Navigating Encounters and Exchanges: Intercolonial Trade, Industry and Labour Mobility in Asia Pacific, 1800s – 1950s, Fifth Annual International Symposium of Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage, University of Melbourne

Abstract

The fifth annual International Symposium of the Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage at the University of Melbourne, Navigating Encounters and Exchanges: Intercolonial Trade, Industry and Labour Mobility in Asia Pacific, 1800s – 1950s , was held online from 24 to 26 November 2021. The symposium highlighted industrial heritage in the Asia-Pacific region and its global connections. With a focus on buildings for industry, agriculture, and trade, it explored themes of encounter, exchange, and influence, through flows of commodities, craft, labour and expertise across sites and communities between the 1800s and the 1950s. The symposium was convened by Amanda Achmadi, Hannah Lewi, Soon-Tzu Speechley and Paul Walker, with presentations by local and international academics and heritage practitioners. Due to the COVID pandemic, digital pre-recorded presentations were available prior to syn-chronous keynotes and panels attended by guests and speakers across the globe. The first keynote, presented by Julia Martínez (University of Wollongong) and Adrian Vickers (University of Sydney), examined the relationship between the prolific use of corrugated iron and seasonal multi-ethnic workforces in pearling, mining and plantation industries across Asia-Pacific in the early- to mid-20 th century. Cheap, portable, and easily assembled, corrugated iron was imported from Australia by Australian enterprises to construct racially segregated work, living and entertainment spaces for labourers. The keynote traced how different building typologies emerged based on racial and class divides, despite global pressure to improve living conditions.