The Burra Charter defines the basic principles and procedures to be followed in the conservation of Australian heritage places.

In 1979, the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance was adopted at a meeting of Australia ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites

International Council on Monuments and Sites

The International Council on Monuments and Sites is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world...

) at the historic mining town of Burra, South Australia

Burra, South Australia

Burra is a pastoral centre and historic tourist town in the mid-north of South Australia. It lies east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, and on Burra Creek. The town began as a single company mining township that, by 1851, was a set of townships ...

. It was given the short title of The Burra Charter.

The Burra Charter accepted the philosophy and concepts of the ICOMOS Venice Charter

Venice Charter

The Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites is a treaty that gives an international framework for the preservation and restoration of ancient buildings...

, but wrote them in a form which would be practical and useful in Australia. The Charter was revised in 1999 and has since been adopted by the Australian Heritage Council

Australian Heritage Council

Australian Heritage Council was established on 19 February, 2004 as the Australian body responsible for advising the Australian Government on cultural heritage matters...

 (December 2004), the Heritage Council of New South Wales (December 2004), the Queensland Heritage Council

Queensland Heritage Council

The Queensland Heritage Council is an independent statuory authority created by the Queensland Parliament under the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. The Council advises and reports to the Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability and is supported by a secretariat provided by the Department of...

 (January 2005) and the Heritage Council of Victoria (July 2010).. It is also recommended by the Heritage Council of Western Australia

Heritage Council of Western Australia

The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state.It was created under the Heritage of Western Australia Act...

 and the Tasmanian Heritage Council.

Significance

"To Australians, the Burra Charter is probably the most significant document of the last thirty years on the basic principles and procedures for the conservation of heritage places. It provides a guiding philosophy for the care of our heritage and has been widely adopted as the standard guidelines for heritage conservation practice not only in this country, but also in other parts of the world." - Heritage Perth

Definitions

The Burra Charter identifies three levels of repair for heritage structures. These are:

• Preservation
  Historic preservation
  Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
  
  - Maintaining a structure in its existing state and preventing further deterioration.
• Restoration
  Building restoration
  Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
  
  - Returning a structure to a known earlier state by the repair of existing fabric without the introduction of new materials.
• Reconstruction
  Reconstruction (architecture)
  Reconstruction is a term in architectural conservation whose precise meaning varies, depending on the context in which they are used.More broadly, such as under the Burra Charter of Australia, "reconstruction" means returning a damaged building to a known earlier state by the introduction of new...
  
  - Returning a structure to a known earlier state by the introduction of new material into any remaining fabric.

External links

• Understanding The Burra Charter Excerpts from an Australia ICOMOS brochure explaining the principles of heritage conservation. Retrieved 15 August 2011.