Heritage

Introduction

The City of Rockingham has a proud history. The area now known as the City of Rockingham was originally inhabited in part by the Nyoongar Aboriginal people. The City was first settled by Europeans when Sulphur Town was established on Garden Island in 1829, with the East Rockingham area also containing a number of early pioneers. Rockingham Town developed as a timber port in the 1870s, however, when the viability of loading timber declined, Rockingham became known as a tourist destination for day-trippers from Perth. Rockingham began to grow steadily in the 1950s following the development of nearby Kwinana as a major industrial area.

The history of Rockingham is celebrated by the Rockingham District Historical Society which manages the Rockingham Museum.

A more detailed historical overview of Rockingham is contained within the Municipal Heritage Inventory.

We use three devices to record and maintain places having local cultural heritage significance: its Municipal Heritage Inventory, Heritage List, and Heritage Conservation and Development Policy.

Draft Heritage Strategy

We are currently developing a draft Heritage Strategy. The Heritage Strategy will establish an Action Plan to identify how we can improve the management of our heritage under the themes of understanding, protecting, sustaining and promoting. This includes Natural, Aboriginal and European heritage.

Our Heritage Consultant held a series of workshops with City staff and with the City's Aboriginal Advisory Group, Youth Reference Group, Heritage Reference Group and with the wider community in November 2018. We also held an online public survey to inform the draft Heritage Strategy. Following the close of the public survey on 9 December 2018, the draft Heritage Strategy was completed by the City's Heritage Consultant, and is currently being reviewed. The strategy is likely to be considered by Council in February 2020, for its consent to advertise and seek public comment.

Local Heritage Strategy

A Local Heritage Survey (also known as a "Municipal Heritage Inventory") is a list of places and structures which, in the opinion of the City, are, or may become, of cultural heritage significance.

​Local governments are required under section 45 of the Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990 to prepare a Municipal Heritage Inventory (MHI) to recognise the heritage importance of places to the local community.

'​Cultural heritage significance'​ is the aesthetic, historic, scientific or social significance of a play may have for present and future generations. This term has been defined by the Heritage Council of Western Australia and is used as assessment criteria in the preparation of a MHI to evaluate the importance of a place.

The Heritage Act of Western Australia 2018 was passed by Parliament on 12 September 2018 and came into effect with Heritage Regulations 2019 on 1 July 2019.

The key changes in the new Heritage Act of Western Australia include:

• streamlined process for entering a place in the State Register
• more certainty for owners wishing to develop their heritage places
• better protections for important heritage places (including addressing demolition by neglect)
• increased transparency by publishing the Heritage Council's advice to the Minister for Heritage on the inclusion of a place in the State Register.

Our Municipal Heritage Inventory has become a "Local Heritage Survey" under the 2018 Act. One of the major changes to the Local Heritage Survey is that it can provide more flexibility to governments to include "places" of cultural significance, as opposed to "buildings" (as stated under the previous 1990 Act). Within Part 7 of the 2019 Act, the definition of "place" can refer to things that are in, on or over land, including for instance, a tree or group of trees or land under water.

Heritage List

A Heritage List is a list of places compiled under the City's Town Planning Scheme No.2 for which development approval will be required for demolition, alterations or other development affecting the cultural heritage significance of the place.

Heritage Lists must be compiled with regard to the Municipal Heritage Inventory, but do not necessarily include all places in the Municipal Heritage Inventory. We include all places on the Municipal Heritage Inventory with a Management Category of "D" or higher on the list, but excludes historic sites (where the structure is gone) and places outside of the jurisdiction of the City's Town Planning Scheme (such as Garden Island and Penguin Island).

Heritage Conservation and Development Policy

The Heritage Conservation and Development Policy provides guidance on how we deal with proposals to extend, alter, redevelop or demolish places on the Heritage List.

The policy:

• applies the development control principles contained in the State Planning Policy 3.5 Historic Heritage Conservation
• provides development and design guidance for development places on the Heritage List
• details procedures for making application for approval of heritage-related development.

The objectives of the Heritage Conservation and Development Policy are:

• to conserve and protect places of cultural heritage significance within the City
• to ensure that development does not adversely affect the significance of heritage places
• to ensure that heritage significance is given due consideration in determining applications for Development Approval
• to provide greater certainty to landowners and the community about the planning processes for heritage identification and protection in the City.

Conservation Management Plans

A Conservation Management Plan (CMP) is described by the State Heritage Office as a principle guiding document for the conservation and management of a heritage place. The main objective of the CMP is to ensure that decisions are made with regard to the cultural heritage significance of a heritage place. A CMP describes the heritage significance of the place and provides clear policies for the sustainable future of the place.

A CMP is a management tool and provides guidance for not only the maintenance of the place but also for changes proposed for the place. They are also a good social and historical record of the place before changes occur.

Frequently asked questions

What advice or assistance is available?

Our Planning Services team can answer any queries relating to the Municipal Heritage Inventory or Heritage List.

Publications from the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage website have been used as the source for some of the above information. Additional details and other general and technical information can be downloaded from this site.

Past memories

The City has collected a series of photographs which show the historical development of the City through the decades.