). "National Heritage Places - Woolmers Estate". www.environment.gov.au.
  10. Energy, Department of the Environment and (24 April 2008). "National Heritage Places - Darlington Probation Station". www.environment.gov.au.
  11. Energy, Department of the Environment and (22 November 2013). "National Heritage Places - Old Great North Road". www.environment.gov.au.
  12. "Cascades Female Factory". National heritage places. Commonwealth of Australia: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  13. "Port Arthur: more information". National heritage places. Commonwealth of Australia: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  14. Energy, Department of the Environment and (24 April 2008). "National Heritage Places - Coal Mines Historic Site". www.environment.gov.au.
  15. "Cockatoo Island: more information". National heritage places. Commonwealth of Australia: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  16. Energy, Department of the Environment and (24 April 2008). "National Heritage Places - Fremantle Prison". www.environment.gov.au.
  17. 1 2 "Executive summary". Australian convict sites: World Heritage Nomination. Commonwealth of Australia: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. January 2008. ISBN   978-0-642-55390-4 . Retrieved 5 August 2010.