Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343:front:0:p39
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343
Segment Type: other
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Character Range: 99509–102380

is subject to the condition that they are accompanied by a suitably qualified guide, and only in accordance with other requirements specified in the ASPA management plan (Appendix I). The only interpretive material on-site is a small plaque near the Main Hut which explains in four languages that Mawson's Hut is on the list of Antarctic Historic Sites and Monuments.

Most tourists who visit the site now travel on small expedition-style cruise ships chartered by mainstream Antarctic tour operators, although some arrive by yacht. This is a departure from the 1990s when there were a number of privately-organised visits, notably by Don and Margie McIntyre who with AAD approval, occupied their own 'Gadget Hut' at Cape Denison throughout 1995. Their hut was used again in 1997 and 1999 and was removed shortly after.

2.5. Heritage Values

2.5.1 Method and Basis of Assessment of Heritage Values

Assessments of the heritage values of Mawson's Huts Historic Site have determined that the site is a place of outstanding heritage significance to the nation. This plan adopts these assessments as they were based on the advice of the Australian Heritage Council that the site's values met all the National Heritage and Commonwealth Heritage historic criteria, and led to the decision of the responsible minister to include the site on the National Heritage List and Commonwealth Heritage List. A summary of the site's natural values, drawing on the assessment that informed the ASPA management plan, has also been included in the listed values for the site.
The site's heritage 'significance' – in other words, why the place is of value to present and future generations (see the Burra Charter) – derives from an understanding of its heritage values, and forms the foundation upon which conservation policies for the place are developed. The EPBC Act (section 528) defines the 'heritage value' of a place as including the place's natural and cultural environment having aesthetic, historic, scientific or social significance, or other significance, for current and future generations of Australians. This plan includes statements of significance taken from the entries on the National Heritage List and Commonwealth Heritage List under the EPBC Act.

Previous assessments

Mawson's Huts – the Main Hut, Transit Hut, Magnetograph House, Absolute Magnetic Hut and memorial cross – were assessed as worthy for their historic values for inclusion on the Register of the National Estate (now non-statutory) in 1980. This listing was based on the Australian Heritage Council's assessment that the site met various criteria of national estate significance. The statement of significance says:

    The place is significant as the site of Australia's first scientific work in Antarctica, as a tangible link with the explorations of Sir Douglas Mawson, as the least disturbed