Since the 1980s, there has been an increasing emphasis on drama, in live theatre and on film, which re-addresses the ways in which the post-colonial histories of Australia and New Zealand have been written. Why is there such a focus on �historical� drama in these countries at the end of the twentieth century and what does this drama contribute to wider debates about post-colonial history? This thesis aims both to explore the connections between drama and history, and to analyse the interface between live and recorded drama. In order to discuss these issues, I have used the work of theatre and film critics and historians, supplemented by reference to writers working in the field of post-colonial and performance theory. In particular, I have utilised the methods of Helen Gilbert and Joanne Tompkins in Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics, beginning with their claim that in the post-colonial situation history has been seen to determine reality itself. I have also drawn on theorists such as Michel Foucault, Linda Hutcheon and Guy Debord who question the �truth� value of official history-writing and emphasize the role of representation in determining popular perceptions of the past. This discussion is developed through reference to contemporary performance theory, particularly the work of Richard Schechner and Marvin Carlson, in order to suggest that there is no clear separation between performance and reality, and that access to history is only possible through re-enactments of it, whether in written or performative forms. Chapter One is a survey of the development of �historical� drama in theatre and film from New Zealand and Australia. This includes discussion of the diverse cultural and performative traditions which influence this drama, and establishment of the critical methodologies to be used in the thesis. Chapter Two examines four plays which are intercultural re-writings of canonical texts from the European dramatic tradition. In this chapter I analyse the formal and thematic strategies in each of these plays in relation to the source texts, and ask to what extent they function as canonical counter-discourse by offering a critique of the assumptions of the earlier play from a post-colonial perspective. The potential of dramatic representation in forming perceptions of reality has made it an attractive forum for Maori and Aboriginal artists, who are creating theatre which has both a political and a pedagogical function. This discussion demonstrates that much of the impetus towards historiographic drama in both countries has come from Maori and Aboriginal writers and directors working in collaboration with white practitioners. Such collaborations not only advance the project of historiographic drama, but also may form the basis of future theatre practice which departs from the Western tradition and is unique to each of New Zealand and Australia. In Chapter Three I explore the interface between live and recorded performance by comparing plays and films which dramatise similar historical material. I consider the relative effectiveness of theatre and film as media for historiographic critique. I suggest that although film often has a greater cultural impact than theatre, to date live theatre has been a more accessible form of expression for Maori and Aboriginal writers and directors. Furthermore, following theorists such as Brecht and Brook, I argue that such aspects as the presence of the live performer and the design of the physical space shared by actors and audience give theatre considerable potential for creating an immediate engagement with historiographic themes. In Chapter Four, I discuss two contrasting examples of recorded drama in order to highlight the potential of film and television as media for historiographic critique. I question the divisions between the documentary and dramatic genres, and use Derrida�s notion of play to suggest that there is a constant slippage between the dramatic and the real, between the past and the present. In Chapter Five, I summarize the arguments advanced in previous chapters, using the example of the national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, to illustrate that the �performance� of history has become part of popular culture. Like the interactive displays at Te Papa, the texts studied in this thesis demonstrate that dramatic representation has the potential to re-define perceptions of historical �reality�. With its superior capacity for creating illusion, film is a dynamic medium for exploring the imaginative process of history is that in the live performance the spectator symbolically comes into the presence of the past.

The settlement of the claim to fisheries by Maori is a political milestone. The Sealords Deal (the Deal) as it is commonly known, is the first settlement in New Zealand which extinguishes Maori claims to a particular resource. It affects all iwi and proposes the development of a process for the allocation of benefits. As such it needs to be considered in terms of other post-colonial nations� experiences in the resolution of claims to natural resources. Canada, the United States and Australia provide examples of different attitudes and approaches to the resolution of claims to natural resources by their indigenous populations. A typical history of the resolution of claims to natural resources in post-colonial nations begins with initial European contact, followed by increased numbers of settlers which places pressure on governments and the judiciary to justify the acquisition and exploitation of land and other resources. This leaves the indigenous population landless and welfare dependent. This pattern is reflected in judicial decision-making. In New Zealand, the courts initially acknowledged that the rights of Maori to their lands and other resources, existed unless specifically taken away. When pressure for acquisition of land occurred the courts responded by holding that Maori rights to resources only existed if specifically granted by a court or the legislature. This reversed the original presumption of existence of a right unless taken away. It has only been recently that the New Zealand judiciary has reaccepted the common law doctrine of aboriginal title. This brings New Zealand more in line with Canada and the United States, but New Zealand still has some way to go in acknowledging the doctrine of fiduciary obligation of the Crown/government to Maori. It is also helpful to analyse the changes that have taken place in governments� policies that have enabled the creation of an enviroment in which such a settlement can take place. The Labour governments of 1984 and 1987 began a number of policy initiatives which created a socio-economic climate and responsive enviroment favourable to the settlement of such a claim. Changes are also occurring internationally. Indigenous people�s rights are coming to the fore with the proposed Universal Declaration on Indigenous Rights nearly in place. All this change at a national and international level has only been possible by post-colonial nations acknowledging their past in order to move to the future with confidence. The Sealords Deal is an example of an attempt by Maori and the New Zealand government to make this move forward.

Extract from the Introduction: The main considerations of this thesis are: a) That current legislation and policy are tied to a conceptual model based on stereotypes of 'traditional' and 'non-traditional' Aboriginals; b) That 'non-traditional' Aboriginals, such as the people of Port Augusta, are deprived of specialised consideration in relation to land rights because of their lack of an overtly traditional life-style; c) That the scarcity of the resource of land creates an environment prone to conflict and competition; d) That Aboriginals within highly institutionalised environments, such as Port Augusta, become inextricably tied to external institutions and even have members of their own groups co-opted into the ranks of the Government; e) That this process has facilitated the penetration and direct or indirect control of land rights politics by external agents; f) That external penetration has reshaped land rights and introduced new factors, exacerbated old factions and assisted in transforming land rights into an issue of internal competition; g) That the apparently willy-nilly strategies of Aboriginals seeking land rights are a product of their efforts to exercise choice within a context of external penetration and control. / Thesis (M.A.)--Department of Geography, 1983.

The novel Children Of The Earth is about transformation. It uses Ovid's Metamorphoses as a metaphor for the processes which occur in the psyche of each character, and is based on Jungian insights into myth and alchemy. Archetypes that underlie the unconscious processes of all humanity are seen in the symbolism of three very different religious traditions, namely Greek mythology, the Hebrew Old Testament and Australian Aboriginal beliefs. I explore the ways in which these three great mythologies might have converged in colonial South Australia. The story deals with the troubled marriage of isolated settler couple, Hestia and Adam George, and the effects on it of three people who come into their lives. Itinerant German mineralogist Johannes Menge ( based on a real life pioneer ) is a self-taught, eccentric polymath, and a devout but unorthodox exponent of the Bible. In Jungian terms he fulfils the role of an archetypal, but flawed, ' Wise Old Man'. Menge represents nineteenth century Protestantism, albeit still trailing some arcane superstitions. His protégé, a disgraced young teacher of classics, calls himself Hermes, and represents the role of Greek mythology in European civilization. Reliving the life of the mercurial god in the antipodes, he becomes messenger, trickster and seducer. Unatildi, an Indigenous girl whom Adam finds in a burnt-out tree trunk, is an archetypal maiden. She introduces the Europeans to the mythology of their new land, as sacred for her people as the Bible is for Johannes Menge. Each of these three characters plays a part in transforming the marriage of Adam and Hestia, and each, in turn, undergoes a personal metamorphosis. Aboriginal women act as midwives at the birth of the love-child of Hestia and Hermes. Named Sophia, after the goddess of wisdom, the new child is thought to have inherited the miwi spirit of Unatildi's lost infant. On his deathbed, as Menge bequeaths his wisdom to his Australian friends, he predicts that Sophia will understand the sacredness of all spiritual life. Eventually Hestia and Adam find themselves changed by their encounters with the archetypes of myth. News of Menge's death on the goldfields gives them the courage they need to begin rebuilding an honest relationship. The novel is 107,400 words in length and is accompanied by an exegesis of 20,170 word, entitled Myth And Alchemy In Creative Writing. The exegesis describes the interactive process of researching and writing, as well as exploring the value of Jungian concepts for creative writing, and current issues of creating Indigenous characters. There is an emphasis on the Jungian approach to mythology and alchemy. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Humanities, 2006.

Wood identification can serve a role wherever wood has been separated from other diagnostic plant structures as a result of cultural or taphonomic processing. In disciplines that study material culture, such as museum anthropology and art history, it may serve to augment and verify existing knowledge, whilst in fields like palaeobotany, zoology and archaeology, wood identification may test existing paradigms of ecology and human behaviour. However, resources to aid wood identification, particularly of non - commercial species, are sorely lacking and, in Australia, there are only a handful of xylotomists, most of whom are attached to Forestry organisations. In addition, wood fragments are commonly the limit of material available for identification. They may be the physical remains of a wider matrix - as may often appear in biological, archaeological, palaeobotanical or forensic contexts - or a splinter removed from an ethnographic artefact or antique. This research involved the development of an updateable, interactive, computer - based identification tool to the wood of 58 arid Australian species. The identification tool comprises a series of keys and sub - keys to reflect the taxonomic hierarchies and the difficulty of separating wood beyond family or genus. The central Sub - key to Arid Australian Hardwood Taxa is comprised of 20 angiosperm taxa which include families and single representatives of genera. The treated taxa in this key are defined by 57 separate characters. They are split into sets of like characters including four sets based upon method of examination : anatomical ( scanning electron microscopy ), anatomical ( light microscopy ), chemical observations and physical properties. These character sets follow a logical progression, in recognition of the variability in available sample size and that noninvasive techniques are often desirable, if not essential. The use of character sets also reflects that this variability in sample size can affect the range of available characters and the available method of identification, and their diagnostic potential tends to increase with the complexity of the identification method. As part of the research, the identification tool is tested against wood fragments removed from several Aboriginal Australian artefacts from central Australia and case studies are provided. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2005.

This thesis is a genealogy which traces changes to the discourse of Australian citizenship. These changes were traced in the Australia Day (i.e., January 26) and January 27 editions of The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) and The Sun Herald (SH) from 1946 – 2007. The dissertation used Foucault’s (1980; 1991a; 1991d; 1991e; 1998; 2002a; 2006b) genealogy supplemented with his archaeological method to provide an analysis of the discourse of Australian citizenship. The analysis was conducted by creating an archive of newspaper texts that related to Australian citizenship discourse. This archive represents the body of knowledge about citizenship as published in the specified print media and reflects the systems of thought that circulated the discourse at particular points in time. The archived newspaper texts related to Australian citizenship discourse contain traces of the social, political, cultural and economic beliefs and values of Australian citizens. The analysed texts were found in headlines, reports, editorials, opinion pieces, annotated photographs and letters to the editor that made-up the day-to-day history of the Australia Day editions. The texts that were produced in this narration in the SMH have provided data in the form of specific language use that defines the discourse of citizenship over the 62 year period. The language of these texts as reported in the print media represents the understandings of citizenship at particular times and also the discursive responses to contingent factors conditioning citizenship discourse including globalisation, localisation and neo-liberalism. The research links with Foucault’s (1980; 1991a; 1991d; 1991e; 1998; 2002a; 2006b) findings that the analysis of discourse is fundamental for understanding the nature of reality. This reality reported in this dissertation indicates a discourse that has changed and transformed over the analysed period of time. The discourse of citizenship has developed through the flow of rules and regulations that prohibit and permit what can and cannot be said, thought or spoken about citizenship at particular points in time. This form of normative thought, action and speech is culturally constructed and has been traced in the discourse through a mapping of specific language use related to understandings of citizenship. These types of knowledge constructions are artefacts of culture and reinforce existing power relations. This study has attempted to unmask these relations of power to question the rationality of the practices and experiences of Australian citizenship. The genealogical method allows for the distillation of citizenship discourse as a history of social and political truths as seen in the print media from 1946 – 2007. The genealogy of Australian citizenship presented in this dissertation lays bare the characteristic forms of power/knowledge manifested in the discourse over the post-World War Two period of Australian history to show systems of thought pertaining to citizenship. By doing so it shows that current citizenship practices are not the result of historical inevitabilities but rather the result of the interplay of contingencies. By emphasising citizenship in this way the thesis offers insights into how it can be refashioned to offer greater individual freedom through an understanding of the games of truth that are played throughout all levels of society. The manifestation of power/knowledge in the discourse is further evidence that citizens exist in relations of power. These manifestations produced five distinct thematic discursivities. I labelled them as, ‘The silencing of Aboriginal concerns 1946 – 1969, Authorised voices question the acceptance of poverty and racism 1969 – 1980, Relations of power between Aboriginal Australians and whites 1981 – 1988, Relations of power between Asian immigrants and whites 1989 – 1996, The struggle of cultural dominations 1997 – 2007’. In particular, a discontinuity was identified during the period Relations of power between Aboriginal Australians and whites 1981 – 1988. From this time in the discourse Indigenous Australians were permitted to criticise their treatment by whites. Subsequently this permission has become embedded in systems of thought. This thesis gives details of the products of the genealogical method related to the discourse of citizenship. It pinpoints the moments when individuals and social, cultural, economic and political groups played roles in the production, reproduction and transmission of truth from 1946 - 2007. Based on the products of the research it creates recommendations for minimising the potential dominations of social and political truths. It also suggests ways to re-think Australian citizenship to afford greater freedoms for individual thought, speech and action.

The topic of this thesis is the prolonged denial and eventual recognition of the rights of the Indigenous peoples of Australia following the British assertion of sovereignty. The analysis considers the manner in which the denial and subsequent recognition of Indigenous rights has affected the system of government of the dominant society (the Commonwealth of Australia) in terms of the establishment and evolution of the constitutional framework and associated processes of institutional change in the principles, structures and procedures of the system of government. The primary jurisdiction in which this topic is explored is the Northern Territory of Australia; the primary contexts are the recognition of Indigenous land rights (defined broadly to include associated natural and cultural heritage and resource rights) and the Indigenous right to self government within ‘the state’ (the internationally constituted and recognised polity of the Commonwealth of Australia). / The thesis draws on analogous developments in Canada and New Zealand to demonstrate that, while significant progress has been made in the recognition of Indigenous rights since the 1960s, many forms of recognition remain conceptually and procedurally limited. In particular, associated regimes have almost invariably been devised and implemented within a fundamentally monocultural context in which Indigenous rights remain subject to unilateral abrogation or extinguishment by Commonwealth governments. In addition, the legal basis of and requirements for recognition of Indigenous rights according to Commonwealth law result in extremely variable levels of recognition in different areas and contexts, and principles and procedures for the mutual recognition and co-existence of Indigenous and Commonwealth law and systems of government are only partially apparent in the Federal and Northern Territory systems of government. In addition to extending and deepening the recognition of Indigenous rights throughout all relevant institutions of the system of government, to address these deficiencies the thesis argues that constitutional recognition and protection of Indigenous rights and the negotiation of treaties are essential if the Indigenous right of self-determination is to be respected and accommodated by the dominant society.

No description available.

Not Empty is a two- part exploration of the relationship between humans and nature. In this essay I intend to discuss the relationship Australian Aboriginal peoples have with their environment. Their many cultures are among the oldest surviving civilizations on the planet, and their natural history is rich and complex. I plan to compare the relationship Australian Aboriginal cultures have to their environment to that of a Western civilization, specifically the United States. Neither relationship is perfect, nor is one of them 'better.' Both have histories riddled with extinction, evolution, and the conquest of new lands. The struggle Aboriginal Australians experienced when first settling their new land is concurrent to the degradation occurring today by Western cultures, with some differences, including scale and speed.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.228-235).