In Second Nature, Lesley Head examines modern Australia's efforts to come to terms with its Aboriginal past.
Like other postcolonial countries, Australia has been confronted by research challenging the myth of a prehistoric (pre-1788) pristine wilderness. Primarily a geographer, Head draws also on anthropology, archeology and history. Research in these disciplines has shifted the ground dramatically since nineteenth century evolutionary models placed Aborigines lowest on the ladder of evolution. Australia has been occupied for many tens of thousands of years, its inhabitants experiencing dramatic climate and environmental changes. Through their use of fire and their methods of hunting and gathering, Aboriginal ancestors transformed the biophysical landscape in a variety of still debated ways . The deception of 'an unchanging people in an unchanging land' has been overturned. Given the strength of this intellectual challenge, and the increasing political voice of indigenous people, why, Head asks, have disruptions to colonial thinking been so partial? She revisits historical debates to show that the colonial heritage is more deeply embedded in contemporary environmental attitudes than generally acknowledged. In 1992 the Australian legal system rejected the myth of 'terra nullius', land belonging to no one, and recognised the persistence of Aboriginal ownership. Terra nullius must also be rejected in the preservation and management of landscapes.
