The National Trust of Western Australia, officially the National Trust of Australia (W.A.), is a statutory authority that delivers heritage services, including conservation and interpretation, on behalf of the Western Australian government and community.[1] It is responsible for managing heritage properties and collections, as well as natural heritage management and education.[2]
It was created in 1959, following the model of the National Trust in England. The trust became a statutory authority through the National Trust of Australia (W.A.) Act 1964,[3] and is part of the National Trust of Australia, along with similar organisation for the other states and territories of Australia.[4] [5] As an organisation it was registering properties and localities before state heritage legislation was enabled in Western Australia, setting a framework and grounding for governmental preservation and conservation of heritage.
The National Trust is custodian and owner of a range of historically significant properties:
A significant number of historic properties throughout Western Australia were registered by the Trust in the 1970s prior to later registrations by local government and state agencies - an example is Toodyay Court House, which was classified by the Trust on 7 June 1977 and included on the Shire of Toodyay's Municipal Heritage Inventory on 27 August 1998. On 14 February 2003 it was placed on the permanent state heritage register.