Spirituality and Commemorative Events: The Centenary Of World War One In Australia

A number of dark commemorative events have been staged in recent years, marking the anniversaries of incidents that are distressing or involve death or suffering (Frost and Laing, 2013). They are a medium for thinking about and remembering the past and potentially promote healing and provide a sense of closure for those affected, yet there is a paucity of research about them from a socio-cultural perspective. This paper examines the role of the Centenary of World War One in Australia in promoting positive social outcomes that are linked to spiritual development and meaningful experiences. This commemoration of the Great War, to be staged between 2014 and 2018, encompasses a varied program of events including exhibitions, parades, ceremonies and memorial services. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders involved in the planning and management of this commemorative event. Findings suggest that organisers are actively seeking to achieve outcomes such as reconciliation, peace, empathy and compassion and encourage reflection on ideals of sacrifice and service. The Centenary of World War One might therefore be understood as an example of a positive event, a term given to events that seek to facilitate ‘human well-being and conditions (or various circumstances) for flourishing’ (Filep, Laing and Csikszentmihalyi, 2017: 10). The paper addresses the call by Filep, Volic and Lee (2015) for researchers to use positive psychology lenses to explore the social, and in this case, spiritual dimension of events

Long-Distance Walking In \u27The Way\u27: Promises of Healing and Redemption

Films can be a source of inspiration to travel and influence imaginings about travel (Frost, 2010; Frost and Laing, 2015). This paper analyses the depiction of long-distance walking as an activity that promotes healing in The Way (2010); a film about pilgrims on the Camino Way in Spain. The motif of redemption is used to understand this cinematic narrative. It is the third pillar of ‘the Christian eschatological narratives of sin, sacrifice and redemption’ (Taylor, 2001: 10), but also a common element in many sacred stories (McAdams et al., 2001), where the sinner atones for what they have done and is released from or cleansed of their sin. The redemption narrative sequence depicts something positive resulting from adversity and is thus a story of hope (McAdams et al., 2001). Even though the protagonist in The Way begins the journey with the intention of walking solo, grieving for the deatn of his son, it is his encounters with various people along the way that shapes his experience and ultimately provides him with a renewed sense of purpose and meaning in his life. We conclude with a consideration of the practical and theoretical implications of these findings

Heritage Tourism At Eureka Stockade: A Comparative View

Victoria, California and New Zealand share a common heritage based on the great Gold Rushes of the mid-nineteenth century. This paper aims to increase understanding of the patterns and potential of heritage tourism by a comparative examination of Gold Rush heritage attractions in these three regions

Second Homes in Australia: an Exploration of Statistical Sources

Second homes have been given little attention in the literature of Australian tourism. This is due to their sitting outside the traditional industry structure, ignored as they are not businesses or part of an industry sector. However, second homes are important in two ways. First, they are a major supplier of accommodation for domestic tourists and have a significant impact on the tourism economy. Second, they tend to be found in high concentrations in certain localities, particularly some beach resorts. At such high levels they may have major environmental and social impacts. In order to understand second homes, their impacts and their place within Australian tourism, it is necessary to have reliable and accurate data. It may be thought that such data cannot exist due to the non-commercial nature of second homes. However, this paper presents details of three statistical collections which do provide important information about second homes. These data sources are available Australia-wide (though here my emphasis is on the Victorian coast) and are produced regularly, making it possible in time to identify trends

Imagined villages: reinventing Australian historic towns as tourist fantasies

There is a recent trend for the rebranding of small rural towns as 'villages'. Often taking their cue from film and television, these towns are re-imagined as 'old world' relics which offer a quaint ambience and a range of leisure opportunities for visitors from nearby cities. This represents a reversal of images of villages as stagnating and insular. The branding of rural towns as villages is often reinforced by comprehensive marketing campaigns and physical works which I term 'villagification'. This might include cobblestoned surfaces, new uses for old buildings, new structures disguised as old, decorative themes based on Europe and large numbers of cafes, boutique accommodation and tourist shops. Whilst, this process may encourage employment and other economic benefits, it also has social implications relating to identity, displacement and authenticity

Antiques, Crafts, Coffee and History: Shopping and Heritage Tourism in Australian Gold Rush Towns

This article examines the relationship between shopping and heritage. It considers two towns - Castlemaine and Maldon which were established in the Australian Gold Rushes of the 1850s. Both towns feature relatively intact nineteenth century streetscapes and mining areas. They are also vibrant tourist shopping areas, including restaurants, cafes, antiques shops, galleries and craft shops. Drawing on evidence from a two-year study of visitors, it is argued the combination of shopping and heritage is attractive to tourists and that many tourists engage in both. Furthermore, it is argued that while heritage attracts visitors, the economic benefits are captured by restaurants, cafes and shops

A Pile of Rocks and a Hole in the Ground: Heritage Tourism and Interpretation of the Gold Rushes at the Mount Alexander Diggings

The Mount Alexander Diggings is a series of 33 linked Gold Rush sites at Castlemaine and Maldon in the state of Victoria, Australia. The sites are not reconstructions, a small number have been restored, but the majority are ruins - piles of rocks and holes in the ground. Interpretation is provided through either a guidebook, guided tours or (in a small number of cases) on site signage. The sites are nearly all on public land. In 2002 many of the sites were given National Parks status in the newly established Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park. The Victorian Government is currently engaged in developing a World Heritage Listing application for the area. Historic tourism focussing on the Gold Rushes in Australia is dominated by one large-scale tourist attraction. This is the Sovereign Hill Outdoor Museum at Ballarat, 90 kilometres south. This highly successful reconstruction of the Gold Rushes has the highest level of visitation of any tourist attraction in regional Victoria and of any historic attraction in Australia. Developments such as the Mount Alexander Diggings are strongly influenced by the style of Sovereign Hill (including its interpretation) and by its success as an attraction and as a focus of regional tourism for Ballarat. This study considers three main issues arising from the development of the Mount Alexander Diggings and its positioning in relation to Sovereign Hill. The first is the difficulty of providing meaningful interpretation for visitors to historic mining landscapes. The success of Sovereign Hill at Ballarat and of a number of historic gold towns throughout Australia has preconditioned tourists to associate the Gold Rushes with townscapes and buildings. However, in the case of the Mount Alexander Diggings few of its sites are standing buildings and many are in isolated bush areas. This study highlights how this contrast may be turned into an asset rather than a liability through appropriate interpretation. The second issue concerns the role of interpretation in adding depth to the experience of visiting historic sites of extreme environmental degradation. For the Mount Alexander Diggings this includes attempts to interpret what the landscape was like before 1851 and how the various features of the Gold Rushes changed it. The third issue relates to the characteristics, activities and expectations of those who visit such historic sites. Unfortunately in Australia there has been very little published research into the types of tourists who are attracted to historic areas. Here the study draws on preliminary results from the Mount Alexander Tourist Survey which commenced in 2001

Exploring the benefits of outdoor activity participation in national parks: a case study of the Peak District National Park, England

This study aims to explore the role that regular outdoor activity participation in national parks plays in subjective wellbeing (SWB). It also considers the influences on SWB, including the national park environment, resilience-building, coping skills, mental health and stress alleviation. There is a wealth of research on the benefits of outdoor recreation in natural settings, yet studies which specifically examine the impacts of regular activity engagement in national parks are scarcer. Using the Peak District National Park (England) as a case study, fifteen online stakeholder interviews were conducted, probing participants about their outdoor recreation experiences both during and before the onset of the pandemic. Findings suggest that frequent outdoor activity participation in the Park positively influences coping, resilience and subjective wellbeing, and, relatedly, helps to improve mental health, and alleviate stress. These outcomes are valuable for dealing with the vicissitudes of everyday life and in facilitating long term SWB

Travel as Hell: Exploring the Katabatic Structure of Travel Fiction

positive and negative sense. Many novels depict travel in terms of ‘hell,’ depicting journeys that are exhausting, dangerous, and nightmarish. This narrative can be explored using the concept of the katabasis. Drawn from Ancient Greek mythology, it literally means ‘the descent,’ and more generally a journey to hell and back. The underworld is a ‘realm of death,’ where sacrifices are often demanded and the ‘other’ is encountered. Where the traveller returns, they are usually irrevocably changed by the experience. Erling Holtsmark observes that the central motif of these sojourns is identity: “The journey is in some central, irreducible way a journey of self-discovery, a quest for a lost self.” Through suffering, the traveller learns what they are capable of and understands themselves more deeply. The reader also absorbs the lesson that while travel is not necessarily straight-forward or enjoyable, the difficult passages and twists are intrinsically rewarding and enlightening. The mythic concept of the katabasis has been applied more broadly to cover fictional journeys drawn from many cultures and across different forms of media, including books and film. It also appears to apply across genres, including the Western, science-fiction, and crime fiction. It has been argued that the katabatic structure provides these fictional or cinematic journeys with resonance and power, and makes them compelling for an audience