AustLit

'Barry Hill, prize-winning author of social history and poetry, and skilled in numerous other literary traditions, has written a book about Uluru that reminds me of a Mountain Devil lizard—a bit on the prickly side, and with an amazing ability to change colour. One can be irritated by the former, bedazzled by the latter. I make this point at the outset: it is worth hurdling those aspects with which you disagree to appreciate the rest. Whereas Stanley Breeden's book is one that suggests quiet and close observation, and a gentle 'working together' with Anangu people, Hill's book often questions, asserts, confronts and challenges. Hill undoubtedly has the capacity to quietly listen and closely observe, yet he prefers a dialogue with the country, with people of the past whose records can be studied, with Anangu and other friends, and with strangers. This is not a bad thing, but it means that you, the reader, are required to engage your critical faculties, not just go along for the ride.' (Introduction)

'‘Space and place’, notes Yi-fu Tuan, the Chinese-US geographer and philosopher, ‘are basic components of the lived world. What begins as an undifferentiated space becomes place as we get to know it better and endow it with value’ (Tuan 1977: 6). Uluru represents such a place, its placeness constructed by the living and knowledge practices of Anangu people and their ancestors, displaced and erased by European colonisers and settlers who imposed their ways of living and knowledge practices on the land. As a geologist I have been trained to look at Uluru from within European post-seventeenth century paradigm of modern science. However, in this essay I challenge what I have learnt as a geologist about Uluru by introducing Tjukurpa of Anangu into the story of my learning and un-learning. I tell the story with the help of four real and metaphoric maps: a geological map of the Rock; Rockholes near the Olgas by Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjari; Untitled (Uluru with shadows) by Long Tom Tjapanangka; and the installation Unfolding Memories by Rosario Lopez.' (Publication abstract)