House elevation and the British military settlement of Port Essington in Northern Australia

Existing histories and theories of why the tropical house was elevated in Australia prioritized climatic drivers and European precedents focusing on evolving narratives of disease, discomfort, development, and disaster. Long-standing theories link housing elevation in Northern Australia with the pre...

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Détails bibliographiques
Dans:URI:https://journals.openedition.org/abe,
Auteur principal: Keys, Cathy
Format: Article ou chapitre numérique
Langue:Anglais
Publié: ABE Journal 2024
Sujets:
Accès en ligne:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Description
Résumé:Existing histories and theories of why the tropical house was elevated in Australia prioritized climatic drivers and European precedents focusing on evolving narratives of disease, discomfort, development, and disaster. Long-standing theories link housing elevation in Northern Australia with the prevalence of termites and the role of George Earl at the British colonial military settlement of Port Essington. This paper argues that engaging with the ethnographic and anthropological record diversifies the architectural history of elevated housing at Port Essington. These buildings can be contextualized within elevated housing precedents in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Macassan and northern Archipelagos communities.