The importance of water to Australia’s heritage is obvious, from the diversity of Aboriginal occupation and subsequent European development of the land through to the most recent floods and cyclones following more than a decade of drought. Indeed, the devastating ‘Federation’ drought was a midwife at the birth of our nation. Australia is the driest continent. Our geographical spread is from the Tropics to the sub-Antarctic. We face great challenges from climate change, including an immediate threat to the built environment which hugs our coastline and worsening weather events reaching deep into the interior. It is timely, therefore, to look at that heritage.
The conference committee is now calling for contributions. A 150-200 word abstract on a nominated theme (or themes) and a brief speaker’s biography are required. Please complete the 2011 Conference Paper Abstract form and submit it via email it to Bradley Hayden, the conference manager before 15 April 2011.
Successful authors will be advised (including the provision of the mandatory style guide) by the end of April 2011. The text for all papers and snapshots must be delivered, together with a revised abstract and biography if necessary, completely ready for inclusion in the conference CD by Friday 30 September 2011. The deadline for the submission of all PowerPoint presentations, so that they can be downloaded onto the conference hardware, is Friday 21 October 2011. A limited number of papers will be selected for publication in Historic Environment, the refereed journal of Australia ICOMOS.
The new ’snapshot’ format was well received at the last Australia ICOMOS conference held in Broken Hill in April 2010. Snapshots are very brief expositions of work focused on one place or one issue. Practical and successful solutions to heritage conservation challenges will be favoured. It is possible that the author of the best snapshot will be invited to develop their contribution into a full-length paper for publication in Historic Environment.
Only contributions which are related to the conference themes will be considered. The six themes are:
- Theme 1: Water Beginnings – Indigenous use of water and waterways
- Theme 2: European Arrival – exploration, early settlement and squatting
- Theme 3: Working Water – agriculture, aquaculture, irrigation, industry, and power
- Theme 4: Moving Water – water supply and sewerage, water collection, transport and communication
- Theme 5: Too Much or Not Enough – floods, storms and cyclones, droughts, fire protection and environmental conservation
- Theme 6: Celebrating Water – tourism, recreation, designed features and landscapes, and heritage recognition
Call for Contributions – closing date Friday 15 April 2011
Abstracts are requested in two categories:
- for formal papers (20 minute presentation)
- for snapshots (6 minute presentation)
The conference committee reserves the right to invite individual submissions.
Submission of Papers and Snapshots
Formal papers and snapshots, along with their abstracts and brief biographical information about the authors, will be included in a CD available to all participants and available for purchase after the conference.
- The deadline for the submission of all invited formal papers and snapshots is Friday 9 September 2011
- The deadline for the submission of all revised texts so they can be burnt onto the conference CD is Friday 30 September 2011
- The deadline for the submission of all PowerPoint presentations, so that they can be downloaded onto the conference hardware, is Friday 21 October 2011
Publication
A limited number of papers will be published in the Australia ICOMOS refereed journal, Historic Environment. These are likely to be drawn from the formal papers, which will have to be blind refereed after the conference to comply with ERA requirements. The conference committee reserves the right to invite the author of a snapshot to develop their presentation into a paper for subsequent blind refereed publication.
Registration and Accommodation
Please note that participants are required to pay for attendance to the conference. There are no free registrations provided for people presenting papers. In this way, the conference fees can be kept to a minimum to make the conference affordable for as many people as possible. Some assistance may be available through the Australia ICOMOS Indigenous Fund. The conference is being held just before the Melbourne Cup (run on Tuesday 1 November 2011) so participants travelling to the conference are urged to find accommodation as soon as possible.
Enquiries
Dr Ursula De Jong is overseeing the call for contributions. Email Ursula for any queries relating to the content of proposed contributions. Bradley Hayden, the conference manager, is coordinating the call for contributions. Email Bradley for any processing or technical queries.