The standard view of environmental history during the early colonial period is that of settlers wrecking havoc upon their new environment. It is often suggested that this environmental damage resulted from the colonists ignorance, and their attempts to change the landscape to better suit their European preferences.
The Australian environment suffered greatly due to the settlers’ misunderstanding of their new environment. Many natural resources were believed to be superabundant, near limitless and were subsequently destroyed. Trees were felled and Australia’s native forests quickly disappeared, making way for European-like farmlands.
With the publication of his Australia in 1930, W.K Hancock famous declared that “the invaders hated trees”, and discussed the damage the colonisers had impacted upon the soil as a result. Hancock describes these ‘invaders’ and their civilization as, an “onrush of a horde [which] has been devastating”. He describes the terrible impact this had upon the Aborigines; the devastation brought on by the introduction of the rabbit, and the effects of extensive “tree-murder”. However, while acknowledging the damaged caused by the settlers, Hancock goes on to express his faith that this damage may be reversed in the future. He also suggests that as the colonist learned to adapt better to the Australian land they did, in the end enrich the soil, making the use of it far more profitable.
While many of the same themes take precedent in both the articles, Hancock earlier investigation is far more optimistic about the nature of the damage done, than Flannery’s account.
Decades later in 1994, like Hancock, Timothy Flannery also blames the settlers’ naivety for much of the damage they inflicted upon the land – but more so their attempts to manipulate it. Flannery, similarly to Hancock, discusses the damage caused to the environment by the destruction of trees and the introduction of foreign animals. He suggests that the settlers misunderstood their new ecosystem and instead acted according to the principles of their European environment. Initially, the landscape was perceived by the colonists in a positive light, in one record described much like the “gentleman’s park[s]” of Britain. With this framework, settlement began by seeing the colonists’ attempts to make Australia adapt to them as they tried to create an environment resembling that of their homeland. In their attempt to manipulate the environment, trees were felled to make way for the farm land they were accustomed to and noxious animals were introduced to remind them of their homeland. Without an understanding of the Australian ecosystem and its weather, periods of drought initially devastated the colonists, but irreparable damage had already been done to the environment.
Ringbarking a massive tree
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, widespread ringbarking to make way for farm land resulted in the native forests being destroyed on a massive scale. Most of this timber was wasted. As Flannery’s article explains, this destroyed timber would have been worth millions of dollars more than the dairy industry it was destroyed to accommodate. Even giant trees like the one picture above which would today be considered natural treasures, were still destroyed indiscriminately.
Image credits: 'The carcass of a giant Mountain Ash', at http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/.../trees/tree17m.htm, accessed 25 August 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment