Mosley, Bridget (Graduate School of the Environment, Macquarie University)

At the Grass Roots: Graziers and Material Culture in Western New South Wales

The focus of this poster is local attitudes and perceptions of the archaeological record and associated material culture in western New South Wales between White Cliffs, Broken Hill and Tibooburra. In this area ongoing erosion on grazing lands has widely exposed the remains of past human activities on the surface, which trace the history of occupation and land use from pre-contact Aboriginal through to the present day. People working on the land are familiar with this material as part of the local environment with which they interact on a daily basis and which contributes to their sense of place. In exploring the social value of material remains in western New South Wales, I use data from interviews with graziers to look at how local people perceive archaeological heritage and how the different meanings and values attached to material remains impact on what they do on the ground.

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