About
The Dry Stone Walls Association of Australia Inc. [DSWAA] is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2002 at Ballarat, Victoria. The Association has a diverse membership of rural property owners, pastoralists and farmers, urban dwellers, environmentalists and other professionals as well as a number of practitioners engaged in the craft of dry stone walling and dry stone sculpture.
The Association is established for the principal purposes of:
a. acknowledging, promoting and celebrating the historical and contemporary contribution of the construction of dry stone walls in the shaping of Australia's physical and cultural landscape.
b. promoting the ongoing protection, restoration and maintenance of Australia's dry stone walls.
To achieve these purposes the Association aims to:
a. promote and assist the statutory protection of dry stone walls of heritage significance (yet to be determined) by liaising with local, state and national levels of government.
b. foster and assist the identification, recording and classifying of Australia's dry stone walls that are socially, culturally, architecturally or agriculturally important.
c. value and promote the dry stone skills and early settlement endeavours of Australia's European migrants.
d. promote the environmental values of dry stone walls which provide habitat and protection for indigenous flora and fauna.
e. promote good management of stone walls and in particular encourage their continuing use by addressing the concerns, issues and needs of farmers and property owners.
f. advocate and assist the development and maintenance of formal training, assessment and credentialing processes and procedures.
g. influence relevant training institutions to introduce include and accredit the craft of dry stone walling as part of their formal curricula.
h. influence and assist the establishment and maintenance of a database of dry stone wallers currently practicing the craft in Australia.
i. affiliate, co-operate and exchange information with similar or 'related' interest groups both within Australia and overseas.
j. acknowledge and promote the craft in the contemporary context as viable and practical options in rural and urban landscaping and structural situations.
k. encourage, promote and facilitate opportunities for the commissioning of dry stone ‘Sculptures’ in private and public art applications.
l. explore and influence the breadth of opportunities to promote dry stone walls within local, national and international cultural tourism industries.
m. foster and cultivate the promotion of dry stone walls and the craft of dry stone walling as 'value adding' components of other educative and leisure industries.
DSWAA has a small collection of books, articles, artefacts and organisational records it wishes to hold in an archive system for the benefit of its members and the wider community.
Our collection
The Dry Stone Walls Association of Australia Archive and Collection (2016)
This collection contains the historical records of the DSWAA including minutes, reports and planning decisions of its Committee. In addition the collections holds various documents including articles, academic papers, technical descriptions, and general information about dry stone walls, their construction, maintenance and repair. Specific documents refer to the significance of the history associated with stone walls especially pertaining to indigenous construction and use and to the value of identifying the important heritage aspect of stone walls as a component of our culture.
Themes: Transforming and managing land and natural resources, Shaping Victoria's Environment
