What heritage means

What is heritage?

The Central Coast is home to a rich tapestry of both Aboriginal and non-Indigenous histories, evident in our cultural landmarks, built environments, and distinctive landscapes. Our natural and environmentally sensitive areas often hold significant heritage value. Central Coast Council is tasked with identifying, safeguarding, and managing heritage at the local level through planning regulations, however anyone can nominate heritage items and places.

Heritage is the culture, traditions and assets preserved from one generation to another (Macquarie Dictionary Publishers 2022), and includes the places, objects, connections, and stories inherited from the past that we want to protect for future generations. Heritage gives us a sense of our history and provides meaningful insights into how earlier generations lived and developed. It enriches our lives and helps us to understand who we are. - Assessing heritage significance, NSW Department of Planning, 2023

Types of heritage listings

There are four main levels of statutory heritage listing in Australia. These are local, state, national and world heritage. Most heritage items on the Central Coast are assessed as having local significance. 

• Local heritage: A local heritage item is one which has cultural significance for the local area and is listed in Schedule 5 of Council’s Local Environment Plan (LEP) and for sites in Gosford, Schedule 9 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts-Regional) 2021. An example is Henry Kendall Cottage in West Gosford. 
• State heritage: A state heritage item is one which has cultural significance for the state of New South Wales, not just the Central Coast area. State heritage items are listed on the State Heritage Register for example, Norah Head Lighthouse.
• National heritage: The national heritage item has outstanding heritage importance to Australia as a nation. National heritage items are listed on the National Heritage List. There is one National Heritage item on the Central Coast which is also a World Heritage item, a section of the Old Great North Road. Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, which boarders the Central Coast LGA, is also on the National Heritage List. 
•  World heritage: Central Coast Council is fortunate to have a World Heritage item within its boundary. This is a section of the Old Great North Road known as Devines Hill and Finchs Line located in Dharug National Park. The road is part of a group of convict-built sites that together were awarded world heritage listing in 2010.

When an item or site is listed as being of local or state heritage significance, special rules apply in relation to undertaking development in, on or around the item or site. These rules are designed to support the conservation of the heritage item, as well as the significance of the item, including its setting, materials, and views.

Understanding heritage significance 

Heritage significance is embodied in the place itself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places, and objects. Places and objects can also be significant for their intangible values (for example, meaning, associations, connections), not just their physical attributes.

The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance provides guidance for the conservation and management of heritage listed places in NSW (Australia ICOMOS 2013b). It is the overarching guide to assessing heritage significance in Australia. These guidelines are aligned with the Burra Charter.

Heritage significance is the sum of the heritage values that a place or object has, as assessed against the criteria, and can represent the aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations.