Country town growth in South-eastern Australia : three regional studies, 1861-1891

Abstract

Australia’s galloping urbanization was the major feature of settlement in the second half of the nineteenth century, and - then as now - its outstanding characteristic was the dominant role of metropolization in this process. The fifties were a time of formative upsets to the pattern of settlement in Victoria, and, to a lesser extent, in New South Wales, and the nineties again saw a temporary disruption in the trend of urbanization in each colony. The generation from 1861 to 1891 was relatively free of such upsets, and this study addresses the question of urbanization in that period, focussing particularly on the country towns, focussing, that is, on the reverse of the urban coin of which the Australian metropolis is so manifestly the obverse. The retardation of provincial towns has made relics of many of them; but although to gaze on the streets of many such towns is to gaze on the nineteenth century, they have commanded little scholarly attention. As an introduction, then, Chapter One contrasts nineteenth century awareness of urbanization (and denigration of country towns) with the delay in professional attention to the subject, and sketches the approach made in this study. In particular, the lack of previous studies has conditioned a concentration on the basic question of country town growth. Chapter Two, having defined 'country towns', is concerned with determining, in a broad way, the role of country towns in south-eastern Australia in the process of urbanization during this period. Two main facts emerge: the country towns as a body did not grow as strongly as Sydney and Melbourne; and the country towns of New South Wales, as a body and individually, grew more strongly than the Victorian towns. This, then, was what happened, and Chapters Three to Nine are directed towards finding out why. To do this, the history of three country towns and their hinterlands have been studied, namely, Creswick, a Victorian gold-mining town near Ballarat, Hamilton, a pastoral town in the Western District of Victoria, and Wagga, a pastoral and agricultural town in the Riverina district of New South Wales. The factors in town growth have been examined at three levels; Chapters Three to Five look at the internal aspects of town growth, Chapters Six to Eight at its regional aspects, and Chapter Nine discusses the role of the State. Chapter Three, which is chiefly demographic, analyses the components of growth by looking separately at various elements in the population, such as changing sex ratios and workforce proportions, in order to gain an idea of the extent to which growth itself, and fluctuations in growth, derived simply from necessary demographic adjustments. The question of the contribution of migration to population growth is also discussed, since even the growing towns had begun to experience net out-migration by the end of the period. Chapter Four first briefly examines the location and the circumstances of the foundation of each town, seeking implications for future growth. It then considers the manner in which each town was actually settled, and by whom, through an analysis of the alienation of Crown lots. Finally, the quality and quantity of residential construction in the towns are examined in the light of available building materials, and of the quality of housing in the towns' rural hinterlands. The concept of regionality is introduced, and differences between the towns in each colony elucidated. In Chapter Five, the general occupational structure of each town - for which the materials are unsatisfactory after 1871 - is first noted, both generally and in terms of the basic-nonbasic concept. The discussion of economic functions is continued with separate considerations of the place of primary industry (as an element of the town's own workforce, not as a general regional factor), secondary industry, and tertiary industry in town growth. Non-economic functions, both basic and nonbasic, are also discussed, although they illuminate the quality of life and the nature of regionality, rather than the question of population growth. Chapters Six to Eight examine, in turn, each of the rural hinterlands of the sample towns, to determine their relative propensities to town growth, and to elucidate the towns' regional roles. Chapter Six is prefaced by a discussion of the demographic bases of regionality and urbanism, in which it is shown that towns had greater affinities with their respective regions than with other towns. In each chapter, three main questions are considered in their relevance to town growth: rural land use; the pattern of settlement in terms of the size of rural holdings and the accretion or fragmentation of 'urban' services; and the development of transport, especially the role of the railway. In each chapter, the emphasis given to each of these sections varies according to the requirements of each case. Chapter Six concentrates particularly on the unusual diversification of land use in Creswick Shire, the decline of agriculture and the revival of mining. The density of settlement in the Shire, and the public fragmentation of urban services, are examined, as is the effect of the railway on the town's life. Chapter Seven deals briefly with the unrelieved pastoralism and sparse population of Dundas Shire, and shows that in the accretion of functions, Hamilton was able to gain more from its hinterland population than the others from theirs. The association of townsmen in agitating for railway extension is discussed, as well as the apparent effects of the railway on the town's functions. Chapter Eight first traces the changes in land use in the Murrumbidgee Electorate in this period, noting especially the wheat-growing boom which followed the advent of the railway; it notes, too, Wagga's function in the handling and fattening of stock driven from distant parts. The successions and patterns of settlement in the district are then studied in their relation to town growth, and the early transport lines and the course and effects of railway extension are dealt with. The dependence of towns on their respective regions having been established, Chapter Nine outlines the direct and indirect ways in which towns relied on the State. Certain differences between the colonies are suggested, and the general limitations on local municipal government, and on the avenues of approach to the State by the towns, are stated. The extent and effects of reliance on the State are tentatively assessed. Show more