Significant tree legislation in South Australia: reflecting Aboriginal and colonial relationships to the environment

Abstract

Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is experiencing dramatic changes to planning legislation in anticipation of increased population growth as a result of its bid to develop a world- class city. The Kaurna, as the traditional owners, have largely been ignored in consultations over proposed changes. Indeed, the push for development reinforces the next chapter of a colonial project, legitimating a discourse of terra nullius for Kaurna and largely thwarting their native title aspirations. In this article, I discuss how the push to modernize Adelaide and satellite centres hides a reinvigoration of the colonists’ fear of the bush and a desire to impose order and civilization through the built environment. Significant trees have become sites of contested identity within Aboriginal and colonial relationships as pressures for the expansion of the city and suburbs drive changes to regulations protecting trees at the expense of environmental concerns and the protection of wildlife.