World Heritage expert praises significance of Central Victorian Goldfields.
A UK World Heritage expert has described the landscape of the Central Victorian Goldfields as the best-surviving example from the 19th century gold rush in a key document that explains why the site is significant and should be given UNESCO World Heritage listing.
The City of Greater Bendigo and City of Ballarat are currently leading a campaign on behalf of 13 councils across the Goldfields region to inscribe significant gold rush-era sites on the World Heritage list.
Barry Gamble, author of the successful Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage inscription, has developed a Statement of Outstanding Universal Value to help progress the bid and in it calls the Central Victorian Goldfields “…the most extensive, coherent and best-surviving landscape anywhere, that illustrates the global gold rush phenomenon of the second half of the 19th century.”
Mr Gamble’s work for the Goldfields bid has also been tested with national and international experts.
Newly named co-patrons for the World Heritage Listing bid, The Hon. John Brumby AO and The Hon. Denis Napthine AO, will today join Mr Gamble and the 13 central Victorian Councils across the Goldfields in a virtual meeting to discuss a pathway for making the bid a success.
Mr Brumby said he was delighted to formally join the bid as co-patron and excited by the momentum it was gaining.
“Victorian leaders have known since the 1980s that this bid has merit. The region’s heritage is unquestionably amongst the best in the world and tells an important and wonderful story about the world and its social and economic development. We also know that World Heritage listing, as well as the journey to achieve it, can achieve strong regional and community development, supporting tourism COVID-19 recovery and jobs – a second gold rush for the region, which couldn’t come at a more needed time,” he said.
