Transport and commodity movements in southern New South Wales

Abstract

Geographers have displayed very little interest in the various aspects of Australian transport. In contrast to the situation in the United States, the field of transport geography is not "undergoing a new development"; rather, studies of this nature are being undertaken for the first time, and to the knowledge of the authors, only one post-graduate geography thesis on an Australian transport subject has been completed. This lack of local studies is not as pronounced in other 'western' countries as in Australia, and a considerable body of methodology is available from research work by Americans and, to a lesser extent, from English geographers. Thus, in Australia, although one must work in a substantive field that is virtually untouched, one has no cause to lament a similar lack of material on approach and method in transport studies from overseas workers. The primary object of this thesis is to give an analytical account of the development and contemporary characteristics of transport and commodity movements in southern New South Wales (N.S.W.), the location of which in south eastern Australia is shown in Figure 1. The study seeks not only to make a contribution to an understanding of the complex land transport situation in Australian border areas, but also the methodology of transport geography. The basic idea for the study was formulated during and after a period of intensive study under a transport geographer in the United States. The body of the thesis, consisting of four chapters, id divided into two major parts. The competitive and historical backgrounds to transport and commodity movements are discussed in Chapters 1 and 2 of Part 1, while Chapters 3 ad 4 in Part 2 comprise a description and evaluation of present-day patterns of commodity flow. The remainder of this introductory discussion sets out generally the task of each chapter, and considers certain aspects of the selection and nature of the study area in southern N.S.W. (First three paragraphs of introduction).