The Heritage Council of Victoria initiates research and works with other organisations on projects to improve the protection and understanding of Victoria’s fascinating heritage.
We provide research findings, case studies and guidance to improve practice in the heritage sector and to guide decisions that affect the historic environment.
Mortars: materials, mixes and methods, a guide to repointing mortar joints in older buildings is an essential resource for anyone wishing to repair older stone or brick buildings in Australia. Written by David Young OAM, an acknowledged expert in the use and application of traditional mortars, and supported by the heritage councils of each state, it covers everything you need to know about working with lime mortars.
The Heritage Council of Victoria, in partnership with Heritage Victoria, have started a project to understand how Victoria’s cultural heritage places and objects will be impacted by climate change so that policy and guidance can be created where it will be of most benefit.
The Heritage Technical Codes are the result of a pilot project conducted by the Heritage Council in partnership with Heritage Victoria.
A guide and case studies have been developed by the Heritage Council of Victoria to assist homeowners who are renovating a heritage house or creating a home in another type of heritage building. They demonstrate how good design and cultural heritage awareness can help create contemporary living environments, while also supporting and enhancing the heritage of the place.
Since the early 1990s, concepts of communal attachment to heritage places derived from experience and practice have achieved wide-spread levels of recognition.
In late 2020, the Heritage Council of Victoria completed a review into local cultural heritage recognition, protection and management arrangements across the state. The Review’s final report provides a point-in-time ‘stocktake’ of the current state of Victoria’s local heritage management arrangements that can be used as a point of comparison in future years. It notes the parts of the system that are working to deliver good quality heritage protection and management, the areas where improvements can be made and recommends how the state government, local government and the Heritage Council of Victoria can take tangible steps together to ensure local cultural heritage is protected and managed well into the future.
In 2005, the Allen Consulting Group completed the report ‘Valuing the priceless: the value of historic heritage in Australia’ This study was an important milestone in heritage valuation literature as it proved the efficacy of a particular market research technique – choice modelling – as a means of eliciting the community’s willingness to pay (WTP) for heritage outcomes.
In 2017, archaeological excavations in Lonsdale street in Melbourne CBD revealed significant building remains (approximately the height of a single storey) at a depth of 2 metres below current ground levels dating from the first years of the city’s historic settlement.
Reusing industrial places and spaces can reinvigorate our cities, towns and landscapes. This series of case studies challenges and inspires us make the most of Victoria’s rich industrial heritage.
Our advice to the Minister, government departments, local councils and other agencies aims to lead the debate on the protection and conservation of heritage places and objects in Victoria.