Conflicted histories: Historical archaeological research into the Queensland Native Mounted Police

The Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology (ASHA) has been running a series of bi-monthly online seminars in 2022 to showcase the great research in historical archaeology currently being undertaken in Australia. The previous seminars have covered a diverse range of topics and geographical locations, from coastal connections in Western Australia through to convict industries in Tasmania and 18th century farming in NSW.

The final stop on the tour for 2022 will be Conflicted histories: Historical archaeological research into the Queensland Native Mounted Police, presented by Professor Heather Burke at 6pm (AEDT) on Wednesday 23 November 2022.

The seminar will run for 45 to 50 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. All bookings will be through Eventbrite (link is below) and a Zoom link will be sent via email with the confirmation of registration.  We look forward to seeing you – virtually!

Conflicted histories: Historical archaeological research into the Queensland Native Mounted Police

Professor Heather Burke, Flinders University

The Queensland Native Mounted Police (QLD NMP) were the longest lasting force of their kind in Australia, but their operations as the colonial government‘s principal frontier agency were little known until about 40 years ago when historians began to shed light on their structure and activities. The four-year long ARC project set out to extend historical knowledge by documenting the physical remains of NMP camps across the state. The team identified 190 potential camps, visited and recorded 34 of them and excavated 8, and spoke widely with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Queenslanders on their stories, knowledge and beliefs about the NMP and frontier conflict. The archaeology of the QLD NMP project did not deal with the traditional archaeology of “war”, but revealed many complex and entangled meanings attached to these places and their objects, and how they are remembered or forgotten today.

Heather is an historical archaeologist with a wide range of research interests, including the construction of class and status through material culture, the archaeology of cross-cultural engagement and the links between cultural heritage, memory and contemporary social identity. She graduated with a PhD from UNE (Armidale) in 1996, and has worked as a researcher and consultant on historical and Indigenous archaeological sites throughout New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Her current research focusses on the ‘frontier’ and its social and material effects, particularly the archaeology of frontier conflict in Queensland.

More Information

For more information on this Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project, visit the project website at: https://frontierconflict.org/

For more information about Professor Heather Burke’s research, visit her Flinders University staff profile at: https://www.flinders.edu.au/people/heather.burke

Eventbrite Link

Tickets are available at: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/archaeological-research-into-the-queensland-native-mounted-police-tickets-459299807087