That the brushtail possum was once common and widespread in the arid zone is confirmed by a collation of historical information. Although possums were widespread, detailed records from the Northern Territory and South Australia show that they were most abundant in rocky ranges and outcrops and along watercourses. Possums are now rare in the arid zone. In considering the reasons for the decline of this apparently robust species we have further developed Morton's (1990) model for mammal decline in the arid zone. Our hypothesis is based on the premise that disturbance of refuge habitat patches critical for the survival of the species was occurring at the same time as the country was subjected to a below average water balance. During the period between 1920 and 1970 rainfall was either average or markedly below average with no exceptional rainfalls recorded. Analysis of the rainfall data using a cumulative residual mass curve suggests that sub-surface waters were probably not fully recharged, placing a natural stress on the refuge habitats. At the same time, possum populations were being affected by many disturbing factors introduced by European settlement. Once the populations were reduced, they fell into a 'predator- pit' through depredation by dingoes and introduced predators and were unable to increase in numbers even with the advent of improved conditions. In this paper we identify the need to accurately determine the refuge habitats of a species and then utilise tools such as the cumulative mass residual curve to predict when these habitats will be under most stress. Specific protection measures can then be developed in association with land managers in order to reduce disturbance at the most critical times.
A number of Pintubi and Pintubi-related people1 in central Australia and the Western Desert have vivid memories of the first aircraft which visited their country more than half a century ago. This paper records such reminiscences by seven elderly people, gives brief biographical notes on their lives, and assembles documentary evidence on those early flights to date this unique Aboriginal perspective on Australian history. A num ber of European explorers2 had passed through these areas in the late nineteenth century but apparently impinged very little for their visits are not now recalled by Aborigines. The only European now remembered was Joe Brown, possibly the greatest of all Australian bushmen, who travelled widely in the Western Desert between the 1890s and 1920s and was known to the Pintubi people as Kunki.3 The first aeroplane to visit Alice Springs landed on 26 September 1921.4 This event was described to me on 26 March 1982 by Mrs Ada M. Wade:5 That first plane, it landed right near Billygoat Hill, just this [south] side. We were very interested. TheAborigines, though, they cleared out. They reckoned it was a Devil-Devil or something. We went down and had a look at it. The Aborigines, they threw their spears at it, some of them. They went bush. They didn't come back. Not 'til after it was gone. There was only one other flight to Alice Springs prior to 1929, in which year several aeroplanes flew over parts of central Australia and most landed at Alice Springs.6 It was not until 1930, however, that Aborigines in remote areas of central Australia and the Western Desert experienced aeroplanes and for many it was their first direct contact with the wider Australian society. Two ventures brought aircraft to central Australia in the early 1930s: the first Mackay Aerial Survey Expedition and the Central Australian Gold Company Expedition, known at the time as the C.A.G. E. Expedition but later as the Lasseter Expedition. The Mackay Expedition's task was to map from the air those large tracts of the arid regions of Australia that had not been travelled over by Gregory, Giles, Forrest, Warburton and other explorers of the 1850s-l 890s. In addition, the expedition aimed to correct existing maps. The detailed planning and 1 Pintubi is a term used by several tribes or linguistic groupings of Aborigines. All of the people mentioned in this paper use this term and more specific names to identify their local groups. Individual identifications are given in brief biographical notes in Appendix 1. 2 See Giles 1872, Tietkens 1889, Carnegie 1897. 3 A biography of Brown is in preparation. 4 Connellan 1979:1. 5 In 1921 Billygoat Hill was on the outskirts of Alice Springs; today it is in the centre of the town. See Appendix 1, No. 1, for biographical information on Mrs Wade. 6 'Aerial tour of central Australia',
The subject of this paper being contemporary Australian rangelands literature, I have restricted the study to literature of the decade to 1994, with focus on 1992-1994. I acknowledge recent informative studies, but have developed an individual perspective. In addition to considering recent novels and factual books I have given attention to newspaper and magazine accounts, as these give the most immediate observations of the rangelands, and attitudes towards them and their inhabitants. Key trends that emerge are perceptions of the rangelands as pristine - probably the one continuum since the commencement of written records about Australia; the entirely contrasting view of pastoralists as destroyers of rangelands; and recognition of Aboriginal spirituality as significant in caring for the land. The trends are not, however, entirely in the one direction, as I indicate by presenting both the positive and negative views presented by a select number of writers.
Surveyor-General and the Secretary for Mines. Report on the physical character and resources o f Gippsland. Melbourne, 1874. Thomas, William. Papers. Mitchell Library, uncatalogued MSS, set 214, Item 16. Walker, Mary Howitt. Come wind, come weather: a biography o f Alfred Howitt. Melbourne, 1971.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.