OA - Human Geography Lesson

Human Geography

Urbanization and the Core-Periphery Spatial Relationship

Since a substantial portion of the country is desert, Australia's population is not spread evenly across the landscape. In fact, Australia has never had a majority rural population since its Aboriginal times. Like Japan's urban development pattern, Australia has had little rural-to-urban shift in population. Most of Australia's population lives in one of the two coastal, economic core regions, giving Australia a distinct core-periphery spatial pattern. The core areas hold the power, wealth, and influence while the periphery region supplies all the food, raw materials, and goods needed in the core. It's largest city, Sydney, is positioned at the heart of the main core area.

Immigration Policies

Until 1973, Australia had a collection of laws and policies known as the White Australia policy, which served to limit the immigration of nonwhite persons to Australia. While the White Australia policies limited immigration from some areas, other policies and moving expenses subsidies were created and offered to expand immigration from the United Kingdom. Between 1830 and 1940, more than a million British citizens took advantage of the offer.

For obvious geographical reasons, Australia's economy, culture, and future are becoming more Asian. Its immigration has been an issue in that the government has always restricted immigration to ensure a European majority. Millions of Asian people would like to migrate to Australia to seek greater opportunities and advantages, but they are legally restricted. It is becoming more difficult for Australians to hold to their European connections with such an Asian presence.

Culture 

Since the climate allows for year-round outdoor activity, sports are an important part of Australian culture. Football (soccer), rugby, and cricket are popular sports. The most popular spectator sport in Australia is Australian Rules Football, or simply "footy." This uniquely Australian game is a variant of football and rugby.

Economic Geography 

Most of Australia, especially the wide expanse of the arid interior known as the outback, has immense open spaces with agricultural potential or excellent resource extraction possibilities. The extensive grasslands support tens of millions of domesticated animals—cattle and sheep—which account for up to one-fifth of the world's wool production. Large agricultural businesses include thousands of acres under one operation. The western sector of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales is an excellent region for commercial grain operations. Since it is warmer and receives more rainfall, the coastal region in Queensland is an excellent area for growing sugarcane and similar crops. Sheep and cattle ranches are common in central Queensland and Western Australia. In addition, various regions of southern Australia are excellent for grape and fruit production. Only the center of the continent, with its dry central desert regions, is not favorable for agriculture.

In addition to its food production capabilities, Australia has an excellent mineral resource base. Western Australia has iron ore mines, while the eastern region of Queensland and New South Wales has abundant coal reserves. Minerals such as zinc, copper, gold, silver, tungsten, and nickel can be found in various parts of the country, including Tasmania. Oil and gas fields can be found in the northwestern coastal waters and in the Tasman Sea east of Melbourne. The country is self-sufficient in natural gas but does have to import some petroleum products.

Australia's Distribution of Raw Materials

Mining and Aboriginal Lands

Territorial control of Australian lands has become a major issue in recent years. Large portions of western Australia and the outback have traditionally been Aboriginal lands. These large sections of land, once used by the Aborigines, were taken over by the government or by private interests without adequate compensation to the Aboriginal people who once controlled them. Their land claims include all of the Northern Territory, a large portion of Western Australia, and parts of South Australia and Queensland. This is in addition to claims located within many urban areas, such as the largest city, Sydney. The concern for the Aboriginal population has increased in the past few decades and the government has made attempts to mediate their political and economic issues as well as strengthen programs that address their social welfare.

Trading Partners

Since Australia is closer geographically to the Asian economic community, Japan has become Australia's biggest trading partner. They export an immense amount of raw materials and have a small population to share the wealth. With Japan's enormous manufacturing capacity, it has a high demand for imported iron ore, minerals, and raw materials.

Tourism

From the Great Barrier Reef and the Gold Coast to the vast expanse of the outback, Australia has been marketing itself as an attractive place to visit with remarkable success. The environment, animals, and culture make it inviting for tourism and it has become Australia's number one means of economic income, with tourism from Japan providing a substantial percentage of the tourist activity.

Australia's Economic Future

The economic future of Australia is complex. Though tourism has become a viable means of providing income, Australia must import manufactured products that it does not produce locally, including electronic goods, computers, and automobiles. Trade agreements and protectionism have become a part of the economic puzzle of how to sustain a competitive standard of living. For obvious geographical reasons, Australia's economy and future are becoming more Asian dependent.

New Zealand Cultural Dynamics

New Zealand is home to many Polynesian groups. Its original inhabitants were the Maori, who came to the islands around the tenth century. The Maori grew gourds and sweet potatoes. In addition, they hunted fur seals and created extensive trading networks with other island groups. The Maori were well established in New Zealand before the arrival of the colonial ships from Europe.

Britain was the main colonizer of the islands and in 1840, the British colonizers and the Maori signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which granted British sovereignty over the islands but allowed the Maori certain rights over tribal lands. The Maori have complained about unfair treatment and the loss of land and rights in the process. Starting in the 1990s, treaty settlements were made to help correct the actions of the colonial activity and compensate the Maori for the conditions to which they were subjugated.

Today, the Maori now join the ranks of other Pacific Islanders who have moved to New Zealand from Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, and many other places in the South Pacific. A common dilemma with all peoples is the draw to return to their heritage and roots, which typically results in a more traditional lifestyle with stronger cultural ways. At the same time, the modern world pulls people toward a more global and cosmopolitan culture that is steeped in modernity with changing fashions. The Maori and other ethnic groups in New Zealand find themselves facing this dichotomy of societal dynamics.

Economic Conditions

Land and climate could be said to be New Zealand's most important natural resources. Fertile soils and a mild climate, complete with thousands of hours of sunshine annually, create ideal conditions for agriculture. Grass continues to grow throughout the year, which means that sheep and other livestock can be grazed well. Wool and other agricultural products, notably meat and butter, are important exports to New Zealand's economy. Healthy forests produce timber products, which are important to the economy as well. Some of New Zealand's natural resources are found underground, including coal, natural gas, gold, and other minerals.

Wellington is the capital of the country and is located on the southern end of the North Island. The major cities are located along the coastal regions and provide a connection to sea transportation. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island and is located along the eastern seaboard on the productive Canterbury Plain. The soil and conditions on the Canterbury Plain are excellent for productive agriculture of all types. Coastal plains also provide access to building transportation systems of highways and railroads that are costlier to construct in the mountainous regions of the Southern Alps or the northern highlands.

The modern cities are home to a multitude of processing centers preparing abundant agricultural products for domestic consumption and for export products. The ever-growing populations of Asia and the rest of the world continue to place a high demand on food products and welcome New Zealand's agricultural exports.

The high standard of living that exists in New Zealand is like that of Australia in that the population is not exceptionally large so the national wealth can be distributed via the private sector economy to accommodate a good lifestyle and provide for a comfortable standard of living.

New Zealand has a market economy. The mainstay of the economy is and has been for many years, a productive agricultural sector that has been geared toward export profits. New Zealand's climate and soil help give it a place in the economy of the region through agricultural exports. Today, New Zealand's economy is still heavily focused on the export of agricultural products, though the economy has diversified into other areas such as tourism and exploitation of natural resources, especially natural gas. The development of hydroelectricity generation in recent years has been important to the economy.

 

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