Photos of the Past: The Negotiation of Identity and Belonging at Australian Tourism Sites

This project aims to provide a comparative analysis of the way Australia's past is constructed and remembered at heritage tourism sites. Over the course of three years, the project will examine how messages presented at six different heritage tourism sites are used to underpin present day constructions of national belonging. For this, the researcher, Associate Professor Emma Waterton, will focus upon understanding how such messages affect memory and notions of identity by focusing upon visitor responses to atmosphere, mood and meaning. Methodologically, the project will involve the ubiquitous touristic practice of photography, which will allow the research to move beyond notions of representation and consider how processes of 'taking photos' can be used to access sensory experiences, recover memories and imbue touristic sites with meaning.

Researcher: Associate Professor Emma Waterton
Funding: Australian Research Council Opens in a new window , Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
Period: 2012-2016
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The Institute for Culture and Society is located in Parramatta, “the place where the eel sets down” in Dharug language,
along the north bank of the Parramatta River. It sits on the traditional lands and waters of the Burramattagal people of the Dharug Nation,
who have been stewards and caretakers of these territories since time immemorial, in what today is referred to as Greater Western Sydney,
one of the most diverse cultural communities in the world and home to the largest number of Indigenous Australians in the country.
The Institute for Culture and Society acknowledges the Dharug, Eora, Dharawal (also referred to as Tharawal)
and Wiradjuri peoples as traditional custodians and Indigenous knowledge-holders, whose storytelling serve
as historical record, a form of teaching and learning, a way to care for Country,
and an expression of Indigenous culture and identity.