Red Dog, Horses and Bogong Moths: The Memorialisation of Animals in Australia

Rose Searby

doi:10.5130/phrj.v15i0.728

Abstract

In this article I examine ways in which animals are memorialised in Australia. By examining the narratives surrounding horses in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, ceremonies for Bogong moths, and touching upon the stories of Red Dog, I show how the intangible can be considered a memorial and a memorial landscape conceived as one that is co-constructed by humans and animals. Understanding memorialisation as intangible facilitates a repositioning of animals in relation to humans and the creation of a new framework of reference for memorialising animals.

Highlights

Red Dog, Horses and Bogong Moths: The Memorialisation of Animals in Australia
Bill and the vet buried the Red Dog in a simple grave in the bush between Roebourne and Cossack. They laid him in that stony red earth and covered him over. It was a hot day, a day when Red might otherwise have been lounging in the air-conditioned mall at Dampier, or taking the ore train to Mt Tom Price
This article investigates the idea of an intangible memorial through a focus on two particular animals: horses in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales (NSW) and Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa), insects which have a long history of relations with Aboriginal people prior to the colonisation of Australia

Summary

Introduction

Red Dog, Horses and Bogong Moths: The Memorialisation of Animals in Australia This article investigates the idea of an intangible memorial through a focus on two particular animals: horses in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales (NSW) and Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa), insects which have a long history of relations with Aboriginal people prior to the colonisation of Australia.

Results

Conclusion