Continuity and change in the Northern Territory pastoral industry 1933-1965, with particular reference to the Victoria River district

Abstract

In 1933 the Commonwealth Government, beset with problems created by the Depression and aware of the threat posed by Japanese expansionist moves in Asia, had to face up to another problem: the Northern Territory was becoming an increasingly more costly burden to administer and seemed in no way ready to prosper. Chief among the factors contributing to the situation was the economic failure of the Territory's pastoral industry. By establishing a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the industry the Commonwealth hoped to find a means of dealing with the difficulties. In fact by 1950 (and two more surveys later) little had changed, and the industry continued to flounder. But social and political forces generated by the Second World War were to combine to force change - the presence of a large number of Servicemen and Allied Works Council personnel in the Territory during the War served to break down its isolation from the rest of Australia. The scene had been set by 1948 when J.H. Kelly, commissioned by the Bureau of Agriculture Economic to undertake a survey of the cattle industry in the North, came and began his long crusade to improve conditions in the industry. This thesis examines the industry between 1933 and 1965 for an understanding of the factors of continuity and change that affected it. Kelly's thesis that major restructuring, particulary in the area of land utilization, was necessary is tested against the evidence. In the absence of secondary sources the analysis is based on archival material, oral evidence and government report. Four major areas are analysed: Northern Development i.e. the context in which the industry was placed; The Pastoral Industry, and special mention is made of Vesteys role; The Aborigines, archival evidence is used to give the background to change in their status and role in the industry; The Victoria River District, a case study of a new station, Camfield, commenced in 1953 on undeveloped land resumed from Victoria River Downs Station Lease - the district was one of the worst examples of land abuse and mismanagement in the Territory. This dissertation contributes new material to the historiography of the Northern Territory and of the pastoral industry. It shows that changes did happen and that those changes led to improvements in the social and economic aspects of the industry. The evidence supports the view that change was wrought by individuals (Kelly, the Aborigines, and the Vandeleurs on Camfield Station) who creatively responded to the physical environment of the Territory in the face of strong opposition from Vesteys and the conservative attitude of Commonwealth Governments.