Pre Tour

TASMANIA WORLD HERITAGE SITES TOUR, TASMANIA

Discover the shared cultures and heritage of Tasmania through a 4 day /3 night exploration of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property preceding the General Assembly. Go behind the scenes with site specialists to discover the natural beauty of Tasmania, understand the connection with country and cultural values of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people and experience the sites that document the forced migration of convicts from the British Empire.

Image credit – Hype TV

Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area
The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) covers almost a quarter of Tasmania, occupying more than 1.5 million hectares, and is one of the largest temperate natural areas in the southern hemisphere. It contains examples of outstanding and exceptional Aboriginal cultural heritage, which provides evidence for the long-term management and occupation of the area by Tasmanian Aboriginal people for at least the past 35,000 years. A rich suite of Pleistocene and Holocene sites, with occupation deposits providing significant information on Aboriginal life, are protected within the TWWHA. The TWWHA encompasses areas of truly exceptional natural heritage beauty and contains biological and geological features of outstanding international significance. The TWWHA is recognised for the diversity and uniqueness of its flora and fauna and provides habitat for globally significant species and offers rare and highly valued recreational, educational and tourism experiences. Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area: http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/tasmanian-wilderness

Tasmanian World Heritage Convict Sites
The 11 places that make up the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property tell a story of exile from one side of the world to the other and how a new nation was formed from hardship, inequality and adversity. Together the sites represent the global phenomenon of convictism – the forced migration of male and female convicts to penal colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries – and global developments in the punishment of crime in modern times. The Australian Convict Sites are the preeminent examples of our rich convict history, with more than 3000 convict sites remaining around Australia. This is unique in the world today. Tasmania is home to five of the 11 sites: the Port Arthur Historic Site, Coal Mines Historic Site, Cascades Female Factory Historic Site, Darlington Probation Station and Brickendon & Woolmers Estates. Australian Convict Sites: https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/convict-sites

Itinerary