Peter Davies | La Trobe University (original) (raw)

Papers by Peter Davies

Water History, 2021

People and water intersect in the movement of sediment downstream in rivers. Social processes and... more People and water intersect in the movement of sediment downstream in rivers. Social processes and geomorphological processes become entangled as each system moves in ways that trigger corresponding responses from the other. Long-term dialectical relationships emerge that span multiple human generations. The power of sediment and water to change physical environments is in constant tension with the power of human actions informed by social, cultural, legal, economic and engineering imperatives. The Pacific Rim gold rushes that began in the mid-nineteenth century provide an opportunity to examine how the interplay of people, water and sediment unfolds over historic time. The mass discharge of mining sediment in California and Victoria that began over 150 years ago was a catastrophic human alteration of river systems. Subsequently, mining sediment has had a long and complex entanglement with society and rivers in both regions and continues to be an active agent in reshaping riparian environments. Mining sediments also have a toxic legacy as associated contaminants, including mercury and arsenic, that are discharged into waterways and dispersed in windblown dust. The changes to river systems caused by gold mining committed societies and rivers to new trajectories of mutual engagement. Anthropogenically induced sedimentation that resulted from mining is an issue that will continue to impact watersheds for generations to come.

Victorian Historical Journal, 2023

Ballarat’s mining history is celebrated but less known is the environmental damage to local water... more Ballarat’s mining history is celebrated but less known is the environmental damage to local waterways. Ballarat’s gold mines were amongst the richest in Australia and they all sent their waste into the Yarrowee River. An interdisciplinary approach that integrates documentary evidence with insights from archaeology and geomorphology reveals the effects of mine waste on the river during the nineteenth century and how those effects continue to be felt. Deposits of mine tailings remain on the floodplains from Ballarat East downstream to Inverleigh and the junction with the Barwon River. Historical perspectives provide crucial context for understanding lasting changes to the Yarrowee and its catchment and how the effects of gold mining continue to have lasting impacts on heritage, ecosystems, and river health.

Hydrogeology Journal, 2020

Groundwater supply systems constructed by gold miners in Victoria during the nineteenth century w... more Groundwater supply systems constructed by gold miners in Victoria during the nineteenth century were highly significant in the historical development of water law and water licensing in Australia. Alluvial gold mining required large volumes of water to separate gold from washdirt, but surface flows often failed in seasonally dry conditions. Drought in the mid-1860s prompted miners on the Ovens goldfield in northeast Victoria to exploit groundwater to increase supplies, despite limited scientific understanding of this resource at the time. Analysis of historical plans held by Public Records Office Victoria has revealed numerous 'source of supply' tunnels dug by miners to extract groundwater in the area. By the early 1880s, miners were using up to 31 ML of groundwater per day, with much of the water transferred between creek and river catchments. These activities represent an early, large-scale and significant intervention in the hydrogeological environment, several decades prior to economic development of the Great Artesian Basin in northern Australia. Understanding the nature and scale of groundwater use in this period provides vital social and historical context for modern debates about groundwater modelling, extraction and management.

The Routledge Handbook of Global Historical Archaeology, 2020

The Holocene, 2021

Bucket dredging to mine and extract gold and tin from rivers is a global industry that has had a ... more Bucket dredging to mine and extract gold and tin from rivers is a global industry that has had a range of negative effects on physical environments. These include the destruction of riparian soil profiles and structures, artificial channel straightening and loss of in-stream biodiversity. In this paper we evaluate the immediate effects and long-term consequences of bucket dredging on rivers in Victoria and New South Wales during the period 1900-1950. High quality historical sources on dredge mining are integrated with geospatial datasets, aerial imagery and geomorphological data to analyse the scale of the dredging industry, evidence for disturbance to river channels and floodplains and current land use in dredged areas. The study demonstrates that the environmental impact of dredging was altered but not reduced by anti-pollution regulations intended to control dredging. An assessment of river condition 70-100 years after dredge mining ceased indicates that floodplains and river channels continue to show the effects of dredging, including bank erosion, sediment slugs, compromised habitat and reduced agricultural productivity. These findings have significant implications for river and floodplain management.

The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Archaeology, 2022

In a world once dominated by organic material culture, wood products were pre-eminent. Forests an... more In a world once dominated by organic material culture, wood products were pre-eminent. Forests and woodlands provided timber for buildings and houses, ships and furniture, carts and tools. Small wood provided heating fuel, charcoal, and a host of minor products. Industrial logging began in the nineteenth century, as colonial lands of the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia were opened up to European exploitation and trade. Archae ologists have researched and revealed numerous aspects of timber-getting in this period, including log transport, milling technology, the social structure of lumber camps, and the solitary lives of charcoal burners. The forests of the world today are a product of how they were treated and managed in the past.

Geoarchaeology, 2023

Industrial-scale metal mining has long been a feature of developing economies. Processing ores to... more Industrial-scale metal mining has long been a feature of developing economies. Processing ores to recover minerals has generated large quantities of waste rock, tailings and contaminants. Mining-related deposits, along with associated soil and water geochemistry, river modifications and other environmental changes, are a product of the nature, scale and intensity of past operations. These artefacts of historical mining create anthropogenic landscapes that extend far beyond individual sites due to the dispersal of mine waste by rivers and pose enduring threats to human and ecosystem health. Their presence and significance, however, are often overlooked by heritage and environmental managers. To be acknowl-Geoarchaeology. 2023;1-17. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gea | 1 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Journal of Australasian Mining History, 2016

The River Loddon & Tributaries Water Supply Company was established in central Victoria in the la... more The River Loddon & Tributaries Water Supply Company was established in central Victoria in the late 1860s and operated for almost 100 years. The company’s mining water system dominated supply for sluicing operations around Fryerstown and was linked to the government’s Coliban System of Waterworks. The Loddon Company provides an important case study in the costs and complexities of managing water on the goldfields and the often difficult relations between private suppliers and public water authorities.

Provenance, 2018

Goldfields commons were established in numerous locations in nineteenth-century Victoria. These l... more Goldfields commons were established in numerous locations in nineteenth-century Victoria. These large parcels of Crown land provided accessible grazing for gold miners and kept land around the goldfields in the public domain. In addition to the 80 or so goldfields commons declared, there were several hundred town and farmers commons as well, covering in total more than one million acres of the Victorian countryside. The Inglewood Gold Field Common was broadly typical of this wider pattern. Established in January 1861, it initially encompassed more than 50,000 acres of mallee woodlands, grasslands and auriferous outcrops. Correspondence preserved in Public Record Office Victoria reveals the many ways that miners and local residents utilised the common, and how managers and users tried to negotiate and resolve the problems they encountered. These ranged from complaints by local squatters about loss of their land to claims by selectors, plagues of rabbits and the important local role of Chinese market gardeners. The Inglewood Gold Field Common was officially abolished in 1898, but much of the land remains in public hands today.

Journal of Australasian Mining History, 2018

Bucket dredging for gold was widespread in Victoria in the first half of the 20th century. During... more Bucket dredging for gold was widespread in Victoria in the first half of the 20th century. During the early years of operation, dredges operated under minimal regulation and caused substantial damage to riverine environments. As the industry peaked between 1908 and 1913, technological improvements and new legislation led to tighter controls on dredging operations. The industry declined in the 1920s but revived in the post-WW2 period, where a small number of very large dredges where closely supervised by authorities.

Geoarchaeology, 2020

Mobilisation of large volumes of bedrock, regolith and soil has long been a characteristic featur... more Mobilisation of large volumes of bedrock, regolith and soil has long been a characteristic feature of metal mining. Prior to the 20th century this was most efficiently achieved through harnessing the motive power of water. Large-scale water use in mining produced waste sands, gravels and silts that were flushed downstream, triggering changes in stream and floodplain morphology and function. During the 19th century the shift from artisanal to industrialised mining resulted in a rapid increase in the scale and extent of environmental change. This paper presents results from a multidisciplinary research program investigating the environmental effects of 19th-century gold mining on waterways in southeastern Australia. Archaeological and geospatial landscape survey are combined with historical data modelling and geomorphological analysis to examine the extractive processes that produced sediment in headwater regions and how this influenced fluvial processes operating on downstream waterways and floodplains. Our case study of the Three Mile-Hodgson Creek system on the Ovens (Beechworth) goldfield in northeast Victoria indicates that miners mobilised up to 7.3 million m 3 of sediment in this small catchment alone. Results of the research suggest that tailings dams and sludge channels in this catchment are important archaeological evidence for early attempts to manage industrial waste.

International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2020

Transnational mobility of people, goods, ideas and capital was a key feature of the British Empir... more Transnational mobility of people, goods, ideas and capital was a key feature of the British Empire in the long nineteenth century, as millions of migrants created new colonial societies at the expense of Indigenous peoples. Archaeological biographies of individuals provide crucial insight into these wider processes of social, material and environmental transformation. James William Robertson (1823-1876) was an agent of change in this imperial-colonial domain. In 1852 he migrated from his birthplace of New Brunswick, Canada to the gold rush colony of Victoria, Australia where he developed interests in mining, water control and sawmilling. A decade later Robertson departed for the mining boom in Otago, New Zealand, where he expanded his business interests and entered public service as mayor of Queenstown and a provincial legislator. This paper uses the archaeology and history of Robertson's life to trace his role as an agent of change at local, regional and international scales. His story links distant corners of the British Empire into a global story of colonialism, capitalism and environmental change.

The Anthropocene Review, 2020

Human activities over the past 200 years have fundamentally transformed the shape of Australia’s ... more Human activities over the past 200 years have fundamentally transformed the shape of Australia’s southern Murray Darling Basin (SMDB). The arrival of British colonists in the 19th century disrupted millennia of human management of the region and brought widespread changes to biota and soils. The subsequent development of mining, transport and irrigation infrastructure re-engineered the region’s landscapes to meet human objectives and ambitions. This paper offers an integrated regional history of anthropogenic change across the SMDB, identifying historical processes driving complex ongoing interactions between human activities and the natural environment. We examine three broad domains of engineering and geo-disturbance in the region, including the development of transport corridors, micro and macro-scale water management, and landforms remade by erosion and sedimentation. We use the archaeology of the recent past to integrate insights drawn from physical geography, fluvial geomorphology and related research into the enduring landscape changes of modern Australia’s food bowl.

Provenance, 2015

PROV holds a remarkable collection of maps prepared by mining surveyors in the nineteenth century... more PROV holds a remarkable collection of maps prepared by mining surveyors in the nineteenth century. The maps record water race networks created by alluvial gold miners, who needed large volumes of water to wash gold from the earth. These mining water systems were often very extensive, winding for miles through the hills to divert water to mining claims. The Beechworth (Ovens) goldfield was an important centre of alluvial mining in colonial Victoria and it was here that the most complex water networks were created. Many of the races and dams built by miners are preserved in goldfields landscapes today. We have integrated historical PROV maps of water races at Beechworth into a geographic information system (GIS) to analyse and understand the location and extent of historical water networks. This combination of historical maps and digital technology offers a powerful new tool to help understand the relationships between competing water users and the changes they brought to colonial mining landscapes.

International Journal of Historical Archaeology , 2015

Matrons were often powerful figures in the daily workings of benevolent asylums and other institu... more Matrons were often powerful figures in the daily workings of benevolent asylums and other institutions of refuge. Responsible for hygiene, subsistence and the moral oversight of inmates, matrons occupied a strategic point in the relationship between institutions and wider society; they embodied notions of institutional care, refuge and reform. Matron Lucy Hicks was typical of this pattern. As matron of the Hyde Park Asylum for Infirm and Destitute Women in Sydney, Australia, from 1862 to 1886, she exercised enormous influence over the inmates and the daily operation of the institution. Archaeological and documentary evidence reveals important aspects of the life of Matron Hicks and her family, and her role as intermediary between governing authorities and pauper inmates.

The Artefact, 2008

Chicory was widely grown in Victoria's Western Port region from the 1870s to the 1960s. The roots... more Chicory was widely grown in Victoria's Western Port region from the 1870s to the 1960s. The roots of the plant were dried in kilns and used as an additive or substitute for coffee. While most production occurred on Phillip Island, there was also a substantial chicory industry on French Island for much of this period. Today there are about 30 chicory kilns remaining in the Western Port area, forming a distinctive element in the rural landscape. This paper describes the archaeology of the kilns on French Island, and the evidence they reveal about experimentation and adaptation to local conditions.

Australasian Historical Archaeology , 2013

Water wheels were widely used on the Victorian goldfields during the nineteenth century to drive ... more Water wheels were widely used on the Victorian goldfields during the nineteenth century to drive mining machinery in areas where sufficient water was available. One of the largest wheels constructed was the Garfield water wheel, with a diameter of 70 feet (21.3 m), which operated from 1887 to 1904 near Chewton in central Victoria. It drew water from the Coliban System of Waterworks, a government-funded supply scheme that delivered water to mining communities in a region that was otherwise too dry for hydraulic power. In this paper we use the archaeological and historical evidence of the Garfield wheel to argue that water wheels offered a reliable and efficient alternative to steam power for many mining parties on the goldfields, and their use reveals the complex choices made by miners in terms of cost, industrial needs and environmental resources.

Australasian Historical Archaeology , 2005

Although slate writing equipment is a common feature of archaeological assemblages from historica... more Although slate writing equipment is a common feature of archaeological assemblages from historical sites in Australia, archaeologists have paid these items relatively little attention. The main period of production spanned the period 1770-1900. Thereafter, there were calls to remove slates from the schoolroom because they were regarded as unhygienic. Archaeological evidence indicates, however, that slates persisted in use well into the twentieth century. This paper examines the role of writing slates and pencils in colonial Victoria, their function in education, and their presence beyond the turn of the century. Slates remained in use due to their economy and convenience, the lack of supplies of cheap paper, and the persistence of older models of classroom teaching.

International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2006

By the 1870s and 1880s Melbourne had emerged as Australia's primary centre of manufacturing. Fact... more By the 1870s and 1880s Melbourne had emerged as Australia's primary centre of manufacturing. Factories and workshops produced a wide array of commodities, from drinks and foodstuffs, to furniture, machinery and building materials. Recent archaeological investigations at Casselden Place suggest that Melbourne was also an important destination for the import of commodities from international markets. Glass and stoneware containers from the site indicate the diversity of beverages, medicines, perfumes, condiments and other items routinely acquired by working people of an inner-city neighbourhood in the later-nineteenth century.

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2016

The archaeology of modern cities has grown enormously over the past half century, driven in large... more The archaeology of modern cities has grown enormously over the past half century, driven in large part by developer-funded urban renewal. This activity has utilised a diverse array of methodological approaches, research paradigms and scales of analysis — a diversity increasingly reflected in the pages of Post-Medieval Archaeology. In this paper, we review the development of urban archaeology, with a particular focus on material remains from the past two or three centuries. We emphasize the role played by commercial archaeology and the growing importance of community engagement, along with changing theoretical models and the emergence of new analytical technologies.