Swimming upstream, with crocodiles: Social value and the prevailing heritage discourse

The presentation looked at way social values have been formulated, perceived as a threat, how they have been subverted and to some extent accommodated. In discussing these issues the presenter asked, who are the crocodiles? Are they in the authorised heritage discourse? Social values are changeable, opinionated, subjective, sometimes unreliable, belonging to communities, or small focus groups who use the values to their own agendas. Or are they the government agencies who find the assessment of social values a difficult task to do. The speaker presented an example of strong social values in the Cockatoo community in Victoria who fought to save their small kindergarten building, a survivor of the devastating bushfires the destroyed much of town.