During the late Holocene, Aboriginal rock painters in north Queensland selected and combined vari... more During the late Holocene, Aboriginal rock painters in north Queensland selected and combined various natural inorganic and organic materials in paint recipes – possibly to increase the longevity of their paintings. The organic materials make direct radiocarbon dating possible.
This paper examines the impact the massacre at Myall Creek had on subsequent frontier interaction... more This paper examines the impact the massacre at Myall Creek had on subsequent frontier interactions in other parts of Australia. It is argued that its aftermath in the region then known as Northern NSW, where a Native Police force was formed a decade later was extensive and that Aboriginal responses to the event provide new insights, including how people from different Aboriginal groups at the time may have heard about Myall Creek and other violent clashes with white settlers, and how their families remember frontier conflict today.
Although the historical record relating to nineteenth century frontier conflict between Aborigina... more Although the historical record relating to nineteenth century frontier conflict between Aboriginal groups and Europeans in Queensland has been clearly documented, there have been limited associated archaeological studies. As part of the Archaeology of the Queensland Native Mounted Police (NMP) project, this paper canvasses the physical imprint of frontier conflict across Queensland between 1849 and the early 1900s, focusing specifically on the activities and camp sites of the NMP, the paramilitary government-sanctioned force tasked with policing Aboriginal people to protect settler livelihoods. At least 148 NMP camps of varying duration once existed, and historical and archaeological investigations of these demonstrate some consistent patterning amongst them, as well as idiosyncrasies depending on individual locations and circumstances. All camps were positioned with primary regard to the availability of water and forage. Owing to their intended temporary nature and the frugality of...
This paper focuses on Australian Indigenous rock art tourism, a field that has received limited r... more This paper focuses on Australian Indigenous rock art tourism, a field that has received limited research attention. Our aim is to identify aspects which are invisible in tourism promotions. We note trends in rock art tourism and related research, survey the Australian situation, and employ a case study approach to outline the development of Indigenous rock art tourism in Kakadu National Park (KNP) and parts of the Quinkan (Laura Cooktown) region. In both regions, Aboriginal communities inherited legacies of top down decision-making and bureaucratic methods. Although the Laura people transitioned to a community-based system and a successful ranger program, they face challenges in achieving their aspirations for sustainable rock art tourism. KNP communities, subsumed into an unwieldy joint management arrangement for the World Heritage listed National Park, are faced with competing values and perspectives of the dominant government system. A centerpiece of the Balnggarrawarra tourism i...
This paper reports on the recording of previously unpublished Aboriginal stone hut structures in ... more This paper reports on the recording of previously unpublished Aboriginal stone hut structures in southwestern Queensland. Located along the Georgina River, these 15 structures are typical of the region, being generally circular in plan view, with an average diameter of 5m and a 1m-wide opening consistently positioned to afford protection from prevailing winds. Evidence suggests these structures were roofed with vegetation and, while they pre-date the contact period, appear also to have been used into at least the late 1800s. Artefacts associated with them include stone flakes, cores and edge-ground axe fragments, freshwater mussel shells, rifle cartridge cases, fragments of glass, and metal objects. A comparison of these stone hut structures is made with similar features from elsewhere in Australia, demonstrating that there was a widespread but consistent use of stone for construction. This short report contributes to an increasing awareness of, and literature about, built structure...
The Cape York peninsula, in tropical Queensland, shows distinct regional pattern in its recent ro... more The Cape York peninsula, in tropical Queensland, shows distinct regional pattern in its recent rock art. And there is regional pattern also in the exchange networks of ethnohistorical times. Do these patterns bear a relationship?
[Extract] Percy Trezise (1923-2005), who became a pioneer of Australian rock art research, was bo... more [Extract] Percy Trezise (1923-2005), who became a pioneer of Australian rock art research, was born in 1923 and raised in country Victoria. He trained as an RAAF pilot in World War II and after the war became a commercial pilot. Trezise was introduced to Aboriginal rock art in 1960 when he investigated reports of rock paintings south of Laura, in a locality which came to be known as Split Rock. Thereafter, he made unofficial aerial surveys for likely rock art locations while flying over the spectacular escarpments and gorges of the vast belt of sandstone country between Cooktown and the Great Divide. He followed up these aerial observations with arduous dry-season expeditions (on foot) to the remote plateaux and escarpments to locate and record the art
During the late Holocene, Aboriginal rock painters in north Queensland selected and combined vari... more During the late Holocene, Aboriginal rock painters in north Queensland selected and combined various natural inorganic and organic materials in paint recipes – possibly to increase the longevity of their paintings. The organic materials make direct radiocarbon dating possible.
This paper examines the impact the massacre at Myall Creek had on subsequent frontier interaction... more This paper examines the impact the massacre at Myall Creek had on subsequent frontier interactions in other parts of Australia. It is argued that its aftermath in the region then known as Northern NSW, where a Native Police force was formed a decade later was extensive and that Aboriginal responses to the event provide new insights, including how people from different Aboriginal groups at the time may have heard about Myall Creek and other violent clashes with white settlers, and how their families remember frontier conflict today.
Although the historical record relating to nineteenth century frontier conflict between Aborigina... more Although the historical record relating to nineteenth century frontier conflict between Aboriginal groups and Europeans in Queensland has been clearly documented, there have been limited associated archaeological studies. As part of the Archaeology of the Queensland Native Mounted Police (NMP) project, this paper canvasses the physical imprint of frontier conflict across Queensland between 1849 and the early 1900s, focusing specifically on the activities and camp sites of the NMP, the paramilitary government-sanctioned force tasked with policing Aboriginal people to protect settler livelihoods. At least 148 NMP camps of varying duration once existed, and historical and archaeological investigations of these demonstrate some consistent patterning amongst them, as well as idiosyncrasies depending on individual locations and circumstances. All camps were positioned with primary regard to the availability of water and forage. Owing to their intended temporary nature and the frugality of...
This paper focuses on Australian Indigenous rock art tourism, a field that has received limited r... more This paper focuses on Australian Indigenous rock art tourism, a field that has received limited research attention. Our aim is to identify aspects which are invisible in tourism promotions. We note trends in rock art tourism and related research, survey the Australian situation, and employ a case study approach to outline the development of Indigenous rock art tourism in Kakadu National Park (KNP) and parts of the Quinkan (Laura Cooktown) region. In both regions, Aboriginal communities inherited legacies of top down decision-making and bureaucratic methods. Although the Laura people transitioned to a community-based system and a successful ranger program, they face challenges in achieving their aspirations for sustainable rock art tourism. KNP communities, subsumed into an unwieldy joint management arrangement for the World Heritage listed National Park, are faced with competing values and perspectives of the dominant government system. A centerpiece of the Balnggarrawarra tourism i...
This paper reports on the recording of previously unpublished Aboriginal stone hut structures in ... more This paper reports on the recording of previously unpublished Aboriginal stone hut structures in southwestern Queensland. Located along the Georgina River, these 15 structures are typical of the region, being generally circular in plan view, with an average diameter of 5m and a 1m-wide opening consistently positioned to afford protection from prevailing winds. Evidence suggests these structures were roofed with vegetation and, while they pre-date the contact period, appear also to have been used into at least the late 1800s. Artefacts associated with them include stone flakes, cores and edge-ground axe fragments, freshwater mussel shells, rifle cartridge cases, fragments of glass, and metal objects. A comparison of these stone hut structures is made with similar features from elsewhere in Australia, demonstrating that there was a widespread but consistent use of stone for construction. This short report contributes to an increasing awareness of, and literature about, built structure...
The Cape York peninsula, in tropical Queensland, shows distinct regional pattern in its recent ro... more The Cape York peninsula, in tropical Queensland, shows distinct regional pattern in its recent rock art. And there is regional pattern also in the exchange networks of ethnohistorical times. Do these patterns bear a relationship?
[Extract] Percy Trezise (1923-2005), who became a pioneer of Australian rock art research, was bo... more [Extract] Percy Trezise (1923-2005), who became a pioneer of Australian rock art research, was born in 1923 and raised in country Victoria. He trained as an RAAF pilot in World War II and after the war became a commercial pilot. Trezise was introduced to Aboriginal rock art in 1960 when he investigated reports of rock paintings south of Laura, in a locality which came to be known as Split Rock. Thereafter, he made unofficial aerial surveys for likely rock art locations while flying over the spectacular escarpments and gorges of the vast belt of sandstone country between Cooktown and the Great Divide. He followed up these aerial observations with arduous dry-season expeditions (on foot) to the remote plateaux and escarpments to locate and record the art
Abstract The archaeological record of Lower Laura (aka Boralga) Native Mounted Police camp, a lon... more Abstract The archaeological record of Lower Laura (aka Boralga) Native Mounted Police camp, a longstanding base for Queensland’s frontier war in Cape York Peninsula, includes a diverse assemblage of culturally modified Erythophleum chlorastychys (Cooktown ironwood) trees. Analysis of cultural scar attributes and tool marks – which were found to be variously associated with Aboriginal stone tools, tomahawks of different types, and long handled axes – reveals a scenario of nineteenth century land use and technology that transcends the pre-conflict era of Aboriginal clan estates. As well as reflecting traditional patterns of Aboriginal tenure of prime waterfront land, the assemblage reveals innovations that occurred in Aboriginal technology in the lead-up to war. However, an unusual style of cultural scar cut using long handled axes appears to signal transformations in demography and land use following Native Mounted Police occupation. By integrating historical, oral history, spatial, typological, and botanical data this study provides evidence of demographic and environmental changes set in train by the gold-rush invasion. It also highlights the complexities of documenting Cooktown ironwood trees of advanced age and their fragile, deteriorating cultural modifications.
The authors describe rock art dating research in Australia using the oxalate method. While the ar... more The authors describe rock art dating research in Australia using the oxalate method. While the array of dates obtained (which range from c. 1200 to c. 25 000 BP) show a satisfactory correlation with other archaeological data, there are mismatches which suggest that some motifs were often imitated by later artists, and/or that the mineral accretions continued to form periodically, perhaps continuously, as a regional phenomenon over a long period of time.
During the late Holocene, Aboriginal rock painters in north Queensland selected and combined vari... more During the late Holocene, Aboriginal rock painters in north Queensland selected and combined various natural inorganic and organic materials in paint recipes – possibly to increase the longevity of their paintings. The organic materials make direct radiocarbon dating possible.
The archaeological record of Lower Laura (aka Boralga) Native Mounted Police camp, a long-standin... more The archaeological record of Lower Laura (aka Boralga) Native Mounted Police camp, a long-standing base for Queensland’s frontier war in Cape York Peninsula, includes a diverse assem-blage of culturally modified Erythophleum chlorastychys (Cooktown ironwood) trees. Analysis of cultural scar attributes and tool marks – which were found to be variously associated with Aboriginal stone tools, tomahawks of different types, and long handled axes – reveals a scen-ario of nineteenth century land use and technology that transcends the pre-conflict era of Aboriginal clan estates. As well as reflecting traditional patterns of Aboriginal tenure of prime waterfront land, the assemblage reveals innovations that occurred in Aboriginal technology in the lead-up to war. However, an unusual style of cultural scar cut using long handled axes appears to signal transformations in demography and land use following Native Mounted Police occupation. By integrating historical, oral history, spatial, typological, and botanical data this study provides evidence of demographic and environmental changes set in train by the gold-rush invasion. It also highlights the complexities of documenting Cooktown ironwood trees of advanced age and their fragile, deteriorating cultural modifications.
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Noelene Cole
Papers by Noelene Cole