River heritage: the Murray-Darling River

Abstract

The close association between rivers and civilization has left a rich heritage that in some areas has generated significant tourist interest. In its broadest sense river heritage includes both natural areas such as river banks. wetlands and the structure of the river itself, and a built element that includes buildings, places of special significance and even modified landscapes that bear witness to human activity that may stretch back in time for millennia. Tn the past and in some instances in the present, both the built and natural elements of river heritage have been subject to constant redevelopment where the value of the site, measured in terms of its ability to generate a net economic return, has been of foremost importance. Sites that failed this economic test were usually subject to redevelopment. The growing interest in tourism has introduced a new element into the estimation of economic worth where the wider contribution of specific sites, measured through its contribution of the regional tourism sector, has begun to be recognized.