Australian Settlement Patterns

Despite the stereotypical Australian image being one of a rural setting the majority of Australia’s population is and always has been most concentrated in urban centres and capital cities. Forster refers to this Metropolitan Primacy as one of the most striking features of the Australian settlement pattern (Forster, 2004). The history of the development and urbanisation of Australia and its cities has been a unique process, which does not necessarily conform to the process seen in other countries. To fully understand modern Australian cities one must analyse their unique past and development.

The development of Australian cities occurred in an almost opposite direction of what was seen in other developing countries at the time. During
the time of colonisation of Australia industrialisation was occurring across Europe. European cities underwent rapid expansion in their levels of urbanisation. From 1801 the level of urbanisation in England and Wales in urban settlements over 5000 people increased by almost 70%. This rising level of urbanisation was mainly attributed to movement of the rural population into urban centres. The reason Forster cites for this large movement of people into urban settlements is employment declining in agriculture and growing in manufacturing and commerce (Forster 2004). Throughout the 19th century the development of Australian cities occurred in a rather different way. As European settlers arrived on Australian shores coastal cities were established initially, followed later by expansion into rural Australia. This meant that Australian cities developed so rapidly that by the end of the nineteenth century Australia’s level of urbanisation was among the highest in the world. By 1891 t 49 per cent of the country’s population lived in urban settlements of over 2500 inhabitants (Frost 1990). This alone is one of the definitive features of the Australian settlement pattern.

Throughout the majority of the 1800s transport between these urban settlements was achieved via horse drawn transport or coastal shipping, within cities most people travelled by walking. Colonial capitals were compact with housing clustered within walking distance to city centres or employment opportunities such as factories and docksides (Forster 1990)

By 1854 rail networks were being developed and by Federation, in 1901, all states except western Australia were linked by railways.
(Australian government department of infrastructure and transport 2013) The extensive railway network in Australia lead to a centralised layout in its cities and to the development of, what Forster terms, the public transport city from the walking city. Forster states that the residential areas of the city developed along the train and tram lines originating from a city centre leading to a star shaped settlement pattern. The reduced travel time made possible by these new transport options meant that there was now more choice available, for those who could afford it, on where they could live. Forster regards this as the establishment of the residential suburb and as it occurred so did residential segregation. The development of the transport city in Australia further highlights the unique character of Australian cities compared to what was seen in Europe. Australia had a large middle class and higher wages were seen in the working class according to Forster. The extensive public transport available and the abundance of free land surrounding the cities meant cheaper land and easy, quick transport from residential areas to city centres and other places of employment despite the increased distance. By the end of the nineteenth century approximately 50 per cent of Australians were owner-occupiers compared with only 10 per cent in the United
Kingdom (Forster 2004).

Following the Second World War Australia underwent unprecedented economic growth and population expansion. It was during this “boom” period that the face of Australian cities was again changed. Before this long boom private automobile ownership was considered a luxury for the rich but Forster states that ‘by the early 1970s there were almost 500 cars per 1000 persons’. The automobile had arrived and would have a significant impact on the urban development of Australian cities. The automobile city was one of great urban sprawl. The star shaped settlement pattern of the transport city was replaced, as new land was made available by the car. Forster discusses the change in Australian cities and states that ‘our cities sprawled rapidly outwards’ and the cities such as “Sydney and Melbourne each grew to cover a larger area than London, a city with four times their population”. Manufacturing then followed the pattern and moved from urban centres out to suburban areas where new cheap sites for factories were located. Typically low-density housing used by the workers surrounded these factories. Some examples that Forster offers are Broadmeadows in Melbourne and Elizabeth in Adelaide. Retail was next to follow. The ability to travel further to shop meant that local stores became obsolete and large suburban shopping centres developed. According to Forster with the introduction of the automobile ‘the whole structure of Australian cities changed’ the centralised Australian city was ‘replaced by sprawling, amorphous, decentralised, automobile cities’.

Australian had just undergone a period of exceptional growth socially, economically and culturally and many issues in regard to Australian cities had arisen from this unprecedented growth. This lead to a period in the 1970s referred to as urban restructuring. The long boom had come to an end and business and government in Australia had to undergo economic restructuring in order to ‘restore profits and growth by changing patterns of investment, adopting new technology and changing the organization of labour and production’ (Forster 2004). Following the international economic crisis in the early 1970s Australia’s manufacturing industry was significantly weakened. Transnational manufacturing companies seized the opportunity to move to countries with lower wages and more a profitable position. The economic structure of Australian cities changed and jobs in finance and business grew while jobs in manufacturing, construction, transport and electricity all declined (Forster 2004). There was also considerable demographic change in Australia during this time. When the Fraser federal government was elected immigration increased as refugee programs bought people from South East Asia, Latin America, Lebanon and the Philippines. Australian cities became progressively more ethnically diverse. All these factors lead to what Soja et. al (1989) referred to as the postmodern Australian city. A city, which Forster explains, is characterized by diversity, change, lack of order and buildings of contrasting functions.

Australian Cities have a distinctive character shaped by our unusual development and history.
The evolution of Australian cities from walking cities, to public transport cities, to automobile cities and eventually to the post modern city has been an extensive process that differs from what has occurred elsewhere throughout the world. The urban development of Australian cities has and always will be effected by global social and economic trends but in ways that are dependant on our history and thus the unique quality of Australian cities will always be
preserved.

References:

Forster, C 2004, Australian Cities: Continuity and Change, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria.

Frost, L 1990, Australian Cities in Comparative View, McPhee Gribble, Ringwood.

Australian government department of infrastructure and transport, 2013, History of Rail in Australia http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/rail/trains/history.aspx Sonja. E., Morales, R. & Wolff, G. 1983, ‘Urban Restructuring: an Analysis of Social and Spatial Change in Los Angeles’, Economic Geography, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 195-230.