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Supporting

historic house

owners in

Australia

Inaugural Conference

SYDNEY

05-06 April 2018

BOOKINGS CLOSED

About Historic Houses Association

What is HHA ?

The Historic Houses Association of Australia was formed to raise awareness and support for important local and national historic properties.

It began in Sydney in 1988, alongside the formation of the NSW Government’s Historic Houses Trust. It brought together the “friends” of some of Sydney’s most important buildings such as Elizabeth Bay House and Vaucluse House. In 2014, the association became national and fully independent of government and is now a registered charity, non-for-profit and volunteer organisation, with a growing national membership and reach.

Our goal is to educate and inform the public, to support private owners and to build an environment in which historic properties and places are supported, valued and enjoyed.

We provide a forum and resources and expert advice for owners. We advocate on their behalf to government and we educate the public through a dynamic range of events and activities. We also support research to understand the special issues faced by owners of historic properties.

The Conference

05 & 06 April 2018, Conservatorium of Music, Sydney

Why a conference ?

To an owner of an historic house it sometimes feels like ‘all obligation but no incentives’. Almost everyone who owns an historic house can tell a ‘war story’ of bureaucratic frustration, conditions that impose additional costs, delays, lack of information and demanding officialdom.

Over the past 30 years there has been enormous growth and complexity in the so called ‘heritage industry’. Owners can be bewildered and intimidated by this array of expertise and process. Yet it is the owners who are often on the receiving end of decisions that arise from these processes. The Historic Houses Association of Australia was formed in 2016 to become a support agency for the owners of historic houses.

This HHA inaugural national conference will have the needs of owners at its core. It expects the key issues that will emerge will be the need for technical and legal advice, tax concessions for owners, advice on commercial activities including tourism opportunities, collegiate support, and dissemination of information.
The conference will hear from owners and others throughout Australia who will tell their own stories of successes, frustrations and failures. It will also hear from state and local governments and experts in the field about what support currently exists.

There will be plenty of opportunity for discussion.