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Wednesday, 13 June 2012

Exploring the archaeological evidence and impact of contact between Western Australia's first isolated British settlement and the Noongar people of the State's South-West, and workshops to explain the science of tasting food have received Inspire Australia government funding to bring science to the community.

The first grant worth $30,000 will fund a joint project run by UWA near Albany with the National Trust WA, the Wagyl Kaip Working Party and the Albany Heritage Reference Group which aims to explore Aboriginal history and discover how early European settlement affected the local landscape.

The project was inspired by the local Noongar community's search for answers to the true age of Albany's oldest archaeological site, Kalgan Hall, where some archaeological deposits are dated to 19,000 years ago and others are undated.

"The area also features Old Farm at Strawberry Hill where we are keen to assess the evidence from nearby swamp deposits for environmental impacts from Western Australia's first farm," UWA Director of Eureka Archaeological Research and Consulting Associate Professor Joe Dortch said

The project, which is due to run from September 2012 to March 2013, will involve Noongar community representatives, local schools, archaeologists, archaeology students and scientists in the fields of geochronology and palaeontology.

UWA's second Inspire Australia grant worth $44,000 will be used by Professor Garry Lee, from the University's Centre for Forensic Science, to run food-based workshops hosted by a scientist and a chef to show how science can explain how to cook the perfect steak, why some foods stimulate different regions of the brain and why wine tastes differently depending on where it hits your tongue.  These and other burning issues will be addressed in a series of "Tastes Like Science" public events.

Media references

Associate Professor Joe Dortch (UWA Director Eureka  (+61 8)  6488 2860
Archaeological Research and Consulting)
Professor Garry Lee (UWA Centre for Forensic Science)  (+61 8)  6488 2561
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783

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