Australian Heritage Commission, 1964-1996

Component identifier:

Series 10

Content Summary:

Following the Committee of Inquiry into the National Estate in 1973, an Interim Committee of the National Estate was formed in 1974. The Interim Committee, which operated until 1976, was responsible for administering a National Estate grants program, and advising on the development of a national heritage policy under a permanent commission. The Australian Heritage Commission was established as a statutory authority in 1975, and the full Commission was appointed in 1976. In 2004, the Commission was replaced by an Australian Heritage Council. Mulvaney was a member of the Interim Committee of the National Estate, and served two terms as an Australian Heritage Commissioner from 1976 to 1982.

One of the primary functions of the Commission was to prepare and maintain the register of the National Estate, which is an inventory of significant Australian cultural and natural heritage places. The Commission also provided advice on heritage matters, and developed policies and programs for heritage research, training and education.

This series includes correspondence, minutes of meetings, submissions, reports, printed material and related papers, primarily concerning the establishment and administration of the Commission, the development of the Register of the National Estate, and the nomination of sites for inclusion on the Register.

Among the major correspondents are Jim Allen, Anne Bickford, Geoffrey Blainey, Max Bourke, John Calaby, Philip Cox, John Cumpston, Robert W. Ellis, W.F. Ellis, Margaret Feilman, Frank Fenner, Josephine Flood, Peter Forrest, Jeremy Green, D.C. Griffiths, Cameron Hazlehurst, D.E. Hutchison, R. Ian Jack, John W. Knight, Jane Lennon, Isabel McBryde, Peter Murrell, Kevin Newman, Graeme Pretty, Helen Proudfoot, W.D.L. Ride, D.J. Robinson, Eva Rosander, Vincent Serventy, E.K. Sinclair, P.G. Spillett, Frank Strahan, P.J. Ucko, R.N. Walker, Ian Wilson and David Yencken.

Papers relating to Mulvaney's role in nominating Australian sites for inclusion on the World Heritage List are found in Series 15.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The original instalment of this collection (MS 9615) was donated by Professor Mulvaney under the Cultural Gifts Program in September 1999. Further instalments were received in 2013 and 2017.

Contents

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