Natural and cultural heritage
Although knowledge of Queensland's heritage has increased since 1999, there has been no systematic statewide survey of heritage places. Queensland's heritage registers and inventories are dominated by places in highly developed areas and certain types of heritage places may be comparatively neglected. Indigenous heritage places are most at risk from impacts of the pastoral and mining industries and from urban and rural development. Queensland lacks a formal register of natural heritage places. There is a lack of information on the physical condition of heritage places and collections which is critical for their effective management and protection. While interest in Indigenous languages has increased, the number of Indigenous language speakers is decreasing. Indigenous people are becoming increasingly involved in the management of cultural heritage and protected areas at the local level. In particular:
- At 30 June 2002, Queensland had 329 natural heritage places, 742 historical heritage places and 157 Indigenous heritage sites in the Register of the National Estate.
- At the same date, 1332 places were entered in the Queensland Heritage Register, up 279 places since 30 June 1998.
- The Register of Historic Shipwrecks currently lists 1056 shipwrecks dating from 1790 to 1945 (up from 847 in 1999). The location of 7% of these wrecks has been verified.
- The EPA's Indigenous Sites Database recorded 16 660 Indigenous heritage places at 30 June 2002, an increase of 9137 places since 1999. Artefact scatters made up 38.9% of records, followed by paintings (12.1%) and shell middens (11.5%).
- The 2001 directory of Museums Australia (Queensland) listed 363 museums in the state. Over 2.26 million objects are held in major collecting institutions, an increase of 17 811 objects since 1999. Current storage space is either adequate or is being managed to deal with projected increases in the size of collections.
- All of Queensland's major collecting institutions have over 90% of their collections accessioned.
- There were 7 124 585 ha of land in Queensland's protected area estate at 30 June 2002, up 66 580 ha since 1999. This included the addition of 13 conservation parks and 36 nature refuges.
- Six Ramsar sites in or offshore from Queensland were listed at 30 December 2002, with the addition of the Coral Sea Reserves (1 729 700 ha) in November 2002.
- The 2001 Census found that a total of 5891 persons in Queensland speak an Australian Indigenous language at home, with a declining proportion of young speakers in two of the four strong languages identified.
- No native title determinations have been made on protected areas and no parks have been leased back to Traditional Owners under the Aboriginal Land Act 1991 or the Torres Strait Islander Land Act 1991. However, there has been a doubling of the area of land under formal Indigenous management in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area to 26 453 ha in 2002.
- Funding specified for World Heritage management increased between 1998 and 2002 but continues to meet only about 70 % of required expenditure.
- Membership numbers of natural and cultural heritage organisations provide an indication of the level of community support. The Queensland Conservation Council had over 50 affiliate organisations in 1999-2000, and 112 environmental groups have been identified in Queensland. At 30 June 2002, the National Trust of Queensland had over 10 000 members, an increase from 5855 members in 1991. An additional 86 historical heritage community organisations were identified in 2002.
Last updated: 19 May 2004