Projects

The outback in perspective

The primary objective in 2012 will be to continue our exploration of country incorporating magnificent red sandhill country and the many drainage channels with their headwaters which drain into the impressively massive Lake Torrens (south of Lake Eyre)

In 2012 we will continue to develop our interest in interpreting survival values of desert landscapes through an understanding of aboriginal stone chippings (lithics). This particular work is very exciting and we plan to map a large swathe of desert sanddune country over the next 4 years in the hope that intricate patterns of traditional movements and key resource locations (water and food), now lost, will be revealed.

We also need to continue with the cultural heritage mapping of the Lake Torrens region and to expand our explorations into surrounding areas.

Our work in the Denison Range (north of William Creek) between 1997-2005 discovered a large number of significant heritage sites and has revealed a fascinating record of early Australian pioneering ingenuity and tenacity. Old copper mines, copper transport wagon roads, the Overland Telegraph Line (OTL), explorer routes, Afghan camel transport pads, the original north-south trans-Australia wagon trail known as the Bullocky Road, stone hut ruins, old metal-working forges and century-old lime-burning kilns are just some of the features discovered there that we will be seeking to locate in this new and historically significant area about Lake Torrens.