The Ethos of Return: Erasure and Reinstatement of Aboriginal Visibility in the Australian Historical Landscape

Segregation and protectionism: Institutionalised views of Aboriginal rurality

“…Authenticity is regarded as compromised by both movement away from remote areas and by appropriation of non-Indigenous or urban practices and beliefs (Hollinsworth, 1992). Such movements and changes occur even though for most Aboriginal people urbanisation and displacement from homelands 'came to them' rather than they moved toward it (Byrne, 2003;Byrne and Nugent, 2004).…”

“…Indigenous people are overwhelmingly now living in cities and regional centres, but dominant representations of Aboriginality remain linked to remote locations and exotic lifestyles (Hollinsworth, 1992). The excision and marginalisation of urban, regional or non-remote rural Aboriginal people because they are dispersed in urban and urbanising areas rather than geographically concentrated compounds their erasure from many Australian landscapes (Byrne, 2003;Byrne and Nugent, 2004). For example, Cape York Peninsula is a region of northern Queensland which has the greatest proportion of Indigenous people in the state and concepts and notions originating from the Cape York Partnerships policy and Meeting Challenges, Making Choices policy (Queensland Government, 2004) are often uncritically applied throughout all other NRM regions of Queensland 9 whose Indigenous inhabitants are seen as neither remote, authentic or even Indigenous.…”

De-centring White ruralities: Ethnic diversity, racialisation and Indigenous countrysides

“…Rather than relegating such groups to measures and expectations of the primitive, traditional or authentic that are located in remote spaces (in physical and policy terms), they emphasize recent demands that scholars and governments recognize 'a plurality of Aboriginal rural lifeworlds.' Such conceptual and policy moves would help in resisting their historic political erasure (Byrne, 2003) and acknowledge appropriately their interweaving interests in urban, regional and non-remote rural societies, economies and 'scales of co-existence' (Howitt, 2006; see also Ramzan et al, this volume, and Larsen's (2006) account of Dakelh First Nation's complex economies). A complementary challenge is posed by Marika et al (this issue) who demonstrate how recognition of 'country' is not simply a positive conceptual move for scholars, but part of a necessary political imperative whereby Indigenous law is more widely acknowledged and better processes and partnerships can be forged.…”

From Mission to Maynggu Ganai: The Wellington Valley Convict Station and Mission Site

“…Another response to these issues has been the growth in community based heritage, history and archaeology projects, which have seen "consent and consultation" style research transformed into "community controlled" research (Greer et al 2002;Marshall 2002). This "decolonizing" of heritage has also seen a great deal of attention paid to Aboriginal historic sites, in an attempt to put Aboriginal people "back" into the Australian heritage landscape (Byrne 2002(Byrne , 2003.…”