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Roadside Memorials—Some Australian Examples
Folklore, Annual, 1999 by Robert James Smith
There has been no evidence of vandalism of memorials in this region, where the lower population density means less intrusion of another's "sacred space" into one's own "domestic space," as is seen in urban contexts. It is interesting to note the family nature of the memorialisation practice: the sites are special to a missed person, a place to go to, and a place to show children. They are reminders that danger and death are lurking in seemingly ordinary places, and indirectly reinforce the whole family's caring. When the deceased and bereaved are holiday-makers there is an element of pilgrimage in the visits and they may continue for many years. Still, one wonders if there will be a gradual decline of the practice at individual sites after several years, once the memorialisation has served its purpose--in the same way that the number of flowers on a grave decreases over the years.
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A larger question, however, is why the roadside is chosen to create a sacred space? The answer most commonly given is that it is the place at which death or loss of consciousness occurred, but this ignores that fact that the death usually occurs in the ambulance or hospital. It is more likely that the place is rich with significance in some way. Perhaps it may signify the last (fatal) choice the driver made--his or her speed on the comer, over-correction of a skid, lack of concentration, or lapse into drowsiness. It may mark a climax to the longterm choices or patterns of behaviour--for example, drink-driving, or passenger complicity in travelling with such a driver). Finally, it may mark human vulnerability to external factors beyond one's control--a patch of oil on the road, an animal suddenly appearing on road, an on-coming vehicle on wrong side of road. Here also is where there emerges the tension with road administrators and politicians over their responsibility for providing an adequate facility, in some cases even their liability.
A consideration of roadside shrines can draw much clarity from quantitative analyses such as the Newcastle study. But folklore studies can reveal their limitations and also have a role to play in opening the practice to community understanding. This is particularly important when some public policy makers are looking closely at limiting a powerful yet essentially private practice.
Southern Cross University, New South Wales, Australia
References Cited
Fraser, Mary. "The Legacy of Suicide: the Impact of Suicide on Families." In The Unknown Country: Death in Australia, Britain and the USA. ed. Kathy Charmaz, Glennys Howarth and Allan Kellehear. 58-71 and 61-62. Houndmills: Macmillan, 1997.
Hartig, K.V., K.M. Dunn. "Roadside Memorials: Interpreting New Deathscapes in Newcastle, New South Wales." Australian Geographical Studies 36.1 (1998):5-20.
Monger, George. "Modem Wayside Shrines." Folklore 108 (1997):113-14.
Walter, Tony. "Funeral Flowers: A Response to Drury." Folklore 107 (1996):106-7.3
COPYRIGHT 1999 Folklore Society
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
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