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Map Matters 1 www.australiaonthemap.org.au I s s u e Map Matters 1 Issue 16 December 2011 Inside this issue Welcome to the "Spring" 2011 edition of Map Matters, News the newsletter of the Australia on the Map Division of the Editorial: Reflections on History and Heritage Australasian Hydrographic Society. Protecting, Commemorating and Interpreting Maritime If you have any contributions or suggestions for History Sites A Dangerous Question Map Matters, you can email them to me at: 24th International Conference [email protected], or post them to me at: on the History of Cartography GPO Box 1781, Canberra, 2601 in Moscow The First Views of the Frank Geurts Australian Coast in 1658 Hydro 2011 – Fremantle, Editor Western Australia Search for Buried Shipwrecks in Bunbury Commences Members welcome Contacts How to contact the AOTM Division Editorial Reflections on History and Heritage This issue of Map Matters has two articles raising interesting questions about the correct identification, naming and protection of historically significant maritime and coastal landmarks – issues Ken Gold has raised on Point Danger/Fingal Head, and Trevor Lipscombe’s on Rame Head/Little Rame Head. Trevor addresses the issues of how such sites are protected, commemorated and interpreted. This issue may be a bit broader than a couple of examples where landmarks have been misnamed however. I have been personally involved in a debate about where the first Europeans to reside in Australia were deliberately marooned in 1629. In this case I have been arguing a local council has erected a monument and interpretative signage in the wrong location. The Australia on the Map Division and the Eastern Australian Region of the AHS collaborated in recent years in endeavouring to have The Basin and Refuge Bay area placed on the National Heritage Register. This was intended to recognise the significance of this location as the place where the first draft of the Australian Constitution was drawn up on the Queensland government steam yacht Lucinda over Easter 1891. The nomination was rejected! The Australia on the Map Division has also been lobbying, without success thus far, for the establishment of an „Explorers Commemorative Area‟ in the Parliamentary Triangle, so that the achievements of important explorers1 and navigators in the history of Australia and its states and territories can be recognised. Reflecting on these matters, it seems to me that in some cases we are trying to get recognition for important sites linked to important historical events. But if the significance is not recognised, it becomes difficult to have it protected. If the relevant authorities make a meal of correct identification of a site, it is difficult to have the right location acknowledged, commemorated, protected and explained. Compounding this problem is the lack of any system. Certainly there is extensive heritage protection legislation at national and state levels, but this is aimed at preserving treasured buildings and landscapes, not at identifying, acknowledging and explaining significant events and their associated landmarks. No tier of government, local, state or national, has identified responsibility for such things. So it is no-one‟s responsibility. The result is well-meaning, ad hoc, initiatives by various passionate individuals, local groups, councils and the like. Many of us have heard the refrain, “Australia doesn‟t really have a history,” or “Australian history is really boring.” I would suggest that a significant part of this perception is simply a lack of awareness. A good example I came across recently lies on a coastal road on the central west coast of WA. A range of interesting events in early maritime history had occurred in this area. Along the way there were roadside information bays, which dutifully inform the passer-by all about the plants and animals in the area. But not a word is written about the history. If significant places were systematically acknowledged, signposted, protected and explained, then over time Australians would become better educated and appreciate some of the amazing things that have happened around our coasts and along our waterways, and elsewhere. Rupert Gerritsen Chair Australia on the Map Division Protecting, Commemorating and Interpreting Maritime History Sites – Does Australia on the Map Division have a role? As part of it role in promoting awareness of hydrographic history and heritage, the Australia on the Map Division (AOTM) of the Australasian Hydrographic Society encourages further research and greater awareness of the long and rich maritime history of Australia. Around Australia‟s coast there are many important maritime history sites – places where explorers landed, sought water, wood and food, buried their dead, encountered Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, or found new flora and fauna. Capes, rivers, mountains and other features were named, sprinkling an intriguing trail of historical references which mark explorers‟ tracks. Because of the remote nature of many parts of the Australian coastline many of these sites remain exactly as they were and would be readily recognised by the Europeans who first saw or visited them. A tiny number of sites, such as Cook‟s landing place at Botany Bay, are effectively commemorated and interpreted. But the significance of many 1 Beginning with the original Indigenous discoverers, through to Janszoon, Hartog, Sturt, Mitchell and so on. important sites goes unrecognised, their heritage values are often at risk and tourism opportunities are being missed. A good example is the first feature on the Australian coast named by that celebrity navigator James Cook (see my article „Rame Head – a remarkably overlooked point‟ in Cook’s Log, Vol. 34, No. 4, October 2011 – email me at [email protected] if you would like a copy). This site is important for a number of reasons but it is not recognised as important locally, has no heritage protection, is not commemorated on the ground and has no local interpretation. Cook named this feature Ram(e) Head because „This point rises to a round hillick, very much like the Ram Head going into Plymouth Sound‟. As a result of a remarkable topographical coincidence, Cook‟s point of departure from England is neatly linked to his point of arrival in Australia. It is also the first place on the Australian mainland named after a place in Britain. Cook‟s Rame Head, on the Croajingolong coast, appears on today‟s map of Victoria as Little Rame Head, and is now home to a solar powered navigation light. Little Rame Head Light (Photo: John Ibbotson) A portion of the „round hillick‟ has been chopped away to provide a helipad so that the light can be maintained. Had the heritage importance of this site been recognised perhaps it would have been more sensitively treated, commemorated and interpreted locally. Croajingolong Coast (Photo: Al Sweet) Many opportunities exist for remote communities to bring tourists to their areas to visit such sites, widening awareness of Australia‟s maritime history. So what is to be done? The aim of this article is to start a conversation about what AOTM might do. Awareness begins with research to identify and visit these sites. Several members of AOTM have done this and published the results. There are plenty of opportunities for more research in this area. Next, these sites need to be ranked in order of importance and steps taken to protect, commemorate and interpret them. AOTM is well placed to identify key sites where action is required. Protection can take a number of forms, from formal heritage listing through federal and state government heritage bodies and/or the state National Trusts, to drawing the attention of local historical societies, museums and tourism authorities to the values of these places. The „worthiness‟ of sites for heritage listing changes over time and is enhanced by increased awareness of their values, an important role for AOTM. AOTM, itself a heritage body, could, like National Trusts and other conservation bodies, draw up, publish and promote its own register of sites of national and regional importance, highlighting those at particular risk. A number of sites have already been identified by AOTM members and unsuccessful efforts made to have them heritage listed. This lack of success perhaps suggests that the ‟worthiness‟ of these sites is not yet appreciated by heritage authorities and that more work needs to be done to raise awareness, particularly in the local area, so that these sites are better valued. The history of heritage listing in Australia suggests that „worthiness‟ can change over a relatively short period. Commemoration involves memorials or plaques which mark the significance of a place. The physical commemoration of maritime history events is important in raising awareness among locals and visitors. In some areas this has been done by local historical societies and local authorities, but there are many significant sites which would benefit from sensitive commemoration. Interpretation involves providing more information than a memorial or commemorative plaque can do. Interpretation panels at or near significant sights, displays in visitor centres and museums, heritage trails, local history leaflets and publications, are examples. There are some excellent examples of effective interpretation, but it is piecemeal and a multitude of equally or more important sites remain unmarked. Given its limited resources AOTM‟s role is likely to be limited to being a catalyst for action through a systematic approach. Possible objectives are identifying areas for and encouraging research, identifying and publishing a register of important sites, and seeking national heritage listing for key sites. Mobilising and supporting local initiatives through State National Trusts, local historical societies, tourism bodies and local councils, could also be an important role for AOTM, utilising its network throughout Australia. Trevor Lipscombe A Dangerous Question In 1766 the Royal Society of London commissioned Lt. (later Captain) James Cook to explore the Pacific Ocean.
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