Too Much Trouble? Anxiety, Conflict, and the Intercultural Perception of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in the Mary Valley

Abstract

Aboriginal cultural heritage has become an iconic element of the Australian landscape, with sites such as Uluru perceived as synonymous with the country as a whole. However, Indigenous heritage within settler contexts like Australia is a broad and complex field involving various interwoven cultural, social and political factors. As such, Aboriginal heritage has been well documented by cultural anthropologists, archaeologists and historians across the country and internationally. These studies have largely focused on Indigenous cultural heritage identification, management and preservation. This thesis answers the question ‘how is Aboriginal cultural heritage perceived in the Mary Valley’, addressing how intercultural perceptions of Aboriginal cultural heritage illustrate the way that people with connections to the area understand and interact with sites and objects of cultural significance. After a series of interviews and multiple field visits to the Mary Valley, I found that dominant perceptions of cultural heritage capture the tensions of intercultural relationships, illustrating the key themes of conflict and anxiety amongst participants. This is highlighted by literature addressing contemporary understandings of Indigenous cultural heritage, as well as concepts such as the politics of recognition, the intercultural domain and cultural authenticity in ‘settled’ Australia. This study aims to contribute to cultural anthropology by offering insights into how people understand and interact with cultural heritage in the rural context of Queensland.