Design of a Heritage Register for the South African Heritage Resource Agency Using a Spatial Information Systems Approach

In April 2000 the South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) succeeded the previous National Monuments Council that was responsible for the management and maintenance of heritage sites in South Africa. SAHRA is legally based on the National Heritage Resource Act (NHRA) of 1999, which re-defines heritage in a revolutionary way. Until then “heritage” had always been defined as physical objects, such as buildings, tombstones or artefacts. South Africa’s rich history is connected to such physical objects, but it is also based on space and the definition of space with regard to the historical separation of South Africa’s population groups. The NHRA has moved the term “heritage” to a new level, in that it includes space that serves as memories to forced removals, to race barriers and signs of apartheid. Historical sites that are defined as a space are distinctly different from other heritage objects in that some of them are in their emptiness a memory. One of the challenges faced by SAHRA is the definition of such sites and how to manage them. * Corresponding author.