Lake Burley Griffin added to Commonwealth Heritage List
Lake Burley Griffin is a national icon.
We are so pleased that Lake Burley Griffin and Adjacent Lands has been added to the Commonwealth Heritage List. The listing was announced by the Minister for the Environment in recognition of its ‘significant historic, natural and Indigenous heritage value’.
Lake Burley Griffin is an iconic feature of Canberra’s landscape designed by the Griffins, with elements of the City Beautiful, Garden City and International Modernism movements. Among its surrounds are places of Aboriginal cultural heritage significance, natural habitats for communities of plants and animals, and layers of Canberra’s Aboriginal, pastoral and early Federal history.
In 2009, GML Heritage developed the Heritage Assessment and Heritage Management Plan for Lake Burley Griffin that informed the listing.
Our Work at Lake Burley Griffin
The GML Canberra team has developed a wealth of knowledge about the heritage, culture and landscape of Canberra, delivering work at Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent places, such as the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge and National Carillon.
In 2009, GML Heritage developed the award-winning Lake Burley Griffin and Adjacent Lands Heritage Assessment and Heritage Management Plan (HMP) on behalf of the National Capital Authority (NCA). The analysis and research phases of this project involved extensive community consultation, undertaken by our Melbourne team (formerly Context). The reports helped NCA to strategically manage the highly regarded heritage values of Lake Burley Griffin, described as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Canberra, our national capital.
The HMP has been used regularly by the NCA, successfully assisting managers in major decision-making related to the lake. The four volume format has provided easy access for NCA managers and contractors on a daily basis. The intensity of community engagement in heritage values assessment and policy development for such a large and complex site provided a broad range of opportunities for wider stakeholders to be involved in heritage management of a nationally important site. In 2010 the report received the National Trust Heritage Award for Best Conservation Management Plan, and it has informed the Commonwealth Heritage Listing.
