We were having a cuppa after baling the lucerne the other day, and my mate Mick asked “well, wot is it, wot’s this heritage you keep banging on about?” Mrs Heritage said
“It’s Things From the Past Which We Value, Mick” which is not a bad summary. So Mick says “you mean my old combine harvester is a heritage item?” Well it could be.
I said to both of them that I like to explain Heritage as falling into these descriptions…
- Buildings and Places
- Objects and Their Stories
- People and Their Stories
- The Natural Environment
Value indeed is a real key, but where does the value lie? Heritage has strong social value as it reminds us who we are and where we have come from. Heritage also is a very strong partner in cultural affairs – the two go very well together e.g. art, music, museums.
BUT, heritage has enormous economic value too – it is a real economic asset, particularly for Bathurst, and particularly as a visitor attraction. We weave all four elements of Heritage into the stories we tell visitors about Bathurst, give them a heritage experience, and they will stay longer, spend more money, will tell their friends, and will come back. This means more sales and profits for businesses, and more jobs for Bathurstians.
The challenge is to turn these assets into heritage experiences that the visitor can enjoy.
Thought of the week …“Bathurst’s heritage assets can be a key strategic economic driver in our tourism economy”
by a humble heritage advocate – January 2022
