The 2023 George Seddon Memorial Lecture by Mick O’Leary, School of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Australia
There is now a growing recognition (within Western epistemologies) of the existence of Indigenous Underwater Cultural Heritage on Australia’s continental shelf. This recognition stems from an understanding that during the first 50,000 years of occupation, sea levels were up to 130 m lower than today. During this time the continental shelf formed an integral part of the Australian mainland and was occupied by over a thousand generations of people who formed deep cultural connections to this now submerged terrestrial landscape.
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Following the termination of the last ice age (circa 20,000 years BP) sea level rise inundated over 2 million square km of land. For the generations of people living though this period, they would have only known retreat, inland and to higher ground. The rising seas inundated their homelands, cutting off spiritually and culturally significant sites, and places whose cultural connections had spanned 10’s of thousands of years.
Therefore, most archaeological data that illuminates these earliest periods of human occupation, dispersal, and subsequent environmental adaptions and technological changes are now drowned on the continental shelves of Sahul (the combined continent of Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania at times of lower sea-level).
This nascent area of western scientific research is now finally revealing the rich cultural spiritual and material culture contained on Australia’s continental shelf.
Mick O’Leary is a multidisciplinary marine scientist who began his research career exploring the islands and reefs along the tropical North Queensland coast.
His research covers broad themes of climate change, coral reef resilience, and coastal evolution, spanning deep time, the present day, and projections into the future. He has recently broadened his research interests to include the field of submerged landscape archaeology to address knowledge gaps in deep history such as early human migrations, the role of climate in the peopling of Australia and coastal-hinterland cultural exchange.
Although Michael is based in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Western Australia, his broad research interests mean you will often find him hanging out with an odd assortment of archaeologists, anthropologists, marine ecologists, and oceanographers.
He completed his PhD at James Cook University in 2008 before undertaking postdoctoral research at Manchester Metropolitan and Boston Universities. He has been at UWA since 2018 in a teaching and research academic role.
This annual memorial lecture is presented by the Institute of Advanced Studies and the Friends of the Grounds at The University of Western Australia and honours the life and work of Emeritus Professor George Seddon AM.
George Seddon (1927-2007) was an Emeritus Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Melbourne and a Senior Honorary Research Fellow in English at The University of Western Australia. He was a Fellow of the Royal Australian Planning Institute, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences, and the Australian Academy of Humanities. His books include Swan River Landscapes, A Landscape for Learning and Sense of Place. He was awarded the Eureka Prize from the Australian Museum in 1995, the Mawson Medal from the Academy of Science in 1996 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Planning Institute of Australia.
The UWA Friends of the Grounds will host light refreshments in the foyer after the event for a gold coin donation.
Deep History of Sea Country 