‘Sense of Place’
2008 National Trust Conservation Conference

‘Our Place’, ‘My Place’, ‘Your Place’ all describe the relationship we have to where we are or what we identify with, particularly to what we identify as ‘home’.

Sense of place is that ephemeral something that makes us react to a place and is a phrase generally used to describe a feeling of grounding, belonging and memory. Over a number of years the National Trust conservation conference has discussed sense of place in relation to other concepts: Suburbia, Out There?; Heritage Under Glass and Places in Context all dealt with attitudes and reactions to types of places and steps that can be taken to preserve ‘sense of place’.

Sense of place may be a result of a particular atmosphere, a predominant landform, common plantings, density, scale, wildlife, vistas and a myriad of the less tangible such as the smell of a particular type of shop or noise from a school or the sea. The Conservation Conference for 2008 will concentrate on the issue of sense of place in a direct way. Speakers will include a psychiatrist talking about mental health issues related to loss of identity, and papers are being sought from historians,
sociologists, immigrant groups, the Indigenous community and long term residents fighting to save a particular place.

The Conference will be held on 4 August 2008 at the National Trust Centre. Proposed papers or inquiries should be directed to Acting Conservation Director Graham Quint on 9258 0123.