A message from Hazel Hawke Chair of the Heritage Council Tradition & Change: The Conservation of Religious Property It gives me great pleasure to invite religious property managers and heritage practitioners throughout Australia to join us in Sydney in September for our national conference, Tradition & Change - the Heritage Conservation of Religious Property. Organised by the Heritage Office with Commonwealth Government financial support, this conference recognises that religious heritage is an important part of our community's heritage. Our places of worship are community spaces, reminders of our spiritual, architectural, historic and artistic inheritance. At the Heritage Council this significant contribution to our community's heritage is acknowledged in the Religious Property Advisory Panel, which provides expert advice to the Heritage Council on religious property issues.The variety of places of worship, from Christian churches of all denominations to synagogues, temples and mosques, together with changing religious practices, presents new challenges to heritage conservation in Australia, and this conference addresses some of the key issues. The diverse program includes lectures, tours, exhibitions, a publication launch, concert and conference dinner. Our international invited speakers are experts in their field and are covering a range of topics including adaptive re-use of redundant churches and movable heritage. Australian speakers will discuss liturgical change, community issues, local government and church history. I extend a warm invitation to you to join us at the conference in September.

Heritage Week Debate IN PRINT In Heritage Week this year NSW Government Architect Chris Johnson and writer David Marr presented a lively debate on the future of major Sydney heritage sites. Held in the State Library's Metcalfe Auditorium, the event was associated with the exhibition The Architect's Sketchbook: Original Works by Major Architects 1880s-1990s. Leading the charge in a detailed lecture, Johnson proposed ways in which the apparently antagonistic principles of conservation and modernity can and should coexist. He explored the role of his predecessors in establishing an identity for Sydney and examined a number of controversial contemporary projects, such as Walsh Bay and the Conservatorium, to demonstrate his view that heritage is a continuum of growth and change. In his response, Marr claimed the Government Architect was attempting an optimistic interpretation of a continuing series of disastrous decisions that is inexorably destroying the character of the city. Johnson's unscripted reply reminded the audience of the need for his office to engage with major development decisions in order to prevent this kind of destruction. Heritage Office Director Rosalind Strong says the thrust and parry of this verbal exchange and the very positive audience response has convinced her of the need to encourage further discussions of this kind. "The National Trust Lecture has become an important intellectual fixture in Heritage Week each year," she says. "We are keen to promote the idea of a Heritage Week Debate as a complement to that event." The full text of the lecture, response and reply is expected to be released in August. To order your copy now, tick the appropriate box in the ORDER FORM on the back page.