Geographies of Australian Heritages: Loving a Sunburnt Country?

Geographies of Australian Heritages examines critically the complexities of heritage strategies and practices in a former settler-colony with a problematic history of encounter with its indigenous population and adjustment to the expectations of new Australians in a transnational world.Brian S. Osborne, Professor Emeritus, Queen's University, Kingston, Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University, CanadaAcademics, policy makers and everyone interested in heritage will enjoy this book and benefit from its thought-provoking analysis, insights, case studies and illustrations. Its collection of essays forms both a landmark publication and a good read, not only for Australians but also for the wider international audience.Brian Chalkley, Professor of Geography, University of Plymouth, UK.The book uses a representative range of case studies drawn from across Australia to address the diversity of issues relating to heritage management in a settler society. It examines the continent's unique natural heritage as well as aspects of indigenous and migrant heritage. It includes novel aspects, such as sporting and exploration heritage, and incorporates the perspectives of both academics and heritage practitioners.In any settler and/or postcolonial society, heritage is a complex and contested topic that involves indigenous, imperial and other migrant components. In Australia, this situation is compounded by the unique characteristics of the country's natural environment, the considerable diversity of its migrant intake and the demographic and technological imbalances between its indigenous and settler populations.The contributors to this proposed volume are predominantly geographers by training, and, while younger scholars are represented, in many cases they are long established expert authorities, internationally recognised within their respective fields. Their interests span the full range of the discipline and their practical experience extends through the areas of tourism, planning, heritage management, environmental studies and local government. The aim of this book is to demonstrate, through a representative set of case studies from across the country's states and capital cities, the range and diversity of heritage issues currently confronting Australia and the value of geographical approaches in their description, analysis and, possibly, resolution.Contents: Introduction: geographies of Australian heritages, Roy Jones and Brian J. Shaw; The legislative and bureaucratic framework for heritage protection in Australia, Graeme Aplin; Australia and world heritage, Graeme Aplin; Wilderness and heritage, Colin Michael Hall; Aborigines, bureaucrats and cyclones: the ABC of running an innovative heritage tourism operation, Marion Hercock; Waltzing the heritage icons: 'swagmen', 'squatters' and 'troopers' at North West Cape, Roy Jones, Colin Ingram and Andrew Kingham; Fixed traditions and locked-up heritages: misrepresenting indigeneity, Wendy Shaw; A work in progress: aboriginal people and pastoral cultural heritage in Australia, Nicholas Gill and Alistair Paterson; Lobethal the Valley of Praise: inventing tradition for the purposes of place making in rural South Australia, Matthew W. Rofe and Hilary P.M. Winchester; Port, sport and heritage: Fremantle's unholy trinity?, Roy Jones; Perth's Commonwealth Games heritage, whose value at what price?, Catherine Kennewell and Brian J. Shaw; Places worth keeping, Rosemary Rosario; Reshaping the 'sunburnt country': heritage and cultural politics in contemporary Australia, William S. Logan; Index.About the Author: Roy Jones is Professor of Social Sciences at Curtin University, Australia. Brian J. Shaw is Senior Lecturer in the School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia.