Europeans and the Australian Environment

To the Europeans, such as Joseph Banks who first sighted and began to document the Australian landscape and what it held, it was clear that what was found on the shore of New Holland was like nothing they had ever before encountered.  Despite the vast differences, Europeans attempted to create a new society in the South which had all the hallmarks of what they had left behind.  W.C. Wentworth’s description of Australia as ‘a new Britannia in another world’ is testament to these aims.

Expansion into the interior by European farmers and squatters saw distinct changes to the Australian landscape.  Thomas Livingston Mitchell describes in detail, while en route to the Gulf of Carpentaria the negative impacts of white settlement.  He notes a decrease in levels of fauna in forests and in particular makes reference to a fall in the number of Aboriginals in regions once dominated by tribes.  Mitchell attributes this decline, to a reduction in management of forestry undergrowth.  He notes that previously, Aboriginals had undertaken a controlled system of undergrowth burn off which had subsequently been banned by governmental officials.  This decision, according to Miller had made the land unsurpassable in parts.  This account, where a lack of European knowledge towards the Australian landscape is evident, is a common theme throughout colonial history where attempts were made to apply European agricultural practices to the Australian landscape.

Frederick McCubbin's, 'down on his luck' (1895), is a famous example of colonial artwork from the Heidelberg School of Art.  The image depicts the hard times faced by the Australian bushman.  Images such shaped the narrative of early Australia and were very popular amongst Asutralians at the time. (Source: State Library of Victoria)

The untamed nature of the Australian landscape, described inadvertently by Mitchell in his account was where Australia’s first legends were born.  Historian Hirst suggests that it was the actions of these early pioneers that were revered in Australian culture.  The pioneer legend itself was adopted throughout the late nineteenth century by prominent authors such as Pattinson and Lawson.  With artists such as McCubbin and Streeton painting some of the most famous works depicting these early Australians.  This Australian bushman and pioneer legend gave Australians something that was inherently unique to Australia.  It presented Australia as a society that was different from the ‘mother country’. 

The strength of the pioneer legend came from within Australian culture throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century’s.  Many had come to Australia as they were forced out of their homelands because of family issues, famines, times of economic hardship or political oppression.  People came to Australia in search of a better life.  These early stories of the Australian pioneers gave many hopes that hard work would see eventual success not possible in Europe. 

Opinion of this national narrative changed throughout the twentieth century.  The reason for these alterations cannot be attributed to one factor; however there are several influences which caused the modification.  The first was simply that it was developed and ultimately replaced by alternate, more contemporary legends.  A notable example is Charles Bean’s ANZAC legend, where soldiers displayed innately Australian characteristics of courage, mateship and sacrifice while under fire in World War One.  The second reason was primarily because there was no reference to negative aspects of pioneer history such as the frontier violence which took place in colonial times between Aboriginal Australians and English settlers.  Such was the ferocity of this conflict, that some including historian Blainey have called for those killed to be recognized in the Australian War Memorial.  This conflict was likened to genocide by historian Reynolds and tarnished the legacy of the colonial settlers.  Additionally, the environmental destruction documented by historian Gaynor is a further cause for conjecture when it comes to the legacy of the early bushman. 

This wood engraving from 1876, entitled 'a skirmish near Creen Creek, Queensland' depicts the ferocious nature of frontier conflict.  It was scenes such as this that were not included in the early national narrative, and thus led to the move away from the pioneer legend in Australian culture. (Source: State Library of Victoria)