RECORDING TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE O r ... - Wheatbelt NRM

IMPACTS OF EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT
T
he consequence of European settlement had been that land use and management
practices have not been in harmony with natural systems. When European settlers
arrived they had no insight or understanding into the special characteristics of
Australia’s environments and how they could be used in a sustainable way. The farming
systems that were adopted did not take into account the long term impact on the soils which
are generally shallow, weathered, contain little vegetative matter and store substantial salt
deposits, or store highly variable water resources. Nor was there an understanding of the
relationship between vegetative cover and the quality of soil and water resources so that
extensive clearing became the norm. (Flugge, 2003)
RURAL VISIONS
There is much to be done. The huge jarrah and red gum trees, aided and abetted by the less
significant blackboys, with gum and paper-bark trees bar the way to agriculture and these
must be cleared. (War Cry, Salvation Army newspaper, 1900)
More than 18 million ha of woodlands and forest ‚ an area the size of England and Scotland‚
have been cleared for farms in Western Australia.
Most of this land is in the Wheatbelt, a vast farming region that stretches from Geraldton to
Esperance. http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/exhibitions/online/walap_start/6_Wheatbelt.html
The following images show the impact of colonization on Noongar budjar. Some of the
effects include salinity, destruction of natural vegetation which has meant the habitats of
native animals and other wildlife have been destroyed. Natural waterways are now saline or
have dried up.
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