ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ON FARMLANDS: The Perceptions of Farmers of the Tatiara District of South Australia Gary Robert Toone Bachelor of Arts in Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies (Edith Cowan University) Master of Cultural Heritage (Deakin University) NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS STUDIES The Australian National University A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY OF THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Canberra October 2016 © (Gary Toone) 2016 All rights reserved i For my family: past, present and future Especially for my Mother and Father: Rosina (Rose) Daisy Toone - nee Young (1919-1998) Henry William (Bill) Toone (1913-1972) “You won’t get it done by looking at it, Son.” (Bill Toone, c1967) ii Declaration I hereby declare that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my submission of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage on Farmlands: The Perceptions of Farmers of the Tatiara District of South Australia is my own work, except where acknowledgement is indicated, and that it has not been previously submitted for any degree or examination at any university. I authorise the National Centre for Indigenous Studies to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for scholarly research. Signed: Gary Robert Toone Date: iii Acknowledgement My main acknowledgement and debt must be to the participants in this study who, while knowing they will not be named, were willing to contribute their time, consider their positions, and share their stories. Without their involvement, this study would not contain the rich expressions of experiences, ideas and beliefs of members of Australia’s Tatiara farming fraternity. It would not have been possible to begin this research without the postgraduate scholarship provided by the Australian National University- for which I am grateful. I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude and profound feeling of admiration to my thesis supervisory Panel: Professor Mick Dodson, Chair of the Panel, who can only be an inspiration with his deep commitment to the rights of Indigenous peoples of Australia and the world; Professor Joan Beaumont, my Supervisor, who has provided me with the impetus, assurance and knowledge to drive this study forward to completion; Dr Philip Clarke, without whose support and advice I may not have had the confidence to apply to the ANU and begin this journey; and last, but certainly not least, my thanks and admiration go out to Associate Professor Cressida Fforde, not only for her vital guidance, support and advice, but also for her steadfast belief that I could get this done. While each of these people contributed to this study in their own special way and in their own area of expertise, they have each also extended to me a personal friendship that will not be forgotten – thank you. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the Australian National University’s National Centre for Indigenous Studies (NCIS) and thank the research and support staff there for their collegiality and camaraderie. Many thanks also to all those colleague PhD researchers at NCIS, and elsewhere, who have, knowingly or not, contributed and helped me in this work. I will not name you all, but I want you to know my appreciation and accept my best wishes. Finally, my love and gratitude to my friend, wife and partner, Sue, and our two children Alice and Kate, who have supported me throughout my studies and shared in some way all those emotional ups and downs from the beginnings of my undergraduate studies to the final stages of my scholastic journey – this thesis. iv Abstract The management of Aboriginal cultural heritage in intensively settled and farmed regions of Australia faces legal and ethical challenges. This study examines how fifteen farmers from the Tatiara District of South Australia perceive Aboriginal Cultural Resources (ACR) and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) on their freehold farmland. Drawing on the concept of cultural heritage as a cultural process, the thesis employs an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology to interpret the findings of detailed interviews which explored the perspectives of farmer stakeholders and the way ACR and ACH is managed in farming contexts. Previous research on Aboriginal heritage has focused on the interests and perspectives of Aboriginal, professional and government stakeholders. However, in terms of effective management of ACR and ACH in farming landscapes, a pivotal ‘first step’ is understanding the points of view of the farmers on whose land the ACR resides: how Aboriginal heritage fits within the ‘lived life’ of agriculture; what farmers know of South Australian Aboriginal cultural heritage protection legislation and administration; and how they understand the protection of ACR and ACH on their farms. This thesis finds that, despite uncertain understandings of cultural heritage, Tatiara farmers have a positive attitude toward protecting and preserving ACR. However, a marginalisation of farmers in Aboriginal heritage management leaves them feeling ignorant, incompetent, vulnerable and reluctant to engage and deal with Aboriginal issues. These findings highlight the significance of including all stakeholders in cultural heritage management regimes and of facilitating dialogue between farmers and those Aboriginal communities for whom the cultural resources on farms have the potential to become heritage. Stakeholder cooperation and collaboration is particularly necessary in circumstances where cultural resources are divorced from cultural knowledge, control and ownership. The results of this study suggest that efficacious Aboriginal heritage management in cross-cultural situations rests on an investment in the capacity of non-Aboriginal stakeholders to engage with v Aboriginal cultures and heritage, and for Aboriginal people to engage with ‘known’ and ‘unknown’ ACR with the potential to become ACH. The conclusion of this study is that worthwhile Aboriginal heritage management will likely emanate from mutual respectful, trusting relationships, developed in local ethical spaces supporting stakeholder cross-cultural communication, negotiation and collaboration. vi Table of Contents PAGE Declaration…………………………………………………………………..........iii Acknowledgement…..............................................................................................iv Abstract…................................................................................................................v Table of Contents………………………………………………………………... vii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………... xiii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………… xiv Glossary…………………………………………………………………………. xv Chapter 1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….1 1.1 Background to the research………………………………………………... 1 1.2 Questions of definition…….………………………………………………. 4 1.2.1 Cultural heritage……………………………………………………… 4 1.2.2 Aboriginal……………………………………………………………. 6 1.2.3 Aboriginal Cultural Resource (ACR)………………………………… 6 1.2.4 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH)………………………………… 7 1.2.5 Aboriginal heritage…………………………………………………… 7 1.2.6 Aboriginal heritage management.………………………………......... 7 1.3 The research problem……………………………………………………… 8 1.3.1 Divergent cognitions and interests in cultural heritage……………... 10 1.3.2 Farmers’ roles in Aboriginal heritage management………………… 11 1.3.3 Farmers’ unique position for enabling Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH)………………………………………………………………… 13 1.3.4 The use of Aboriginal heritage legislation and administration……... 14 1.4 Justification of the research………………………………………………. 16 vii 1.5 Research strategy………………………………………………………… 17 1.6 Outline of the thesis……………………………………………………… 19 1.7 Conclusion………………………………………………………………...21 2 Cultural Heritage and Aboriginal Identity in Farming Landscapes…… 23 2.1 Theoretical understandings of cultural heritage…………………………. 24 2.1.1 Heritage as a cultural process…………………………………......... 26 2.1.2 Collective memory…………………………………………………. 28 2.1.3 Multiple meanings…………………………………………………... 29 2.1.4 The significance of significance……………………………………. 30 2.2 Aboriginal identities and heritage values in the intensively ‘settled’ parts of Australia………………………………………………………… 33 2.2.1 Aboriginal cultural revival…………………………………………. 36 2.3 Heritage conservation in rural contexts…………………………………... 38 2.3.1 Cultural resources on farmland: a concern internationally…………. 39 2.3.2 Threats to Aboriginal Cultural Resources (ACR) on Australian arable farmland…………………………………………. 40 2.3.3 Multifunctionality and the public good……………………………... 43 2.3.4 Complexities with farming and conservation………………………. 44 2.3.5 Farmers and ethics of conservation and protection…………………. 46 2.4 Conclusion...……………………………………………………………… 51 3 Aboriginal Heritage Management in South Australia: Legislation and Administration……………………………………………………………... 53 3.1 Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act (SA) 1965 [AHRPA (SA) 1965]……………………………………………………... 55 3.2 Aboriginal Heritage Act (SA) 1979 [AHA (SA) 1979] …………………... 57 3.3 Aboriginal Heritage Act (SA) 1988 [AHA (SA) 1988] …………………... 61 3.3.1 Administrative structures of the AHA (SA) 1988…………………… 64 3.3.2 Protecting Aboriginal heritage under the AHA (SA) 1988…………. 68 3.3.3 Ambivalent use of ‘significance’ in the AHA (SA) 1988…………… 70 3.3.4 Determining Aboriginal heritage…………………………………… 72 3.3.5 Landowners’ legal responsibilities to Aboriginal Cultural Resources (ACR) and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH)…………………… 75 viii 3.4 The role of development and planning in Aboriginal heritage management………………………………………………………………79 3.4.1 Planning and development in the