Australia

H

3

Painting

Long before the arrival of Europeans, Aboriginal Australians executed elaborate paintings on rock and bark. The value of early paintings by European immigrants lies primarily in their importance as a record of the settlement of the country. Not until the 1880s did the first generation of white Australian artists, unhampered by the restrictions of European discipline, capture the unique Australian scenery, its light, and atmospheric color. This group of painters was known as the Heidelberg School; it included Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, and Sir Arthur Streeton. From the early 1940s the work of Australian artists reflected a gradual transition from the generally accepted traditional school to the modern style. Australian painters of the 20th century included Sir William Dobell, known for his portraits; George Russell Drysdale, noted for depictions of the isolated inhabitants of the interior of the country; and Frederick Ronald Williams, whose landscapes and seascapes were notable for their quality of light. The work of Sidney Nolan, based on themes derived from Australian history and folklore, has achieved world renown, as has that of Arthur Boyd. Modern Aboriginal artists, drawing on traditional styles and themes, found receptive audiences in Europe and North America in the late 20th century.

H

4

Music, Dance, and Film

The oldest music in Australia is the music of the Aboriginal people. In Aboriginal societies, music plays a central role in both social and spiritual life. During social gatherings called corroborees, singing and dancing provide the major form of entertainment. In sacred ceremonies, songs serve as the vital link to the realm of Aboriginal spirits called the Dreamtime. Aboriginal people believe that, long ago, the Dreamtime spirits sang songs that created all living things on Earth. Today these songs are sung in sacred ceremonies to ensure the survival and propagation of all plant and animal life.

The history of European-based music in Australia begins with the British settlers, who promoted the staging of public concerts. Today, each major city has a symphony orchestra, affiliated with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Distinguished artists and conductors from many countries regularly tour Australia. Australia has made notable contributions to the world of music through sopranos Nellie Melba and Joan Sutherland, composer-pianist Percy Grainger, and composers Arthur Benjamin, John Henry Antill, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, and Peter Sculthorpe. Classical ballet was brought to Australia by famed native-born dancer and choreographer Sir Robert Helpmann, who was one of the founders of the Australian Ballet.

Beginning in the 1970s there was a resurgence of the motion-picture industry, and films produced in Australia, dealing with Australian themes, such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) by Australian director Peter Weir, attracted audiences throughout the world. Romanticized accounts of life in the Australian bush proved successful at home and overseas, as films such as The Man from Snowy River (1982) and Crocodile Dundee (1986) enjoyed great success. See Motion Pictures, History of: Cinema of Australia and New Zealand.

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IV

Economy

Australia is an outstanding producer of primary products. The country is self-sufficient in almost all foodstuffs and is a major exporter of wool, meat, dairy products, and wheat. Wool has been a staple of the economy since the colonial period, and it was important to the development of agriculture as the country’s largest industry. Manufacturing grew rapidly between the 1940s and 1970s, and mining became a leading sector in the economy during the 1960s. In recent decades, the value of exports from the manufacturing and mining sectors has exceeded that of the agricultural sector. This is due in part to increased demand among Australia’s principal trading partners, particularly Japan, for mineral ores, to fluctuating demand on world markets for agricultural products, and to fierce competition from heavily subsidized agricultural producers in the United States and Europe. An increasing focus on services and high-tech industries has also helped to diversify and modernize the Australian economy.

In 2005 the estimated annual federal budget included US$181.8 billion in revenues and US$190.3 billion in expenditures. Gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of all goods and services produced, was US$732.5 billion in 2005 services contributed 70.9 percent of the GDP; industry (including mining and manufacturing) contributed 25.7 percent; manufacturing alone contributed 11.91 percent; and agriculture contributed 3.4 percent.

A

Labor

Under the Australian constitution, government regulates relations between employers and employees. Federal power is confined to disputes extending beyond the limits of any one state, and it is exercised through the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and through arbitration and conciliation commissioners. Compulsory arbitration exists at both the federal and state level. Arbitration and conciliation courts or boards have the power to make awards binding on employer and employee. Trade unions had nearly 2 million members, representing 26 percent of all employees, in the late 1990s. Although their membership has declined in recent years, the unions are strongly organized at local, state, and federal levels and continue to be an economic and political power.

Workers receive unemployment and sickness benefits, compensation for job-incurred injuries, basic wages and marginal awards, and general social and health benefits. A basic, or minimum, wage was established by law in 1907. Between 1921 and 1953 the basic wage was automatically adjusted to quarterly rises and falls in the cost of living. The commonwealth terminated this automatic adjustment in September 1953, but several states later reintroduced the procedure. In 2005 the labor force in Australia was 10.3 million. The unemployment rate was 5.4 percent.

B

Agriculture

Despite the great expansion in mining and manufacturing after 1940, the prosperity of much of the country continues to reflect the historical importance of livestock raising and crop farming. Even in the late 1950s agricultural products accounted for some 80 percent of the value of Australia’s exports. This proportion declined markedly thereafter, principally because of the rapid diversification of the national economy. Unlike most of its closest international competitors, Australian agriculture does not rely on government subsidies and protection.

The livestock industry was established in the early days of settlement, when the first Spanish merino sheep were introduced from South Africa. The industry was a significant factor in Australian economic and historical development. The relentless decline since the 1970s has generally been in line with international trends. Nonetheless, Australia remains the world’s largest wool producer and exporter, particularly of fine merino types. Australia usually produces more than 25 percent of the world’s yearly output of wool. Income derived from wool exports has been eclipsed, however, by several other agricultural and nonagricultural products. In 2005 the annual production of wool was 519,660 metric tons. About half the country’s wool is produced in New South Wales and Western Australia.

In many areas, infestation by rabbits has hampered livestock grazing. Although rabbits accompanied the First Fleet that arrived in Australia in 1788, their first significant arrival occurred in 1859 at the behest of a landowner, Thomas Austin. The shipment of two dozen wild rabbits was released on his property near Geelong, Victoria. Within three years the rabbits had assumed the proportions of a potential pest. Subsequently, the rabbit population was estimated to have reached some 500 million, or about 50 times the human population of Australia. The viral disease myxomatosis, which attacks rabbits, was introduced as part of an eradication program in the early 1950s; except for in the drier inland areas, it proved a reasonably effective control for decades. The rabbit population increased markedly beginning in the 1980s and again became an economic and environmental threat. Biological control efforts included the release of the rabbit calicivirus in the mid-1990s.

Queensland is the leading cattle-producing state, containing more than 40 percent of the estimated 28.6 million head of cattle in Australia in 2006. The country produces both beef and dairy cattle. Dairying is now mainly concentrated in Victoria and Tasmania.

Although only 6 percent of the total area of Australia is under crop or fodder production, this acreage is of great economic importance. Wheat crops occupy about 50 percent of cultivated acreage, and barley, grain sorghum, oats, rice, maize, and grain lupines occupy about 27 percent. The bulk of the wheat crop is grown in the southeastern and southwestern regions of the country. Production in 2005 was 24.1 million metric tons. Hay and fodder crops also are important. Rice and cotton are grown in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (in New South Wales) and in the Northern Territory. Sugarcane production is mainly confined to the fertile coastal fringe of Queensland, the Ord River Irrigation Area in northwestern Western Australia, and the Richmond River district of northern New South Wales. Some 38.2 million metric tons of sugarcane were produced in 2005. Many types of fruit are grown, including grapes, oranges, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, and a wide array of tropical fruits, including bananas and pineapples.

Australia has been an important wine producer for many years, and locally produced wines have captured many prestigious international awards. Major wine-producing areas are found in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and southwestern Western Australia. The Barossa Valley in South Australia and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales have many well-established vineyards and wineries. Special varieties of grapes are grown, especially in the Murray Valley of Victoria, for the production of raisins.

Many of the fruit-growing and dairying regions of Australia rely heavily on irrigation. Over wide areas, the rising incidence of soil salinization threatens production. Experiments with more adaptive farming practices and biotechnologies—including tree plantations to help stabilize water tables, the introduction of salt-tolerant plants, and the extraction of salt from saline water aquifers—may reduce the impact of salinization and the use of expensive water resources.