My Father Put Them Up There: Anthropogenically caused Environmental
Change Associated with Vessel Discard Practices in the Clarence River,
NSW, Australia
Abstract
The Clarence River (New South Wales, Australia) was the main transport
corridor for the sugar cane industry operating in the area from the
1860s to the 1970s. Using archaeological, documentary and oral
historical resources we explore some of the anthropogenic impacts of
this industry upon river channels and hydrology, in particular through
the deliberate abandonment of obsolete vessels. These deliberately
discarded former cane barges have been used as erosion control devices
in several areas around the Harwood Island sugar mill, resulting in the
accumulation of sediments and the establishment of mangrove environments
in what were degraded areas.