Aborigines and Conservationism: The Daintree‐Bloomfield Road

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between Aborigines and the conservation movement by presenting a case study of a pro‐development stance taken by an Aboriginal group. In 1983, the Aborigines, Kuku‐Yalanji speakers from Wujalwujal south of Cooktown in north Queensland, supported the construction of a road into their community through an ecologically important area of lowland coastal rainforest near Cape Tribulation north of Cairns. The paper attempts to explain the conflict between pro‐ and anti‐road forces by looking, first, at some conservationists' notions of Aboriginal culture, and, second, at the local Aboriginal political economy. It concludes by raising other issues, including that of consultation, and the use by the conservation movement of Aboriginal culture as a touchstone for its endeavours.

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