ABSTRACT
The colonisation of Guuranda and wider South Australia is complex and what follows is a synthesis of the key events from the 1830s to the 1990s. Burgiyana fits into the epoch of terra nullius, expressed through four necessary occurrences: stolen land, hardening of racial categories, ignorance of local power systems and capitalist exploitation. Labour is a central experience in the landscape, through which people create networks of identity, stories and associations. Indigenous peoples have provided labour to Australia’s maritime industry. Government policy in South Australia about Aboriginal peoples has fluctuated between non-existent, protectionist and assimilationist. Burgiyana is part of the traditional seas and lands of the Narungga people. Located on western Guuranda, near the coastal town of Dharldiwarldu, Burgiyana adjoins the Spencer Gulf coastline. At the time of the establishment of Burgiyana, the land featured samphire swamps, mangroves and sand dunes, as well as arable land.
