Pastoral Australia

Abstract

Pastoral Australia tells the story of the expansion of Australia's pastoral industry, how it drove European settlement and involved Aboriginal people in the new settler society.
 The rural life that once saw Australia 'ride on the sheep's back' is no longer what defines us, yet it is largely our history as a pastoral nation that has endured in heritage places and which is embedded in our self-image as Australians.
 The challenges of sustaining a pastoral industry in Australia make a compelling story of their own. Developing livestock breeds able to prosper in the Australian environment was an ongoing challenge, as was getting wool and meat to market. Many stock routes, wool stores, abattoirs, wharf facilities, railways, roads, and river and ocean transport systems that were developed to link the pastoral interior with the urban and market infrastructure still survive. Windmills, fences, homesteads, shearing sheds, bores, stock yards, travelling stock routes, bush roads and railheads all changed the look of the country. These features of our landscape form an important part of our heritage. They are symbols of a pastoral Australia, and of the foundations of our national identity, which will endure long into the future.

A Review of Perennial Ryegrass Endophytes and Their Potential Use in the Management of African Black Beetle in Perennial Grazing Systems in Australia

“…Between 1830 and 1860, the Sydney-based colony expanded in all directions including southern Queensland, parts of the Riverina and across the Murray, Port Phillip, Adelaide, Swan River, and Albany in Western Australia (Pearson and Lennon, 2010). Agriculture in Australia suffered its ups and downs during this period.…”

“…In the early 1840's an Australia-wide depression took place after a drop in prices of the main commodities at the time (wool and meat) due to a surplus of livestock (Alexander and Williams, 1973). During the gold rush in 1851, the pastoral industry was initially detrimentally affected but then bounced back due to the high demand for meat caused by the increase of migration into the country (Pearson and Lennon, 2010). Fencing and management of native and introduced pastures also came into practice during the acute labor shortage caused by the goldrush (Schofield, 1990).…”

“…From 1900 to the present time, the pastoral industry has gone through some challenging times: drought (1900), World War I (1910–1914), the Great Depression (1930–1940s), World War II (1939–1945), and recession (1990s) (Pearson and Lennon, 2010). During this period, however, scientific research focused on the selection and improvement of exotic and native grass cultivars to increase productivity and expand agriculture to areas which had not been exploited before (Parbery, 1967).…”

“…It is no surprise that the temperate zone overlapped with the areas in which colonizers established and expanded their settlements (Pearson and Lennon, 2010). The extent of the temperate zone in the southern part of the continent incorporates Tasmania, most of Victoria, eastern NSW, areas of southern South Australia and the south-west of Western Australia (Dorrough et al, 2004).…”

Beyond Blank Spaces

“…"Beltana" became a brand of wool, and, associated with camel transportation, crowning Elder one of the "kings of the road" in histories of Australian capitalism. 18 The Examining the "march of progress" as track that structured her travel to the colonial past, I highlight the central role that progress tracks played in settler myths of blank space. Finally, examining a Wangkangurru track structuring the movement of ochre, I explore how this axis shaped Wangkangurru imaginative…”