A four-year bid to secure World Heritage listing for the Adelaide Parklands, parts of the city and settlements in the Adelaide Hills has taken a step forward after winning state government support.
The City of Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills Council have been working on the bid and say backing from the state government will allow them to move forward with a submission to the World Heritage Centre.
The submission will outline every aspect of the bid, including the argument proposing the outstanding universal value of the regions involved.
“Our parklands and city layout set our city apart, it’s what makes Adelaide truly unique,” Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith said.
“There’s plenty of work ahead of us, this requires a strong commitment and combined effort from local government partners, state and federal governments.”
Lomax-Smith said it was also important to engage with and secure consent from first nations people and to get input from world heritage experts and conservationists.
“I hope we can all work together in partnership to help give our unique city the international recognition it deserves,” Lomax-Smith said.
Adelaide Hills Council Mayor Jan-Claire Wisdom said it was hoped the listing would recognise the city and hills as living landscapes, whilst respecting heritage values and giving a voice to Indigenous perspectives of settlement.
Environment Minister Susan Close said as well as backing the bid, she had written to the federal government seeking its support.
“Adelaide was a unique European settlement, and the government welcomes any effort to preserve this heritage and history and also explore the impacts the colony had on Aboriginal people,” Close said.
The Naracoorte Caves National Park in South Australia’s (SA) southeast is the state’s only World Heritage site, with the state government also working on a nomination for the Flinders Ranges National Park.
The Adelaide Park Lands and the city Layout were listed on the National Heritage register in 2008.
