To view the breadth of our services, please search our projects via the map below. You can search by type of project or location (LGA).
Location marks on the map are approximate. Projects involving Aboriginal archaeology and Aboriginal cultural heritage are not included in this map for cultural sensitivity reasons, but we have listed some of the Local Aboriginal Land Councils we have worked in.
Our interactive map allows you to search the type of project or locations where Artefact have worked.
Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram to see what our team here at Artefact Heritage and Environment are up to. We also like to share news from the fields of archaeology, history and heritage to promote the latest exciting developments in these areas.
Keep up to date with upcoming events, seminars and talks hosted by ourselves or our colleagues in the world of heritage.
There's always plenty happening with the team at Artefact so stay in the loop for all our latest news.
When you partner with Artefact, you’ll receive timely and accurate advice on how to integrate archaeology, heritage and environmental considerations into your project plans.
Artefact includes specialists across key fields of archaeology, heritage, environment, interpretation, architecture and history. More importantly, with 50 staff we can assemble a skilled in-house team targeted to your specific requirements.
HISTORICAL HERITAGE
As highly experienced project leaders, Artefact has been lead consultant on many major projects. Our planning and management systems ensure that projects are completed in a timely, professional manner, working in partnership with our clients.
Since 2010 Artefact is proud to have worked on a diverse range of large and small-scale infrastructure and development projects.
During this time we have built-up extensive experience in a variety of sectors including rail, roads, power and renewables, health, greenfields development and urban renewal.
Some of the more well-known projects we've been involved with include: Central Station Metro; Parramatta Light Rail; Sydney Metro City & Southwest; Wickham Transport Interchange; Northern Beaches Hospital; St Vincent’s Private Hospital; Concord Forensic Mental Health Unit; Sydney Harbour Bridge; The Northern Road Stages 1 & 2; Berry to Bomaderry Upgrade (Princes Highway); West Wyalong Solar Farm; and Wind Farm and Transmission Line projects in the Pilbara and Western NSW.
With almost 50 staff, and offices in Sydney and Newcastle, we can assemble a skilled in-house team targeted to your specific requirements.
For a personal response to your heritage and environment needs, please ask how we can tailor an integrated solution to suit your plans, your timeline and your budget.
Artefact have worked on almost all major rail infrastructure developments in NSW over the past decade.
Our proudest achievement is our team. We value their skills and talents, and we trust that you will too.
At Artefact we recruit staff who are passionate about the past, skilled in their disciplines and professional in their approach. We all understand the need to balance our rich local heritage with plans that shape the State’s future. These attributes contribute to a great team culture internally – and to exceptional advice and service for you. We support each other to make sure that our clients come first, which is why we have an industry-wide reputation for being responsive, innovative and authoritative.
SANDRA WALLACE, MANAGING DIRECTOR
Artefact was established in 2010 by Dr Sandra Wallace, who remains the company’s Managing Director.
What ever your heritage project we are here to assist.
Country or city, desktop or fieldwork, we’ve covered most of New South Wales and ACT.
Our advice and services are customised to offer the best guidance on how you can proceed, whatever your project type.
We consult right across the scale from neighbourhood architectural practices to multinational developers. But don't take our word for it! Check out our testimonials from our clients.
Paper and Dust
Unexpectedly International Archives Day (June 9) has come and gone.
The day is the culmination of the International Archives Week (3-9th June) which I am sure everyone except me and the National Archives of Australia consultative committee, who failed to mention it at a recent meeting, was well aware off.
I am sure plenty of old papers and clouds of dust were raised to cheer on the hard work of the archives in 2024.
"I get slightly obsessive about working in archives because you don't know what you're going to find. In fact, you don't know what you're looking for until you find it.”
Antony Beevor, Military Historian
Archives are the documentary by-product of human activity retained for their long-term value.
They come in a variety of formats including text, photographs, video, and sound. Archives may be stored in analogue or digital formats. Archives are held by individuals and institutions (both public and private) around the world, with the buildings housing them often sharing the name of ‘archives’.
Archives are curated by archivists who have the skillsets required to collect manage and provide long-term access to archives and records.
"Archives are the documentary by-product of human activity."
Image: National Archives of Australia National Preservation Facility. Photograph by John Gollings, 2017.
Evidence of the Past
On first glance, archives and Artefact would seem to be in different worlds. In fact, much of the professional life of a heritage professional, not least of all mine, revolves around the use of archives. We access them to undertake historical research and we create them through our work practices.
Archaeology is nothing if not creating records of the archaeological remains we study. Archaeology is a necessarily destructive process, making the documentary archive generated during excavation all the more important. We archaeologists create record using pens and pencils, cameras, surveying instruments, film, video and things like photogrammetric models.
In addition, there are databases and catalogues as well as physical evidence, at least those artefacts we can collect. These records form a site archive and are most often the only evidence of a past that may have been obliterated by progress.
Image: 'Girls Swinging', original black and white negative by John Vachon. May 1940.
The paydirt of history
Historians of course use the archives to find out what happened in the past – the good, the bad and the shameful.
These insights often form the basis of Artefacts’ assessments of heritage significance and our Connecting with Country work. Artefact’s Stephen Gapps is well known for his historical work on the frontier wars using a wide variety of archival records as well as talking to Aboriginal communities.
"Archives are the paydirt of history. Everything else is opinion. At a certain point you actually need documents."
Germaine Greer, University of Melbourne 2013
Image: Photo by Tamara Gak
Finding gems
My own more modest work has mostly been in the areas of researching land titles, maps and plans to help understand how an area of land was used and changed over time.
It is an exciting experience to find a gem in files and bound volumes. Last year I was able to visit the National Archives and look at files relating to the World War II buildings constructed at White Bay and discovered that they took pictures of them!
At the same time, as a researcher, it is important to be systematic and document not only what you found, but also the context in which you found the item. For me this is the greatest challenge in doing research.
So let us remember the importance and role of archives in their diverse forms and their role in curating a record of our history.
Image: Mobile shelving inside the National Archives of Australia Preservation Facility. Photo by John Gollings, 2017.
You may also like
CONTACT
NEWSLETTER
© ARTEFACT 2024 PRIVACY