10.4225/03/5938c43b5311e
Warwick Frost
Warwick
Frost
Making an Edgier Interpretation of the Gold Rushes: Contrasting Perspectives from Australia and New Zealand
Monash University
2017
monash:2522
Sovereign Hill
interpretation
Heritage
2004
authenticity
Gold Rushes
1959.1/2522
2017-06-08 03:27:54
Journal contribution
https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Making_an_Edgier_Interpretation_of_the_Gold_Rushes_Contrasting_Perspectives_from_Australia_and_New_Zealand/5090728
This article examines the interaction between new interpretations of history and interpretation provided at heritage tourist sites. Generally, the literature distinguishes between history, which is seen as objective and fixed and heritage interpretation, which is characterised as biased, selective and serving parochial interests. It is argued that history is actually far more dynamic and subjective and that this requires an ongoing revision of interpretation for visitors as historical interpretations change. To illustrate these processes, Goodman's concept of a new 'edgier history of Gold' is applied to interpretation at Sovereign Hill and the Mount Alexander Diggings in Australia and the Central Otago Heritage Trail in New Zealand.