13th Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research

Presentation Abstracts

JOHNSTON, Chris and BUCKLEY, Kristal

Telling Tales: place, attachment and government action

Places are important in people's lives. They help connect us to the past, present and perhaps the future. Places are also an important focus of government action to protect heritage in Australia. But rarely are ordinary people's own experiences and stories about places part of government heritage assessment processes. Recently, social research techniques have started to be used to document a community's sense of attachment to specific heritage places. But while some government agencies are encouraging use of these methods, others are sceptical. This paper will look at selected case studies that illustrate the method being used, other examples that demonstrate the diversity of responses to this work by government, issues arising and future directions.