3.1.3 European Perceptions/ Interactions

Question 1

European settlers

Answer 1

First non indigenous settlers experience
Increasing population
Industrialisation
Nation building

Question 2

Purpose

Answer 2

Expand their empire, increase it’s value
More land = more money = more power
Still true of modern society today.
First settlers arrived-first time in 80,000 years of human occupation, concept of ‘ownership’ introduced

Question 3

Beliefs

Answer 3

They were superior the land
Had to improve land
God had created land for mankind and he would fix any major problems
Commodity – Land was of value if you could somehow make money off it.
Resource – Land was essential for survival in the new colony.

Question 4

Worth ship

Answer 4

Introduced by European settlers
Land is only valued if it is worth something. Eg can it be mined, logged, used for agriculture
Still exists in Australia-Is house on esplanade worth more than one near the racecourse?
Environment is valued for what it’s worth. If you can make money off it, it has value, if you can’t it’s worthless.

Question 5

Kinship

Answer 5

When you view the environment as being part of yourself and essential for your survival
View held by Australia’s aboriginals
Modern society is gradually moving towards this perception/view- often takes the ‘extreme’s of conditions (such as bush fires and floods) to realise.

Question 6

Worship

Answer 6

Environment is viewed as something pleasant that can be enjoyed, however, it is not in any way part of you or your life
Land or nature is perceived to be of value if it looks good

Question 7

Three broad perceptions people have on environment

Answer 7

Kinship
Worth ship
Worship

Question 8

First settlers

Answer 8

F settlers had a ‘worthship’ perception of environment
Rarely chose to recreate in it and seldom stopped to appreciate it’s beauty
They were desperate to establish the new colony and to do this they needed money

Question 9

Sealing and whaling

Answer 9

From 1798 sealing began at the Prom at, Sealers Cove
Seals- valued for their fur and blubber.
Misperception their was abundant supply and were no regulations on catch sizes
1830’s- most seals been destroyed, industry died off

Question 10

Environmental issues

Answer 10

Sealing upsets entire balance of an ecosystem, is cruel
Overpopulation fish- problem linked with sealing and lack of food for larger prey, such as sharks
The fur- hardly an essential item
Seal population at Prom- recovered and is an estimated 10,000 in and around the islands off the Prom

Question 11

Farming (Sheep/ cattle)

Answer 11

‘Australia rode on the sheep’s back’.
Wool production is one of our larger industries.
First settlers (the Henty’s in Western Victoria) landed in Western Victoria with 100 head of sheep (near Portland)
People gradually arrived until in 1851 (and independence) 75,000 people and 5 million sheep live in Victoria (formerly known as the Port Phillip District)

Question 12

Trouble with sheep/ cattle

Answer 12

Sheep- first ever animals with hard hooves to land on Australian soil
Plants/ native grasses hadn’t evolved cope and many (such as kangaroo grass) wiped out quickly
Much land had to be cleared and timber was used for housing fencing etc
Waterways/creeks/rivers also redirected to provide irrigation to water sheep/ farmers

Question 13

Logging

Answer 13

Establish new colony- timber vital for use in housing, fences, farm tools, warmth for housing, cooking/ clearing of paddocks, agricultural land
Logging took place all over Victoria, but was very extensive at the Prom, Central Victoria and later in the century in the goldfields.
Small town established at Sealers Cove (961 people), railway line to remove timber and seal furs to both Melbourne and Sydney.

Question 14

Environmental issues with logging

Answer 14

Essential for the establishment of the colony
Habitat destruction – animals, koala, are under threat due to habitat loss
Erosion – Trees/ plants bind soil together and prevent topsoil from blowing away
Logging/ subsequent watering of crops- lead to salinity (water table rises, brings salt with it and knackers the soil)
At present 6 million hectares of land destroyed in Australia, government spends 1.4 billion over the next 7 years to fix it, though fixing is long, not always successful process

Question 15

Salinity

Answer 15

Salinity occurs when all/most of the trees in particular region removed/ replaced with much smaller crops
Causes water table to rise and bring salt with it
Once area is affected by salinity, extremely difficult/ expensive to fix

Question 16

Mining

Answer 16

Within 30 years of settlement (from 1851 when gold was first discovered) mining- huge industry, particularly Victoria.
1852- half South Australia’s male population moved to Victoria.
Christmas 1851, 75,000 people lived Victoria Christmas 1852, 170,000
Some argue gold rush was biggest event Australia’s history- terms of movement of people/ establishment of towns/cities, Ballarat, was much bigger than Melbourne
Once payed 30 shillings- could do whatever you liked, p no rules/regulations.

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Question 17

Environmental problems with mining

Answer 17

Deforestation – Timber needed to line mine shafts, fix tools, provide fuel for warmth and cooking. Eg, Walhalla.
Habitat loss – direct result of deforestation.
Redirection of Water – essential when panning/ cradling for gold, gold heavier than dirt, it sinks, all you need to do is collect it. E.g, Beechworth
Loss nutrient rich top soil – dirt dug up nutrient poor, heaped on top of good soil, difficult to grow