RELATIONSHIPS WITH AUSTRALIAN OUTDOOR

ENVIRONMENTS AS INFLUENCED BY:

NATION BUILDING

What is Nation Building?So far we’ve covered: Indigenous Australians The first Non-Indigenous settlers Increasing Population Industrialisation

Think about what events have occurred since industrialisation that have involved Australia in a world scale, but also local events/achievements………

Toward Federation As Federation approaches people had

started to see themselves as being different to Europe and had started to develop a unique Australian identity

The bush became more familiar and with artists reflecting this change in attitude with works that showed the Australian environment as a place of beauty and interest

Poets such as Banjo Patterson began to see the Australian Bush as a romantic and special place

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/australians/bpatterson.htm

The growing Urban population began to seek nature experiences: scenery, fresh air, walking , picnicking and beach activities

Pride in the uniqueness of the Australian Environment encouraged a growing conservation ethic

The Melbourne Amateur Walking and Touring Club was established in 1894

The Field Naturalist Group of Victoria was formed in 1880 and served as a leader and lobbyist for environmental preservation and conservation.

Australia’s first national park, Royal National Park near Sydney, was declared in 1879

In Victoria Fern Tree Gully National Park was declared in 1882 and Tower Hill in 1892

http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/education/resource_kit/resources/PVERKsection12229.pdf

Nation BuildingNation Building could be said to be an ongoing process in Australia's non-indigenous settlement.

Periods after the first and second World Wars involved major infrastructure developments.

Think about the returning soldiers and post war immigration that provided a workforce to help in the construction of this infrastructure.

List these types of infrastructure:

Nation Building Infrastructure

Thomson Dam

Nation Building Infrastructure

Lake Guy – Bogong Village: Hydro Electricity Scheme

Nation Building Infrastructure

Nation Building Infrastructure

Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Nation Building Infrastructure

Nation Building Infrastructure

Westgate Bridge

Nation Building Infrastructure

Grain Farming – grew rapidly with the increase in technology and machinery developed during World War 2

Nation Building Infrastructure

Cotton Farming – Relied heavily upon one of our natural resources………? In which areas of the country…………?

Nation Building Infrastructure

Cattle grazing increased along with vineyards – enabled Australia more independence from European countries and increased our exports world wide. After World War 2, exports gradually declined. Why would this be?

Nation Building Infrastructure

Nation Building Infrastructure

Nation Building Infrastructure

Wind Farms throughoutVictoria. What are the Positive and negatives of awind farm?

Nation Building InfrastructureWhat implications did this nation building infrastructure have on:

1. Our country and resources2. The people and community3. Relationships with outdoor

environments

Nation Building InfrastructureWhat kind of relationships did people form with the outdoor environment as a result of this infrastructure? Positive? How? Negative? How?Positive Negative Other

Appreciation- working in different environments allowed people to build a great respect because……

Weather…… Just a job ……..

Nation BuildingHave humans continued to have the same impact on outdoor environments from indigenous habitants through to now? Explain

Nation BuildingThe end of the nineteenth century saw the population in Victoria over 1.2 million, which was 30% of the total Australian population.

This rapid growth had taken its toll on the land and marine environments.

In ‘developing’ as a country, many mistakes were made that had devastating effects on the natural environment. These included: Erosion Salinity Weed infestation Pollution Species extinction

It was at this time people realised they had to change the way they used natural environments.

Nation BuildingMarine and estuarine systems were under pressure from the effects of: Irrigation High-density settlement in coastal areas Farming practicesHow did each of the above effect the environment?

Nation BuildingDue to the rapid industrial growth and technological advance more demand was placed on natural resources which worsened environmental degradation. This included clearing of land for timber mills which in turn had further effects.

Competition for natural resources between different industries often resulted in conflict. Example; logging operations depleted timber supplies than were also needed for local mine shaft construction.

Nation BuildingIn 1952 the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) rose to promote natural reservations and national parklands. The VNPA remains a non-government, non-profit organisation that continues to lobby the State Government in regard to forest issues.

In the 1960’s public consciousness of environment degradation grew as environmental issues become more apparent, such as: Land development schemes Mining of beach sands Preservation of the Great Barrier Reef Flooding of Lake Pedder for hydroelectricity Effects of pollution

Around the same time more conservation groups were formed to help protect natural environments, they included: The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) The South West Committee – later became The Wilderness Society (TWS)

Nation BuildingIt was during the 20th century, Australians began to realise that the environment was being degraded by human actions and things needed to change.

While century old European land management strategies are still in place today there is an increasing awareness in the value of the environment beyond that of a resource.

The perception of the natural environment solely as a resource for human use is also changing.

Nation BuildingScience and technology are now helping to find the balance required for ecological sustainable development.

Scientists can now predict how long natural resource stocks such as fossil fuels and timber will last at the current rate of use.

What measures can be taken to prevent the impacts from worsening?

Resources Two men in a tinnie - DVD Two in the top end – DVD OES textbook – case studies