One of the first archaeological management plans
was produced for London in 1973.
Entitled The
Future of London’s Past, it was a survey of the archaeological implications of planning and development in the nation’s capital.
When the surviving conditions of archaeological sites beneath the buildings of the Parramatta CBD was clearly demonstrated in 1985
by the excavations on the Family Court site (see Recent Projects - Parramatta), Edward Higginbotham and Paul-Alan Johnson, UNSW, set
out to prepare a similar archaeological management plan for the whole of
the Parramatta CBD.
We received sponsorship from both UNSW and the then Department of Planning (now Heritage Branch)
in 1987 to complete this pioneering
study for NSW. It included:
- A fully researched historical background for Parramatta.
- A discussion of the potential contribution of archaeology.
- The importance of archaeological sites in Parramatta.
- A series of historical maps overlaid onto the modern town plan.
- A complete inventory of sites for Parramatta CBD, North Parramatta and Parramatta Park.
- Recommendations for the conservation and management of archaeological sites in the planning process.
The study received the support of Parramatta City Council in 1989, with the result that archaeological sites have been taken into consideration in
all subsequent development applications. The Department of Planning (now Heritage Branch) published the study in 1991 (see Publications ).
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Since that time, Edward Higginbotham has headed teams of historians and town planners
to prepare a series of archaeological management plans, including for The Rocks and Millers Point, Sydney in 1991, for Port Macquarie in 1994-1995
(see Awards) and for Richmond in 1996.
More recently Edward Higginbotham has reviewed and updated the archaeological management plan for the Department of Housing property
in Millers Point, Sydney in 2002.
Edward Higginbotham continues to prepare archaeological management plans and conservation management plans for complex
archaeological precincts and sites, most recently the state significant Cumberland Hospital, Parramatta, which includes the site of the Female
Factory, dated from 1821 onwards.
Download the model guidelines for the preparation of archaeological management plans from the NSW Heritage Branch website.
References
Martin Biddle, Daphne Hudson and Carolyn Heighway. The Future of London’s Past. A survey of the archaeological implications of planning and
development in the nation’s capital. Rescue Publication Number 4. Worcester. 1973.
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