A Contemporary Archaeology of Australia’s Atomic Heritage
Investigating the material legacies of Australia’s engagements with nuclear science and technology, blending methods from contemporary archaeology, material culture studies, digital humanities and First Nations-led approaches.
The Nuclear Nation Linkage project is funded by the Australian Research Council and Partner Organisations the Powerhouse, Sydney, and the Australian Nuclear Technology and Science Organisation (ANSTO).
The history of nuclear science in Australia is of growing interest to scholars, however the physical remains of this controversial legacy are yet to be investigated.
Nuclear Nation is Australia’s first comprehensive analysis of the heritage values of the material legacy of Australia’s nuclear industries – from early 20th century radium mining to contemporary defence, industrial, medical and scientific applications.
This interdisciplinary project connects leading academics, curators, scientists and First Nations researchers, and its findings will contribute to truth-telling about difficult colonial histories, build capacity for heritage management, and develop new understandings of Australia’s role in the Nuclear Age.
The central aims of Nuclear Nation are to:
1) produce a contemporary archaeology of Australia’s atomic heritage using digital inventory, mapping and site characterisation techniques, and enhancing these findings through multi-scalar digital visualisations that capture the transnational networks that enmesh this nuclear culture;
2) audit and assess the Powerhouse and ANSTO nuclear-related heritage and collections to understand their values and identify gaps in the representation of Australia’s atomic heritage; and
3) generate First Nations knowledge of the Powerhouse and ANSTO collections, and Australia’s atomic heritage more broadly, to inform the inclusion of First Nations cultural perspectives across all nuclear-culture investigations in Australia.
