AU!, I K 'iL ISIAN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 20,2002

heritage and nationalism TRACY IRELAND Tlze rnaterial renzains of Australia's colonial past were transfornzed from abandoned sites and forgotten /.c.lics into an 'archaeological 7,ecordf in a pr*ocess which seemed to enzerge in the 1960s. Why did historical archaeology appear at this time? Was it sinzply imported, or did it emergeporn local interests? Taking an 'ethrzogr,aphic ' and historical approach, and using both archival and interview data, the process of giving value to the nzaterial rwnains of Australia's historic past is explored. New concepts of heritage and archaeology combined with older traditions of valuing the environment within the context ofAustralia's 'new nationalism ' of the 1960s and 1970s. Historical archaeology is based upon foundations of value and signiJicance derived from a process which historicised the settler nation, valued the nzaterial renznants of the past and linked them to a historically continuous identity. IN'P'RODUCTION A groulng national maturity led to movements during the 1960s to preserve Australia's heritage across a wide spectrum. (Mulvancy cYL Kainminga 1999: 4