Shorelines: Palaeo, Pre and Present – A Story of Weereewa

This year’s Forum, Shorelines – Palaeo, Pre and Present, tells the story of the Weereewa region across a broad sweep of time. The forum will be launched by Barry Cohen, a Minister for the Arts Heritage and the Environment in the Hawke Government. Barry is a prolific author, local resident and raconteur. Drawing on evidence gleaned from palaeontology and geomorphology, the first part of the forum, “Palaeo” will kick off with Dr Geoffrey Hope from the ANU, who will discuss the vegetation history of the Weereewa region. This will be followed by Dr Kathryn Fitzsimmons, an ANU earth scientist, who is conducting research on ancient shorelines and lake levels.

The second section, “Pre” will be led by Dr Philip Hughes, Visiting Fellow at ANU, who will touch on the archaeology of the Weereewa region. A bridge to the last section, “Present” will be from George Main of the National Museum of Australia. George Main will provide a glimpse of an up-coming exhibition at the NMA focusing on the pastoral frontier at Lake George. In the last section, “Present”, artist Beth Hatton, who uses locally collected plant materials and an Aboriginal stitching technique to create replicas of the settlers’ tools, will give a presentation of her works. Finally, Adam Muyt, author of two books, one on invasive species and the other on the history of the former AFL club, Fitzroy, will provide some insights on invasive species of the region. This year’s Forum convenor is Rainer Rehwinkel, local resident and naturalist. Rainer will convene a panel discussion to close the forum.

Biographies of speakers

Barry Cohen

Was the Member for the Federal seat of Robertson between 1969 and 1990, and Minister for Arts, Heritage and Environment in the Hawke Government between 1983 and 1987. Barry is the author of eight books and has been a columnist in The Australian, the Bulletin and many other papers and magazines. In 1990, he built and managed Calga Springs Sanctuary on the NSW central coast. His motivation was to breed and conserve Australia’s fauna in a predator-free environment. Barry sold the Sanctuary in 2005 and has since become a Bungendore resident

Dr Geoffrey Hope

Is the Professor of Natural History in the Department of Archaeology and Natural History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU in Canberra. His principal field of interest is in vegetation history and the historical biogeography of Australian, Asian and Pacific biota using pollen analysis and other fossils such as charcoal to trace changes in vegetation. A related speciality is the effects of prehistoric people on their environment, and the contribution of palaeoecology to archaeology. He has been working in swamps since 1966 as they are a major source of organic rich sediment that archives dateable history.

There is a lot of scattered information from the Southern Tablelands that help us understand the information obtained by Gurdip Singh and others from the Lake George coring of the 1970’s. This includes other palaeolakes such as Bunyan and Welcome Reef that define the times of rainforest and evidence for giant marsupials at Wombeyan, Tarago, Wee Jasper, and near Hume, ACT. Vegetation changes also show how dynamic the region has been but the impact of Aboriginal burning remains a contested subject.

Dr Kathryn Fitzsimmons

Is a postdoctoral fellow at the ANU. Until recently, her research focused on the history of aridity in central Australia, using desert dunes as indicators of ancient dry episodes and dating them using a technique known as luminescence dating - a method which determines when sediments were last exposed to daylight. Lake George provides important records of ancient lake level changes in its shorelines, providing us with valuable information about past dry periods in a more temperate part of the continent. Kathryn is now using these luminescence dating techniques to reconstruct the past history of Lake George, in terms of its times of drought and plentiful water.

Dr Philip Hughes

Visiting Fellow, RMAP, ANU & Director, HEH Pty Ltd.

A Quaternary scientist and archaeologist with extensive archaeological experience in the Southern Tablelands, including Lake George.

George Main

Is an environmental historian and curator at the National Museum of Australia. He is working with others at the Museum to develop ‘Creating a Country’, a new gallery that is scheduled to open late in 2009.

Beth Hatton

Is a textile artist who has exhibited across Australia and overseas (Japan, Germany, America), received many awards including two grants from the Australia Council and been named Master of Australian Craft by Craft Australia. She is represented in major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia. In 2003 Beth Hatton began to use an Aboriginal stitching technique to shape native and introduced grasses into replicas of early settlers’ tools, and this will be the focus of her talk at Shoreline.

Adam Muyt

Has worked in the bushland restoration and management field for almost twenty years, initially in Victoria and now in the Southern Tablelands - ACT region.  He is the author of Bush Invaders of South-East Australia - a guide to the identification and control of environmental weeds found in South-East Australia (Richardson Press, 2001) and Maroon & Blue - Recollections and Tales of the Fitzroy Football Club (Vulgar Press, 2006). As well as running a website devoted to the history and culture of the Fitzroy FC, he is also undertaking research for a book on using indigenous plants of the region in the home garden.

Since its inception in 1999, the Weereewa Festival has featured a one-day forum to bring together specialists in various fields and disseminate information to a wider audience. The aim of the forums has been to raise awareness and understanding of the unique values of (Lake George) and its region.

Previous forum speakers have included prominent researchers in various fields including the late Professor Rhys Jones, Professor Henry Nix, Dr John Williams, Dr Ann Jackson-Nakano, Dr Liz Truswell and Professor Patrick De Dekker; artists and writers including Helen Hewson, Mandy Martin, Christine James, Dr Peter Read, Sarah St Vincent Welch and Elizabeth Cameron Dalman; local landholders David Watson and George Gundry, and Matilda House from the Ngunnawal Land Council.

9:30 am

Registration and morning tea

10:15 to 11:00 am

Welcome and introduction

Rainer Rehwinkel, convenor

Barry Cohen,– Launch of the Forum

11:00 AM to 12:15 PM

Palaeo – This section explores the deep past as revealed through the fields of palaeontology and geomorphology

Dr Geoffrey Hope – “Ecological responses to environmental change around Lake George”

Dr Kathryn Fitzsimmons - “Times of wet and times of dry: An ancient history of Lake George told through its shorelines”

12:15 to 1:00 pm

Pre – A window into the archaeological and historical record

Dr Philip Hughes – “Prehistoric archaeology of Lake George”

1:00 to 1:45 pm - Lunch 

1:45 to 3.00 pm

Present – A bridge between the frontier history, provocative artworks and a look at the impact of invasive plants on global, regional and local ecosystems

George Main – “Lake George, Material Culture, and the Pastoral Frontier: a glimpse into an upcoming exhibition at the National Museum of Australia”

Beth Hatton – “Working with plant materials at Weereewa - Lake George”

3.00 to 3.30 pm – Afternoon Tea

3.30 to 4.30 pm

Adam Muyt – “Beyond The Day of the Triffids: How ‘killer’ plants are transforming the planet’s ecosystems”

Panel discussion – all speakers are invited to contribute to a discussion and questions from the audience.

4.30 pm – Close