Exercising Dominion: Landscape, Civilisation and Racial Politics in Capricornia

The Land in Xavier Herbert’s 1937 novel Capricornia acts as a “medium” (38) according to Lydia Wevers, mediating all experiences and developments. In particular, the land is a site of contention between Indigenous and settler groups each vying for an existence very different from the other’s. The p...

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Main Author: Michael Thomas Ellis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2016-06-01
Series:Ilha do Desterro
Online Access:https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/43284
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author Michael Thomas Ellis
author_facet Michael Thomas Ellis
author_sort Michael Thomas Ellis
collection DOAJ
description The Land in Xavier Herbert’s 1937 novel Capricornia acts as a “medium” (38) according to Lydia Wevers, mediating all experiences and developments. In particular, the land is a site of contention between Indigenous and settler groups each vying for an existence very different from the other’s. The phrase “exercising dominion” (Fitzmaurice, 56) was developed by European thinkers in the Middle Ages, who were tasked with finding justification for the colonisation of the Holy Lands of the Middle East and the mineral-rich lands of the Americas. This article will analyse the settlement and colonisation of the Northern Territory as depicted in Capricornia with consideration of the above statement, particularly as it explores the opposing groups’ attitudes towards and interactions with the Land and to each other. 
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spelling doaj-art-aa3a754b5b39486585b9b5f5ea9df6382025-08-20T03:44:06ZengUniversidade Federal de Santa CatarinaIlha do Desterro0101-48462175-80262016-06-0169210.5007/2175-8026.2016v69n2p4325429Exercising Dominion: Landscape, Civilisation and Racial Politics in CapricorniaMichael Thomas Ellis0University of Sydney The Land in Xavier Herbert’s 1937 novel Capricornia acts as a “medium” (38) according to Lydia Wevers, mediating all experiences and developments. In particular, the land is a site of contention between Indigenous and settler groups each vying for an existence very different from the other’s. The phrase “exercising dominion” (Fitzmaurice, 56) was developed by European thinkers in the Middle Ages, who were tasked with finding justification for the colonisation of the Holy Lands of the Middle East and the mineral-rich lands of the Americas. This article will analyse the settlement and colonisation of the Northern Territory as depicted in Capricornia with consideration of the above statement, particularly as it explores the opposing groups’ attitudes towards and interactions with the Land and to each other.  https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/43284
spellingShingle Michael Thomas Ellis
Exercising Dominion: Landscape, Civilisation and Racial Politics in Capricornia
Ilha do Desterro
title Exercising Dominion: Landscape, Civilisation and Racial Politics in Capricornia
title_full Exercising Dominion: Landscape, Civilisation and Racial Politics in Capricornia
title_fullStr Exercising Dominion: Landscape, Civilisation and Racial Politics in Capricornia
title_full_unstemmed Exercising Dominion: Landscape, Civilisation and Racial Politics in Capricornia
title_short Exercising Dominion: Landscape, Civilisation and Racial Politics in Capricornia
title_sort exercising dominion landscape civilisation and racial politics in capricornia
url https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/43284
work_keys_str_mv AT michaelthomasellis exercisingdominionlandscapecivilisationandracialpoliticsincapricornia