Geography Yearly 2005 - By Eugene Siu

Geography Yearly 2005 Notes – Eugene Siu

Human characteristics that make Australia unique

Demographic Characteristics

• Age Structure


• Distribution


• Ethnic Composition


• Gender


• Growth Rates


• Population Size

Australia’s Unique Character

Australia is the only continent that consists of one country. It’s also the world’s driest inhabited continent with a larger proportion of desert than any other continent. Australia has one of the lowest population densities in the world. Only a few areas along or near the coasts receive enough rainfall to support a large population. Today, most Australians live in a narrow coastal strip extending from Brisbane to Adelaide. 86% live in towns that have populations >1000.

Australia is a developed country with busy cities and highly productive farms and mines. It is the world’s leading exporter or wool and bauxite. The income from these and other exports has made it possible for most of us to enjoy a high standard of living.

Until 1788 Indigenous people alone occupied Australia. They had lived and prospered for at least 50 000 years before the first white settlers arrived. Britain settled Australia as a prison colony in 1788 and, as the numbers of British migrants increased, the proportion of Indigenous people decreased. Since 1945, immigration from southern European nations such as Greece and Italy and more recently from Asian nations has turned Australia into one of the most multicultural countries in the world.

Much of our population growth occurs in and around towns and cities that have a population of 1000 or more. Fastest growing areas are generally those on the fringes of capital cities. New suburbs grow into areas that were formally farming areas. As the population grows, new amenities are built such as schools, parks, shops and hospitals.

Population

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducts a survey every 5yrs on the population of Australia. It determines the size, rate of increase, age and sex distribution, life expectancy, migration and where people live. This information helps governments to decide where to build new schools, hospitals, roads, and where there is a need for retirement homes or kindergartens.

Population Growth

Natural Increase- this occurs when the number of people born (birth rate) is higher than the number of people dying (death rate)

Migration- the proportion of Australia’s population born overseas increased from less than 10% in 1947 to 23% in 1996

Crude Death Rate- the number of live births per 1000 population
Net Overseas Migration- the number of people migrating to live in a country minus the number of people emigrating from the country to live in other countries, net overseas migration is expressed as a % of the total population.

Australia’s population is ageing because:

• Australia has one of the lowest crude death rates (7%) in the world


• Australia has one of the lowest crude birth rates (14%) in the world


• Australia has one of the highest life expectancies (over 70 men, over 80 men)


• The children of the post-war baby boom are reaching retirement age in the year 2010


• 25% of Australian women are electing to not have children, or having less, or later in life

Australia’s dependent population are those in 0-15 and over 65 age groups. Dependency can be a challenge on the economy because the larger the dependant population grows, the greater the pressure is on the working population to support them.

Australia’s Indigenous Population

Aboriginal people probably migrated from the north during the last Ice Age and have lived in Australia fro at least 50 000 years, occupying all the different environments within the continent. Prior to European settlement, 500 000-1million people were already living in Australia with over 600 different languages.

Many of them lived along the coast where more abundant food could be found. Large numbers also lived along inland rivers. They had a detailed knowledge of the land enabled them to find vast supplies of food in places where white people died of starvation. This knowledge was passed down along with Dreamtime stories to younger generations by means of talking as the main communication. They viewed the natural and human environment as one that no one owned, but shared.

Most clans were nomadic, only using what they needed before moving on. Their movements were not at random, but rather seasonal and availability of natural resources. These patterns were usually forged over thousands of years.

Multicultural Australia

Migration is the permanent or semi-permanent movement of people from one location to another. Immigration is the movement of people into a country and emigration is the movement of people out of a country. A migrant is different from a refugee: migrants choose to elect to move to another country and are free to return while refugees are forced to and usually cannot return.

Australia has a non-discriminatory immigration policy, meaning anyone can apply to migrate. Each year the government predetermines how many migrants are accepted and whether they can enter via the family, skilled or humanitarian categories. These decisions are made in consultation with state, territories and local governments, as well as businesses, trade unions and environmental organisations. This process determines the migration levels that will contribute to sustainable development.

The country of birth of immigrants coming into Australia has shifted from mainly U.K. and Ireland (1901) to mainly Asian countries.

Migration has created diverse communities where the diversity is shown in the abundance of different languages, religion, literature, music, architecture and food.

Immigrants tend to concentrate together. Factors that attract people include: entertainment; restaurants; places of worship; traditional festivals; life events; employment and networking; transport; and presence of family and friends. This pattern is observed all over Australia, e.g. Blacktown, Cabramatta.

Communities

Community- groups based on shared space and shared social organisation

Sense of Community
This is often developed when people share the same space or have similar beliefs and interests.  

Types of Communities

Shared Space

• urban community/neighbourhood


• rural town


• farming district


• mining centre

Social Organisation

• belonging to the same sporting club, profession, political party, interest group, same language, same religion, common heritage/cultural background

Urban Communities

Describes areas where people live in population clusters of more than 1000 people and where either secondary or tertiary industry is usually the main activity.

Rural Communities

Describes areas where people live in population clusters of fewer than 1000 people and where primary industry is often thee main activity.

Remote Communities

Describes areas which are great distance from other areas, e.g. pastoral cattle stations. They can also be rural service centres, e.g. Charter Towers, regional service centres, e.g. Alice Springs, Aboriginal settlements, e.g. Hermannsburg or mining centres.

Sense of Community

Factors Contributing:

• work/occupation


• demographic characteristics


• sporting allegiance


• gender and sexuality


• religion and belief


• interest groups


• neighbourhood


• heritage


• culture


• rural/urban identity


• Aboriginal/Indigenous population


• Ethnicity


• Popular culture


• Socio-economic background

Diversity of Australian Communities

How communities may be identified:

• school you go to


• where you live


• beliefs


• where you come from originally


• sporting team you support


• shared history


• work you do


• what you can afford to buy

How communities are changing:

• many urban areas on the coast and on the fringes of Australia’s major cities have grown rapidly


• many inland towns are experiencing rural decline


• security concerns have increase; people are becoming more isolated from each other

Forming Communities

Sporting Communities

About 5.8 million Australians aged 5 years and over participate in organised sport or physical activity. Many people are active members of a team or a club. This means they have an allegiance to the club and interested in its success. People who play or follow a sport are members of a community with an interest in common.

Interest Groups

People join groups that cater for or promote their particular interests. Interests groups often come together for special events or celebrations.

Communities based on occupation

The communities that people form at work can have a major impact on their lives. A person who works for a transnational corporation (TNC) might know hundreds of people in different cultures. A person employed in a specialised field or in an isolated location may only have a few co-workers. Shared space and social organisation in the workplace can encourage a sense of community.





Rural Communities

General Demographic Characteristics

• lower incomes


• lower proportion of women in the workforce


• more married people than single people


• higher unemployment


• fewer young adults


• more cars per household


• fewer immigrants


• more men than women


• more Christians


• higher proportion of Aborigines


• higher levels of home ownership


• younger school leavers


• more children per couple

Australian Communities Processes/Factors

Change:

• new technologies


• global media networks


• demographic change


• intercultural exchanges


• resources depletion


• native title


• changing networks and patterns of work


• lifestyle expectations


• natural disasters


• globalisation of economic activity

Processes Causing Change in Australian Communities

New Technologies:

• Technological advances (telecommunications, transport and computers) have transformed the ways communities interact. Barriers such as distance and cost are reduced; people and information are more mobile.

Globalisation:

• Barriers such as distance and transport and communication costs that once separated national economic systems from each other are being broken down.


• As a result, national economies are merging into a single global economy and individual national markets are being replaced by a worldwide market.


• Brand names such as Nike can now be found in stores around the world and advertising campaigns at an international level.


• Closely linked to the development is the rise of TNCs.

Global Media Networks:

• Central influence in shaping individual community and national identities.


• 5 TNCs: Time Warner; News Corporation; Bertelsmann; Viacom; Walt Disney.


• People who control these organisations have the power to determine what information is available to people therefore influencing public opinion.

Changing Nature and Patterns of Work:

• Technological advances are either displacing some workers and make others more productive (by increasing the output per worker)


• Also create new types of employment to design, build, operate and service the new technology.


• Acts a stimulus to further innovation, creating new jobs and types.

Lifestyle Expectations:

• Growth of the service sector has created thousands of new jobs, particularly for women and teenagers. However, many of these jobs have low wages and few benefits


• The security of the middle class and the aspirations of the working class have been undercut.


• Rich people who can take advantage of the technological and economic changes taking place, lives just continue to improve.

Demographic Changes:

• Many communities have a membership drawn from a particular age group.

Impact of Natural Disasters:

• Natural disasters have the potential to disrupt and even destroy communities.


• On the other hand, natural disasters can bring communities together, e.g. working together to fight bushfires.

Intercultural Exchanges:

• Immigration and tourism have exposed Australian communities to the cultures of other people


• Many of these cultures have enriched Australian communities.

Recognition of Native Title:

• Recognition of native title has the potential to significantly enhance the spiritual and material well-being of Indigenous Australians.

Resource Depletion:

• Communities whose economic and social well-being is reliant on the extraction of mineral or timber resources are adversely affected by the depletion of these resources.


• Some are abandoned altogether and some undergo a period of rapid decline. Others are able to survive by developing other functions, such as tourism.