HERITAGE INSIGHTS

Historic sites are not static antiquities - they are living institutions uniquely poised to address current issues while retaining their...

Heritage interpretation plays a far more important role in heritage initiatives than many people realise. Over the last few years, the...

Patina can seem like a minor concern, but it is one of the main ways people recognise age and authenticity in heritage places. Weathered surfaces and traces of use help a place feel credible, not newly ‘made old’. Most projects must balance contemporary needs with retaining this evidence of time. The key is judgement: preserve meaningful patina where it contributes to experience, address genuine decay and hazards, and think ahead about how new materials will age alongside exi

A historical assessment is not ‘background’ filler. It explains why a place matters, how significance is expressed, and what that means for change. Thin history invites delays and misunderstanding. Strong research, tested against the physical evidence, clarifies what truly matters and where flexibility exists.

A Conservation Management Plan (CMP) should not be a bureaucratic weight you carry. Done well, it is a practical, value-add tool that explains why a place matters, how its significance is expressed, and what that means for sensible day-to-day management and future change. Touring the Past prepares CMPs across Sydney and Melbourne. Our aim is simple: reduce uncertainty, bring stakeholders onto the same page, and create policies that are workable, defensible, and aligned with i

'... there is a certain picturesqueness and old-fashionedness about Sydney, which brings back pleasant memories of Old England, after the monotonous perfection of Melbourne and Adelaide.' Richard Twopeny, Town Life in Australia , 1883. Until comparatively recently, reference to the ‘picturesque’ was a regular refrain in discussions of Australian architecture. The word has never really gone away. It is now everyday currency in heritage circles (and, with a bit less restraint

The sourcing of sound, unvarnished, specialist heritage advice from heritage consultants in Sydney or Melbourne can be the difference between a stagnant development application and one that moves with momentum, purpose, and credibility. It helps translate ‘heritage’ from an anxious unknown into a set of intelligible questions. Done early, good advice does more than de-risk compliance.