From “Terra Incognita” to “Terra Nullius” to the “Empty Heart” : filling the Australian emptiness

In the south, between Africa and South America, Europeans at first sort a a great southern continent to fill the absence exploration left on the map of the globe. Once the much smaller continent of Australia was mapped in outline, speculation began on what was in its centre. T When it was found to be mainly desert, it became another emptiness, one which is now increasingly seen as the heart of Australia. This chapter explores how much this perception of the physical reality mirrors the anxiety Australians have felt and continue to feel about their identity.