Professional Development

ASWA Workshop: Appearing Places

On 25 September 2009 ASWA held another of its professional development workshops. Entitled Appearing Places: The Methodological and Heritage Implications of Contemporary Nyungar Placemaking the workshop sought to examine the process of contemporary Nyungar ‘placemaking’ and its implications in respect of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 ("AHA"). A key focus for discussion was the appropological position/s that professional consulting anthropologists in Western Australia (i.e., professional members of ASWA) might bring to bear in the recording and assessment of such 'contemporary' places reported in the course of Aboriginal heritage surveys undertaken for the purposes of the AHA. A second, but very much related matter, was the status of these places within the context of sections 5 and 39 of the AHA.

Papers given during the workshop included:

  • Christine Lewis: The Site Assessment Group DIA: processes and problems.
    Abstract: This paper provides a summary of the site assessment processes within the Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA). It outlines the releationship between the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee (ACMC) and the DIA Hertiage & Culture Branch. The paper conveys the message that all sites reported to the Registrar of Aboriginal Sites under the AHA are subject to the same assessment process. Professional consultants are urged to understand the fundamental information elements withn section 5 of the AHA and supply site recordings in a manner that is able to assessed against those elements. Recordings that do not acknowledge these elements leads to requests for further information and time delays which suggests that improvements in the effectiveness of the DIA assessment framework (and therefore the site protection outcomes) is contingent upon improvements in the quality of consultants.
  • Eddie McDonald: 'Are places appearing? Comments on apparent Nyungar placemaking processes in the Perth Metropolitan Area'.
  • Daniel Leo: 'Encompassing the Emplaced: The Anthropological Quantification and Qualification of Myth and Sentiment in the Landscape'.
  • Eddie McDonald: 'Cú Chulainn in the Land of Oz: Notes on 'ensouled geography', placemaking and authenticity in a South Australian context'.

The Workshop was rounded out with a Discussion on the Methodological and Heritage Implications of Contemporary Nyungar Placemaking. The final session was devoted to making some Practice Recommendations for assessing contemporary Nyungar placemaking in the context of the AHA.