The Archaeological and Anthropological Society of Victoria is a group that promotes the study of archaeology, anthropology, ethno-archaeology and ethno-history in both Australia and further abroad. Lectures, from a range of talented presenters, are held every third Thursday of the month at 6:30pm at the Kathleen Syme Library & Community Centre (251 Faraday St, Carlton), and are also accessible online via Zoom.

Historical Archaeology of the former Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum

Presented by Dr Janine Major
Statewide Heritage Advisor, Parks Victoria

Yarra Bend Park conceals the tangible history of early government institutions, including the first dedicated institution for mental health in Victoria, the Metropolitan Lunatic Asylum (later known as the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum). The demolition of many of the buildings in the 1920s left the footings and other remains (structures and artefacts) untouched below the ground. Parks Victoria is the land manager for the Yarra Bend Park and was responsible for the management of its heritage values in light of the proposal to construct netball courts on the site. This presentation focuses on how recent development works associated with these netball courts have been managed by Parks Victoria to protect the significant archaeology and what was revealed during archaeological excavations undertaken by Alliance Archaeology at the park. There will be an opportunity to view some of the artefacts that were recovered during the excavations.

Biography

Dr Janine Major is currently the Statewide Heritage Advisor with Parks Victoria. Previously she was the Principal at GML Heritage Victoria (formerly Context) following a position as a Senior Advisor to the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council. She is currently the Alternative Archaeology Member with the Heritage Council of Victoria. Since commencing her studies as a mature age student in 2006 and obtaining her PhD in Archaeology from La Trobe University her career in archaeology has taken her to Bronze Age sites in Cypress, Epi-Paleolthic sites in the Middle East, World Heritage sites in NSW and Victoria. She has worked across both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultural heritage for 18 years and held teaching positions at all undergraduate levels. As a researcher, she has been involved with projects and publications on Natufian Art, Bronze Age and Chalcolithic Cyprus, Aboriginal communities in Victoria, and symposiums on global prehistory and Victorian Archaeology.

Upcoming Lecture and Annual General Meeting: 6.30pm Thursday 21 November 2024

Characterising Mine Wastes as Archaeological Landscapes

Presented by Professor Susan Lawrence
Department of Archaeology and History, LaTrobe University

The gold rush has left a complex archaeological record in Victoria. While the mine workings, machinery and associated settlements have been well-documented, mining waste has generally been overlooked. Processing ores to recover minerals has generated large quantities of waste rock, tailings and contaminants. These artefacts of historical mining create anthropogenic landscapes that extend far beyond individual sites due to the dispersal of mine waste by rivers and they pose enduring threats to human and ecosystem health. To be acknowledged as artefacts of the historical mining industry, landscape features must be identified and characterised with reference to the human activities that triggered their formation. In this case study of the Loddon River in central Victoria archaeological, geomorphological and geochemical evidence are integrated to identify and analyse mining-related changes at a regional scale. Recognising these legacies of historical mining is vital to understanding mining heritage and to managing healthy rivers, environments and communities.

Biography
Professor Susan Lawrence teaches archaeology at La Trobe University. Her expertise is in the archaeology of British colonialism, gender, urbanisation, and resource extraction. Susan is the author of over 90 peer-reviewed articles and chapters and seven books. Her monograph Sludge: Disaster on the Victorian Goldfields (Black Inc 2019), co-authored with Peter Davies, was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. She has been a member of the Heritage Council of Victoria’s Archaeology Advisory Committee, is a past-president of the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology, and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Society of Antiquaries of London.

For further reading, see the published paper in the journal Geoarchaeology:
http://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21958.

Notices

Post Office Boxes

We advise all members that AASV now has two mailing addresses. Membership address: PO Box 200, Benalla VIC 3672.

General Correspondence and Artefact subscription enquiries: PO Box 203, Carlton VIC 3053.