The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and the Australian Legend
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1321816600001677Keywords:
Russell Ward, 'Australian Legend', bush legend, Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Cultural Centre, tourism, heritageAbstract
On the fortieth anniversary of the publication of Russell Ward's Australian Legend, it is timely to evaluate the strength of the bush legend in contemporary Australia. One way of doing this is to consider how elements of the legend have been taken up in tourist products and this study, which takes up on an earlier study undertaken in 1988 (Trotter, 1992), looks at the impacts the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Cultural Centre in Longreach (the Hall) has had on the town, the region, and broader spheres. Also celebrating an anniversary in April — its tenth — the Hall has, over the decade, become a significant outback tourist site; and the journey there has acquired almost pilgrimage status. It has put Longreach ‘on the map’; and it has also provided a model for towns and regions aspiring to a ‘heritage-led’ economic recovery.
References
Anderson, M. (1994), ‘Engendering public culture: Women and museums in Australia’, Discussion paper prepared for Images of Women Conference, Canberra, October 1993, National Museum of Australia, Canberra. Proceedings of Conference published by National Museum of Australia, Canberra, pp. 116–133.
Andresen, B. (1989), ‘New Queensland Museums’, in Architecture Australia, April, pp.35–41.
Australia Council for the Arts (1995), Museums 1994: Museums and Public Galleries in Australia, Research Paper No. 14, Australia Council in association with Museums Australia Inc., and the Council of Australian Museum Directors, Australia Council, Redfern.
Bell, J. (1991), ‘The Australian War Memorial: A misunderstood institution’, in Australian Historical Association Bulletin, Nos. 66–67, March–June, pp.44–52.
Bennett, T. (1995), ‘Museums and Progress: Narrative, ideology, performance’, in The Birth of the Museum, Routledge, London, pp.177–208.
Bolton, G. C. (1991), ‘Exhibition review: The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame’ in Rickard, J. & Spearritt, P. (eds), Packaging the Past? Public Histories, Special issue of Australian Historical Studies, Melbourne University Press, pp.224–225.
Carter, P. (1987), The Road to Botany Bay: An Essay in Spatial History, Faber & Faber, London.
Craik, J. (1991a), Resorting to Tourism: Cultural Policies for Tourist Development, Allen & Unwin, Sydney.
Hewison, R. (1987), The Heritage Industry: Britain in a Climate of Decline, Methuen, London.
Hirst, B. (1982), ‘The pioneer legend’, in Carroll, J. (ed.), Intruders in the Bush: The Australian Quest for Identity, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, pp.14–37.
Holmes, J. (1995), ‘Outback futures: More value but less cash’, Paper presented to Australian Frontiers Conference, Longreach, April, 1995.
Lowenthal, D. (1985), The Past is a Foreign Country, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Moffatt, A. G. I. (1987), The Longreach Story: A History of Longreach and Shire, The Jacaranda Press, Milton.
Nunez, T. (1989), ‘Tourism studies in anthropological perspective’ in Smith, V. L. (ed.), Hosts and Guests: The Anthology of Tourism, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, pp.265–274.
Pownall, E. (1975), Australian Pioneer Women, Rigby, Adelaide.
Ruffins, F.D. (1992), ‘Mythos, memory, and history: African American preservation efforts, 1920–1990’, in Karp, I., Kreamer, M. & Lavine, S. D. (eds), Museums and Communities: The Politics of Public Culture, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London, pp.506–611.
Smith, B. C. (1994), ‘A case study of applied feminist theories’ in Glaser, J. R. & Zenetou, A. A. (eds), Gender Perspectives: Essays on Women in Museums, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp.137–146.
Trotter, R. (1992), ‘Pioneering the past: A study of the Stockman's Hall of Fame’, in Bennett, T., Buckridge, P., Carter, D. and Mercer, C. (eds), Celebrating the Nation: A Critical Study of Australia's Bicentenary, Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Urry, J. (1992), The Tourist Gaze. Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies, Sage Publications, London.
Ward, R. (1974), The Australian Legend, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
Williams, R.M. with Ruhen, Olaf (1984), Beneath Whose Hand, Melbourne: Macmillan.
