Change and Continuity: The North Australian Cultural Landscape

Abstract

As a framework for chapters which follow, here we set out a contemporary vision for a sustainable north Australian society and economy that builds on recognition of key landscape characteristics and drivers, tens of thousands of years of Indigenous occupation, and contemporary patterns of settlement and land use. Today, we recognise that there are two coexistent cultural traditions which, from time to time and place to place, may intersect constructively to provide mutual benefit. We focus first on giving voice to ongoing connections to, and the fundamental importance of, maintaining law, culture, and country, and the aspirations of Indigenous people across the North. We then consider the processes which have fashioned the northern landscape as we know it today, including the prehistorical record spanning at least 60,000 years of continuous occupation. Finally, to set our scene, we undertake a brief description of key environmental, demographic, and tenure features of the North Australia region as addressed in this book.