The heritage significance of St Mary’s, Alice Springs

The Heritage Council invites your submissions on the heritage significance of St Mary’s, Alice Springs and whether it should be permanently declared a Heritage Place.

'St Mary's, Alice Springs' incorporates the St Mary's Chapel as well as additional historic and cultural features that were part of St Mary's Hostel which was on Lot 6768, Town of Alice Springs from 1946 to the mid-1970s.

The Heritage Act 2011 (Heritage Act) provides for the conservation of places of cultural or natural significance by permanently declaring them to be Heritage Places. Any place can be nominated to be declared a Heritage Place. The nomination is assessed for its heritage significance and then owners, stakeholders and the public are consulted before a decision is made on whether it should be declared a heritage place.

At the Minister’s initiative, St Mary’s Chapel was provisionally declared as a place likely to be of heritage significance and requiring provisional protection to ensure its conservation. Accordingly, the Heritage Council was directed to assess St Mary’s Chapel for its heritage significance. The process for heritage declaration initiated by the Minister is illustrated in the flowchart provided under Additional Information. In its deliberations the Council may elect to expand its assessment beyond the place nominated or already provisionally declared.

The Heritage Council assessed St Mary’s Chapel against the Heritage Assessment Criteria set out in the Heritage Act and decided that a broader area, now referred to as St Mary’s, Alice Springs is of heritage significance (see Statement of Heritage Value).

The Heritage Council’s decision on significance is only the beginning of a process. The next stage is a public consultation process seeking views on whether ‘St Mary’s’ is of heritage significance and should be declared as a heritage place.

The public are now invited to make written submissions on the heritage significance of St Mary’s and the proposal to permanently declare it as a heritage place.

At the conclusion of the public consultation period, the Heritage Council will consider all submissions and decide whether to recommend (or not) that St Mary’s be declared by the Minister as a heritage place.

If the Heritage Council recommends that the Minister permanently declare St Mary’s as a heritage place, the Minister is provided copies of all submissions received as part of the consultation process.

The decision for the permanent declaration of St Mary’s, Alice Springs will be made by the Minister.

Public Say

The Heritage Council is inviting you to make a submission on the heritage significance of St Mary’s, Alice Springs and whether it should be permanently declared a heritage place. Preliminary consultation with stakeholders has informed the area being proposed. Your submission may include whether the proposed area should be revised.

A copy of the Statement of Heritage Value prepared by the Heritage Council and a map showing the proposed heritage place are provided under the Documents tab.

Supporting information is provided under Additional Information:

• Flowchart: Heritage Places and Objects, Minister’s Initiative process under the Heritage Act 2011
• Factsheet: Heritage declaration under the Heritage Act 2011 – What it means

A copy of the original Heritage Assessment Report: St Mary’s, Alice Springs can be provided upon request.

The public consultation period is for 28 days and will close on 19 March 2026.