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1986

DROUGHT MITIGATION IN REDUCING THE LOSSES BUT NOT REMOVING THE HAZARD

R. L. Heathcote Flinders University of

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Heathcote, R. L., " MITIGATION IN AUSTRALIA REDUCING THE LOSSES BUT NOT REMOVING THE HAZARD" (1986). Great Plains Quarterly. 979. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/979

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. DROUGHT MITIGATION IN AUSTRALIA REDUCING THE LOSSES BUT NOT REMOVING THE HAZARD

R. L. HEATHCOTE

In Australia technology has reduced but not eliminated the impact of drought and seems set : CHRONOLOGIES AND IMPACTS to do the same for the foreseeable CO2-in­ duced change. To document this Periods of unseasonally low rainfall caused claim, I wish here to consider first a brief considerable distress to the Australian aborig­ history of drought in Australia-pointing up ines prior to European settlement, and it is some parallels and contrasts with the North possible to provide a reasonably precise chron­ American experience; second, to outline the ology of in Australia from the mid­ various strategies (technological and nontech­ nineteenth century onward (Foley 1957; Gibbs nological) that have been adopted to try to and Maher 1967). The high variability of the mitigate drought; third, to review the current Australian rainfall and the frequency with thinking on the effect of increasing levels of which annual totals fall below the average has atmospheric CO2 on the Australian climate had significant impact upon the pastoral and and their releva9ce to agricultural and pastoral agricultural activities in Australia. activities through possible modification of the Droughts retarded land settlement in three incidence and intensity of drought; and finally periods. After a decade of relatively good to evaluate the history of technological adjust­ rainfalls and settlement expansion in the ments to drought stresses and to try to forecast 1870s, South Australia and to a lesser extent the success or failure of such adjustments to and suffered foreseeable climate change. droughts in the 1880s (Meinig 1962). A further widespread drought at the turn of the century A native of England, R. L. Heathcote is reader in affected the main pastoral areas of New South geography at the Flinders University of South Wales and , and the combination Australia. He is the author of Australia (1975), of economic depression and drought in the The Arid Lands (1985), and editor of Percep­ 1930s and early 1940s forced considerable tions of Desertification (1980). restructuring of the southwestern and south­ eastern Australia cereal producing areas (Proc­ [GPQ 6 (Summer 1986): 225-237.) tor 1940).

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The worst droughts in Australia have economic impacts that the technological de­ brought about losses to pastoralists and farm­ fenses have mainly been marshaled. ers. (Bates 1976; Lovett 1973; Scot