Topomapper: Mapping the narrative of colonization in the urban geography of Townsville

People: Dr Bryan Smith

Aim: This project looks at how street naming in Townsville documents a history of colonial public memory, writing into every corner of the urban geography. Sparked by work in critical toponymy that highlights the selective commemorative work done through the mundane naming practices of civic space, this project seeks to surface the people, events and moments remembered across the city's geography and how this normalises a history of colonisation in everyday spaces.

Publications:

Smith, B. (2022), Walking the stories of colonial ghosts: A method of/against the geographically mundane

Smith, B. (2018), Engaging Geography at Every Street Corner: Using Place-Names as Critical Heuristic in Social Studies