A ‘Tram Massacre

Institutionalised destruction in Sydney, 1955–1961

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6038554
AutoresPeter Howard (0000-0002-9215-6146, autor de correspondencia)
Año2012
Volumen47
Número2
Páginas91-98
Fecha de publicación2012-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArchaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0728-4896 • E-ISSN: 1834-4453
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/j.1834-4453.2012.tb00121.x
OpenAlexW2031105615
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas6

At its peak the Sydney tramway system was the second largest in both the British Empire and the Southern Hemisphere. During its busiest years in the mid‐1940s over 404 million fares were sold but despite this popularity the last tram in Sydney ran in 1961, just sixteen years later. This research makes use of the archaeological remains, landscape remnants and a study of the processes of removal of the Sydney tram system as a case study in destruction. By using Buchli and Lucas' (2001) framework of the material processes of remembering and forgetting, an understanding of the processes of destruction, as well as the reasons for removal of specific parts of the system is developed. The framework shows that the symbolic and strategic removal of a system can be used to ensure that it is made unworkable as well as removing it from the public consciousness. Such actions ensured that the system could not be easily restored

Archaeology · Empire · Forgetting · Geography · Political science · Popularity · Archaeological Research and Protection · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History · Law · Psychology