Two years of painstaking research piecing together the hidden history of native mounted police camps was showcased on the national stage, as part of the launch of the ARC research impact publication ”Making a Difference” and the presentation of the 2018 ARC Australian Laureate Fellowships.
Flinders Associate Professor Heather Burke was invited to Canberra for the event on 21 August 2018. She received the news while at a dig site at Clermont in outback Queensland – necessitating a quick change of plans to organise artefacts and get to the national capital.
Apart from the challenge of what to wear – with only dusty field clothes at hand – she faced the difficulty of coordinating a display on the run. Much consideration had to be given to logistics, including whether one of the artefacts, a small but deadly Snyder bullet, would make it through airport security and Parliament House’s rigorous screening.
Fortunately the Snyder made the journey, joining a showcase of some of the fascinating items found at campsites used by the Native Mounted Police.
Associate Professor Burke has been uncovering the artefacts since 2016 as part of an Australian Research Council funded project entitled ‘The Archaeology of the Native Mounted Police’.
The four-year research project is revealing new insights into a contentious chapter in Australia’s history including the extent of historically downplayed resistance by traditional owners to the taking of their land by Europeans.
Guided by historical records, her team has so far uncovered nearly 200 campsites used by the Native Mounted Police that are dotted in some of the remotest parts of Queensland.
The project includes a fascinating blog, Archaeology on the Frontier, which documents the archaeological evidence found and the stories they reveal on activities, living and working conditions. The camps were maintained for up to 50 years and were usually home to mounted Aboriginal troopers under the command of white superiors.
Associate Professor Burke’s research featured alongside a study by Professor Michael Gradisar into how light therapy can aid teenagers’ sleep in the 2017-18 edition of “Making a Difference: Outcomes of ARC-supported research”, with the two Flinders case studies accepted amongst 35 nationally.