Search

Many nineteenth-century Chinese migrants to Pacific Rim countries died far from their home villages. Diverse approaches were adopted to mark graves, possibly anticipating the subsequent, culturally important, repatriation of their bones. This paper evaluates the morphology of grave markers from eight northeast Australian sites and considers reasons for the variations. Physical appraisal of each site was undertaken and, where they exist, cemetery records and allied documentation examined. In an unusual departure from the norm the inscriptions on most identified grave markers rarely indicate date of death. The seemingly meticulous attention to grave identification in some areas contrasts with others where markers are absent. This study indicates divergent approaches to identification and recording of individual graves over time and place. Rather than indicating full-fledged ethnogenesis, wherein Australian Chinese developed new cultural practices, these behaviors suggest that ca.1870–1930 was a transitional period, during which extant cultural processes were adapted to meet immediate needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an historical archaeological examination of the socioeconomic relations of the Chinese and European communities of Cooktown in north Queensland during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It looks at the social landscape and production, exchange and consumption of material culture to show that the Chinese were not a disengaged group, as depicted in conventional understandings of colonial life, but integral to the town's socioeconomic fabric. This close relationship arose out of a process of negotiation between Chinese and Europeans which responded to the strengths, weaknesses and resources of their individual business networks, and the particular conditions of Cooktown's frontier environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this guest editor's introduction to this thematic volume on the historical archaeology of Queensland, Australia, I briefly discuss some of the history and archaeology of Queensland in light of some of the major themes currently being investigated. The papers presented in this volume are also introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of historical archaeology to make a significant contribution to our understanding of Queensland's recent past is hindered by factors including few practitioners, limited publications about historical archaeological research and a need to establish its relevance beyond the archaeological community. There exists great opportunities in Queensland for researchers to explore a diverse range of research topics of which only some are beginning to be investigated through historical archaeological enquiry. This paper investigates the current state of the discipline in Queensland, the challenges practitioners face today and into the future, and the avenues down which historical archaeologists may make significant contributions to our understanding of Queensland's recent past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mount Shamrock township was one of the earliest gold mining towns in the Upper Burnett district of Queensland, Australia. A study of the township and associated industrial area demonstrates the integration of town and mine in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This paper examines the relative permanence of the mining settlement and reveals a multifaceted landscape influenced not only by miners but by the women, children and other non-mining residents operating within distinct social and administrative frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexuality is an integral component of every individual's identity. The literature offers limited information about the sexuality and sexual identity of women with spinal cord injury (SCI), beyond the physiological and neurological aspects. The qualitative study described in this paper aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of a small sample of adult women with SCI regarding their sexuality post-injury. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four women, which were audio-taped and then transcribed. Thematic analysis was adopted for analyzing the narrative data. Themes that were identified include: factors facilitating positive sexual adjustment, barriers to sexuality post-injury and lack of sexual education in the rehabilitation process. Women with SCI echoed the need to be recognized as sexual beings, despite disability. Health professionals must be willing to discuss issues of a sexual nature and need an understanding of how illness or disability may impact on sexuality, in order to adequately assist individuals with physical disabilities address sexual and intimacy issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]