What would Australia look like if we had monkeys swinging around our cities? In the late 19th Century, a number of associations called “acclimatisation societies” sprung up across Australia with the goal of bringing familiar plants and animals to what the British colonists saw as an impoverished landscape. 

This episode explores the massive ecological transformation that shaped what the university’s environment looks like today, and how Indigenous knowledge about land preservation was ignored for decades.

INTERVIEWEES

Dr Pete Minard (historian of colonial science and environmental history)

Prof Lynette Russell AM (historian of Indigenous Australians and colonial anthropology)

SOUND ATTRIBUTIONS

axe chopping (in the forest) by Selector, accessible at www.freesound.org/s/410768, License: Creative Commons 0 1.0

Pied Currawong Strepera graculina by Sunny Tseng, accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/871215, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0

Grey Butcherbird Cracticus torquatus by Peter Boesman, accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/859826, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0

Australian Raven Corvus coronoides by Zebedee Muller, accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/801431, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0

Laughing Kookaburra Daceolo novaguineae by Ken George, accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/858185, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0

Common Myna Acridotheres tristis by Greg McLachlan, accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/331396, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0

Peace Piano song by Calvin Clavier. https://pixabay.com/music/modern-classical-peace-piano-song-216338/

Birds and Insects near Dam - Cathedral Ranges by Sassaby, accessible at freesound.org/s/427877, License: Creative Commons 0 1.0

180081 Sheep Farm 01 by FST18008, accessible at https://freesound.org/s/441801, License: Attribution 4.0

Cinematic rythmline by SamuelFJohanns from Pixabay

What would Australia look like if we had monkeys swinging around our cities? In the late 19th Century, a number of associations called “acclimatisation societies” sprung up across Australia with the goal of bringing familiar plants and animals to what the British colonists saw as an impoverished landscape. 
This episode explores the massive ecological transformation that shaped what the university’s environment looks like today, and how Indigenous knowledge about land preservation was ignored for decades.
INTERVIEWEES
Dr Pete Minard (historian of colonial science and environmental history)
Prof Lynette Russell AM (historian of Indigenous Australians and colonial anthropology)
SOUND ATTRIBUTIONS
axe chopping (in the forest) by Selector, accessible at<a href="http://www.freesound.org/s/410768" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.freesound.org/s/410768&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3L8OuuMlw_rXDBdNk_yoId"> www.freesound.org/s/410768</a>, License: Creative Commons 0 1.0
Pied Currawong Strepera graculina by Sunny Tseng, accessible at<a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/871215" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.xeno-canto.org/871215&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1vzRQtCgH2rKkn_6ADQDtL"> www.xeno-canto.org/871215</a>, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0
Grey Butcherbird Cracticus torquatus by Peter Boesman, accessible at<a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/859826" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.xeno-canto.org/859826&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw051vSLht5IomKGbpusxdwP"> www.xeno-canto.org/859826</a>, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0
Australian Raven Corvus coronoides by Zebedee Muller, accessible at<a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/801431" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.xeno-canto.org/801431&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2T5nu02qr12K95YdEARGrI"> www.xeno-canto.org/801431</a>, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0
Laughing Kookaburra Daceolo novaguineae by Ken George, accessible at<a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/858185" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.xeno-canto.org/858185&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2onlmRsTzJBhs-kswrdj1J"> www.xeno-canto.org/858185</a>, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis by Greg McLachlan, accessible at<a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/331396" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.xeno-canto.org/331396&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2yeqVpyzOJcGuMVFGg5bYG"> www.xeno-canto.org/331396</a>, License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share Alike 4.0
Peace Piano song by Calvin Clavier. <a href="https://pixabay.com/music/modern-classical-peace-piano-song-216338/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pixabay.com/music/modern-classical-peace-piano-song-216338/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw106sYOyK2AYh-pPI2px5U2">https://pixabay.com/music/modern-classical-peace-piano-song-216338/</a> 
Birds and Insects near Dam - Cathedral Ranges by Sassaby, accessible at <a href="http://freesound.org/s/427877" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://freesound.org/s/427877&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1UJDrC9O4gF27ZJmZbEQVT">freesound.org/s/427877</a>, License: Creative Commons 0 1.0
180081 Sheep Farm 01 by FST18008, accessible at <a href="https://freesound.org/s/441801" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://freesound.org/s/441801&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729928023037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw37YRLziPH1PsQrgZzFW1SC">https://freesound.org/s/441801</a>, License: Attribution 4.0
Cinematic rythmline by SamuelFJohanns from Pixabay

The saying ‘truth is hidden in plain sight’ paints an appropriate picture of the University of Melbourne - hidden within the walls of its notorious buildings, and the people that gave them their names, are colonial legacies of injustice and tales of multiculturalism. 

Join students from the Centre for Advancing Journalism on a journey to discover the stories behind our iconic buildings in 8 illuminating episodes where we uncover what our University was really built on, both literally and figuratively.

Uncurated Season 3 coming October 2024.

The saying ‘truth is hidden in plain sight’ paints an appropriate picture of the University of Melbourne - hidden within the walls of its notorious buildings, and the people that gave them their names, are colonial legacies of injustice and tales of multiculturalism. 
Join students from the Centre for Advancing Journalism on a journey to discover the stories behind our iconic buildings in 8 illuminating episodes where we uncover what our University was really built on, both literally and figuratively.
Uncurated Season 3 coming October 2024.

Uncurated

An oil painting lost in a storeroom for decades, a dusty student card, a misplaced animal skull; these are some of the objects in the University of Melbourne's twelve museums. Each was forgotten in a different way. Join students from the Centre for Advancing Journalism on a journey of unforgetting as they ask why some objects - or people - are lost from history. And what that says about Australia. 

An oil painting lost in a storeroom for decades, a dusty student card, a misplaced animal skull; these are some of the objects in the University of Melbourne's twelve museums. Each was forgotten in a different way. Join students from the Centre for Advancing Journalism on a journey of unforgetting as they ask why some objects - or people - are lost from history. And what that says about Australia.

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