In 1972, George Seddon wrote Sense of Place, a landmark environmental study of the Swan Coastal Plain. The book introduced the ground-breaking phrase ‘sense of place’ into the fields of landscape and environmental design, inspiring a new generation of researchers, academics and enthusiasts to closely consider the dynamic between human land use and the natural environment.

Containing detailed information on the landforms, climate, drainage geology, wetlands, offshore islands and flora of this region, the book constructs a picture of the region before European settlement. The volume also depicts land use by Aboriginal custodians and colonial settlers, as well as outlining the major environmental resources of the region.

With a new Preface by environmental historian Andrea Gaynor (UWA) and an Introduction by writer, artist and professor of urban design (RMIT) Paul Carter, readers will get an insight into the complex sensibility of George Seddon, who was a connoisseur of landscapes, from the rugged Snowy Mountains to the humble domestic backyard. He was an innovator in urban planning, landscape architecture and environmental conservation who, although originally born and raised in country towns in Victoria, called Western Australia home over various periods, settling in Fremantle for the last years of his life.

As the world grapples with a changing climate and increased urbanisation, the impact of human design on our environment has never been more urgent. Nearly fifty years since the book’s first printing, Seddon’s reflections still stand today as essential reading for how we see the natural world through the human lens of design, and serve as a crucial guide for future planning.

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