Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
THORNY PROBLEMS
Industrial pastoralism and managing
'country' in northwest Queensland
Haripriya Rangan, Anna Wilson and Christian Kull
Introduction
The landscapes of northwest Queensland have seen over a century of change
induced through the creation and establishment of a pastoral industry. New plants,
animals, people, infrastructure, technologies, and ideas of landscape have reshaped
both the land and industry at the centre of the region's livelihoods. The pastoral
industry in northwest Queensland developed over the latter half of the nineteenth
century, an era of settlement expansion in the 'northern' frontier and a time when
ideas of 'acclimatisation' were being embraced by Australian colonies and settlers
alike. Three prickle bushes were introduced to northwest Queensland during this
epic period to assist the process of pastoral expansion and acclimatisation: prickly
acacia (
Acacia nilotica
), Parkinsonia (
Parkinsonia aculeata
), and mesquite (
Prosopis spp
.).
At the time of introduction, these plants were seen as resuscitating nature and
improving the country's natural resources for supporting the sheep industry. The
industrial pastoralism of today centres on cattle and these plants are no longer
considered saviours but are regarded as invasive species harming the land and native
biodiversity.
This chapter explores the shift in attitude towards introduced prickle bushes in
relation to changes in pastoralism and ideas of land management in northwest
Queensland. We argue that the current preoccupation with clearing 'invasive'
prickle bushes is not so much about the plants themselves, but rather the
manifestation of anxieties about the sustainability of pastoralism in this region.
These anxieties are expressed in terms of the relative virtues of 'native' and 'alien'
plants and how they affect the landscape for raising cattle and sustaining the pastoral
economy. Changes in government discourse regarding land management as 'land
care' and 'caring for our country' have provoked pastoralists in this region to debate
the ways of managing 'country' for cattle in the present and future. The following
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