A reliable absolute chronology for the Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberley, Western Australia. The Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberley region of Western Australia is an internationally significant record of human occupation and cultural evolution. This project will determine the antiquity of human expression in one of the richest (and possibly the oldest) rock art regions in the world using advanced analytical techniques.
The NSW Aborigines Protection/Welfare Board 1883-1969: A History. Between 1883 and 1967 the lives of Aboriginal people in New South Wales (NSW) were in the hands of the NSW Aborigines Protection/Welfare Board. The impact of the Board's systematic control over Aboriginal communities through policies of segregation, assimilation, child removal and wage withholding would endure for decades, and the negative results of those government directives are still being seen today. To date, however, no subs ....The NSW Aborigines Protection/Welfare Board 1883-1969: A History. Between 1883 and 1967 the lives of Aboriginal people in New South Wales (NSW) were in the hands of the NSW Aborigines Protection/Welfare Board. The impact of the Board's systematic control over Aboriginal communities through policies of segregation, assimilation, child removal and wage withholding would endure for decades, and the negative results of those government directives are still being seen today. To date, however, no substantive history of the NSW Aborigines Protection/Welfare Board exists. This project aims to provide such a history, based on extensive archival and oral history research. Holding critical importance to NSW Aboriginal communities, the project expects to encourage the development of Indigenous historians in the process.Read moreRead less
Reclaiming indigenous performance in southeast Australia, 1935-75. This project aims to reframe a period of Australian history, the Assimilation era (1935-1975), to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' active intervention in public affairs through performances of music and dance. The project will collaborate with present-day communities aiming to construct an alternative history of cultural resilience and agency. Outcomes directed at academic, community and public audiences aim to ....Reclaiming indigenous performance in southeast Australia, 1935-75. This project aims to reframe a period of Australian history, the Assimilation era (1935-1975), to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' active intervention in public affairs through performances of music and dance. The project will collaborate with present-day communities aiming to construct an alternative history of cultural resilience and agency. Outcomes directed at academic, community and public audiences aim to better inform current debates on Australian identity, support the work of contemporary practitioners, build international networks and validate histories hitherto hidden at the heart of Australian nationhood.Read moreRead less
Heritage and Reconciliation. This project will re-conceptualise heritage from a standpoint of reconciliation. In doing so, it will generate new understandings about how heritage and its management can contribute to reconciliation processes. The project will combine Aboriginal, Maori and Western intellectual traditions in order to advance theoretical understandings of heritage and to examine its reconstructive power. It will produce models for practical implementation, including new conservation ....Heritage and Reconciliation. This project will re-conceptualise heritage from a standpoint of reconciliation. In doing so, it will generate new understandings about how heritage and its management can contribute to reconciliation processes. The project will combine Aboriginal, Maori and Western intellectual traditions in order to advance theoretical understandings of heritage and to examine its reconstructive power. It will produce models for practical implementation, including new conservation and management protocols. The project's investigation of a new approach to heritage has the potential for profound social benefit.Read moreRead less
The building blocks of language: Words in Central Australian languages. This project seeks to model the structure of words and phrases in three indigenous languages of of central Australia: Anmatyerr, Kaytetye, and Warumungu. The project will advance our understanding of the different ways that words and phrases function as the building blocks of language: how words vary in complexity, and the different ways that they combine to generate higher levels of linguistc structure. The project will pre ....The building blocks of language: Words in Central Australian languages. This project seeks to model the structure of words and phrases in three indigenous languages of of central Australia: Anmatyerr, Kaytetye, and Warumungu. The project will advance our understanding of the different ways that words and phrases function as the building blocks of language: how words vary in complexity, and the different ways that they combine to generate higher levels of linguistc structure. The project will preserve Indigenous language heritage and contribute to Indigenous cultural maintenance, a significant factor in advancing Indigenous well-being. The project will generate new insights into language structure that will advance linguistic theory, and inform language teaching and speech processing technologies.Read moreRead less
New public management, Aboriginal organisations, and Indigenous rights. This project aims to understand links between recent new public management reforms, particularly in New South Wales, and the operation and capacity of successful urban Aboriginal organisations. The project will include an analysis of case studies from other international jurisdictions (such as New Zealand and Canada). Urban Aboriginal organisations have a distinctive role in society in relation to urban Aboriginal peoples a ....New public management, Aboriginal organisations, and Indigenous rights. This project aims to understand links between recent new public management reforms, particularly in New South Wales, and the operation and capacity of successful urban Aboriginal organisations. The project will include an analysis of case studies from other international jurisdictions (such as New Zealand and Canada). Urban Aboriginal organisations have a distinctive role in society in relation to urban Aboriginal peoples and their rights to self-determination and community development. The outcomes from this project will provide evidence-based research to improve public policy understandings of the distinct role Urban Aboriginal organisations play in society, as well as insights from international comparative research.Read moreRead less
Historical frontier violence: drivers, legacy and the role of truth-telling. This project aims to build data to identify the historical factors that incited frontier violence; quantify the legacy on communities today and conduct fieldwork to understand how historical trauma is transmitted across generations. This project expects to develop new knowledge on the circumstances and legacy of settlement and the origins of gaps in life prospects between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Our e ....Historical frontier violence: drivers, legacy and the role of truth-telling. This project aims to build data to identify the historical factors that incited frontier violence; quantify the legacy on communities today and conduct fieldwork to understand how historical trauma is transmitted across generations. This project expects to develop new knowledge on the circumstances and legacy of settlement and the origins of gaps in life prospects between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Our expectation is that this will increase public acceptance of the circumstances of settlement and the need to make amends. This project should help increase public support for truth-telling and better relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, a vital step towards reconciliation and healing the nation. Read moreRead less
A longitudinal study of the interaction of home and school language in three Aboriginal communities. The importance of language skills cannot be underestimated, and contribute to 'a healthy start to life'. In multilingual Indigenous communities, children must negotiate the complexities of different languages used for different purposes. This project will provide detailed insights into how children manage differences between home and school language, the kinds of problems they encounter when the ....A longitudinal study of the interaction of home and school language in three Aboriginal communities. The importance of language skills cannot be underestimated, and contribute to 'a healthy start to life'. In multilingual Indigenous communities, children must negotiate the complexities of different languages used for different purposes. This project will provide detailed insights into how children manage differences between home and school language, the kinds of problems they encounter when they enter the school system, and how their languages develop over the first four crucial years of school which provide the foundation for the children's future education. Their ability to manage the language of school underpins their ability to lead successful and engaged lives as adults. Read moreRead less
Victorian Ethnographers: collecting and contesting racial knowledge in the settler colonial laboratory. Using new archival and museum collections, 'Victorian Ethnographers' investigates the connections between anthropology, the governance of Aboriginal peoples and the history of colonialism in south-eastern Australia. This project will produce new knowledge about the local and global networks that shaped Victorian anthropology and its legacies.
The impact and cost of short-term health staffing in remote communities. This project aims to examine the impact of the increasing levels of short-term health staffing in remote communities upon service acceptability to patients, workload and attitudes of long-term resident primary health care staff, and the effectiveness and cost of health services. There is a dearth of information about this 'fly in/fly out' (FIFO) workforce in remote communities, which have the worst health outcomes in the co ....The impact and cost of short-term health staffing in remote communities. This project aims to examine the impact of the increasing levels of short-term health staffing in remote communities upon service acceptability to patients, workload and attitudes of long-term resident primary health care staff, and the effectiveness and cost of health services. There is a dearth of information about this 'fly in/fly out' (FIFO) workforce in remote communities, which have the worst health outcomes in the country. The project aims to inform consumers, health practitioners, health service planners and policy-makers about the impact of FIFO, as well as to contribute to the development of strategies designed to stabilise the remote health workforce.Read moreRead less