Giving Value to the Australian historic past: Historical Archaeology, heritage and nationalism

The material remains of Australia's colonial past were transformed from abandoned sites and forgotten relics into an 'archaeological record’ in a process which seemed to emerge in the 1960s. Why did historical archaeology appear at this time? Was it simply imported, or did it emerge from local interests? Taking an 'ethnographic' and historical approach, and using both archival and interview data, the process of giving value to the material remains of Australia's historic past is explored. New concepts of heritage and archaeology combined with older traditions of valuing the environment within the context of Australia's 'new nationalism' of the 1960s and 1970s. Historical archaeology is based upon foundations of value and significance derived from a process which historicised the settler nation, valued the material remnants of the past and linked them to a historically continuous identity.