The Australian Desert

This unique book is the only fully interdisciplinary and comprehensive study of the Australian desert and its pivotal role in the cultural history of Australia.

INTRODUCTION. PART I: THE GIVEN 1. Two Creation Stories 2. The Diversity of Australian Deserts PART II: THE FIRST AUSTRALIANS 3. The Mystery of the Gwion/Bradshaws 4. Arriving and Surviving 5. Dreaming the Land 6. Narrating the Land in Song and Dance 7. Traditional Aboriginal Art of the Desert PART III: ENCOUNTER: EXPECTATION, EXPLORATION 8. A Clash of Cultures 9. European Myths of the Desert 10. 'Footprints on the Sands of Time': Imperatives for Exploration 11. Geography is never Innocent: How the Explorers created a Landscape 12. The Art of Exploration: Visualising the Desert 13. Heroes for the Nation: Mythologising the Explorers 14. Boys' Own Adventures at the Edge of Empire Part IV: ENGAGEMENT 15. From Dead Heart to Red Centre: Tales of Travel and Reefs of Gold 16. Getting over the Colour Green: Western Artists Discover the Desert 17. The Gothic Desert: Psychodrama in Fiction and Film 18. Figures of the Subconscious: Re-visioning the Explorers 19. Transforming Myths: Re-telling the Stories of Exploration 20. The Language of Landscape: Nature's Self-Portrait 21. The Lure of the Desert: Self-Discovery and Renewal 22. Hidden in Full Sight: Indigenous Desert Art 23. Selling the Centre: Desert Tourism 24. What can we Learn from Aboriginal Culture in the Anthropocene?