The significance of place for contemporary Indigenous identity: The Berajondo case study, southeast Queensland, Australia

A 'sense of place' is a vital source of individual and collective identity, and a point from which people orient themselves to the world. The use of a 'place', its terrain, material properties and meanings are explored in this thesis as central elements in constructions of contemporary Indigenous 'identity', at both an individual and collective level. It is 'places' of historical association that often hold the greatest social significance and relevance for Aboriginal peoples featuring in their oral histories, and personal and shared experiences. This study explores the sustained use of an Aboriginal-owned property 'Berajondo' in central Queensland; a place of significant historical and traditional association for many Gooreng Gooreng families. An interdisciplinary approach and mixture of methods (i.e. participant observation, oral and documentary analysis, archaeological survey and mapping) were used to examine behaviours and meanings associated with the place. The substantive findings providing a glimpse of how attachment to Berajondo is shaped by family and kin relationships, emplacement and ownership interlinked with memories, experiences, emotions, shared history and ' identity '. The Berajondo case study confirm s an interrelationship between 'place' and 'identity'; created, expressed and maintained here through 'belonging', performative practice, the curation of material culture and 'memory'. This thesis offers a framework for the collaborative exploration of 'place' and 'identity' in contemporary Aboriginal society.