Bulletin of the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology (2004) , 28: 97—106 The role of geo-politics in cultural site formation: A case study from the Northern Territory Nathan Richards in Studies, East Carolina University, GIUffNV7LIÆ, North Carolina, 27858 Email: richardsn@mail.ecu.edu DSAC Bzge Gully Saigon • Wrecks DARWIN Sad grov es Creek Frances i Fast Arm Bay Stokes Hill harf East Arm Burning Beach figure 1. Discard locations located in the vicinity of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory (Nathan Richards). Introduction Recent studies of ship discard behaviour in Australia indicate that over 1 500 water-craft have been deliberately discarded or destroyed across the coasts, rivers and of the country since at least the early 19th century (Richards, 2002). This research indicated that ship discard behaviours over this time changed substantially. Over the lastfew decades discard activities have tended to become concentrated in three main areas; the demolition ofwater- craft (which today normally occurs to Australian vessels in overseas ship breakingyards) , and the post-abandonment utilisation ofvsater-craft as artificial reefs, fish aggregation (FAD) and sometimes as museum displays. The one exception to this is the recent trend of ship discard events occurring in the Northern Territory. The North ern Terri tory has fewer in ten tionally discarded and destroyed tes than any other state or teni tory of Australia (at around 42 vessels, or 2% of the estimated national resource). This is consistent with current views suggesting that isolation is a factor in ship abandonment, and that discard activities are directly proportional to trade. It was never likely, for instance, that the Northern Territory would have more abandoned water-craft than major commercial ports like Sydney or Melbourne (Richards, 2003). This is also a consequence of the discard ofunwanted and obsolete water«aft in this region starti ng comparatively late. According to current understanding, the earliest date for the deliberate (i.e. non-accidental) abandonment of vessels in the Northern Territory occurred during 1895 with the dismantling of the wooden schooner JessieAndason (42 gross tons) , at an unknown location on the Darwin foreshore (Parsons, 1983: 63; 1984:61). Ship discard in the Northern Territory however, has been defined by a number of features not consistent with developments seen in other states. In particular, the largest difference between abandonment trends in the Northern Territory and other states is related to the continuing government seizure ofso called 'illegal vessels' (predominantly refugee and foreign fishing craft), and their subsequent destruction or deliberate discard. While such vessels are noted as discarded in many regions of Australia [for example, Sledge (1979: 81) mentions the existence ofa wooden Vietnamese refugee boat left on the beach at Koolan Island (Western Australia) in 1977], the vast majority of foreign seized vessels, mainly Indonesian fishing boats and Vietnamese refugee boats, are located in Darwin Harbour in the Northern Territory. In this light, it is clear that the Northern Territory is a special case study of how the abandonment of water-craft is, in many cases, directed by specific regional trends. While this has previously been acknowledged in relation to technological and economic trends, and their varymg effects on state and regional economies, the case of the Northern Territory is special because of the combined role that social, political and economic events outside of the country has had on this trend. This is particularly seen in the important ramifications that the clash between domestic policies and geopolitical circumstances has had on the changing causes and frequency of discard. These shifting circumstances, borne of a set of specific crises in Australian history (whether real or perceived) have seen the phenomenon of vessel seizure play a pivotal role in the cultural site formation processes that can be witnessed today. It is also interesting that while the abandonment of 'illegal' vessels is very much a regional phenomenon limited to the Northern Terri tory and adjacen tAustralian territorial waters, many ofthese vessels have subsequen tly also become components of artificial reef systems. This paper puts forward an interpretation of data collated in a briefperiod ofresearch and field-work carried out by the author in the Northern Territorywhile collecting material for a PhD dissertation completed at Flinders University. In some ways, this paper is a part ofan ongoing introspective process. Previous research (Richards, 2002) has indicated that abandoned water-craft can be used in a processual sense to create generalisations that appear to endorse the creation of 'law-like principles' (something that processualism is known, and criticised for). This paper and other recent work (Richards, 2003) show that the re-examination of portions of this same data on regional levels may illustrate that there are always exceptions to the rule. The paper outlines what is currently known of the abandoned vessel resource of the Northern Territory. What follows is a description of this resource, and how the archaeological remains, and historical details of the 97