Rosemary Kerr
Historian / Heritage Consultant
Australia
Routes of National Identity: Meaning, Myth and Memory along Australian Cultural Routes
Roads and routes, as cultural landscapes, are integral to the fabric of national heritage.
Constructed both physically and imaginatively, they embody multiple layers of meaning,
encompassing tangible and intangible elements. This paper focuses on three of Australia’s
most iconic routes. The transcontinental Stuart Highway, constructed as a strategic defence
road linking Adelaide to Darwin, traverses the heart of the continent, following the route of
explorers and the Overland Telegraph Line, and is an essential part of any round-Australia
journey. The Birdsville Track, an inland stock route, gained international fame through the
1954 film, Back of Beyond, following the journey of the outback mailman, and is now
popular amongst four-wheel-drive tourists. The Great Ocean Road, constructed as a
repatriation scheme and memorial to World War I servicemen, is renowned for its
spectacular coastal scenery and was recently listed on the National Heritage Register.
These routes’ cultural significance is ‘constructed’ through a dynamic and ongoing process
of interaction between landscapes, history, physical design, travellers’ experiences,
representations in popular culture, heritage and tourism interpretations. This process
entails conflicting and, often, contested narratives. While each route has a rich and multilayered history, tourism and heritage interpretations often privilege particular narratives,
celebrating powerful national foundation mythologies, namely the ‘Bush’, ‘Pioneer’ and
Anzac ‘legends’. Implicit in such interpretations is a silencing of competing voices, especially
those of Aboriginal peoples and other ethnic groups, whose stories are also entwined with
these routes. Through the examination of the routes’ histories, travellers’ narratives,
promotional and interpretive material, this paper aims to shed light on the complex
relationships between diverse travellers’ experiences, tourism promotion, heritage
interpretation and constructions of national identity over time, relating them to the broader
historical and cultural context. Opportunities and challenges for more holistic
interpretations that contest established narratives of national identity will also be discussed.