Using both archaeological excavation and documentary evidence, Paterson traces both European and Aboriginal contributions to the operation at the station at Strangways Springs (called Pangki Warruna in the Arabana language), during the tricky period of cultural contact, when settlement patterns of both were affected by the needs of the station, and by the needs of both groups.
Sheep Station Settlement Patterns
Paterson’s work is but the latest in a handful of archaeological investigations into sheep and cattle stations in interior Australia, although it is the first in South Australia. In addition to the head station with stone buildings and permanent facilities, early sheep stations (ca 1860-1882) included residential outstations, where in seasons with adequate rainfall, large numbers of sheep could be kept on rainwater; smaller outstations near permanent springs where less-than-ideal rain conditions required smaller groups of sheep; and work camps, for scouring and shearing sheep. Later adaptations included new technologies, such as bores dug into artesian deposits for permanent access to water and the addition of railroad spurs.Paterson traces the environmental degradation of the Strangways Spring area, brought about by the introduction of new animal species, the construction of fencing, and the over-use and mismanagement of artesian water resources. Most importantly, Paterson traces the complex changes in the pattern of interaction between Aboriginal and European populations. In all, he concludes, the complexity revealed in the documents and archaeological studies suggest a two-way process of adaptation and change, as the technology changed, and as the two groups learned to adapt to one another.
