Legacy of the 'Fatal Shore': The Heritage and Archaeology of Confinement in Post-Colonial Australia

Why does the theme of ‘confinement’ link historic-period heritage places across the continent of Australia? This article explores incarceration as not only a dominant theme in heritage-listed and archaeological sites from post-contact Australia, but also as a central underlying element in both Anglo-Australians’ sense of ambiguous difference from their European origins, and indigenous Australians’ painful experiences of engagement with the state. It considers the shared experiences of ‘confinement’ through a wide variety of registered convict, post-convict and indigenous heritage places in order to question how and why this theme has come to hold such a special resonance for different communities within modern Australia. Expanding upon Bruce Trigger’s classic definitions of ‘alternative archaeologies’, the authors suggest this resonance has resulted in the emergence of a post-colonial form of heritage practice within this settler nation.