Discovering Australia S Historical Milemarkers And Boundary Stones

The best way to understand and enjoy the richness of Australia’s historic heritage is to go out and experience it. This firsthand experience provides families with a sense of continuity to Australia’s colonial past and to experience nostalgic feelings of belonginess by following the footsteps left by earlier generations (Johnson 1980). This book was written to inform interested community members of the silent Australian history, inherent in the milestones, that still exists around us. The book catalogues many of the sandstone and concrete milestones that line the five major roads leading out of Sydney. Some milestones in rural NSW, Victoria and Tasmania are added to inform others of these precious historical monuments who are unable to view the stones in the Sydney metropolitan area. Later chapters identify the location of the remaining boundary stones in Sydney and Parramatta as well as old road alignment markers in the City of Ryde. The final chapter describes milestones that have a commemorative function. This information may be seen as only relevant to a specialist market but with the increased popularity of Australian colonial history, this book will have appeal to many Australians. The book has been written in an academic format, however the language is aimed towards families who can use each chapter to locate the remaining milestones in sequence on family outings. Other attractions near the milestone are identified which families may choose to enjoy at the same time as visiting the selected milestone. Pieces of our history are being lost but by considering these monuments, in the midst of our hectic lives, we can imagine the type of life the colonial settlers experienced. As well, visiting the milestones raises community awareness of the priceless value of these historic monuments so that important remnants of our colonial past can be preserved for our future generations. As new roads were being constructed in the colony, milestones were originally at one mile intervals. In rural areas, milestones were not usually placed for the entire distance between towns. They were usually placed a few miles on the approach and then again for a few miles after the stagecoaches left the town. Due to the loss of many original milestones, the distance between each remaining milestone can be more than one mile. An attempt has been made to make an as accurate as possible catalogue where these milestones were originally positioned with a description and photograph of those that still remain either in their original or new locations. The survey taken for this book has attempted to be thorough but we acknowledge that our survey is not complete. There are still milestones and milemarkers to be discovered. Although the milestones indicate two directions, for ease of cataloguing, the milemarkers in this book are identified by the location that they lead to away from Sydney and incorporates sandstone, concrete and timber milestones along the major roads leading out of Sydney. Photographs in this book are taken on one face only. Mileages on those remaining in their original locations have been checked for accuracy to the final destination and are still correct. The GPS for some milestones has been recorded for those who are familiar with this technology. Unless otherwise indicated, all the milestones can be found on the left hand side of the road leading towards the destination inscribed on the milestone. Safe community access to the milestones is not always possible as many existing milestones remain in their original locations on major arterial roads with limited or no safe car parking nearby. Milestones that do not have safe community access are identified. Although the milestones have been retained for community enjoyment and many have safe footpath access, extreme vigilance and caution should be exercised as there is a high risk of injury to children or pets near major arterial roads with

The purpose of this book is to allow interested community members to gain an understanding of the historically important role postal services made to contemporary Australia. Specific attention is given to the appreciation of the beautiful architectural styles of the historically significant postal buildings and red pillar post boxes that are still available to be viewed. In a similar format to our first book ‘Discovering Australia’s historical milemarkers and boundary stones’, this book begins with a brief history of Australia’s postal services dating from the establishment of the first post office in 1809 up to the present day. Information on significant communication strategies such as the Cobb & Co. mail service and the Overland Telegraph Line (OTL) are included. Information is provided on the biographies of some important contributors to the Australian postal services. The following chapters, organised state by state from Queensland to the Northern Territory, describe a sample of post offices and red pillar post boxes. Finally, some interesting postal items are described with references providing links for further reading.

The purpose of this book is to allow interested community members to gain an understanding of the historically important role postal services made to contemporary Australia. Specific attention is given to the appreciation of the beautiful architectural styles of the historically significant postal buildings and red pillar post boxes that are still available to be viewed. In a similar format to our first book 'Discovering Australia's historical milemarkers and boundary stones', this book begins with a brief history of Australia's postal services dating from the establishment of the first post office in 1809 up to the present day. Information on significant communication strategies such as the Cobb & Co. mail service and the Overland Telegraph Line (OTL) are included. Information is provided on the biographies of some important contributors to the Australian postal services. The following chapters, organised state by state from Queensland to the Northern Territory, describe a sample of post offices and red pillar post boxes. Finally, some interesting postal items are described with references providing links for further reading.

The vast shape-shifting continent of Australia enables us to take a long view of history. We consider ways to cross the great divide between the deep past and the present. Australia’s human past is not a short past, so we need to enlarge the scale and scope of history beyond 1788. In ways not so distant, these deeper times happened in the same places where we walk today. Yet, they were not the same places, having different surfaces, ecologies and peoples. Contributors to this volume show how the earth and its past peoples can wake us up to a sense of place as history – as a site of both change and continuity. This book ignites the possibilities of what the spaces and expanses of history might be. Its authors reflect upon the need for appropriate, feasible timescales for history, pointing out some of the obstacles encountered in earlier efforts to slice human time into thematic categories. Time and history are considered from the perspective of physics, archaeology, literature, western and Indigenous philosophy. Ultimately, this collection argues for imaginative new approaches to collaborative histories of deep time that are better suited to the challenges of the Anthropocene. Contributors to this volume, including many leading figures in their respective disciplines, consider history’s temporality, and ask how history might expand to accommodate a chronology of deep time. Long histories that incorporate humanities, science and Indigenous knowledge may produce deeper meanings of the worlds in which we live.

Agreements between the mining industry and Indigenous people are not creating sustainable economic futures for Indigenous people, and this demands consideration of alternate forms of economic engagement in order to realise such futures. Within the context of three mining agreements in north Australia this study considers Indigenous livelihood aspirations and their intersection with sustainable development agendas. The three agreements are the Yandi Land Use Agreement in the Central Pilbara in Western Australia, the Ranger Uranium Mine Agreement in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory, and the Gulf Communities Agreement in relation to the Century zinc mine in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland. Recent shifts in Indigenous policy in Australia seek to de-emphasise the cultural behaviour or imperatives of Indigenous people in undertaking economic action, in favour of a mainstream conventional approach to economic development. Concepts of value, identity, and community are key elements in the tension between culture and economics that exists in the Indigenous policy environment. Whilst significant diversity exists within the Indigenous polity, Indigenous aspirations for the future typically emphasise a desire for alternate forms of economic engagement that combine elements of the mainstream economy with the maintenance and enhancement of Indigenous institutions and livelihood activities. Such aspirations reflect ongoing and dynamic responses to modernity, and typically concern the interrelated issues of access to and management of country, the maintenance of Indigenous institutions associated with family and kin, access to resources such as cash and vehicles, the establishment of robust representative organisations, and are integrally linked to the derivation of both symbolic and economic value of livelihood pursuits.