Australia and New Zealand • Background • basic kinship between Australia and New Zealand • similarities of population, cultural heritage, and type of economy • products of British colonization • speak English, live under parliamentary forms of government, schools patterns after British model • both have aboriginal minorities surviving from prewhite times • close political and economic relations with US, Japan, and Europe
both prosperous nations with per capital incomes comparable to those of the small states of Europe • Commonwealth ties with UK • Australia’s Physical and Climatic Characteristics • Australia is country and island continent • sparsely populated • very arid climate with high temperatures and rapid evaporation
Only 6% of Australia if cultivated today • 14% classified as forests or woodlands • 50% suitable for grazing • 20% total wasteland in the interior • despite small proportion of arable land, ratio of crop-producing land to total population is favorable • Australia is the size of the continental US but only has 19 million people, fewer than live in California • distribution of population follows arable land • most Australians live in humid eastern highlands and coastal plains and humid grasslands
Natural Regions of Australia • humid eastern highlands • only major highlands on east coast from Cape York to Tasmania • elevation under 3,000 feet • only part of country with no drought • Pacific winds bring much rain but rugged relief prevents much agriculture • south of Sydney has marine west coast climate • north of Sydney has humid subtropical climate
tropical savannas of north Australia • north Australia receives heavy rainfall in summer with dry conditions in winter • monsoon winds blow onshore in summer and offshore in winter • produces savanna vegetation with coarse grasses, scattered trees, and patches of woodlands • arid conditions, poor soils, and lack of rivers make agriculture difficult
Mediterranean lands of southwest and south • southwest corner of Australia and land around the Spencer Gulf have a Mediterranean climate • winter rain and summer drought • Mediterranean crops do well here • lack of highlands to catch moisture • limited irrigation
dry interior • huge interior of Australia is desert surrounded by a fringe of semi arid grassland (steppe) • covers half of the continent • general elevation between 1,000 and 1,500 feet • few mountain ranges too low to influence climate • lowest part of interior around Lake Eyre Basin is driest part of the country • Murry-Darling Basin only area of river systems with some irrigation possible
Australia: Physical Map
Australian Economy • Country’s leading exports are mining, grazing, and agriculture • large and dependable markets for Australian primary products in Japan, US, and Europe • cheap and efficient transportation by sea • sheep and cattle raising important • penal colony near Sydney in 1788 • difficult to grow crops but sheep did well • by 19th C Australia was largest supplier or wool
sheep industry concentrated on western slop of eastern highlands, border of New South Wales, and western border of Victoria • exports of wool have declined due to synthetics • cattle ranching in north around Queensland • exports of meat to Japan, US, and Europe • construction of rural roads to coast aided exports • wheat farming • wheat is major export of Australia • originally developed to help feed population around Sydney • State of South Australia now most important wheat area
Adelaide is major port for wheat exports • mechanization, railroads, scientific plant breeding, and new markets helped wheat exports • wheat and sheep often occupy same areas • southwest corner near Perth second area of growth • small labor force, large acreage, good yields per worker make this an efficient industry for Australia • dairy farming • largest industry in terms of employment • humid coastal plains of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria
sugar production • sugar industry begun on coastal plain of Queensland in 19th C • laborers imported from Melanesia to work fields • formation of Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 led to repatriation of imported black labor in the interests of preserving a “white Australia.” • high protective tariffs on sugar preserved the industry • large estates divided up into family farms producing sugar
Urbanization and Industrialization • most Australians are city dwellers • Sydney 3.7 million; Melbourne 3.1 million; Brisbane 1.3 million; Perth 1.2 million and Adelaide 1 million • 40% of Australian population live in two largest cities • 85% of total Australian population live in urban areas • largest cities are all seaports
much of Australian internal trade moves by coastal steamer • problems with internal rail system because each state built it own system with different gauge tracks • work underway to standardize rail gauge • Australian government has encouraged industrial development to diversify economy • concern about national security, adequate defense, self-sufficiency in case of war
Mineral Wealth • mineral resources of continent relatively rich • adequate supply of minerals for internal development and export • ample supply of coal in New South Wales and Queensland • steel plants near coal mines at Newcastle north of Sydney and Wollongong to south • coal is major export to Japan • iron ore deposits close to coast facilitating exports
Major reserves of bauxite near north Queensland coast, Darling Range near Perth, and on coast of Amhem Land • Australia is world’s leading producer of bauxite for aluminum production • processed alumina exported overseas • gold mining played large role in Australia’s history as it did in California in 1849. • Australia also source of copper, lead, titanium, zinc, tin, silver, manganese, nickel, tungsten, uranium, and diamonds.
Broken Hill Proprietary Company, Australia’s largest private company, began as a mining company now produces steel and other related businesses • deficiency in petroleum and natural gas though small fields were developed in the 60’s and 70’s • Australia dependent on overseas manufactured products from Japan and US • domestic manufacturers dependent on government protection • manufacturing encouraged to provide jobs and security for Australian people
Government has encouraged immigration of white, skilled, English-speaking people • discriminatory policies against blacks and Asians criticized by world community • immigration more dependent on education and English speaking ability since 1973 • New Zealand • located 1,000 miles southeast of Australia • New Zealand consists of two large islands- North Island and South Island separated by the Cook Strait with a combined population of 4 million • North Island smaller with larger population
New Zealand: Physical Map
population of New Zealand 4 million • rugged terrain characterizes much of New Zealand • mountains of South Island dominated by the imposing Southern Alps with many glaciated summits above 10,000 feet • mountains of North Island less imposing with some peaks over 5,000 • lowland areas received more than 30 inches of rain per year, evenly distributed throughout the year.
rain shadow east of Southern Alps • moderate temperatures with pervasive maritime influence • temperatures average 60-70 in summer and 40-50 in winter • New Zealand Economy • climate idea for growing grass and raising livestock • pastures and meadows support a thriving sheep and cattle industry
meat, wool, dairy products and hides account for half of New Zealand’s exports • pastoral exports have provides New Zealander’s with a comfortable life with per capital incomes equivalent to smaller European countries • UK used to be the main market for NZ products • UK decision to join the EEC hurt New Zealand • NZ has tried to open new markets in Asia, US, and Australia • 1983 Agreement with Australia opened these markets to NZ products
industrial and urban development growing as the NZ government has tried to diversify the economy • modest reserves of coals, iron, and other minerals. • excellent hydroelectric potential • good forest product exports • urbanization somewhat smaller than in Australia • six urban populations with more than 100,000 people including Auckland 890,000; Wellington 375,000; and Christchurch 335,000
1840 Treaty of Waitangi- supposed to protect indigenous Maori people from land grabs • Different interpretation of this treaty have worked against Maori tribes who were deprived of their historic territories • NZ government set up the Waitangi Tribunal to investigate land claims. Some compensation provided to the Maoris, but not much. • “Whale Rider”- NZ Maori girl seeks to learn her traditions.
