The subject of this paper is “Intangible Values as Heritage in Australia”. This is the same title as a recent paper of mine in ICOMOS News list issue 2000), the international ICOMOS newsletter. That paper and others, including one by Dawson Munjeri, were designed to engender discussion leading into the next ICOMOS General Assembly in Zimbabwe in 2002. These papers can also be found on the ICOMOS International website http://www.icomos.org.

The above Thai proverb is one of many reflections on the inseparable relationship between people and elephants in Thai life. It is an enduring relationship that reflects the close connection between the natural and cultural elements of a lived, experienced and imagined landscape, imbued with traditions and practices, beliefs and life ways, and social processes that serve to create identity, community and a sense of ‘being in place’.

For many centuries, mountains all over the world have been the focus of religious veneration and artistic production. They are what could be called ‘mountains of meaning’, mountains that have special meanings or spiritual values attributed to them, or mountains that inspire creative works or thoughts. The purpose of the 2002 ‘Celebrating Mountains’ conference was to rejoice at the diversity of mountains, and their meanings to our society. There can, perhaps, be no greater accolade than for a mountain to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List: ‘sacred mountains are the World Heritage sites that enshrine the highest physical and spiritual values’ (Sernbaum 1997: 34). ‘Associative’ cultural landscapes are another type of property that the World Heritage Committee recognises. These too can have special meanings or spiritual values attributed to them, or are places that inspire creative works or thoughts. This category can also include mountains landscapes.