Assessment & Nomination
The cultural heritage significance of a place to Western Australia is assessed by considering various values. Each place is unique and has its own combination of values, which together show its cultural heritage significance.
A simple explanation of these values is:
Aesthetic value | Is the place important for what it looks like or its physical characteristics? |
Historic value | Is the place important as part of the story of Western Australia’s history and development? |
Scientific value | Can the place provide information of an archaeological nature or on a technical achievement in construction? |
Social Value | Is the place important to the community for social, cultural, educational or spiritual reasons? |
Rarity | Is the place rare for any reason? |
Representatives | Is the place typical of anything – what does it represent? |
Three other factors are also taken into account in determining cultural heritage significance of places:
- physical condition
- integrity
- authenticity
It is possible for a place in poor condition or one that has been substantially changed or modified to be entered in the State Register where other values, such as historic or rarity values, are strong. It is also possible for a place to meet only one of the above values and still be entered in the State Register.