Reading the Country, Introduction to Nomadology

Description

In 1983 the three authors of this book undertook a journey into Roebuck Plains, an area in the north of Western Australia which takes its name from a ship which was sailed into the region in 1699 by the European explorer, William Dampier. It was then, and until less than a century ago, inhabited by Aboriginal people. Today the plains form part of a pastoral lease, and no Aboriginals live there. The book explores the meaning and politics of place (Roebuck Plains) through Aboriginal narratives, songs, conversations, photographs and paintings, together with European historical, geographic and geological knowledge; linked by a series of explanatory, exploratory and analytical essays on history, anthropology, critical theory and painting; interview with Peter Yu, NAC representative.