151 Golden Years Celebration: Sludge - Disaster on the Goldfields
From Stephanie Davison
views
From Stephanie Davison
Federation University celebrates 151 years of continuous learning, teaching and research in Geosciences with a series of public presentations exploring historical, archaeological, economic and social influences associated with mining in central Victoria.
Sludge - Disaster on the Goldfields, Professor Susan Lawrence, La Trobe University
Abstract: The young colony of Victoria’s economic wealth was founded on gold – but at what cost? Mud and sludge from the goldfields gushed down rivers and onto floodplains spreading a thick ooze over the landscape and having devastating consequences for farmland, people, plants and animals downstream. Susan will explain how the lessons learned and battles fought by early environmentalists of central Victoria now form the basis of improved erosion control, revegetation programs and catchment management strategies around the world.
Biography: Susan is interested in the physical evidence of past human activity. Her wide-ranging research includes the archaeology of colonisation, urban development and mining. She is co-author of SLUDGE: Disaster on Victoria’s Goldfields. Susan teaches and leads research at La Trobe University, is active in several national and international heritage and archaeological organisations and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Society of Antiquaries of London.