Port Essington: The Historical Archaeology of a North Australian Nineteenth-Century Military Outpost

(Paperback)

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Description

In 1966 Jim Allen undertook the first professional excavation of European site in Australia. The 1840s military settlement of Victoria was established at Port Essington, the northernmost part of the Northern Territory and was the end point of Ludwig Leichhardt's epic journey in 1844-45. This settlement was the longest lived of three failed attempts by the British to establish a settlement on the northern coast of Australia before 1850. Its history reflects many of the dominant themes of wider colonial history - isolation, tropical disease, poorly equipped and inexperienced colonists, inept government bureaucracies and relations with the Indigenous population.

Reviews

'The study stands out as an early investigation into culture contact and Aboriginal history, a theme that would become popular from the 1980s onward. Allen considers the archaeological evidence for Aboriginal uses of the site before, during and after the fort phases.' -- Alistair Paterson * Antiquity *
'a seamless integration of sources, with his publication clearly separated into two distinct sections for archaeology and history, where the latter is used as an explanation for the former. ' -- Benjamin Baker * Post-Medieval Archaeology *
"It stands as a must-have for any historical archaeologist working in this part of the world, as well as for anyone with an interest in the history and European settlement of Australia's Top End." -- Clayton Fredricksen * Archaeology in Oceania *

Author Bio

Jim Allen is professor emeritus of archaeology at La Trobe University.