School of Geography - Theses
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ItemThe historical geography of Australian coastal shipping( 1974)This thesis has been made possible by the help and encouragement of many, particularly during my later school years when shipping first became a serious interest, and I should like to thank generally both friends and waterfront personnel who took me on board various vessels or around the Sydney and Melbourne Waterfront complexes. Particular thanks for help during the preparation of this work go to Dr. T, M. Perry for his patient supervision and advice, and thanks to Staff of the Latrobe Library, Melbourne, of the public reference libraries at Adelaide, Launceston and Brisbane, and of university libraries at Melbourne, Monash and Queensland, for access to bound volumes of newspapers and periodicals, to several shipping companies for information about their services and history, and in particular to the Adelaide Steamship Company, the Australian National Line, and the State Shipping Service of Western Australia and their ships' crews for arranging visits to their ships. I should also like to acknowledge access to the Green and Dufty collection of ship photographs for reference.
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ItemRepresentation in the Australian House of Representatives 1890-1901( 1975)This is a study of certain territorial aspects of representation in the first Australian House of Representatives. It consists of two parts. The first part considers the way in which representation was to be divided amongst the States and Territories of the Commonwealth. The second part considers the way in which one State (Victoria) was first divided into constituencies. It is possible to examine the allocation of representation to areas and the selection of electoral boundaries at a variety of scales; from that of the members of an international organisation to that of the ridings of a shire. At the smaller scales, existing boundaries are, in most cases, adopted as electoral boundaries. At the larger scales new electoral boundaries are, in most cases, delimited. Nevertheless, the allocation of representation to areas and the selection of electoral boundaries are always interconnected. Each part of this study consists of two sections. The first section describes what took place, what alternatives were suggested and what arguments were used on both sides (Chapter Two and Chapter Four). The second section is, in each case, an attempt to evaluate what took place. The mechanism for allocating representation to the States and Territories is evaluated in two ways; first by investigating its internal consistency and implications and secondly by comparing the Australian provisions with those of other federations (Chapter Three). The first Victorian electoral distribution is evaluated by comparing it with two alternative distributions prepared at about the same time, both of which were eventually rejected (Chapter Five). The three distributions are compared by applying a range of techniques which together provide a method of evaluating any electoral distribution, or at least any where political parties may readily be identified. This study is limited to the period 1890 to 1901. Its implications are not. The mechanism for allocating representation to the States and Territories was to apply to future apportionments as well as to that of 1900. The questions that were raised by the first federal electoral distribution in Victoria have been echoed time and again in Australia; previously, subsequently and elsewhere.
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ItemA study of some of the relationships between geography and policy in the Australian dairy industry( 1973)No abstract available
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ItemGeographic variation in Eucalyptus Globulus Labill: including studies on the distribution and taxonomy of the species( 1973)The distribution of Eucalyptus globulus Labill, is described and discussed. Geographic variation is demonstrated in a number of seedling and adult characters. This variation appears mainly to relate to climatic factors. The stepped clinal variation pattern characteristic of the species probably has a divergent origin, although the possibility of an introgressive origin cannot be excluded. A new taxonomic treatment of E. globulus, based on numerical analyses and the geographic variation data, reduces three taxa previously regarded as species to the subspecific level.
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ItemStudy of a quantitative method of delineating physical-geographic regions in interdisciplinary integrated survey: the grid-point method( 1975)Interdisciplinary surveys involve mapping physicalgeographic regions according to readily observable criteria for the purpose of assisting in making a variety of decisions about land use. Difficulties are associated with traditional surveys, which rely on aerial photographic interpretation and purposive sampling, due to the lack of a standardized, quantitative methodology. The grid-point method is proposed as a rigorous, quantitative approach and was applied in the Grampians north-east section (507 sq.km.), the upper Barwon River catchment (977 sq.km.), and on French Island (172 sq.kin.). Variables used reflect obvious distributions of landform, soil, and native vegetation, and quasi-random sampling patterns with circular sampling units and densities between 1 sampling unit per .89 and 2.42 sq.km. were employed. Landform data were gathered from contour maps, and soil samples and vegetation data were gathered in the field; Boil data were obtained by laboratory analyses. Data were subjected to principal components analysis, and standardized data were scored on the first three scaled and first three orthoreormalized vectors. Sampling units were classified on the basis of the scores and then regionalized by SYM�-V proximal mapping. These regionalizations provided a sound basis for physical-geographic description. Inherent features of the grid-point method overcame difficulties associated with traditional surveys. Statistical analyses indicated that sampling densities as low as 1 sampling unit per 4 sq.km. are sufficient to generate interpretable regionalizations of the Grampians north-east section. Comparisons of regionalizations with the land systems map of this area produced by traditional methods reveals that the grid-point method is capable of generating regions similar in level of generalization to the land systems. With respect to selected variables,the regionalizations are in the majority of cases of higher quality than the land systems map. The cost of survey at 1 sampling unit per .97 sq.km. of this area is within the limits of most survey organizations and estimates for surveys at densities of 1 sampling unit per 1.14, 1.51, 2.07, 3.49, 4.15, and 9.74 sq.km. reveal that although there is a significant reduction in cost with decrease in sample size, an economy of scale factor operates. Because the grid-point method is orientated to field data gathering, it is least expensively applied in study areas characterized by undulating plains as well as flat plains and hills, which are for the most part cleared with a dry surface. Estimates for five study areas previously surveyed by the Soil Conservation Authority indicate that the cost of application of the grid-point method at sampling densities of 1 sampling unit per 1 ?q.km. and lower is not excessive. Efficiency of the grid-point method may be enhanced by purposivesystematic sampling near roads and vehicle tracks and purposive stratification of the study area prior to application. The grid-point method should be applied in interdisciplinary surveys carried out in south-eastern Australia. Applications should take the form of reco??aissan?e surveys involving relatively low density sampling. The resulting regionalizations, although probably somewhat coarse, should provide a sound framework for general pbysical-geographic description.
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ItemThe development of the Port of Melbourne 1877-1971( 1974)The main purpose of this study is to describe and explain the physical and commercial development of the Port of Melbourne in the period 1877-1971. The year 1877 has been selected for the beginning of the study because it was the year in which the Melbourne Harbor Trust was established. The port has been modified in several ways since then and is now one of the most modern and best-equipped in the world. In tracing the port's evolution for nearly a century, the writer has tried to examine those factors, both human and physical, which have influenced its growth - world economic and political conditions, economic activities in its hinterland, policy decisions of the port authority and the national government and site conditions. The study does not encompass merely the physical development of the port, but also changes and trends in its trade and shipping. In addition, an attempt has been made to investigate those problems connected with the port's development. The growth and expansion of the manufacturing industries in the port district have also been considered. As well as these, the physical setting of the port, the discovery of Port Phillip Bay, Hobson's Bay and the River Yarra, the geology of the Yarra Delta, the condition of the port before 1877 and the genesis of the Melbourne Harbor Trust have been briefly referred to.
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ItemThe geomorphology of Mallacoota Inlet, East Gippsland( 1977)Mallacoota Inlet is an estuary located 537 kilometres by road east of Melbourne (Fig. 1.1). The estuary occupies a drowned river valley cut by the Genoa and Wallagaraugh Rivers at lower sea levels during the Pleistocene era. Mallacoota Inlet has a total shoreline length of 85 kilometres, a surface area of 25 x 106 square metres and a volume at low water of approximately 73 x 10 cubic metres, and is consequently the largest estuary or estuarine lagoon occurring east of the Gippsland Lakes. Two major hydrographic provinces may be differentiated within the Mallacoota system: (1) the basins, and (2) the linear channels. Three major basins comprise Mallacoota Inlet; the Upper Lake, the Lower Lake, and the North East Arm. A further, smaller basinal area is Double Creek Arm (Fig. 1.2). These basins differ in depth and sediment characteristics, and both these characteristics are related to the proximity to, and the source of, sediment within the Mallacoota system. The Upper Lake is a broad, shallow (less than three metres), and relatively flat bottomed basin with margins which are for the most part relatively gently sloping (Figs. 1.3 and 1.4). This basin, being closest to the point of river discharge, receives the greatest amount of fluvial sediment. On the other hand, the North East Arm is a relatively deep (up to six metres) flat bottomed basin with steeply sloping margins
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ItemAn investigation into the methodology of projecting the future population of Melbourne( 1979)The study of population projection has always been of considerable interest to politicians, planners, economists and other professionals from all walks of life. Unfortunately, up until now, most of the studies done in Australia have been restricted to the nation as a whole rather than areas at the regional level. This thesis is intended to fill-at least partially - this long standing void and should be useful to anyone who is interested in the techniques of projecting the population below the national level. The thesis attempts to investigate the methodology of projecting the future population of Melbourne. It is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 contains the text of the research and the bibliography, and Volume 2 contains the relevant tabulations and appendices. There are six chapters in Volume 1. Chapter 1 sets out the aim, scope and structure of the thesis, and Chapter 2 presents a review of the past methodologies in projections. This . is then followed by an examination of the three aspects of population growth (i.e. births, deaths and migration) in Chapters 3 to -5. Each of these chapters could be considered as an independent study in itself. However, these parts are all related and are better understood in the context of the whole volume- than as separate entities. For the reader who is primarily interested in the results of the projections, the last chapter (Chapter 6) gives a summary of the assumptions, procedures and findings of the projections.
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ItemThree shopping streets, 1890 -1970: a study of changing functions( 1975)This thesis is a study of shopping centres in terms of their changing functions.l The examination of the general long term trends from 1890-1970 as well as the short term patterns within five 20 year periods of change in the commercial functions in three selected shopping streets is the objective of this study. Since the changes, representing one aspect of the urban environment, were investigated through time, this work falls in the category of Urban Historical Geography. It is necessary to emphasize here that this study is not intended to be an examination of the actual structure of shopping centres, but rather to look at changes in their functions during the period for which reliable data is available. The changes occurring in the types and numbers of commercial establishments as shopping centres developed are traced rather than the physical structure and size of shops, the morphology of the shopping centres or their service areas. Moreover, this work does not profess to expound the theory of retailing patterns or distributions, since this has previously been studied by many urban and retail geographers.3 It is a research work, hoping to provide better understanding of the development of specific shopping centres after their initial formation.