DOCSLIB.ORG

Footprints in the Forest

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Footprints in the Forest Footprints in the Forest A visual exploration of the tall timber forests of Northern New South Wales. By Susan Coumbe B FA Hons (Newcastle) An exegesis submitted in support of an exhibition of works of art for the degree Of Master of Philosophy (Fine Arts) At University of Newcastle, Australia January 2009 I hereby certify that the work embodied in this exegesis is the result of original research and has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. Signed I wish to acknowledge and thank my supervisors Brett Alexander and Anne Graham for their support, patience and assistance with this research. I would also like to thank ceramic artist Robyn Furner for her technical assistance with the ceramic works. School of Drama, Fine Art and Music Faculty of Education and Arts The University of Newcastle Supervisors Brett Alexander and Anne Graham. Abstract This exegesis is a supportive document to the Sculptural Installation works produced in response to a visual exploration of the tall timber forests of northern NSW. Personal lived experience of the forest environment underpins this investigation and adds to the final presentation of the creative works of art. This particular landscape in the valley of Tanban, Eungai Creek in the Nambucca Shire holds the marks and traces of past human endeavor and is one of many coastal forest sources of the magnificent timber tree – red cedar, and the mythic tales of cedar getters who worked the forests. This place of trees is imbued with memories deeply seated in the cultural identity of the region and is a site of conflict, survival and settlement. Past and present timber practices have left their mark and the landscape bears the scars. Today Indigenous peoples within the region are reclaiming once lost sacred sites within the forest landscape and the once contested forestry practices and blockades have made way for the preservation of old growth, rainforests and cultural sites of significance into reserves and national parks. The sculptural installation works presented here are a reflection of my personal connection to this landscape of trees and the deeply embedded histories the forest contains. List of Contents List of illustrations Page 1 Introduction Page 3 Chapter 1 Forests - An understanding of place, Page 8 history and culture of the Nambucca region of New South Wales Chapter 11 Approaches to Nature, Culture and Place Page 27 Chapter III Contemporary Art Engagements Page 42 Chapter IV Arboreal – Footprints in the Forest: Page 60 Installation works, process, discourse and images Conclusion Page 81 Source of illustrations Page 85 Bibliography Page 88 List of illustrations Introduction 1 Views of Tanban from the summit of Mt Yarrahappinni 2 Views of Tanban 2008 Soozie Coumbe Chapter 1 3 Aboriginal family displaying uses for paperbark Dailan Pugh 4 Aboriginal tribal boundaries 5 Cedar getters east of Armidale NSW 1890,s 6 Practice of ringbarking 1895 7 Dorrigo timber camp (undated) The state records authority of NSW. 8 Portable mill Tanban, (undated) The state records authority of NSW. Chapter 2 9 Views of Australia (1824-1825) Joseph Lycett 10 Whelan on the log (1890) Arthur Streeton 11 Dance at the conclusion of the Cawarra ceremony, Yarrahappinni tribal group (1843) Clement Hodgkinson 1818-1893 12 Up in smoke (2006) Nambucca Guardian News Chapter 3 13 Racoon (2000) Louise Weaver 14 Cell Culture (2001-2002) Fiona Hall 15 Understorey (1999-2004) Fiona Hall 16 River Leaf Stone (1999) 17 Clay Wall (1998) Andy Goldsworthy 18 Fall Creek (2000) Andy Goldsworthy 19 Raddle (1984) Antony Hamilton 20 Edge of the Trees (1995) Janet Laurence and Fiona Foley 21 Floating Island (1970) Robert Smithson 22 Monaro (1989) Rosalie Gascoigne 23 Set Up (1984) Rosalie Gascoigne Chapter 4 24 Fragile Nature (2007) Soozie Coumbe 25 Arboreal (August 2008) Soozie Coumbe 26 Woodchop competition Bellingen, 27 Habitat - Arboreal (2008) Soozie Coumbe 1 Installation works 28 Blackbutt Horizon (2008) 29 Embedded (2007) 30 Nature - Culture (2008) 31 Habitat - Arboreal (2008) 32 Habitat - Arboreal (2008) 33 Fragile Nature (2007) 34 Going, Going, Gone! (2008) 35 Axes – proto types (2008) 36 Axes – proto types (2008) 2 Introduction My aim in this research has been to produce a body of installation sculptural works that explore the boundaries and connections between nature art and culture through the physicality of the Australian Landscape, in particular the forested landscape of the north coast of NSW, within the regions of the Nambucca River. I am interested in the ideas of ‘place’ and connection, and in this instance, place being the forested environs which I call home. As I have lived in this region for a large part of my adult life my own ‘lived experience’1 of this physical environment underlies my investigation. My aims were not to add to Post Colonial discourse, but the work does touch upon this topic, especially in relation to the Indigenous connection to this landscape, and historical aspects in respect to material culture – the use of hand tools used in the Colonial forest environs. This particular landscape is the source of the iconic timber tree, red cedar (toona ciliate) which once flourished amongst the coastal rainforests of NSW, a natural resource that brought a culture and industry of timber harvesting, an industry that survives to this day. 3 1 View of Tanban, from the summit of Mt Yarrahapinni (Nambucca Shire) The forest landscape holds the marks and traces of human endeavour, and is a site of conflict and survival; imbued with memories deeply seated in the cultural identity of the region. Traces of Indigenous and European culture are mixed with the soil here; European farming tools stone and metal axes, 4 grindstones and various cultural objects often appear as discards of past endeavours. Large scattered weathered tree stumps stand as sentinels to and memorials for the conflicts of settlers; and axe marks of age old timber cutting practices lay embedded in their surfaces. It is these marks and traces of connection that are physical reminders of past endeavours, metaphors of destruction and survival. Remnants of once old forest giants and the landscape they pervaded. Discussions regarding nature seem outmoded and passé in today’s ever changing world, but contemporary modes of art discourse on this subject are still relevant and ever changing. Nature reflects humanity’s connections and with recent awareness of environmental destruction and global warming, pollution and scarcity of water, forests and trees are playing an ever-important role. No longer can we ignore nature and no longer can we see nature only as an economic aid to our civilization. With these installation sculptural works I am attempting to investigate the enigmatic space between nature, culture and place, a void of new interpretation through the engagement in the physicality of nature – the forest environment. I am interested in the balancing act of finding ones place of belonging, through the examination of the space between; an understanding of place and belonging. My previous research led me on an investigation of the space, the place we call home, a place of belonging. Seen through the eyes of the immigrant, the in- between cultural space – as artist and writer Paul Carter calls ‘the gap’2 many immigrants traverse in trying to find a new home a new sense of belonging. This Masters research builds on this investigation through the physicality of place, the forested valley I call home. As much of Australia was explored and developed with the aid of immigration, the Nambucca region was not immune to this thesis. From the early days of settlement influxes of population invigorated the economic and cultural life of the region, as it still does today, evidenced by influx of tree and sea – change urban immigrants. 5 The forest of tall timber eucalypts was the attraction when I moved from South Australia in the mid 1970’s. The contrast was huge, the bushy red green trees of the harsh South Australian landscape did not compare with the rich dark green towering giants of Northern NSW. The climate in this northern region was gentler, with a much higher rainfall than what I was used to in South Australia. Childhood memories of rich green English countryside came flooding back to me here, and for the first time since arriving in Australia as a child, I felt a connection, a pervading sense of belonging. The chapters in this exegesis are divided into three areas of discussion: Nature, Culture and Place. Chapter I sets the grounding on Place in a description and discussion of the layered history of the region I call home. Chapters two, three and four widen the discussion and encompass the historical into a contemporary framework referencing various Artworks, Artists practices and my creative response to the research. 6 2. Views of Tanban – Soozie Coumbe 1 Lippard Lucy Lure of the Local, sense of place in a multicentered society, New York 1997, page 5. 2 Carter Paul Hossein Valamanesh, NSW 1996, page 7. 7 Chapter 1 Forests - an understanding of Place History and culture of the Nambucca Region of Northern NSW The Nambucca Valley on the North Coast of New South Wales lies half way between Sydney and Brisbane covering an area of approximately twenty- three kilometres long by twenty-three kilometres wide1. The rolling hills, river flats and forested terrain fan out from the escarpment of the New England Plateau of the Great Dividing Range, eastwards to the Pacific Ocean, and traversed by the Nambucca River and its tributaries. The valley has three major townships: Nambucca Heads situated at the mouth of the Nambucca River, Macksville, situated upstream, and Bowraville, which lies further up stream. Today tourists play a large role in the culture and economic growth of the valley, alongside traditional agricultural industries of cattle, dairy, tropical fruit and nut farms.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne
    St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne – Aikenhead Wing Proposed demolition Referral report and Heritage Impact Statement 27 & 31 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy July 2021 Prepared by Prepared for St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne Quality Assurance Register The following quality assurance register documents the development and issue of this report prepared by Lovell Chen Pty Ltd in accordance with our quality management system. Project no. Issue no. Description Issue date Approval 8256.03 1 Draft for review 24 June 2021 PL/MK 8256.03 2 Final Referral Report and HIS 1 July 2021 PL Referencing Historical sources and reference material used in the preparation of this report are acknowledged and referenced as endnotes or footnotes and/or in figure captions. Reasonable effort has been made to identify and acknowledge material from the relevant copyright owners. Moral Rights Lovell Chen Pty Ltd asserts its Moral right in this work, unless otherwise acknowledged, in accordance with the (Commonwealth) Copyright (Moral Rights) Amendment Act 2000. Lovell Chen’s moral rights include the attribution of authorship, the right not to have the work falsely attributed and the right to integrity of authorship. Limitation Lovell Chen grants the client for this project (and the client’s successors in title) an irrevocable royalty- free right to reproduce or use the material from this report, except where such use infringes the copyright and/or Moral rights of Lovell Chen or third parties. This report is subject to and issued in connection with the provisions of the agreement between Lovell Chen Pty Ltd and its Client. Lovell Chen Pty Ltd accepts no liability or responsibility for or in respect of any use of or reliance upon this report by any third party.
    [Show full text]
  • Registration Test Decision
    Registration test decision Application name Gumbaynggirr People Name of applicant Barry Phyball, Larry (Laurie) Kelly, Richard Pacey, Christine Witt, Marion Witt, Frances Witt NNTT file no. NC1998/015 Federal Court of Australia file no. NSD6104/1998 I have considered this claim for registration against each of the conditions contained in ss 190B and 190C of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The following contains my reasons for the decision on 28 February 2017 to accept this claim for registration pursuant to s 190A of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). Date of reasons: 1 March 2017 ___________________________________ Heidi Evans Delegate of the Native Title Registrar pursuant to sections 190, 190A, 190B, 190C, 190D of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) under an instrument of delegation dated 20 November 2015 and made pursuant to s 99 of the Act. Shared country, shared future. Reasons for decision Introduction [1] This document sets out my reasons, as the delegate of the Native Title Registrar (the Registrar), for the decision to accept the claim for registration pursuant to s 190A of the Act. [2] The Registrar of the Federal Court of Australia (the Court) gave a copy of the amended Gumbaynggirr People claimant application to the Registrar on 7 November 2016 pursuant to s 64(4) of the Act. This has triggered the Registrar’s duty to consider the claim made in the application under s 190A of the Act. [3] I am satisfied that neither subsection 190A(1A) nor subsection 190A(6A) apply to this claim. This is because the application was not amended as the result of an order of the Court, nor do the nature of the particular amendments to the application fall within the scope of s 190A(6A)(d).
    [Show full text]
  • St Vincent Place East (South Melbourne) – H0441
    Port Phillip Heritage Review 6.32 St Vincent Place East (South Melbourne) – H0441 Existing Designations: Heritage Council Register: nil National Estate Register: nil National Trust Register: nil Previous Heritage Studies: Conservation Study 1975: Precincts 3 and 6 (part) Conservation Study 1987: UC1: Precinct C Heritage Review 2000: HO3 (part) 6.32.1 History The residential estate known as St Vincent Place was created in 1854 as an extension to the original Emerald Hill town plan, which had been laid out two years earlier. Its striking design, attributed to Andrew Clarke (then Surveyor-General of Victoria), was based on the traditional Circus or Crescent developments of Georgian London, where housing was laid out in a curve around a central public reserve. Clarke’s original scheme, as depicted on an 1855 survey map, proposed a rectangular estate with curved ends, defined by Park Street, Howe Crescent, Bridport Street and Merton Crescent. It comprised two concentric rows of residential allotments with a laneway between, enclosing an open space with two small elliptical reserves flanking a longer round-ended reserve, the latter with indications of landscaping and a network of curved pathways. This grand scheme, however, was not realised at that time, and would subsequently be revised when it was decided to run the new St Kilda railway line parallel to Ferrars Street, which effectively split the proposed St Vincent Place estate into two parts. A revised design, prepared by Clement Hodgkinson in 1857, proposed the development of each portion as a discrete subdivision. The smaller eastern portion, east of the new railway line, became a stand-alone estate with two streets that curved around a central semi-circular reserve alongside the railway cutting.
    [Show full text]
  • Under the Canopy: a Guide to the Rainforests Of
    NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Under the Canopy A guide to the rainforests of NSW 1 Contents What are rainforests? ........................................................................... 3 How did Australian rainforests originate? .................................... 4 What determines where rainforests occur? ................................ 5 The types of rainforest in New South Wales .............................. 6 Special features of rainforest plants .............................................. 8 The animals living in our rainforests ............................................. 10 Regeneration under the canopy .................................................... 12 The status of rainforest conservation in NSW ......................... 13 How can we all help preserve the rainforest? .......................... 14 World Heritage ...................................................................................... 15 Where does rainforest occur in New South Wales?.............. 16 1 Richmond – Tweed .................................................................... 18 2 Washpool & Gibraltar ................................................................ 20 3 Dorrigo – New England ............................................................22 4 Sea Acres ....................................................................................... 24 5 Barrington and Gloucester Tops .......................................... 26 6 Minnamurra ..................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Blair's Rainforest Inventory
    Enoggera creek (Herston/Wilston) rainforest inventory Prepared by Blair Bartholomew 28-Jan-02 Botanical Name Common Name: tree, shrub, Derivation (Pronunciation) vine, timber 1. Acacia aulacocarpa Brown salwood, hickory/brush Acacia from Greek ”akakia (A), hê”, the shittah tree, Acacia arabica; (changed to Acacia ironbark/broad-leaved/black/grey which is derived from the Greek “akanth-a [a^k], ês, hê, (akê A)” a thorn disparrima ) wattle, gugarkill or prickle (alluding to the spines on the many African and Asian species first described); aulacocarpa from Greek “aulac” furrow and “karpos” a fruit, referring to the characteristic thickened transverse bands on the a-KAY-she-a pod. Disparrima from Latin “disparrima”, the most unlike, dissimilar, different or unequal referring to the species exhibiting the greatest difference from other renamed species previously described as A aulacocarpa. 2. Acacia melanoxylon Black wood/acacia/sally, light Melanoxylon from Greek “mela_s” black or dark: and “xulon” wood, cut wood, hickory, silver/sally/black- and ready for use, or tree, referring to the dark timber of this species. hearted wattle, mudgerabah, mootchong, Australian blackwood, native ash, bastard myall 3. Acmena hemilampra Broad-leaved lillypilly, blush satin Acmena from Greek “Acmenae” the nymphs of Venus who were very ash, water gum, cassowary gum beautiful, referring to the attractive flowers and fruits. A second source says that Acmena was a nymph dedicated to Venus. This derivation ac-ME-na seems the most likely. Finally another source says that the name is derived from the Latin “Acmena” one of the names of the goddess Venus. Hemilampra from Greek “hemi” half and “lampro”, bright, lustrous or shining, referring to the glossy upper leaf surface.
    [Show full text]
  • Coola-Pa-Tamba by A
    Coola-Pa-Tamba By A. W . S. Mackay About nine or ten miles in a northerly direction from Wauc- hope, stands a mountain, in bold view of the town, now known as “Cairn Cross.” It is better known from the northern or Rollands Plains side, c where its ramparts rise from the boundaries of the old settlement and its rock-scarred face is a permanent part of the landscape in the locality. An older generation knew it as “COOLA-PA-TAMBA,” meaning, in Abo. lore, “Where the Eagles Drink.” A few chains from the top of the mountain, in a slight easterly slope and in a huge flat rock lying level with the surface off the ground, are two round pools of water about eighteen inches Now through cloud rifts in tl in diameter. The sides and bot­ heavens, tom are worn smooth by the He surveys with baleful glar action of the water through a Lands a thousand sires had great period of time. The pools plundered, are separated by a narrow band Now by hand of man laid bar of rock, giving them something A king despoiled but not of the appearance of a giant pair deposed, of spectacles. Reputed to be His status still demands permanently filled with water, That this remain his heritage the writer has seen them several These rugged mountain lane times and on each occasion they A strident note in the tree to; were full to running over—but As the sun begins to sink, perhaps these visits coincided And again big wings pass over with rainy periods.
    [Show full text]
  • New Zealand Plants in Australian Gardens Stuart Read (Updated 27/5/2018)
    New Zealand Plants in Australian Gardens Stuart Read (updated 27/5/2018) Abstract: (11.6.2013): Raised in a large New Zealand garden full of native trees, plant lover Stuart Read was perhaps hard-wired to notice kiwi plants in Australian gardens. Over time he's pieced together a pattern of waves of fashion in their planting and popularity, reflecting scientific and horticultural expansionism, commercial and familial networks and connections across the Tasman. Stuart will examine a range of NZ plants found in old and younger Australian gardens, try to tease out some of the means by which they got here and why they remain popular. No cabbage, This constellation of asterisks Slaps and rustles Its tough tatters In the brisk breeze; Whispers of times past And ancient histories (Barbara Mitcalfe’s poem, ‘Ti Kouka’ (cabbage tree) catches well the distinctive skyline profile of this ubiquitous New Zealand export (in Simpson, 2000, 213) Introduction / overview New Zealand gardens have been introduced to and cultivated in Australian gardens from early in their ‘discovery’, trade and exchanges between the two colonies. Australian and other explorers, botanists, nurserymen, New Zealand settlers and others searched New Zealand’s coasts and bush, bringing plants into cultivation, export and commerce from early in the settlement’s colonization. New Zealand plants have had their ‘vogue’ periods, including as: A) - Economic plants (various timbers, kauri gum for shellacs and jewellery; flax for fibre, rope, cloth; greens for scurvy; poroporo for the contraceptive ‘the pill’); B) - Exotic ornamental imports into Australian gardens and beyond to English and European conservatories (and some warmer, southern) gardens and parks; C) - Depicted or carved as subjects of botanical and other artworks, commercial commodities.
    [Show full text]
  • The Biripi – a History Since 1827
    14 MANNING VALLEY Valley-was undertaken by William Birrell as a PhD thesis at the University of Newcastle, and completed in 1970. The main body of this work appeared as a book in 1987, The Manning Valley: Landscape and Settlement 1824-1900, published by Jacaranda Press. Greater Taree City Council's commissioned history of the region, The Struggle against Isolation: A History of the Manning Valley by John Ramsland, was also published in 1987. More local history is written than any other single historical genre, and the sheer number of publications written by local people about their localities, schools, churches, farming communities, industries, personalities and so on within the Manning Valley, as well as growing community interest in the conservation of the environment and cultural heritage, should ensure that the flow of local histories will increase.21 THE BIRIPl-A HISTORY SINCE 1827 The story of Australia since 178 8 has been a story of black and white, two civilisations interacting in a great human drama, and yet until recently the Aborigines found no place in our history. Over the last thirty years our knowledge of both pre-European and post-European Aboriginal experience has been transformed.22 There are different interpretations of the origins of human settlement in Australia. Some Aborigines declare their ancestors were here from the beginning; rejecting the view that they came from Asia to the northern parts of the continent about 50,000 years ago as white history. This collision of judgments, observes Ken Inglis, presents a conflict for scholars who are committed to respecting Aboriginal perceptions of the world but also believe that the methods and findings of science comprise a universally valid system of inquiry-not simply a means to set two mythologies against each other.23 Aborigines have a different conception of knowledge to white historians.
    [Show full text]
  • Middle Park (Mostly Victorian), Ormond Road in Elwood (Mostly Edwardian), and Glen Eira Road in Elsternwick (Mostly Inter-War)
    Port Phillip Heritage Review 129 Dundas Place) or rows of three (114-118 and 146-150 Bridport Street), four (101-107 Bridport Street) or even five (109-117 and 124-132 Bridport Street; 115-123 Victoria Avenue). The longest row, with eight identical shops, stands at 133-147 Victoria Avenue. Victorian shops are of brick construction, mostly with rendered façades although some in bichromatic brick (eg 101-107 Bridport Street; 115-123 Victoria Avenue), occasionally overpainted. Typical of the ornate Boom style of the 1880s, facades have moulded pilasters, cornices and stringcourses, and parapets with shaped pediments (half-round, segmental, rectangular or triangular) embellished with decorative motifs such as balustrades, brackets, consoles, urns and orbs. Some of the more unusual and striking details include vermiculated quoining (133-147 Victoria Avenue), rendered lettering (eg the exchange buildings at 91-93 Dundas Place, and a t craven chemist at 134 Bridport Street) or wrought iron balconettes to upstairs windows (93-95 Victoria Avenue). Windows at the upper levels are variously rectangular, round-arched or segmental-arched, with a broad range of Italianate-style decorative treatments including pediments, colonettes, pilasters, balustraded sills and moulded architraves with keystones. In a few cases, the upper level has been set back to create a balcony with a wrought iron balustrade (eg 133-147 Victoria Avenue) or an arcaded loggia (eg 163 and 183-187 Victoria Avenue). Some of these balconies have been infilled. At ground floor, these Victorian shops generally retain their original shopfront fitouts, such as splayed entrances with tiled thresholds, huge metal-framed windows with multi-paned or leadlight highlights, and spandrels with glazed green or brown ceramic tiles.
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous Australians Using Trees and Timber
    AN EXCERPT FROM SOME NMWB SNOHES OF |T]E HAgTINtrS Elaine van Kempen for Hastings Gouncil, eOOg INDIGENCIUS AUSTRAUANS USING TREES AND TIMBER The northenn coast of New South Wales supported a substantial number of Aboriginal Austnalians. As J.G. Steele told in Abonginal Pathways, the Tweed River disrict was able to muster 5OO wartiors. That means a population of about 2500 in an area of gOO l square kilometres - approximately 1 7a people to the squane kilometre. So the whole rich strip from the Camden Haven to the border and the coast west to the Great Dividing Hange - 30,OOO square kilometres - might well have nourished 45,0OO people. As everyryvhere else in Australia,tftey farmed the country with fire. At the time of the Bridsh settlement, the land was a wondrous mosaic of grassland and open forest, occasional behs of thick eucalypt forest, rainforest of varying width along the creeks and rivers, and coastal heath. The many r.iver€, creeks, lakes, swamps and lagoons made it easy tCI contrul the spread of fire. The entire coast and eastern slopes were burnt in small patches et periods ranging frum a few months to several year€. The coastal people hod a much easier time of the drastic climate changes of between thiflry thousand and trarelve thousand years ago than the inland people did. But they had to make drasEic changes seven thousand year€ ago when the seas rose by about one hundrpd and fifty metres. The coastal fringe where they had pneviously caught fish and gathered shellfish is now about 250 kilometres out to sea.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 1 Information Processing and Australian Prehistory 1.1 Introduction
    1 CHAPTER 1 INFORMATION PROCESSING AND AUSTRALIAN PREHISTORY 1.1 INTRODUCTION This thesis has two primary aims. The first is to examine a range of ethnohistorical and archaeological data in an attempt to establish the patterns of settlement and subsistence of the prehistoriC Aboriginal inhabitants of northeastern New South Wales. I focus particular attention on the New England Tablelands and the rugged gorge country lying between the coastal hinterland and the tablelands. Secondly, I will describe the patterns of social intercourse and alliance in the region, using both historic and archaeological data. I will then consider the relationship between these, and social arrangements seen elsewhere in Australia. Finally, I will examine the potential of information theory to explain the processes and changes which occurred in the New England area and across Australia during the middle and late Holocene. It will be demonstrated that social relations between groups in northeastern NSW were extremely fluid at contact, and that this fluidity is reflected in the archaeological record of this region. Ethnohistorically, clans in coastal areas sought to establish autonomy from their neighbours, continually forging alliances, which collapsed and then re-emerged as differences were mediated. This is reflected in the complex linguistic arrangements seen in coastal areas, with large numbers of dialects being used by individual clans, but no break being of such depth or of sufficient time for a new language to emerge. We will also see that linguistic evidence suggests a joint ancestry for tableland groups and certain coastal peoples, and that barriers . ", developed between these peoples such that extreme divergence between tableland and the related coastal languages took place.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert James Smith New Eyes on Old Forests: a Reconsideration of Early
    Chapter 2—Australia’s Ever-changing Forests VI: Proceedings of the Eighth National Conference on Australian Forest History. Brett J. Stubbs et al. (ed.). © 2012, ISBN 978-0-9757906-2-5 New eyes on old forests: A reconsideration of early accounts of the North Coast of New South Wales Robert James Smith School of Education, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480 Introduction While there are numerous early accounts of the forests of the North Coast of New South Wales, this is not to say that they are assembled or are readily accessible. Indeed, any current attempt to use such primary sources—in order to address local or regional history—will soon be revealed as constrained by three challenges: the time-consuming search to identify material likely to be relevant; then the problems of determining significance and analysis; and following the insights in the few secondary sources, with their own range of sources and their own purposes. Regional historical scholarship is much like early exploration; through this thicket there are few pathways to follow. What prompted this current interest in early accounts of the North Coast of NSW were those students, primary, high school and tertiary, who, at various times, all asked the seemingly off-point question about the explorers of the North Coast. Why were they studying only what scholars might have termed a ‘canon’—other places, people and significance—when the students wanted primarily to understand the land around them? This came at a time when the richly-forested North Coast of NSW provided many contested sites of land-use, and associated 2 SMITH debates which presented historical opinions as facts—debates which could fracture families.
    [Show full text]