2022 Laureate Profile: Professor Peter Veth

Professor Peter Veth

Administering Organisation: The University of Western Australia

Fellowship Project Summary

FL220100046 – Desert People: Australian Perspectives

Future prosperity in the mining and resources industries, and the ongoing protection of 60,000-year-old Aboriginal sites are often conflicting and public battles. In the North-West Australian regions of the Ningaloo coast, Pilbara and Western Desert, mining and tourism contributes significantly to the regional economies, estimated as being worth over $100B/annum to the Western Australia economy. In parallel however, the cultural heritage value is not as well documented, and as a result the culturally significant heritage sites within these regions are at risk of being lost. By working with Traditional Custodians and using state of the art archaeological techniques including satellite surveys and ground-penetrating radar, this large-scale project will provide critical knowledge to Traditional Custodians, land managers and industry to guide future developments in these areas. The ultimate goal is to avoid another incident and loss like the Juukan Caves, enable heritage protection and future developments within the resources and green energy industries to co-exist, and provide a blueprint for regions where cultural heritage and industry can be co-managed and prosper, preserving the world's oldest continuing culture.

Australian Research Council funding: $3,224,956

Find out more information about Professor Peter Veth and their research areas of interest to date by visiting their profile page here: Pete Veth — the UWA Profiles and Research Repository

For further information about this funding scheme, please visit the Australian Laureate Fellowships page.

Image credit: The University of Western Australia