The Australia ICOMOS conference is only 11 days away. 

There is still time to register. http://www.corrugations.net.au/

Heritage, planning, and transport practitioners are strongly recommended
to attend

The conference offers an excellent opportunity for them to participate
and be influential at a seminal level in the identification, management
and interpretation of historic roads.  The conference will be the first
Australian opportunity for road and heritage authorities to come
together, along with professionals in the private sector.

There is no doubt that roads tie us together as a society and hold great
cultural significance.  Some roads are of national significance, such as
the Hume Highway, the Great Ocean Road and the Birdsville Track.  At a
much more local level, there are the roads which unite the nation's
communities, large and small.  The identification, management and
interpretation of these roads are the responsibility of local
government.  

Historic roads have been defined as those "which through design,
experience, or association have contributed to our culture in a
meaningful way. This quality may be based on the roads aesthetics,
engineering or cultural significance". (Rural Heritage Program, US,
NTHP) Road Authorities and road managers, often municipal councils, face
an increasing challenge in managing and maintaining physical
infrastructure with heritage value. The parallels between Australian and
North America road history are clear, direct and continuing. It seems
timely to test those links and to test the capacity of the Australia
ICOMOS "Burra Charter" for the proper conservation of our road heritage.
Should the hard, real fabric of roads or their soft romantic values be
conserved and, if so, how?

In Victoria, historic roads are attracting increasing interest as a
heritage issue because of:

*	the introduction of the Road Management Act 2004 with its
consequent realignment of responsibilities between VicRoads and local
municipalities
*	the implementation of VicRoads' Stitch in Time, Roadside
Management and Victoria's Arterial Bridges strategies with their
consequent effects on 'hard' and 'soft' road infrastructure
*	the widening range of places which must be considered for
heritage assessment under the Heritage Act 1995 and the Planning Act
???, and
*	the increasing interest in cultural landscapes as tourist
assets, to which roads contribute and through which they pass.

The conference organisers are particularly pleased to introduce the
keynote speakers:

*	Dr Max Lay AM is well known for his work with VicRoads, as a
former President of the RACV club, and as a distinguished academic and
author. 
*	Mr Dan Marriott is a founder of the biennial Historic Roads
conference in the US and, until 2004, he was the Director of the Rural
Heritage / Historic Roads Program at the National Trust for Historic
Preservation.

Visit the web site, for the full program:
http://www.corrugations.net.au/programme.htm