School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses
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ItemFrom idol to artform: missionaries and material culture in the Pacific( 2012)In Hawai’i the introduction of woven cloth and sewing circles led to the development of a distinctive form of quilting. In Arnhem Land in Australia the transition to a market economy through the promotion of local art and craft production led to the material transformation of bark painting from objects of temporary use to artefacts of permanent significance. In both of these cases missionaries played a key, though often unintentional, role in the development of these artforms. This thesis is an exploration of Indigenous creativity and purpose combining with missionary influence on Pacific material culture. Particular focus is made of the development of quilting in Hawai’i in the nineteenth-century and bark painting at Yirrkala in the twentieth-century, culminating in Lili’uokalani’s 1895 ‘Queen’s Quilt’ and the 1963 Painted Bark Petition. During periods of social change, transformations occur in material culture produced by a society. Exploring the relationships between missionaries and Indigenous peoples through artistic expressions of the time illuminates many aspects of these relationships otherwise restricted to European-dominated accounts. Material culture is used as an historical source material to explore cultural changes and corresponding notions of authenticity, as expressed through missionary and museum collections. This thesis is concerned with the two-way nature of cultural exchanges, with particular reference to the art produced through these relationships, art that is both aesthetically beautiful and socially powerful. Queen Lili’uokalani’s Crazy Quilt and the Yirkaala bark petitions both appropriated aspects of European culture in order to create new objects of significant cultural, political, and social importance, and were generated out of missionary-Indigenous relationships.
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ItemPower, purpose and politics: a history of the Jervis Bay nuclear project( 2010)Using the Jervis Bay nuclear power project as its centrepiece, this thesis examines the Australian Government’s attitudes and policies towards electric power generation using nuclear technology from the earliest beginnings as the technology was developed during the 1940s to the cancellation of the Jervis Bay project in 1971. It explores the key influences on this policy and examines the extent to which each had a direct influence in the planning of the Jervis Bay project, in particular: the demand for increased economic capacity, the possibility of a nuclear defence deterrent and the significance of Australia’s uranium reserves. The thesis interprets policy at a variety of levels, from the complex arena of diplomatic and strategic relations, to the responses of the public and the scientific community. This thesis argues that the Jervis Bay project was end product of a long and detailed policy development process, spanning over twenty years. Though the influences which shaped this development varied, the centre of this bi-partisan support for peaceful nuclear technology was always the goal that Australia would one day have commercial nuclear power plant. However, it will also demonstrate that such lengthy preparations are no guarantee for success. The project would ultimately be cancelled as a series of technological, economic and political problems conspired to undermine those careful preparations. As Australians continue to debate the possibility of introducing nuclear power, this thesis not only highlights some potential challenges in the introduction of nuclear policy, but also the challenge of gaining and maintaining support for any major national technology or infrastructure project.