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Professor Paul Memmott

Professor in Architecture

School of Architecture
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
p.memmott@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 53660

Overview

Professor Paul Memmott is an anthropologist and architect and for some decades has been the Director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre (AERC) at the University of Queensland (School of Architecture and Institute for Social Science Research). The AERC has provided an applied research focus on a range of topics in relation to Indigenous populations, including institutional architecture, vernacular architecture, housing, crowding, governance, well-being, homelessness, family violence and social planning for communities.

Paul was the first full-time architectural-anthropological consultant in Australia, being principal of a research consultancy practice in Aboriginal projects during 1980 to 2008. His research interests encompass Aboriginal sustainable housing and settlement design, Aboriginal access to institutional architecture, Indigenous constructs of place and cultural heritage, vernacular architecture, social planning in Indigenous communities, cultural change and architectural anthropology. In recent years, Memmott has directed the Indigenous Design Place initiative which draws on inter-disciplinary researchers across from UQ faculties and engages with Indigenous clients and personnel.

Paul’s scholarly research output includes over 300 publications (including 11 books and monographs), 215 applied research reports and 40 competitive grants. He has supervised over 50 postgraduate and honours students and has won a number of prestigious teaching awards in Indigenous education (including an Australian Award for University Teaching – AAUT). One of his books, titled 'Gunyah, Goondie + Wurley: Aboriginal Architecture of Australia', received three national book awards in 2008, including the prestigious Stanner Award from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

Paul also has extensive professional anthropological experience in Aboriginal land rights claims, Native Title claims and associated court work since 1980. He has presented evidence and been examined in a variety of Australian courts as an expert witness on a cross-section of Indigenous issues, in addition to the Native Title work.

Awards

  • AIA Neville Quarry Award, 2015
  • Best Exhibit, Australian Architectural Exhibit, Venice Biennale 2018 (Team led by Baracco + Wright Architects, Melbourne)

Memberships

  • Life Member, Academy of Social Sciences (Australia)
  • Life Fellow, Australian Institute of Architects
  • Fellow, Australian Anthropological Society

Research Interests

  • Cross-cultural Study of the Ethno-environmental Relations of Indigenous Peoples
    Five strands of research have emerged from my early career foundations that shape my research interests. (1) Vernacular Architecture and Material Culture: I have studied traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander shelters, houses and settlements for 40 years. (2) Aboriginal housing and institutional architecture: Australian Aboriginal housing and settlement research with over 50 publications in this field. (3) Indigenous homelessness: I have carried out empirical research studies on Indigenous homelessness in Australia, with some 16 publications in this field. (4) Indigenous family violence: In this difficult field I have researched the phenomenon and authored a national overview report for the Australian Government, “Violence in Indigenous Australia” that formulated a national definition of Indigenous family violence and integrated causal explanations. (5) Geography of place and cultural landscapes: I have been engaged in research for Aboriginal land claims and native title claims for over 30 years; as well as carrying out sacred site recording for Cultural Heritage agencies. My knowledge of Aboriginal geography has been applied to urban planning research and I have been involved in land and sea management issues with Aboriginal people both in terms of assisting groups to develop management plans, and to protect cultural heritage sites.

Research Impacts

Five fields of applied research impacts in national and international fora:

(1) Vernacular Architecture and Material Culture

(2) Aboriginal Housing and Institutional Architecture

(3) Geography of place and cultural landscapes

(4) Indigenous homelessness and

5) Indigenous family violence.

In varied academic, industry and government sectors he presented applied and policy related research. Since 2008, he was an invited guest speaker at 20 conferences, and another 15 invited keynote addresses influencing government policy change, including Commonwealth ministerial and standing committees and policy forums, professional and industry symposiums, ‘think-tanks’ and ‘lock-ups’, public lectures, gallery openings and book launches.

The inter-disciplinary nature of his work and its indigenous-specific field, he is a specialist referee for national and international journals in architecture, urban policy, anthropology, archaeology, economics, demography, housing and medicine.

In addition to his research publications (including 230 journal papers, 10 books and monographs), I was commissioned to write 215 applied research reports and 36 competitive grants (incl. as Team Leader on two ARC Discovery).

Qualifications

  • Fellow, Australian Anthropological Society
  • Fellow, Royal Australian Institute of Architects
  • Bachelor of Architecture (Hons), The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Publications

  • Journal Article: What is the link between housing, crowding, infections and high rates of kidney disease in a remote Aboriginal town?

    Lansbury, Nina, Hoy, Wendy, Shaw, Barb, Barnes, Samuel K., Memmott, Paul and Redmond, Andrew M. (2023). What is the link between housing, crowding, infections and high rates of kidney disease in a remote Aboriginal town?. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 47 (2) 100030, 100030. doi: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100030

  • Book Chapter: Camps, cottages and homes: an introduction to the exhibition

    O'Rourke, Timothy, Mapar, Mandana, Memmott, Paul and Aird, Michael (2022). Camps, cottages and homes: an introduction to the exhibition. Camps, cottages and homes. (pp. 5-5) edited by Timothy O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: University of Queensland School of Architecture.

  • Other Outputs: COP27: On Country, health and Indigenous knowledges

    Lansbury, Nina , Matthews, Veronica, Atkinson, Amba-Rose , Mohamedi, Janine , Mosby, Vinnitta , Nona, Francis , Ford, Linda Payi , Beal, Cara , Memmott, Paul , Jupurrurlan, Norman Frank , Quilty, Simon , Jackson, Melissa , Lee, Amanda , Redmond, Andrew M., Hempenstall, Allison and Burgen, Clarissa (2022, 11 07). COP27: On Country, health and Indigenous knowledges Croakey

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Grants

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Supervision

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Indigenous Cultural Landscape Research

    Postgraduate proposals that examine the ways in which Indigenous people relate to and value significant places and cultural landscapes can be supervised. Such topics might extend into human geography, urban design, urban history, landscape architecture, town planning or cultural heritage. Topics may also relate to how buildings are but positioned into and expressed in this cultural landscape.

  • Indigenous spatial behaviours

    Research topics can be supervised in relation to forms of spatial behaviours of Indigenous groups including in relation to customary land tenure, territoriality, setting theory, crowding and privacy cognitive space and people-environment transactional theory.

  • Indigenous Architecture Research

    Postgraduate proposals that address Indigenous architectural problems can be supervised. Such proposals might apply to Indigenous housing design, procurement, policy or management. Proposals might also include post-occupancy evaluation. Non-housing topics might embrace the architectural needs of Indigenous people in correctional centres, courts, hospitals, schools or clinics. Another research area embraces Indigenous cultural centres and museums.

    Other research topics on Indigenous architectural issues may relate to theories on customary behaviours, cultural change, cultural identity, material culture, architectural meaning and the role of tradition. Topics may pertain to either architect-designed buildings or vernacular buildings.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Camps, cottages and homes: an introduction to the exhibition

    O'Rourke, Timothy, Mapar, Mandana, Memmott, Paul and Aird, Michael (2022). Camps, cottages and homes: an introduction to the exhibition. Camps, cottages and homes. (pp. 5-5) edited by Timothy O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: University of Queensland School of Architecture.

  • Expert opinion: Paul Memmott on approaches to designing housing for Aboriginal populations

    Memmott, Paul (2022). Expert opinion: Paul Memmott on approaches to designing housing for Aboriginal populations. Homelessness and the built environment: designing for unhoused persons. (pp. 237-240) edited by Pable, Jill, McLane, Yelena and Trujillo, Lauren. New York, NY United States: Routledge.

  • Learning about nanotechnology and spinifex grass

    Saltmere, Colin, Memmott, Paul and Amiralian, Nasim (2022). Learning about nanotechnology and spinifex grass. Indigenous engineering for an enduring culture. (pp. 377-388) edited by Cat Kutay, Elyssebeth Leigh, Juliana Kaya Prpic and Lyndon Ormond-Parker. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

  • Aboriginal compounds of Western Queensland

    Memmott, Paul (2022). Aboriginal compounds of Western Queensland. Camps, cottages and homes: a brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland. (pp. 53-61) edited by Tim O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: Anthropology Museum, University of Queensland.

  • Aboriginal town camps in Western Australia

    Memmott, Paul (2022). Aboriginal town camps in Western Australia. Camps, cottages and homes: a brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland. (pp. 23-31) edited by Tim O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: Anthropolgy Museum, University of Queensland.

  • Camps, cottages and houses in Dajarra

    Memmott, Paul (2022). Camps, cottages and houses in Dajarra. Camps, cottages and homes: a brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland. (pp. 93-105) edited by Tim O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: Anthropology Museum, University of Queensland.

  • Materiality and design in Aboriginal engineering

    Memmott, Paul and Page, Alison (2022). Materiality and design in Aboriginal engineering. Indigenous engineering for an enduring culture. (pp. 319-348) edited by Cat Kutay, Elyssebeth Leigh, Juliana Kaya Prpic and Lyndon Ormond-Parker. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

  • Indigenous content in Australian architecture schools: Six drivers of demonstrating the need for pedagogical change and teaching responses

    Grant, Elizabeth and Memmott, Paul (2021). Indigenous content in Australian architecture schools: Six drivers of demonstrating the need for pedagogical change and teaching responses. Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Yurlendj-nganjin. (pp. 353-380) edited by David Jones and Darryl Low Choy. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

  • Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania, 1400–1780

    Miksic, John, Memmott, Paul and Brown, Deidre (2019). Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania, 1400–1780. Sir Banister Fletcher's Global History of Architecture. (pp. 406-422) edited by Murray Fraser and Catherine Gregg. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury.

  • The re-invention of the ‘Behaviour Setting’ in the new indigenous architecture

    Memmott, Paul (2018). The re-invention of the ‘Behaviour Setting’ in the new indigenous architecture. The Handbook of Contemporary Indigenous Architecture. (pp. 831-868) edited by Elizabeth Grant, Kelly Greenop, Albert L. Refiti and Daniel J. Glenn. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-6904-8_31

  • Architectural anthropology: developing a methodological framework for Indigenous wellbeing

    Kreutz, Angela and Memmott, Paul (2017). Architectural anthropology: developing a methodological framework for Indigenous wellbeing. Routledge Handbook of Environmental Anthropology. (pp. 90-104) edited by Helen Kopnina and Eleanor Shoreman-Ouimet. Abbingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315768946

  • Early Aboriginal society

    Memmott, Paul C. and Bond, Alexander (2017). Early Aboriginal society. Water futures: an integrated water and flood management plan for enhancing liveability in South East Queensland. (pp. 15-16) edited by James Davidson and Sam Bowstead. South Brisbane, QLD, Australia: James Davidson Architect.

  • Nanotechnology and the Dreamtime knowledge of spinifex grass

    Memmott, Paul, Martin, Darren and Amiralian, Nasim (2017). Nanotechnology and the Dreamtime knowledge of spinifex grass. Green composites. (pp. 181-198) edited by Caroline Baillie and Randika Jayasinghe. Duxford, United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-100783-9.00008-3

  • Spinifex structures in Central Australia

    Memmott, Paul (2017). Spinifex structures in Central Australia. HABITAT: vernacular architecture for a changing planet. (pp. 556-559) edited by Sandra Piesik. London, United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson.

  • Fission, fusion and syncretism: linguistic and environmental changes amongst the Tangkic people of the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Australia

    Memmott, Paul, Round, Erich, Rosendahl, Daniel and Ulm, Sean (2016). Fission, fusion and syncretism: linguistic and environmental changes amongst the Tangkic people of the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Australia. Land and language in Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf Country. (pp. 105-136) edited by Jean-Christophe Verstraete and Hafner, Diane. Philadelphia, United States: John Benjamins Publishing Company. doi: 10.1075/clu.18.06mem

  • Indigenous homelessness: Australian context

    Memmott, Paul and Nash, Daphne (2016). Indigenous homelessness: Australian context. Indigenous homelessness: perspectives from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. (pp. 213-220) edited by Evelyn J. Peters and Julia Christensen. Winnipeg, Canada: University of Manitoba Press.

  • Looking through the service lens: case studies in Indigenous homelessness in two regional Australian towns

    Memmott, Paul, Nash, Daphne, Willetts, Rob and Franks, Patricia (2016). Looking through the service lens: case studies in Indigenous homelessness in two regional Australian towns. Indigenous homelessness: perspectives from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. (pp. 245-269) edited by Evelyn J. Peters and Julia Christensen. Winnipeg, Canada: University of Manitoba Press.

  • Reviving culture on Mornington Island (and on losing the Ammaroo truck)

    Memmott, Paul (2016). Reviving culture on Mornington Island (and on losing the Ammaroo truck). Serious whitefella stuff: when solutions became the problem in indigenous affairs. (pp. 73-101) edited by Mark Moran. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Melbourne University Press.

  • We are good-hearted people, we like to share: definitional dilemmas of crowding and homelessness in urban indigenous Australia

    Greenop, Kelly and Memmott, Paul (2016). We are good-hearted people, we like to share: definitional dilemmas of crowding and homelessness in urban indigenous Australia. Indigenous Homelessness: Perspectives from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. (pp. 270-299) edited by Evelyn J. Peters and Julia Christensen. Winnipeg, Canada: University of Manitoba Press.

  • Cultural Relativism and Indigenous Family Violence

    Memmott, Paul, Nash, Daphne and Passi, Charles (2015). Cultural Relativism and Indigenous Family Violence. Preventing violence in Australia: policy, practice and solutions. (pp. 164-185) edited by Andrew Day and Ephrem Fernandez. Annandale, NSW Austraila: Federation Press.

  • Indigenous homelessness

    Memmott, Paul and Nash, Daphne (2014). Indigenous homelessness. Homelessness in Australia, an introduction. (pp. 155-178) edited by Chris Chamberlain, Guy Johnson and Catherine Robinson. Sydney, NSW, Australia: NewSouth Publishing.

  • Inside the remote-area Aboriginal house

    Memmott, Paul (2014). Inside the remote-area Aboriginal house. Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture: Life from the Inside. (pp. 93-99) edited by Dianne Smith, Marina Lommerse and Priya Metcalfe. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-4585-39-2_7

  • Aboriginal identity and place in the intercultural settings of metropolitan Australia

    Greenop,Kelly and Memmott, Paul (2013). Aboriginal identity and place in the intercultural settings of metropolitan Australia. Indigenous in the city: contemporary identities and cultural innovation. (pp. 256-281) edited by Evelyn Peters and Chris Anderson. Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press.

  • Forensic social anthropology

    Trigger, David, Martin, David, Memmott, Paul, Winn, Phllip, Burke, Paul, Peterson, Nicolas, Veth, Peter, Holcombe, Sarah and Palmer, Kingsley (2013). Forensic social anthropology. Expert Evidence: Law, Practice, Procedure and Advocacy. (pp. 36.51-36.9058) edited by Ian R. Freckelton and Hugh Selby. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Reuters.

  • Managing mixed Indigenous land titles: Cape York case studies

    Memmott, Paul and Blackwood, Peter (2013). Managing mixed Indigenous land titles: Cape York case studies. Living with native title: the experiences of registered native title corporations. (pp. 217-251) edited by Toni Bauman, Lisa M. Strelein and Jessica K. Weir. Canberra, ACT, Australia: AIATSIS Research Publications (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies).

  • Aboriginal architecture

    Memmott, Paul (2012). Aboriginal architecture. Encyclopedia of Australian architecture. (pp. 1-4) edited by Philip Goad and Julie Willis. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Cambridge University Press.

  • Homeless people: Indigenous/Aboriginal

    Memmott, P. and Chambers, C. (2012). Homeless people: Indigenous/Aboriginal. International encyclopedia of housing and home. (pp. 97-103) edited by Lorna Fox O'Mahony, Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Robyn Dowling and Susan J. Smith. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-047163-1.00335-0

  • Lanley, Larry (1927-1981)

    Memmott, Paul (2012). Lanley, Larry (1927-1981). Australian Dictionary of Biography. (pp. xx-xx) edited by Melanie Nolan and Paul Arthur. Carlton, VIC, Australia: Melbourne University Press.

  • Mission Architecture

    Memmott, Paul (2012). Mission Architecture.

  • NATSISS crowding data: what does it assume and how can we challenge the orthodoxy?

    Memmott, Paul, Greenop, Kelly, Clarke, Andrew, Go-Sam, Carroll, Birdsall-Jones, Christina, Harvey-Jones, William, Corunna, Vanessa and Western, Mark (2012). NATSISS crowding data: what does it assume and how can we challenge the orthodoxy?. Survey Analysis for Indigenous Policy in Australia: Social Science Perspectives. (pp. 241-279) edited by Boyd Hunter and Nicholas Biddle. Canberra, Australia: ANU E Press.

  • On Generating Culturally Sustainable Enterprises and Demand-Responsive Services in Remote Aboriginal Settings: A case study from north-west Queensland

    Memmott, Paul (2012). On Generating Culturally Sustainable Enterprises and Demand-Responsive Services in Remote Aboriginal Settings: A case study from north-west Queensland. Indigenous participation in Australian economies II : Historical engagements and current enterprises. (pp. 243-260) edited by Natasha Fijn, Ian Keen, Christopher Lloyd and Michael Pickering. Canberra A.C.T., Australia: ANU E Press.

  • Roughsey, Dick (Goobalathaldin) 1920-1985

    Memmott, Paul (2012). Roughsey, Dick (Goobalathaldin) 1920-1985. Australian Dictionary of Biography. (pp. xx-xx) edited by Melanie Nolan and Paul Arthur. Carlton, VIC, Australia: Melbourne University Press.

  • Torres Strait Island Architecture

    Memmott, Paul (2012). Torres Strait Island Architecture.

  • Inside the remote-area Aboriginal house

    Memmott, Paul (2011). Inside the remote-area Aboriginal house. Life from the inside : Perspectives on social sustainability & interior architecture. (pp. 124-131) edited by Dianne Joy Smith, Marina Lommerse and Priya Metcalfe. Como, W.A., Australia: Paper and Pencil.

  • Modelling the continuity of Aboriginal Law in urban native tide claims: A practice example

    Memmott, Paul (2011). Modelling the continuity of Aboriginal Law in urban native tide claims: A practice example. Unsettling anthropology: The demands of native title on worn concepts and changing lives. (pp. 122-141) edited by Toni Bauman and Gaynor Macdonald. Australia: AIATSIS.

  • Gununa is the land of my dreams that's rich in culture with its background

    Roughsey, Labumore Elsie, Memmott, Paul and Watson, Christine (2009). Gununa is the land of my dreams that's rich in culture with its background. Hibiscus & Ti-Tree: Women in Queensland. (pp. 19-29) edited by Carole Ferrier and Deborah Jordan. St Lucia, Qld: Hecate Press.

  • On the kindness of Aboriginal country, camp and shelter

    Memmott, Paul (2009). On the kindness of Aboriginal country, camp and shelter. Shelter: On Kindness. (pp. 16-19) edited by Davies, Suzanne. Melbourne, Australia: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Gallery.

  • On the kindness of Aboriginal country, camp and shelter

    Memmott, Paul (2009). On the kindness of Aboriginal country, camp and shelter. Shelter: On Kindness. (pp. 13-16) edited by Suzanne Davies. Melbourne, Australia: RMIT Gallery.

  • Sustaining Indigenous cultural tourism: Aboriginal pathways, cultural centres and dwellings in the Queensland wet tropics

    O'Rourke, Timothy and Memmott, Paul C. (2009). Sustaining Indigenous cultural tourism: Aboriginal pathways, cultural centres and dwellings in the Queensland wet tropics. Indigenous/Aboriginal tourism research in Australia (2000-2008): Industry lessons and future research needs. (pp. 78-79) edited by Pascal Tremblay, Aggie Wegner and Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism.. Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia: CRC for Sustainable Tourism.

  • At the Heart of Everything is the Land

    Memmott, Paul C. and MCulloch, Susan (2008). At the Heart of Everything is the Land. The Heart of Everything: The Art and Artists of Mornington and Bentinck Islands. (pp. 12-15) edited by Nicholas Evans, Louise Martin-Chew and Paul Memmott. Fitzory, Vic.: McCulloch and McCulloch Australian Art Books.

  • Origins of the contemporary art movement

    Memmott, Paul C. (2008). Origins of the contemporary art movement. The Heart of Everything: The Art and Artists of Mornington and Bentinck Islands. (pp. 16-30) edited by Nicholas Evans, Louise Martin-Chew and Paul Memmott. Fitzroy: McCulloch and McCulloch Australian Art Books.

  • What exactly is a fish trap? Methodological issues for the study of Aboriginal intertidal rock-wall fish traps, Wellesley Islands region, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

    Memmott, Paul, Robins, Richard and Stock, Errol (2008). What exactly is a fish trap? Methodological issues for the study of Aboriginal intertidal rock-wall fish traps, Wellesley Islands region, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Comparative island archaeologies. (pp. 47-67) edited by James Connolly and Matthew Campbell. Oxford, U.K.: Archaeopress.

  • A Regional Approach to Managing Aboriginal Land Title on Cape York

    Memmott, Paul, Blackwood, Peter and McDougall, Scott (2007). A Regional Approach to Managing Aboriginal Land Title on Cape York. Customary Land Tenure and Registration in Australia and Papua New Guinea: Anthropological Perspectives. (pp. 273-297) edited by J. F. Weiner and K. Glaskin. Canberra, Australia: ANU E Press.

  • Constructing cultural tourism opportunities in the Queensland wet tropics: Dyirbalngan campsites and dwellings

    O'Rourke, Tim and Memmott, Paul (2007). Constructing cultural tourism opportunities in the Queensland wet tropics: Dyirbalngan campsites and dwellings. Striving for Sustainability: Case Studies in Indigenous Tourism. (pp. 371-402) edited by J. Buultjens and D. Fuller. Lismore, NSW: Southern Cross University Press.

  • Forty years of Aboriginal housing, public and community housing in South Australia from 1967 to 2007

    Grant, Elizabeth and Memmott, Paul C. (2007). Forty years of Aboriginal housing, public and community housing in South Australia from 1967 to 2007. Reflections: 40 years on from the 1967 Referendum. (pp. 79-96) edited by Gillespie, N.. Adelaide: Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc..

  • Spinifex houses of the Western Desert

    Memmott, Paul C. and Go-Sam, Carroll (2007). Spinifex houses of the Western Desert. Gunyah, goondie & wurley: The Aboriginal architecture of Australia. (pp. 208-231) edited by Paul C. Memmott. St Lucia, Queensland, Australia: University of Qld Press.

  • Urban Aboriginal Place Values In Australian Metropolitan Cities: The Case Study Of Brisbane

    Greenop, Kelly and Memmott, Paul (2007). Urban Aboriginal Place Values In Australian Metropolitan Cities: The Case Study Of Brisbane. Past Matters: Heritage and Planning History - Case Study from the Pacific Rim. (pp. 213-245) edited by Caroline Miller and Michael Roche. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press.

  • Who are the Kaiadilt people, where do they come from, and where does their art come from?

    Memmott, Paul C. (2006). Who are the Kaiadilt people, where do they come from, and where does their art come from?. The Bentinck Project. (pp. 23-26) Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Woolloongabba Art Gallery.

  • Arrernte increase ceremonies (Central Australia)

    Memmott, P. C. (2005). Arrernte increase ceremonies (Central Australia). Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. (pp. 106-107) edited by Taylor, B., Kaplan and J.. Bristol, UK: Thoemmes Continuum.

  • Modelling Social Capital in a Remote Australian Indigenous Community

    Memmott, Paul and Meltzer, Anne (2005). Modelling Social Capital in a Remote Australian Indigenous Community. A Dynamic Balance: Social Capital & Sustainable Community Development. (pp. 105-126) edited by Ann Dale and Jenny Onyx. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver: UBC Press.

  • Rainbow serpent (North Wellesley Islands, Australia)

    Memmott, P. C. (2005). Rainbow serpent (North Wellesley Islands, Australia). Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. (pp. 1336-1337) edited by Taylor, B., Kaplan and J.. Bristol, UK: Thoemmes Continuum.

  • The study of indigenous ethno-architecture in Australia

    Memmott, Paul C. and Fantin, Shaneen (2005). The study of indigenous ethno-architecture in Australia. Donald Thomson: the man and scholar. (pp. 185-210) edited by B. Rigsby and N. Peterson. Canberra, ACT, Australia: The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

  • Yolngu ceremonial Architecture (Australia)

    Fantin, S. R. and Memmott, P. C. (2005). Yolngu ceremonial Architecture (Australia). Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. (pp. 1786-1787) edited by Taylor, B., Kaplan and J.. Bristol, UK: Thoemmes Continuum.

  • Customary Aboriginal behaviour patterns and housing design

    Memmott, Paul (2003). Customary Aboriginal behaviour patterns and housing design. TAKE 2: housing design in Indigenous Australia. (pp. 26-39) edited by Paul Memmott and Catherine Chambers. Canberra, ACT Australia: The Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

  • Synthesizing indigenous housing paradigms: an introduction to Take 2

    Memmott, Paul and Go-Sam, Carroll (2003). Synthesizing indigenous housing paradigms: an introduction to Take 2. TAKE 2: Housing design in indigenous Australia. (pp. 12-17) edited by P. Memmott and C. Chambers. Canberra, ACT Australia: The Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

  • Aboriginal architecture

    Memmott, P. C. and Go-Sam, C. (2000). Aboriginal architecture. The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture. (pp. 405-413) edited by Kleinert, S. and Neale, M.. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

  • Establishing the factual basis for Native Title in accordance with the amended Native Title Act

    Memmott, P. C. (2000). Establishing the factual basis for Native Title in accordance with the amended Native Title Act. Native title in perspective: Selected papers from the Native Title Research Unit, 1998-2000. (pp. 87-100) edited by L. Strelein and K. Muir. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.

  • The way it was: Customary camps and houses in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria

    Memmott, P. C. (2000). The way it was: Customary camps and houses in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria. Settlement: A History of Australian Indigenous Housing. (pp. 15-39) edited by P. Read. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.

  • Preface

    Memmott, P. C. (1999). Preface. Houses and Humpies. (pp. vii-ix) edited by The Surat Aboriginal Family Oral History Group. Surat, Qld: Surat Aboriginal Family History Group. doi: 10.1016/b978-1-4832-3135-8.50003-5

  • Marine tenure in the Wellesley Islands region, Gulf of Carpentaria

    Memmott, Paul and Trigger, David S. (1998). Marine tenure in the Wellesley Islands region, Gulf of Carpentaria. Customary marine tenure in Australia. (pp. 109-124) edited by Bruce Rigsby and Nicholas Peterson. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Oceania Publications.

  • Tracking soakages in the Wakaya Desert with Yellowshirt

    Memmott, P.C (1998). Tracking soakages in the Wakaya Desert with Yellowshirt. Take power, like this old man here: An anthology of writings celebrating twenty years of land rights in Central Australia, 1977-1997. (pp. 205-211) Alice Springs, NT, Australia: IAD Press.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Edited Outputs

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Design for social and cultural practices of Indigenous residents in aged care homes, South East Queensland

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • 19th Century Architecture of the Goori Society: an investigation of a regional typology

    Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Housing and living conditions in remote Indigenous communities: The relationship between bacterial infections and Chronic Kidney Disease.

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Indigenous Cultural Landscape Research

    Postgraduate proposals that examine the ways in which Indigenous people relate to and value significant places and cultural landscapes can be supervised. Such topics might extend into human geography, urban design, urban history, landscape architecture, town planning or cultural heritage. Topics may also relate to how buildings are but positioned into and expressed in this cultural landscape.

  • Indigenous spatial behaviours

    Research topics can be supervised in relation to forms of spatial behaviours of Indigenous groups including in relation to customary land tenure, territoriality, setting theory, crowding and privacy cognitive space and people-environment transactional theory.

  • Indigenous Architecture Research

    Postgraduate proposals that address Indigenous architectural problems can be supervised. Such proposals might apply to Indigenous housing design, procurement, policy or management. Proposals might also include post-occupancy evaluation. Non-housing topics might embrace the architectural needs of Indigenous people in correctional centres, courts, hospitals, schools or clinics. Another research area embraces Indigenous cultural centres and museums.

    Other research topics on Indigenous architectural issues may relate to theories on customary behaviours, cultural change, cultural identity, material culture, architectural meaning and the role of tradition. Topics may pertain to either architect-designed buildings or vernacular buildings.

  • Spinifex Research

    I was the Team Leader for a research project on Spinifex which was titled, ‘Towards Novel Biomimetic Building Materials: Evaluating Aboriginal and Western Scientific Knowledge of Spinifex Grasses’, 2008-2013, which was the first multi-disciplinary study of spinifex in Australia with three key original contributions. PhD scholars are welcomed who can extend this research into bio-architectural and bio-material applications.

    1. New Applications of Aboriginal knowledge: Our partnership is with the Myuma Group who are the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of the Camooweal/Upper Georgina River basin, and who contributed their environmental steward-ship and ethics, their regional Aboriginal geographic knowledge, and human and infrastructure resources. Our project, through a series of published papers and culminating in a museum exhibition, drew together all of the Aboriginal knowledge on spinifex and its uses from the diverse ethnographic sources. We then applied this ethnographic knowledge to broader exploratory investigation of spinifex properties.

    2. New plant knowledge: Using electron-microscopy we prepared cross-sections of grass leaves from all 69 species in the Triodia genus. Pronounced differences in leaf anatomy generated a division into 42 ‘hard’ species with stronger fibres, and 27 ‘soft’ species with weaker fibres but having a resin yielding capacity. Hard spinifex species appear to have double the photosynthetic capacity of soft species with stomata located on both the outer and inner surfaces of the folded leaves, as well as larger bundles of fibres for extra rigidity. Soft species have photosynthetic features restricted to inside of leaf only, but have resin secreting cells. Evolutionary modeling of species diversification during the Miocene and Pliocene climate changes has been developed using DNA analysis. We also addressed the different modes of spinifex reproduction and propagation (seeds, runners, re-sprouts), including the ecological relevance of wildfires. We operated on the premise that spinifex materials would have a unique morphology owing to the fact that Triodia is a xerophyte (arid-area plant requiring little water) which could be expected to display different properties to mesic plant species (moderate water content) from which most biomaterials are derived.

    3. New material inventions: Our bio-engineering team (material engineers, chemists, botanists, architects, Aboriginal consultants) developed techniques for separating plant fibres and resin, and profiled spinifex resin chemistry (a mixture of volatile and nonvolatile terpenoid and secondary compounds: belonging to the thermoplastic class of bio-polymers). Within a low-tech to high-tech spectrum of possible applications, a variety of products were researched ranging from shade roofs, evaporative cooling walls, spinifex reinforced-earth walls and slabs, spinifex insulation batts (all at the low-tech end), to nanowhisker paper, resin to replace urea formaldehyde, coatings that may have anti-termite and ultra-violet screening capacities, bio-composite materials of fibre and resin, polymer derivatives and nano-fibrillated spinifex cellulose (patented) (at the high-tech end). Although few, if any plant resins have been used to generate commercial polymers, our research indicates potential for both Triodia resin and fibres as potential building blocks for renewable polymers and/or composite materials. One particular interest is the exudation cycle of the resin on the surface of the soft spinifex species and whether it functions to protect against excessive moisture loss from its spongy storage mass, whilst simultaneously allowing an osmotic process of gas exchange for photosynthesis; an ongoing subject of one of our PhD students.

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Indigenous housing, Native title, Poverty - Indigenous Australia, Indigenous homelessness - Australia, Indigenous violence - Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, Aboriginal Australia

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ResearcherID: F-1655-2010

ORCID: 0000-0003-0968-0666

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