Fires in GunaiKurnai Country

Anthropogenic climate change is becoming a reality, and in Australia this means longer , more intense wildfire seasons over a wider area. The GunaiKurnai people saw much of their Country decimated during ‘Black Summer’ (2019/2020), prompting questions about both the management of Country and its heritage resources moving forward.

Anthropogenic climate change is becoming a reality, and in Australia this means longer wildfire seasons with more intense fires across a wider area. The GunaiKurnai people of southeastern Victoria saw a large proportion of their Country decimated by the Gippsland Fires of ‘Black Summer’ (2019/2020), prompting questions about both the management of Country and its heritage resources moving forward and what role traditional (‘cultural’) burning could play. This volume, written at the request of the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GKLaWAC), seeks to investigate these twin issues. Bringing together a multi-disciplinary team including archaeologists, environmental scientists, historians, art historians and Elders, we consider the histories of GunaiKurnai and European settler burning-based landscape management practices, the impacts of fire on specific classes of cultural materials, and the broader impact of changing wildfire patterns on cultural sites in the landscape. This is a truly collaborative venture between GKLaWAC and the academic collaborators that sees GunaiKurnai and academic expertise brought to bear in the service of common and pressing issues.

Chapter 1. Introduction - Bruno David, Russell Mullett, Joanna Fresl and the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation PART 1. Background to Fires and Cultural Burning on GunaiKurnai Country Chapter 2. Wildfires: Characteristics, Drivers and Impacts on Cultural Sites - Grant Williamson and Jessie Buettel Chapter 3. Accounts and Memories of Landscape Burning Practices in Gippsland - Seumas Spark Chapter 4. Eugene von Guerard on GunaiKurnai Country 1860-1861: Reading the Story of Fire in his Depictions of the Landscape - Ruth Pullin Chapter 5. 20th and 21st Century Wildfires and Prescribed Burning in GunaiKurnai Country - Jessie Buettel, Bruno David and Stefania Ondei PART 2. The Distribution of Cultural Sites in GunaiKurnai Country, and How Fires Affect Cultural Materials Chapter 6. Cultural Sites in GunaiKurnai Country - Jessie Buettel, Russell Mullett, Jessie Birkett-Rees, Bruno David, Jean-Jacques Delannoy, Joanna Fresl, Stefania Ondei, Robert Skelly and Jerome Mialanes Chapter 7. The Impacts of Fire on Stone Artefacts - Jerome Mialanes, Bruno David, Joanna Fresl and Russell Mullett Chapter 8. The Impacts of Fires on Rock Art Sites and Ochre - Jillian Huntley and Courtney Webster Chapter 9. The Impact of Fires on Bone - Matthew McDowell Chapter 10. The Impacts of Fire on Culturally Modified Trees - Joanna Fresl, Russell Mullett and Bruno David Chapter 11. Shells and Fire-Indicators and Effects - Katherine Szabo and Annette Oertle PART 3. Understanding the Impact of Fires on GunaiKurnai Cultural Heritage Sites: Past, Present and Future Chapter 12. Landscape Fires and Cultural Sites in GunaiKurnai Country - Jessie Buettel, Stefania Ondei, Bruno David, Joanna Fresl and Russell Mullett Chapter 13. Archaeological Surveys in GunaiKurnai Country - Robert Skelly, Bruno David, Joanna Fresl and Russell Mullett Chapter 14. Understanding the Distribution and Impacts of Wildfires in GunaiKurnai Country through Subregions - Jessie Buettel, Stefania Ondei, Bruno David, Joanna Fresl and Russell Mullett Chapter 15. Conclusion - Russell Mullett, Katherine Szabo, Joanna Fresl, Bruno David, Jessie Buettel, and the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation References, Chapter 1. Introduction – Bruno David, Russell Mullett, Joanna Fresløv and the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation PART 1. Background to Fires and Cultural Burning on GunaiKurnai CountryGrant Williamson and Jessie Buettel Seumas SparkRuth PullinJessie Buettel, Bruno David and Stefania Ondei PART 2. The Distribution of Cultural Sites in GunaiKurnai Country, and How Fires Affect Cultural MaterialsJessie Buettel, Russell Mullett, Jessie Birkett-Rees, Bruno David, Jean-Jacques Delannoy, Joanna Fresløv, Stefania Ondei, Robert Skelly and Jerome MialanesJerome Mialanes, Bruno David, Joanna Fresløv and Russell MullettJillian Huntley and Courtney WebsterMatthew McDowellJoanna Fresløv, Russell Mullett and Bruno David Katherine Szabó and Annette Oertle PART 3. Understanding the Impact of Fires on GunaiKurnai Cultural Heritage Sites: Past, Present and Future– Jessie Buettel, Stefania Ondei, Bruno David, Joanna Fresløv and Russell MullettRobert Skelly, Bruno David, Joanna Fresløv and Russell MullettJessie Buettel, Stefania Ondei, Bruno David, Joanna Fresløv and Russell MullettRussell Mullett, Katherine Szabó, Joanna Fresløv, Bruno David, Jessie Buettel, and the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation References