Increasing Population

And its affect on relationships with

outdoor environments
1850s -

Population Density
Australia is a large country with a small
population. In 2014 we have a population
density of around 2 people per square
kilometre; by comparison, the figure for
Japan was 338 people per square kilometre.
Of the world's developed countries, only
Canada (3.2) and Iceland (2.8) have
comparable population densities

Growth of Australia
Nobody knows how many indigenous people

lived here before European settlement:

estimates range between 300,000 and 1.5
million. It is known, however, that their
numbers declined significantly after the arrival
of the First Fleet in 1788.
By 1887 there was about 3 million people, of
mostly European origin, living in the colonies.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that
the 1901 census counted 3,773,801 people.
One hundred years later, in 2001, the national
census tallied 18,972,350 people.

The estimated
Australian
population right
now..

1800s

By 1850 the European population in Australia

was 400,000
Australian environment was seen as providing
opportunities for wealth creation by using the
resources it provided.
In and around 1850 it was realised that land
and marine resources were great sources of
wealth
Gold, timber, coal, seal and whale
products were soon targeted with
little or no regard for the impact
on the environment.

Land devastated by mining practices

Areas cleared, earth was excavated, shafts

were sunk and roads were built

Towns became crowded, temporary
settlements were constructed eg.
Fernshaws reserve in Healesville
Land was cleared for cropping, housing,
grazing and mining without any
restrictions
Firewood was collected for heating and for
fuel for the running of steam engines

Gold
The gold rush brought huge environmental
changes in the
Australian landscape in a relatively
small amount of time. Features of the land millions of
years in the making were all but decimated in just a few
decades.
Prior to the 1850s the Australian continent was
relatively pristine the Indigenous communities had
lived in harmony with the land for centuries, and since
European settlement had only been minorly disturbed.
For the first time in the continents history, the advent of
the gold rush disrupted and rapidly destroyed
ecosystems, and put mounting pressure on the native
flora and fauna.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=124

The Gold Rush - impacts

Once the gold rush was over deserted

goldfields were environmental disaster

zones with little or no vegetation and massive
erosion
scarring
Native animals suffered with loss of habitat,
competition with introduced animals and
hunting.
The majority of species extinctions in Australia
occurred since European settlement
Up until 1830 3 million Koala skins were exported
to Europe!
The environment started to look like the grazing
lands of Europe

Development
By 1880 the meat export business

expanded and more land was given over to

grazing
In 1887 irrigation started along the Murray
and more arid regions in the Mallee started
to develop Orchards, market gardens and
grain plantations.
The dominant relationship with the land at
this time was development and export
orientated.

Factors effecting population

growth

The human population at the global level has been

growing exponentially over time

The absolute number of humans has continued to

increase, and the distribution of the population has

changed, due to differing birth and death rates and
the movement of people from one region to another.

Australia's population also continues to increase.

The three factors which have the greatest impact on

the population of any nation are birth rate (fertility),
international migration and death rate (mortality
rate).

Immigration
Immigration adds to the Australian population in two

ways: firstly, the immigrants themselves; and

secondly, their Australian-born children. The
contribution of net overseas migration to Australia's
population growth has averaged about 39 per cent for
the past 25 years. This is projected to increase as the
Australian fertility rate decreases.
Immigration one source of population growth
results in more people to consume goods and
services. This larger market is better for local
businesses. Also, many migrants bring money into the
country and some start up businesses that may offer
employment. Many economists argue that, if carefully
controlled, this can benefit the nations economy and
hence, indirectly, our quality of life.

Environmental scientists point out that Australia

is already suffering considerable damage to its

soils, waterways, coastal zones and natural
habitats through intensive agriculture, urban
expansion, industrial development and the everincreasing demand for goods and services.
Groups who oppose population increase on
environmental grounds suggest that even the
present Australian population cannot be
indefinitely sustained at its present rate of
consumption by the renewable resources of the
continent.

Beach anyone?

Australias population
carrying capacity:

Tim Flannery says that Australia has :

the calculated a long-term carrying capacity

of between 8 million and 12 million. We had
that population in 1950 and 1968
respectively, not so long ago. The population
is now over 22.5 million and increasing
rapidly, currently at a rate of 1.7% increase
per year.
http://candobetter.net/node/2318\

Other population pressures on

our environment

Population pressures on our environment

come not only from a resident population,
they also come from:
a global population, where there is demand
for Australian-based production;
overseas visitors to Australia, especially
tourists but also business visitors, students
and guest-workers. These numbers are
many times that of immigrants

Factors such as population growth, population

distribution and migration combine with highconsumption patterns to put stresses on the
environment. There is a limit to the environment in
terms of supply of resources and the ability to absorb
waste products. Examples include:
rate of tree growth for timber harvesting
the available fresh water for irrigation and human
consumption
land degradation
loss of forest cover
pollution of water and air, soil erosion
loss of biodiversity
These are all occurring at a fast pace, and are
evidence of the impact of an increasing population on
the environment.

Population and Environment

The maximum number of a particular organism

that an environment can maintain indefinitely

is often referred to as its carrying capacity. How
do we calculate the human carrying capacity of
the Earth?

World population figures:

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

The human population of our planet, on

current trends, doubles every

53 years!

Can we sustain
our current
population
growth?

Increasing population in the

Grampians and surrounding
areas

What drew people to the

Grampians and Stawell area?
Gold
Timber
Grampians freestone
Other?

A bit of history
William McLachlan discovered alluvial
gold at Pleasant Creek in May 1853, but
the yield was not in sufficient volumes to
attract much interest. The Ballarat and
Bendigo fields were known to be giving
better results and had already established
the infrastructure to support the miners.

There was however sufficient numbers for the

area to support the beginnings of a settlement.

The town site was first settled during 1853 and
was named Pleasant Creek. The mining
population of the Stawell field remained relatively
small (averaging 200 or less) until 1857 when a
series of new alluvial gold discoveries were made.

Longfield street Stawell, 1866

Two Post Offices were opened, Pleasant Creek on

19 October 1857 and Quartz Reef, Pleasant Creek

on 1 June 1859. In 1858 diggers opened the
Great Western goldfield, which was worked by
some 9,000 prospecters. The prospecting spread
to nearby Deep Lead, about 6 kilometres to
northwest, and it was reported that at the height
of the rush there were over 25,000 people in
the area. At the same time, shafts were being
sunk around Big Hill, becoming known as the
Quartz Reefs. Much alluvial gold was found in the
area but the 'fossicking' petered out by 1859.

The town's water supply system was

designed by John D'Alton in 1875, diverting

water from Fyan's Creek by tunnels and
pipelines, construction was completed in
1881.
By the mid-1920s the gold mining had
effectively ceased as the yields were found
to be no longer commercial viable.

Grampians
At this stage the Grampians population also

had an influx to cater for the demands at

Stawell and Ballarat.
Timber was required for mining practices so
many trees were felled and milled to get to
these booming mining areas.
At this stage Grampians freestone was
also found in what was to become
Heatherlie Quarry which also attracted
many to the area including English and
Italians

Gold was also found at Mt William in 1900

but the rush only lasted 3 years. Impacts

still occurred for this.

What interactions have

occurred at this stage?

Draw them up here!!

What perceptions of the

environment did people have
at this stage?

Draw them up here!!

What impacts would have

occurred at this stage?

Draw them up here!!

Task
Please answer the following question:

Describe the relationship people had with

the environment as the population was
increasing in the Grampians and
surrounding areas.
Lets break the question down first