Sexto año

While#the#invocation#of#a#shared#place#of#birth#in#narratives#of#the#nationHstate#may#

constitute#a#form#of#“false#Topophilia”#(Relph#1976),#as#noted#in#the#modern#era#

our# relationship# to# our# country# of# birth# is# fundamental# to# our# sense# of# identity#

(Cloke#&#Johnston#2005).#Within#traditional#Aboriginal#culture#the#importance#of#

place#to#identity#can#be#understood#as#twofold.#First,#kinship#groups#are#defined#by#

a#bounded#locality#where#relationships#of#Aboriginal#people#to#places#other#than#

‘country’#tightly#defined#by#kinship#ties,#or#affective#relations#with#people#of#those#

places# (Bourke# &# Edwards# 1994;# Rowley# 1971a,# b).# Furthermore,# unlike# the#

sentiment#of#a#‘common#culture’#invoked#by#nationalistic#rhetoric,#the#continuity#of#

‘occupation’# of# lands# by# indigenous# peoples# means# that# the# sense# of# identity#

derived#from#place#extends#to#a#creation#time#(Tuan,#1974).#Place#represents#more#

than#a#rhetorical#device#and#constitutes#sacred#spaces#created#by#and#inhabited#by#

their# ancestors.# Tuan# (1974)# cites# the# observations# of# early# Australian#

anthropologist# T.H.# Strehlow’s# of# the# Aranda# people’s# relationship# to# land# to#

illustrate#the#depth#of#feeling#it#holds#for#Indigenous#peoples#as#the#embodiment#of#

their# ancestors,# and# holds# the# prospect# of# their# return# “the# whole# countryside# is#

living,# ageHold# family# tree”# (Tuan# 1974,# 100).# In# view# of# the# preHoccupation# for#

ancestry/genealogy# in# lateHmodernity,# Strehlow’s# observations# highlight# the#

importance#of#the#personHtoHperson#bonds#of#place#for#Aboriginal#identity.#

The#role#of#placeHmaking,#particularly#in#terms#of#privileging#of#place,#namely#the#

bush# and# the# virtuous# qualities# associated# with# such# places,# have# become#

emblematic# of# the# Australian# national# identity# (Blainey# 1996;# Hirst# 2005).#

However,# in# the# late# 20th# century# this# narrative# has# been# challenged# by# the#

emergent# critical# histories# of# Australia# particularly# as# a# consequences# of# the#

decision#made#by#the#High#Court#of#Australia#in#Mabo#v#Queensland#(No.2)#in#1992#

(Pearson# 1995).# The# Mabo# ruling# established# the# preHexisting# right# of# Aboriginal#

Australians# to# their# traditional# homelands# in# common# law# under# the# subsequent#

Native* Title* Act* 1993.# In# recognising# this# preHexisting# claim,# Pearson# (1995)#

asserted#that#it#recognised#that#the#“entitlement#is#different#from#other#members#

of#the#Australian#community”,#with#the#effect#of#the#recognition#of#customary#law#

within#common#law#as#that#it#“not#just#determines#the#relationship#between#people#

and#the#land,#but#between#the#indigenous#people#who#hold#title#to#the#land”#(1995,#

146).# For# nonHAboriginal# Australians,# particularly# those# of# ‘settler’# origins,# the#

significance#of#the#overturning#of#terra*nullius#or#‘land#belonging#to#noHone’#was#a#

fundamental#challenge#of#the#‘Australian’#identity.#As#Pearson#(1995)#argues,#terra*

nullius#“not#only#had#a#legal#and#political#force,#but#it#set#a#moral#and#psychological#

tone…#It#provided#the#imprimatur#for#dispossession”#(1995,#141).#Further,#Pearson#

(1995)# describes# the# effect# of# Mabo# as# “throwing# the# country# into# a# period# of#

moral# and# psychological# turbulence”# by# confronting# the# ‘myths’# of# our# national#

history#that#continue#to#resonate#in#the#present.#In#a#postHMabo#world,#the#effect#

has# been# for# many# nonHAboriginal# Australians# a# form# of# psychological#

displacement.#

One&being&out&of&place&

The# importance# of# place# to# identity# and# its# relationship# to# attachment# inevitably#

provoke# questions# about# the# effects# of# being# out# of# place,# particularly# where#

separation# from# place# is# forced# or# involuntary# (Casey# 1993).# Casey# (1993)#

emphasises# that# the# effect# of# global# mobilities# has# engendered# a# sense# of#

dislocation.#Apart#from#the#consequences#of#this#state#for#wellbeing,#including#the#

loss# of# identity# derived# from# place,# he# argues# that# it# poses# the# risk# of# further#

mobility,#compelled#by#the#need#to#find#and#secure#a#‘more#enduring#or#at#least#a#

more# reliable# place’# (1993,# xii).# Important# for# this# research,# Casey# distinguishes#

the# different# feelings# evoked# for# people# ‘out# of# place’# by# choice# and# compulsion.#

Returning#to#Casey’s#challenge#to#imagine#a#world#without#place,#he#suggests#that#

the# thought# and/or# prospect# of# ‘being# out# of# place’# for# many# people# is# ‘deeply#

unsettling’#and#induces#a#form#of#‘place#panic’:#‘the#prospect#of#there#being#no#place#

to#be#or#no#place#to#go’#(1993,#ix).#This#author#argues#that#the#‘placeHseparation’#is#

most#‘poignantly#felt’#by#people#forced#to#move#out#of#place,#particularly#where#this#

(dis)placement#represents#a#homeland#and#the#people#are#a#group.#In#reflecting#on#

the# significance# of# displacement,# generally# and# particularly# for# people# displaced#

from#their#homeland#Casey#(1993#xiv)#states:#

While# we# acknowledge# the# suffering# occasioned# by# personal# or# collective# displacement,#we#tend#not#to#trace#it#back#to#the#loss#of#a#vital#connection#with#place.#

than# homesickness# ensues;# a# profound# sense# of# placelessness# in# the# new# society# may#lead#to#profound#despair.#

The# reported# effects# of# the# dispossession# of# Aboriginal# people# following#

colonisation#and#their#subsequent#exclusion#to#transitory#places,#such#as#the#towns#

in# which# this# research# is# located,# suggest# Casey’s# words# hold# a# particular#

resonance# for# considerations# of# place# in# the# research# context.# Furthermore,# the#

resettlement# of# Aboriginal# peoples# from# different# descent# groups# in# such#

transitory#places,#and#the#attribution#of#this#dynamic#to#violence#within#Aboriginal#

communities#reinforce#the#importance#of#the#history#of#place#to#this#research.##

5.1.2 Enduring landscapes and making place

Prior#to#the#current#fascination#with#the#process#of#place#making,#speculation#on#

the#enduring#appeal#of#some#landscapes#has#been#a#consistent#theme#in#the#place#

literature#(Casey#1993;#Riley#1992;#Tuan#1974),#examined#in#detail#by#Tuan#(1974)#

in# his# recognised# classic# of# human# geography#Topophilia# (Pocock# 1994;# Relph#

1994)#

Highlighting# the# cultural# dimensions# to# our# environmental# value,# Tuan# (1974)#

asserts#that#“what#we#choose#to#attend#(value#or#love)#is#an#accident#of#individual#

temperament,# purpose,# and# of# the# cultural# forces# at# work# at# a# particular# time”#

(1974,# 113).# Thus# as# noted# earlier# in# this# chapter,# while# some# places# elicit# an#

almost#universal#appeal#conversely#others#provoke#an#almost#universal#repulsion.#

The# universal# appeal# of# some# landscapes# has# been# suggested# as# their# perceived#

hospitality#based#on#their#capacity#to#sustain#life#(Casey#2009).#Consistent#with#the#

binary#approach#that#has#typically#characterised#thinking#about#place,#the#relative#

appeal#of#a#place#can#be#understood#in#the#context#of#their#emergence#in#antithesis#

to#another#place#including#its#construction#as#ideal#landscapes#(Casey,#1993;#Cloke#

&# Johnston# 2005;# Tuan,# 1974).# In# view# of# the# location# of# the# Murchison# amid#

landscapes#and#‘wilderness’#of#regional#and#remote#Australia#and#the#invocation#of#

such# landscapes# in# attraction# and# retention# strategies,# and# the# particular# hold# of#

enduring#landscapes#in#the#human#imagination,#a#consideration#of#such#landscapes#

is#important#to#this#research.#