The effects of local campaign spending on the geography of the flow‐of‐the‐vote at the 1991 New South Wales state election

There is a tendency to assume that election campaigning at the local electorate level has little or no impact on voters subject to the influence of highly centralised campaigns and an increasingly nationalised media. However, as applied to the flow‐of‐the‐vote, this study concludes that local campaign spending has real consequences for vote shifts. For the 1991 New South Wales state election, it is established that any major commitment to local electorate spending by one of the major parties relative to the other increases flows to that party and reduces flows from it. However, incumbency of individual seats as such does not appear to have any significant effect. There is a strong suggestion that, for this election, the Liberal‐National Coalition in government was at a distinct disadvantage compared with the Labor Party in opposition, the spending of the former having a much reduced impact on retaining or attracting votes compared with spending by Labor.     

Ruralness,development and democracy: media,myths and the creation of meaning at Lake Cowal,New South Wales

The media play a vital role in translating new events and experiences into the textual forms that are communicated to the public. As a result, media narratives have become sites of contestation with opposing groups attempting to frame them in a way that suits their political purposes. When a gold mining proposal to be based at Lake Cowal was rejected by the NSW government for ‘environmental reasons’, the reaction of newspapers circulated in townships near the proposed mine site was analysed for the month following the announcement. A pro‐mining regional hegemony dominated the newspaper texts and drew on three powerful myths prevalent in Australian rural society: ‘the rural identity’, ‘the glory of development’, and ‘the duties of democracy’. The pro‐mining groups use these myths to make their interests appear the same as community interests in an effort to silence opposing views and obtain total community support. The manner in which powerful members of the pro‐mining group were permitted to use the newspapers for their own ends brings forth questions of power and objectivity in the media of contemporary society.     

The distribution of airborne metals in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia

The moss bag technique of air quality monitoring has been used to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of iron, manganese, lead, zinc, copper and cadmium in the vicinity of the Port Kembla industrial complex. Data for September and December 1980, and April 1981 are presented as representative of spring, summer and autumn climatic conditions. The results showed that the concentration of all elements fell off markedly with distance from the pollution source, with cadmium and copper being restricted to the immediate vicinity of the smelter. Some change in the seasonal pattern is evident and appears to be largely controlled by wind conditions at the source.     

Grandiose plans,but insignificant outcomes: the development of colonial ports at Twofold Bay,New South Wales

In the nineteenth century, a succession of claims was made that the ports of Twofold Bay, on the New South Wales South Coast, would contest Sydney's dominance. This paper examines the period between 1820 and 1920 to explain why the ports of Twofold Bay—Boydtown and Eden—never sustained their challenge to Sydney's economic hegemony. These small ports provide an interesting insight into the economic marginalisation of localities by the process of colonisation. Twofold Bay is examined within Rimmer's spatial model of port development. Uneven port development is examined as the geographical expression of several colonisation processes; firstly, the emergence of a port hierarchy (or dominance ranking); secondly, changes in the organisation of maritime space; and thirdly, improved internal accessibility.     

Land Use and Lake Sedimentation on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales,Australia

Lead-210 methods have been used to establish a chronology of sedimentation extending back almost 80 years in Black Mountain Lagoon near Guyra on the New England Tablelands of north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Estimates of the direct atmospheric fallout of unsupported ²¹⁰Pb and historical records of the pattern of phosphorus input to the lake provide support for the ²¹⁰Pb chronology. The sediments in the lake record an episode of disturbance which took place prior to c .1916, but after c .1790-1860. Since then, however, the site-specific rate of minerogenic sedimentation has been maintained at a relatively low and constant level of 0.93 kg m^-2 a^-1. [Note: the following symbols are used in this paper: a = year (annum), and d min^-1 g^-1 = radioactivity (spontaneous nuclear disintegrations per minute per gram of material).] This is despite major shifts in land use and intensification of agriculture, despite the occurrence of significant floods and droughts, and in the absence until recent times of the application of soil conservation practices. These rates may be contrasted with rates of 0.023 kg m^-2 a^-1 from the period 12.3-5.6 ka. These are at least an order of magnitude lower than those of the twentieth century. The lake sediments preserve evidence of the use of agricultural chemicals on the catchment during the twentieth century. These include phosphorus, zinc, arsenic and lead. Soils and sediments may act as long-term toxic stores for such chemicals, a problem often overlooked in rural areas.     

A thousand years of environmental change and human impact in the alpine zone at Mt Kosciusko,New South Wales

This study reconstructs erosion, productivity, fire and vegetation records at Club Lake, in the alpine zone of Kosciusko National Park (the highest mountain region in Australia), and uses them to compare the prehistoric and historic periods. While disturbance in the prehistoric period was found to be minimal and mainly activated by fire, the impact of land uses after European arrival initiated a change in the erosion and fire regime and brought new grazing animals and exotic plant species. These triggered temporal changes in eutrophication and the nature of erosion, and significant vegetation changes. There was a reduction in the stability and persistence of species representation, especially in herbfield vegetation, and little recovery is evident despite the cessation of summer grazing. It is apparent that the area is very sensitive to disturbance by human impact and large fires.     

Morphology,processes and evolution of two waterfalls near Cowra,New South Wales

The morphology and processes of formation and maintenance of waterfalls are more varied and complex than is suggested by the simple caprock‐undercutting model that is closely identified with Niagara Falls. The dominant process of retreat of two buttressed waterfalls near Cowra, NSW, seems to be failure along joint planes at the lips of the waterfalls. In the case of the larger of the two waterfalls, this process is significantly enhanced by the formation and subsequent destruction of potholes at the waterfall lip.     

Palaeoenyironments and human impact at Burraga Swamp in Montane rainforest,Barrington tops National Park,New South Wales,Australia

Palaeoecological studies have identified the broad patterns of environmental and climate change in highland south‐eastern Australia, but the detail of human impact on a variety of parameters and their interlinkages is largely missing. This study compares the erosion, productivity, fire and vegetation history in prehistoric and historical times at Burraga Swamp in montane rainforest in New South Wales. The known human impact is meagre; the major presently sustained impacts involve forestry in the surrounding sclerophyll forests and a low level of visits to the swamp by day‐walkers. While no significant changes in the largely oligotrophic conditions or in fire frequency were detected, changes in erosion rates and some vegetation change can be attributed to impacts since European settlement. There has been a small decline in eucalypts and a loss of fern cover, while grasses, Urtica and exotic species have expanded. It is clear that upland sites are sensitive to environmental change including low‐level human impact.     

Natural seed input as a factor in the reclamation of limestone quarry wastes at Marulan,New South Wales,Australia

Seed traps consisting of plastic germination trays filled with steam pasteurized soil were set out on spoil banks in a limestone quarry to monitor the seed rain in the area. The traps were returned to a greenhouse for germination where the average number of seedlings counted was 148.7 m^?2. This was approximately seven times the density of the established plant cover on the waste materials. The spoil materials were very coarse textured, subject to settling and rilling, and, with the exception of calcium, low in essential plant nutrients. The adverse effects of the physical and chemical nature of the rooting medium is discussed and a reclamation scheme for the quarry is proposed.     

The 'Grasses' of the Big Scrub District,North-eastern New South Wales: Their recent history,spatial distribution and origins

A feature of the pre-European landscape of the sub-tropical Richmond River district of north-eastern New South Wales was a large expanse of rainforest known as the Big Scrub. In and around the Big Scrub were small patches of grassland and grassy open-forest, known locally as 'grasses'. These were often given individual names, which indicated their importance in the early timber-based economy of this generally grassless district for camping and depasturing working stock. Historical records enable a reconstruction of the distribution of 56 named 'grasses', and also allow some inferences to be made about their botany and ecology. The 'grasses' appear to be natural features of the landscape, mainly relict areas following invasion of the late Pleistocene open-forest vegetation by rainforest, following sea level rise, during the Holocene. A toponymic study of the use of the term 'grass' in the Richmond River district is also included.     

The Potential for Rural Heritage Tourism in the Clarence Valley of Northern New South Wales

In the past, heritage tourism has been associated with urban sites but there is now an acceptance of the application of this concept to rural areas. In the Clarence Valley in northern New South Wales there is potential for an extension of agritourism associated with working dairy farms to include safari tours to clusters of dairy heritage sites which are scattered throughout the area. Remnants of the old dairy industry, which began in the Clarence River Valley of New South Wales in the late nineteenth century, are scattered throughout the landscape. Over 300 dairy milking bails remain—ghosts of the former thriving industry when over 2000 dairy farms were operating. Concrete foundations of some creameries built in the 1890s can still be found, and three factory buildings still stand. These relics are disappearing quite rapidly and if the importance of the industry is to be recognised by future generations then it seems that some heritage conservation is overdue. At the same time, in order to survive in a post-deregulated economic environment, the remaining 10 dairy farmers in the Clarence Valley are diversifying their activities, with one form of pluriactivity being agritourism. Currently few of these farmers have entered this field but most of them see its potential to broaden their income base. Associated with agritourism at the farm level, the local government authorities see heritage tourism as a way of increasing employment in the region.     

The Life Cycle of Caravan Parks in Australia: the case of northern New South Wales

The caravan park sub-sector of the Australian tourism accommodation industry provides at least half of the national tourism bed capacity, and in 2009 generated over A$1.1 billion in annual takings. However, the number of parks and park capacity is in decline nationally while both international and domestic demand for the drive-tourism experience is growing. This sets a trend towards an accommodation facilities shortage for the caravanning sector and exposes its vulnerability. This paper uses a case study of caravan parks in the Tweed Shire, New South Wales, Australia, to examine the life-cycle pattern of these parks as a discrete unit of tourist area development and to consider the sector's future. The sector's history is framed within Butler's (Canadian Geographer 24(1): 5–12 (1980)) concept of the tourist area life cycle (TALC). The historical data demonstrate the urban and market change that has occurred around and within caravan parks of this coastal region over almost two centuries. The pattern of caravan park development and evolution conformed to the involvement, exploration, development, consolidation and stagnation stages of the TALC. In 2011, caravan parks in the Tweed region were at a critical tipping point with potential for either decline or rejuvenation.     

Thermoluminescenge and Uranium‐Thorium chronologies of pleistocene coastal landforms of the Illawarra region,New South Wales

TL determinations of the ages of aeolian sands and U/Th determinations of the ages of crusts on rock platforms in the Illawarra region, especially at Red Point, indicate that these techniques give considerable promise of a major advance in deciphering the Pleistocene coastal record in Australia. The methods of dating are outlined, and problems of laboratory and field interpretation are considered. The longstanding debate as to whether the +2 m level of platforms is modern or is a Pleistocene relict has been resolved for the Illawarra coast, where these platforms can be shown to have been formed during the Last Interglacial high stand of the sea. By inference, the +4 m level must be of at least the same age. The +6 to 7 m level was cut by about 300Ka and may be as old as Pliocene. Four aeolian units at Red Point reworked from nearby barrier beach complexes date from c. 25Ka, 45Ka, 125Ka, and 300 to >400Ka. Reconnaissance surveys and dating indicate that aeolian sands of similar ages occur elsewhere along the New South Wales coast.     

In-stream wetlands and their significance for channel filling and the catchment sediment budget, Jugiong Creek, New South Wales

Evidence is presented here of recent and extensive infilling of the incised channel network of the Jugiong Creek catchment, SE Australia. The present channel network resulted from widespread stream and gully incision in the period between 1880 and 1920. Our survey shows that gully floors have been colonised extensively by emergent macrophyte vegetation since before 1944, forming continuous, dense, in-stream wetlands, which now cover 25% of the channel network in the 2175 km² catchment and have so far trapped almost 2,000,000 t of nutrient-enriched, fine sediments. This mass of sediments represents the equivalent of 4.7 years of annual sediment production across the catchment and in some tributaries, more than 20 years of annual yield is stored within in-stream wetlands.Previous work on the late Quaternary stratigraphy of the region has shown that there were repeated phases of channel incision in the past following which the channels quickly stabilised by natural means and then filled with fine-grained sediment to the point of channel extinction, creating unchannelled swampy valley floors. The current formation and spread of in-stream wetlands is interpreted to be the onset of the next infill phase but it is not known whether present conditions will allow complete channel filling and reformation of the pre-existing swampy valley floors. Nevertheless, further spread of in-stream wetlands is likely to increase the sediment trapping capacity and further reduce the discharge of sediments and nutrients into the Murrumbidgee River. The in-stream wetlands may provide a significant capacity to buffer erosion from gullied catchments of considerable size (up to 300 km²) as an adjunct to current riparian management options. They may also assist the recovery of sediment-impacted channels downstream.     

Late holocene environmental change in an upper Montane area of the snowy mountains,New South Wales

This study examines environmental change in the upper montane zone of the Australian Eastern Highlands during the late Holocene, by analysing vegetation, fire and erosion records contained within a small fen located in a frost hollow. Differences in environmental parameters across the prehistoric—historic boundary were particularly investigated in an attempt to characterise better the changes associated with the imposition of European land‐use practices. Decreases in arboreal pollen and an increased charcoal concentration near the base of the analysed sequence, interpreted to be about 1600 y BP until about 1300 y BP, are suggestive of reduced moisture availability. After this, a period of relative stability continued to the close of the prehistoric period. The arrival of Europeans in the region triggered changes in the sediment record, including an increase in the accumulation of sediment by an order of magnitude, and changes in the surrounding vegetation. Saturated isothermal remnant magnetism (SIRM) was found to be significantly higher in the historic period compared to the analysed prehistoric period, suggesting an alteration in the erosional processes within the catchment. The concentration of charcoal was comparable between the prehistoric and historic periods; however, the increased sedimentation rate of the historic period infers an increased accumulation of charcoal. Fire did not appear to be related to the vegetation changes evident in the historic period, perhaps due to the use of cool fires by the pastoralists.     

The first rural women's network in New South Wales: seventy years of the country women's association

The Country Women's Association of NSW (CWA) is the main voice of rural women in the state. It has been the biggest women's organisation in NSW until very recently. Its significant contribution to rural community development has been overlooked. After its foundation in 1922, the CWA established a widespread women's network, as well as many facilities for women and children. The necessary fund‐raising activities required the organisation of regular social activities in country towns. The CWA has always affirmed women's traditional gender roles, and it has never challenged the male hegemony typical of rural Australia. By contributing to the improvement of rural conditions, to the stability of family life and to local social activities, the CWA has helped to develop the rural economy as well as local and national identity. It has helped women put down roots in country areas. Its future role needs to be defined in the context of the difficult economic situation, and of the changes in gender roles, in rural NSW.     

Late Pleistocene to early Holocene aeolian activity in the upper and middle Shoalhaven catchment,New South Wales

Thermoluminescence dating of relict source‐bordering dunes in the middle and upper Shoalhaven catchment show them to have been active between 19ka and 6ka. During this time, except for a brief period of dune stability sometime between 18 ka and 14ka, the climate of this area was considerably drier than present. The onset of aeolian activity here coincides with the glacial maximum indicating that it was not until then that arid or semi‐arid conditions were able to penetrate the humid coastal rim of south‐east Australia. The extension of these conditions into the early Holocene, whilst supported by the palaeobotanical record of nearby Lake George, contrasts with pollen evidence from other nearby catchments, suggesting that there were variable environmental responses throughout the south‐east highlands of NSW to the amelioration in climate during the early Holocene.     

City vs Country: The demise of the brewing industry in country New South Wales,c .1898-1932

At the end of the 1880s, eight in ten breweries in the colony of New South Wales were located in country (non-metropolitan) areas, and these accounted for about 25 per cent of total colonial beer production. The number of country breweries experienced a dramatic decline after the 1880s, reaching only two by 1932. This process occurred in three more-or-less discrete stages: until about 1900, when internal restructuring reduced the number from about 65 to about 40; a decade or two after 1900 when, facilitated by the Sydney-centred railway network, city competition further reduced the number; and a period, mainly in the 1920s, typified by takeovers of country by city breweries. Additionally, the elimination of border duties after Federation introduced Melbourne competition to brewers in the southern part of the state.     

The Relationship between Geomorphic River Structure and Coarse Particulate Organic Matter (CPOM) Storage along the Kangaroo River,New South Wales,Australia

Fluvial landforms provide a physical template upon which to appraise biophysical relationships along river courses. In this study, the spatial pattern of organic matter storage along the Kangaroo River, NSW, is related to geomorphic controls that operate at a range of scales within a nested hierarchy. This snapshot study of CPOM storage found that at the catchment scale the longitudinal pattern of coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) storage is dependent on the type and downstream pattern of River Styles. At the reach scale, CPOM storage is dependent on the geomorphic unit structure and physical heterogeneity of the river, and associated energy conditions along the reach. At the geomorphic unit scale, CPOM storage capacity is related to the position of geomorphic units relative to the thalweg (i.e. flow characteristics) and associated roughness attributes. At the hydraulic unit scale, CPOM storage capacity is related to local flow velocity and substrate characteristics (clast size and distribution).     

Griffith Taylor Lecture,Geographical Society of New South Wales, 2004: Australia and the ‘State of Nature/Native’

This account sets itself against the binarism of physical versus cultural determinism that drives population–environment debate over people's place on the Australian continent. In reading back into colonial times, it evokes ‘our’ unresolved sense of relation to nature on a continent that has pressed awkward buttons since the time the botanist on Cook's Endeavour, Joseph Banks, first mused over the apparent contradiction on the east coast of human presence and uncultivated land. Australia's ‘state of nature’, including its inhabitants, elicited tensions in Anglo-Celtic peoples’ ambiguous relation with nature that have never gone away or been resolved. Indeed, I argue, against the background of what was considered in eighteenth-century Enlightenment thought to be a distinctly human separation from, and capacity to rise above, nature, that the Australian state of nature/native precipitated a crisis in prevailing ideas of ‘the human’. As consternation grew into the nineteenth century about the very capacity of Aboriginal people for improvement, and particularly for cultivation, I argue they challenged the basis upon which the unity of humankind had been assumed in Enlightenment thought. They could not be comprehended, according to the prevailing conception of racial difference, as a mere variety of the human. The radical idea of innate human difference may thus be understood as arising out of this incomprehension, as an attempt to account for the ontologically inexplicable difference of the Australian Aborigine. This lecture's excursion into the origins of ‘race’ is by way of highlighting the uncertainty of the divide between the human and non-human worlds. Imagining an entangled world of living things may help to craft fresh lines of debate about modes of environmental belonging and becoming on this continent that overcome the stale binaries and blind spots of Australia's population–environment debate.