19-20 May 2022 - online event
Image: Arial view of the Residency Museum in York. Photograph by Ross Tinney.
Western Australia experiences many natural hazards which include bushfire, flood, cyclone, severe storms, and earthquakes, all of which pose a serious risk to our cultural and built heritage.
Experience shows that the impact of a natural hazard, such as an earthquake or cyclone, on heritage buildings can devastate a town’s economy and social fabric. It is important that government agencies and the local community come together to find ways to make these buildings more resilient to natural hazards.
Action now will help save our heritage places for future generations to enjoy.
This two-day digital conference provided an opportunity to explore strategies to help make your heritage place more resilient in the face of disaster. A more resilient structure not only results in less damage, it also helps to speed up the recovery process.
Delegates at the 2022 Heritage Conference ‘Be prepared – act now to protect our past’ enjoyed an informative and engaging online event.
Around 240 participants explored a program that focused on the challenges natural hazards can pose to Western Australia’s heritage sites with an emphasis on preparing our heritage places and buildings for natural hazards. This digital event was held on the 19 and 20 May and attracted an audience from across Australia who share a passion for protecting heritage places.
The program covered topics such as climate change and heritage, how to prepare heritage places for the impacts of climate change, mitigating earthquake risk in Western Australia, the heritage town of York and lessons from Tropical Cyclone Seroja.
Holding the event online allowed the Department and the Heritage Council of WA to attract a larger audience, with almost double the number of delegates registering, when compared to last year’s Heritage Conference held in Busselton. The event still provided attendees with an opportunity to connect and network, albeit virtually during breaks.
Natural hazards such as bushfires, cyclones, flooding, earthquakes and tsunamis have the potential to have an impact on cultural heritage places across WA and the conference provided an opportunity for private owners of heritage places, those working across State and local government, heritage professionals, academics and students, local museums and historical societies, and heritage tourism operators to come together to look at ways to prepare for and manage these events when they occur.
It is not possible to prevent or predict the occurrence of all natural hazards, however, a thorough understanding of the risk posed by a hazard and the likelihood of occurrence are vital in informing a strategy for disaster management and response. It is work that needs to be prioritised as our heritage places and buildings are so important to our community fabric, our feeling of connectedness and sense of place, and once lost they cannot be replaced.
Watch the presentations from the 2022 Heritage Conference.
Day One
Presentation one - Welcome to Be prepared - act now to protect our past
• Welcome from Master of Ceremonies Georgia Walton
• Welcome from the Minister for Heritage Hon David Templeman MLA
Presentation two – Setting the Scene Part 1 - Climate change and heritage
• Presentation on climate change and heritage by Dr Robert Glasser, Head of the Climate and Security Policy Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Presentation three – Setting the Scene Part 2 – Preparing heritage place
• Presentation on preparing heritage places for the impacts of climate change by Luke Donegan, Manager Heritage Conservation, Fremantle Prison
Presentation four – Earthquake session one: Mitigating earthquake risk
• Welcome from Shire of York President Denese Smythe
• Mitigating earthquake risk in Western Australia: Case study of the herit, age town in York, Mark Edwards, Project Leader, GeoScience Australia
• Seismic strengthening of St Peter’s Cathedral, Dr Michael Griffith, Professor, University of Adelaide
Presentation five – Earthquake session two: Residency Museum Project
• Residency Museum project overview
• Dirty Jobs, Done Just Right, Alina Behan, Executive Manager Corporate and Community Services, Shire of York
• The built environment and earthquakes, Peter Airey, Managing Director, Airey Taylor Consulting Engineers and Scientists
Presentation six – panel discussion with Luke Donegan, Alina Behan, Mark Edwards, Dr Michael Griffith and Peter Airey
Day Two
Session one - Lessons from Tropical Cyclone Seroja and Rottnest Island / Wadjemup
• Lessons from Tropical Cyclone Seroja, Professor Geoff Boughton, Adjunct Associate Professor, James Cook University’s Cyclone Testing Station
• An overview of two significant heritage projects on Rottnest Island/Wadjemup, Rowan Stokes, Director, Australian Discipline Leader (Structural) from Stantec. Rowan was the Project Structural Lead and Superintendent for both projects and Robert Smithson, Project Manager, Rottnest Island Authority
Session two – The risks of coastal erosion
• The risks of coastal erosion - Coastal hazard mapping and coastal planning, Vivienne Panizza, Planning Policy Manager, Land Use Planning & Policy, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
Session three – Preparing for a bushfire
• Preparing for a bushfire, Loretta van Gasselt, Director, Land Use Planning Policy, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
Session four – wrap up
• The non-market value of heritage buildings in York, Western Australia, Dr Abbie Rogers, Co-Director, Centre for Environmental Economics & Policy, The University of Western Australia
• Preparing for a disaster, Georgia Walton Principal Consultant, Chimeris Group
Watch a short film developed by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage that provides an overview of the works undertaken at York’s Residency Museum to help the building withstand earthquake damage.
