Cultural Heritage
what will you achieve?
- Cultural Heritage Mapping & Preservation
- Indigenous Land & Boundary Negotiation
- Accurate Field Surveying & Spatial Data Capture
- Planning & Approval for Cultural Developments
- Risk Management & Emergency Preparedness
- ... and more!
what can your data achieve?
With Victoria University and the Wadawurrung community, we delivered a ground-breaking cultural heritage mapping solution using Summit—empowering Aboriginal elders to independently record, manage, and protect culturally significant sites with precision GNSS mapping. This enabled negotiated boundary agreements with neighbouring communities for the first time, securing future land claims and recognition.
With Australian Cultural Heritage Management (ACHM), we replaced outdated GPS workflows with high-accuracy Arrow GNSS devices integrated into Esri mobile apps—streamlining field surveys, improving data reliability, and making cultural site management more efficient and cost-effective.
Now, what can your data achieve?
Cultural Heritage Mapping & Preservation
Digitise and preserve sites of cultural significance with sub-metre spatial accuracy
Create enduring, centralised records of artefacts, songlines, and sacred places
Enable communities to register and manage heritage places on their own terms
Support long-term conservation and funding decisions through reliable spatial data
Indigenous Land & Boundary Negotiation
Empower Traditional Owners to document and assert cultural boundaries with confidence
Facilitate collaborative, on-country negotiations using interactive GNSS mapping
Strengthen land title claims with geospatial evidence and boundary walk-throughs
Promote self-determination by enabling community-led data ownership and access
Planning & Approval for Cultural Developments
Overlay cultural and environmental data to support impact assessments and due diligence
Identify and avoid culturally sensitive areas during infrastructure or tourism development
Streamline planning approvals with spatially supported heritage registers and reports
Provide clear evidence for regulators and stakeholders with defensible spatial records
Risk Management & Emergency Preparedness
Map access routes, cultural zones, and hazards to support bushfire and disaster response
Monitor environmental changes near heritage sites using change detection tools
Enhance site safety with up-to-date mapping of terrain, infrastructure, and pathways
Develop emergency response plans that account for cultural sensitivities and access needs
Accurate Field Surveying & Spatial Data Capture:
Replace outdated GPS workflows with high-precision GNSS devices and mobile GIS apps
Capture accurate, field-ready spatial data for CHMPs, audits, and assessments
Improve data quality and speed of collection while reducing hardware and training costs
Seamlessly integrate field data with desktop GIS for faster reporting and decision-making
SEE SUCCESS STORIES
Cultural heritage is a legacy from our past and defines Australia’s identity. An integral part of life today for all Australians, it gives meaning to the stories and places we pass on to future generations. Until now, aboriginal elders have been keeping an oral history of the land. Storytelling, rather than maps or signposts, has been used to record the significance and location of sites.
With development occurring across the country, and very few physical records of this cultural heritage existing today. There are frequent incidences of damage to cultural heritage, sometimes even complete destruction, through ignorance.
Our management software Summit consists of a web-based management system that can be accessed by authorised users, and a map-based data collection application that runs on tablet PCs for use in the field. The solution can be used to review cultural heritage records, sorting by site type and searching for particular sites based on the site details. It provides a wide array of searching and reporting tools that assist users in finding the cultural heritage information that they need. A history of changes to each record can be viewed, and various summary reports can be produced from this master list.
The system is also designed for cultural heritage owners to keep a completely private record of heritage information, to be shared within the community, while respecting the sensitivity of the information. Additionally, all data is encrypted so that it cannot be accidentally viewed by users of Records can include links to documents, sound files, videos and other archived information, with multiple photos and/or multimedia links able to be attached to any record. Each record can be viewed in detail and may be edited only by authorised users.
Reports on individual sites can be produced, and a summary of information on a set of cultural heritage sites can be produced in table form. The set of sites can also be displayed on a map to show their relative locations. This helps correctly identify the records of interest and is very valuable for communicating information to government agencies and landholders.
Summit is making a major contribution to communities across Australia. Talk to us to learn how we can help you preserve your living history.
Prevent Damage & Destruction
Easily and accurately map cultural heritage sites. Prevent damage to artefacts and places of meaning and significance.
Preserve Storytelling
Maintain links between people and the land. Pass stories to future generations. Include videos, audio files or photos.
Easy To Use
Introduce technology to new learners. Receive practical training and ongoing friendly support from our expert team.
Respect Custom & Traditions
Record information and update user permissions to identify who is allowed to know about sites, stories and history.
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RapidMap is Australia’s trusted provider of end-to-end spatial intelligence solutions for Asset Management, offering a unique combination of professional services, powerful GIS software, and advanced field data collection hardware.
Our solutions are designed to empower people with geospatial data for actionable insights about assets, infrastructure, environment, & workforce management decisions to increase productivity.
RapidMap delivers the tools and expertise you need to succeed—in the field & in the office.