Sociogeomorphic evolution of an Australian upland river: a physical-and-social basis for rehabilitation

In many Australian river management settings there is a need to broaden and deepen participation and knowledge integration, particularly between physical and social sciences and with indigenous knowledges. Recent developments in geomorphological thinking that promote place based and reflexive practice in studying emergent landscapes may provide a basis for connecting geomorphology with diverse ways of knowing. In this thesis a sociogeomorphological view of a chain of ponds river system provides a social-and-physical historical context for river management, revealing physical and social constraints on achievement of sustainable river management. Recognising the need for more appropriate engagement with indigenous voices, this thesis established the beginnings of cross-cultural dialogue using ethnogeomorpholoical principles in a reconfiguration of relationships between people and between people and place. By remaking these relationships, the river was re-made for research participants and the researcher in a way that constitutes river rehabilitation in its own right. This conceptualisation of river rehabilitation as concerning physical-and social relationships has implications for recognition of the political work of geomorphology, alongside other ways of knowing, in achieveing sustainable river management.