Exploratory GIS: Modelling Past Land Use and Occupancy with Functional Connectivity, Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area, NSW, Australia

Abstract

Exploratory GIS models present multiple different conceptual versions of space. This article focusses on the landscape level pathways between areas defined as suitable for land use and occupancy within the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area (WLRWHA), New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Models of the potential connections between ecologically significant land use patches and key hydrology provide iterative networks of functional connectivity, highlighting salient pathways of past land use and occupancy of Country. The shape of the connections between places is important to understanding Country from the inside. Outputs from these network models are a powerful visualisation tool because they display areas where contact with the 19 th c Europeans, particularly through fence construction and ground water appropriation, caused greater levels of exploitation and damage than currently recognised. Concomitantly, the benefit of situating these network techniques within an exploratory framework cannot be understated. The iterative nature of the exploratory design allows for multiple presentations of the connectivity between the spaces within the WLRWHA and therefore multiple ways of knowing and seeing space. Modelling the potential pathways between suitable patches opens the door to discussions about the diverse possible corridors of activity within pre-European settlement of Country and the corollary discussion of how European settlement substantially impacted upon these connections and continues to impact on a living Country. Paakantji (Barkindji), Mutthi Mutthi, and Ngyiampaa communities for sharing oral testimonies, enabling research on their homelands, and supporting our work. Further acknowledgements are to NSW Parks staff and individual community members (past and present

Biocultural GIS mapping: A Living Country and Terra Nullius, Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area (WLRWHA), NSW

“…Collating and documenting the legacy datasets in the Willandra Lakes archive into a single repository was undertaken during 2015-2018. This resulted in a composite GIS, accompanying geodatabase archives, digital plan and aerial photographic archives, and help manuals that are stored on the NSW Parks server (Thomas 2018). This section will examine the issues of categorisation, salience, thresholding, and averaging with respect to the activity zones from the material cultural record.…”