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 Building Nation 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 throughout Victoria. What are the Positive and negatives of a wind farm?

Nation Building Infrastructure What implications did this nation building infrastructure have on: Our country and resources The people and community Relationships with outdoor environments

Nation Building Infrastructure What 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 Building Have humans continued to have the same impact on outdoor environments from indigenous habitants through to now? Explain

Nation Building The 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 Building Marine and estuarine systems were under pressure from the effects of: Irrigation High-density settlement in coastal areas Farming practices How did each of the above effect the environment? Slide 20 page 148 textbook

Nation Building Due 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 Building In 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 Building It 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 Building Science 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? Page 150, dot points in middle of page

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