Extended Response Revision

Describe the factors causing change in relation to Australia's communities.

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Gulargambone is one of the several rural communities in Australia that are faced with change. Gulargambone is a small rural town located near the Castlereagh River, halfway between Gilgandra and Coonamble in north western New South Wales. The population of Gulargambone is extremely low, in total the population of Gulargambone is only 1072! The small population of the town makes finding a job hard as  companies don't want to waste money on an area were they will only get 1000 people buying their product. The age variety in Gulargambone is mostly young children and adults aged 50+. The reason why there are less teenagers, young adults and adults in their 30's if that the teenagers want a sound education and move away to a larger town, young adults seek job opportunities and adults in their 30's want to start a family near a major town. 

There are a wide variety of factors which are affecting the rural community of Gulargambone. The main factors that are affecting change include, drought, mechanisation and technology in agriculture and loss of services. Firstly drought if affecting the community of Gulargambone. Drought is a regular occurrence in many rural communties, drought starves the local community and causes economic hardship for the community which in turn effects businesses, jobs and the local economy of the town. Secondly, the mechanisiation and technology in agriculture has affected the rural community of Gulargambone. The introduction of giant machines which can harvest 30 hectares of crop in one day reduce jobs. Jobs which once needed hard labour now only need one machine and one driver to do all the hard work, people lose their job and which in turn effects the economy of Gulargambone. Finally, the loss of services in the rural community of Gulargambone has affected the local community. The services which have been lost in Gulargambone include, petrol stations, mechanics, newsagent, butchery, cafes and banks. These vital services resulted in shops fronts being deserted and meant that the rural community now had to drive vast distances to reach basic supplies.

The rural community of Gulargambone has been affected in a wide variety of ways however the local community eventually decided enough is enough and took the productive action of responding to these changes. The community of Gulargambone transformed the rundown cinema into a community meeting area with a newsagent, cafe and shops, all run by volunteers. The post office which was threatened with closure is now the first publicly volunteer run post office in Australia. The changes described above had affected the local community but through hard work and determination the rural community of Gulargambone responded to these changes.

Page 117 Questions

1-12af

1) One federal department that helped with funding was the Department of Transport & Regional Services and one state department which helped with funding was the NSW department of State & Regional Development.

2) Two government programs that Gulargambone have used to receive funding are the Regional Partnerships Program and the Rural Transactions Centres Program

3) A rural transaction centre provides funds to help small communities establish their own RTC to provide access to services like banks and Medicare

4) The services which the GRTC offers are Giropost, Centrelink, Medicare, Internet and Reliance Credit Union along with the usual postal services.

5) Community groups have responded to change in Gulargambone positively. The Community has lobbied government and NGO's for funding and assistance. Without the proactive attitude of the community Gulargambone would not have the services that are available today.

6) Three examples of strategies the Gulargambone Flying Ahead group have adopted in response to changes are the two eight to eight project, construction and installation of the corrugated iron galah sculptures and the adoption of a town loge and the renovation of the old picture theatre.

7) The purpose of the two eight two eight project was to successfully renovate the picture theatre into a vibrant and multi - faced community centre.

8) Some examples of active citizenship include the renovation of the theatre, the running of the cafe and the running of the post office.

9) The role of the local government in the implentation of the Gulargambone Flying Ahead Program was to firstly lobby for the funds needed and to oversee the project making sure every procedure was followed. Secondly, the projects which have been finished could not have gone ahead without the support and backing of the local council.

10) The changes made to the old picture theatre include repainting the building to create a vibrant and appealing character and to turn the inside from run down into an operating cafe.

11) The important of active citizenship is essential to the survival of Gulargambone. Gulargambone would not have been able to survive or continue to survive without the volunteers from the community who give up their time to run the cafe and the post office so that others may enjoy these services. Active citizenship is essential for the survival of small town communities like Gulargambone.

12a) The news article is about the transformation which has taken place in Gulargambone.
    b) The causes of decline in Gulargambone are that shops were closing, drought effected produce and a downturn in the rural economy.
    c)
    d) The hint that the post office would close enraged the community resulting in the post office becoming the first ever post office in Australia being community owned and run.
    e) The post office is so important as it is a place of communication and a meeting point. It allows the residents to send and receive mail, to buy goods and to talk to the local residents.
    f) The projects which the community has completed include the restoration of the main street, the renovation of the picture theatre and to improve the feel of the town.

Chapter 4: Gulargambone facing change

1) Rural decline is when there is a loss of population, employment & opportunities in a rural area

2) Gulargambone is a small rural town located on the Castlereagh River, halfway between Gilgandra and Coonamble

3)  atmosphere - it is a dry climate low rainfall
     hydrosphere - the amount of water which is low
     lithosphere - low terrain, flat with some small mounds

4) Soldier Settler Blocks were blocks of land set aside for returned soldiers from WW2, soldiers were young and brought along families

5) Agriculture and Forestry

6) 1072 and 625 in the surrounding area

7) Community Development Employment Program

8bi) North West
   ii) North North East
  iii) West

9a)i
    ii)
 b)i 6253
  ii 6353
  iii 6152
 c)i
  ii)
 d)i  Qutie low, ruins of buildings
     ii  There is an increase in homesteads, ruins and buildings

10) 4.5 has the largest scale as firstly, 4.6 and 4.30 do not have a scale and that 1cm = 250,000 cm

Page 113 Questions

1) Drought causes economic hardship for the agricultural population which has an effect on businesses ,jobs and the local economy

2) Neighboring grazers bought out the soldiers land. This resulted in farm areas increasing but the number of farms decreasing.

3) The soldier settlers selling their farms, collapse of the wool industry and rising costs in agriculture.

4) Mechanisation has increased the rate of unemployment as machines can now harvest up to 150 hectares a day where as older style versions could only harvest 30 hectares a day. The advancement in technology had resulted in job losses occurring.

5) Lifestyle factors such as the improvement in roads and transport have contributed to a decline in small country towns as the new roads bypass the small towns. Roads and transport enable people to access the larger towns which have lower prices.

6) Three pieces of evidence which show rural decline in Gulargambone are the loss of services - petrol stations, cafes, banks etc, population decline and ageing and lifestyle expectations.

8) The population trend over the past 50 years has fallen dramatically. Since the 1960's only 400-500 people have lived in Gulargambone.

9) The population pyramid shows exactaly who lives in Gulargambone. Younger children stay in Gulargambone as they live with their families however as school is finishing they look to getting a degree and leave Gulargambone to seek work. The age group of 20-30 is low as people have completed their degree and are working and live near towns, they start a family and live near a town. After their children have left home and the elderly are looking to retire they remember their quiet rural town of Gulargambone and they return home to see out their days.

10a) The trend in enrollments has dropped rapidly since the 1960's, parents want their children to get a sound education and move towards larger towns with better education programs.
b)

11) One social factor to explain why the enrollments are low is that parents want to start their family near a major town with a firm education system. One economic impact to display the low enrollments is that the economy of Gulargambone is quite low, not many jobs besides agriculture, so children often work on the farms to help provide a living for their family. One environmental factor is drought

Mapping Skills 2006

Source A-C
What is the predicted population growth rate in 2030?

The predicted growth rate in 2030  is around 0.6%

What is the predicted population change in 2030?

The predicted population change in 2030 is 60 million

What region of the world is predicted to have the greatest gross increase in percentage between 1800 and 2050?

Asia

Source D

How many males and females are there in Ethiopia for the age range 60-64 in the year 2000?

1.5 million

How many males and females are there in Italy for the age range 60-64 in the year 2000?

4 million

Why do you think that there is such a difference between these two countries?

Italy has a higher standard of living compared to Ethiopia. In Italy there are many people who have access to high levels of health care, excellent food and clean water.

Source E
What is located at GR831979? Dunbogan Beach

What is the highest point at AR7997? Camden Haven

What is the contour interval for the map? 10 meters
What physical feature is located at GR820975? Wet Swamp
Approximately how far is the Laurieton Sporting Complex from Hanleys Point on the Camden Haven Inlet? 1.25 km
Give the GR for the North Haven Public School. GR 831003
What is the highest point at Camden Head? Give the height and GR.                                              Laurieton at 79 meters at GR 848987

Go Back to Where You Came From

1) My initial reaction to the show is how some of my fellow countrymen/women do not except other cultures. It is wrong, we are all the same, the only difference is our beliefs and language.

2) 1.5% of immigrants are refugees

3) The reason why refugees who arrive illegally in Australia are a topical issue is that many people are afraid of the refugees, the refugees will work at a lower price then a normal Australian, they fear they will lose their job. The reason why it is such a political topic is that politicians are trying to decide were to process and detain illegal refugees not on Australian soil, recently the Gillard government's plan to use Malaysia as a processing area failed as the High Court of Australia ruled that Malaysia was not suitable for processing. Since that ruling, there has been a lot of attention thrown at the politicians and members of the High Court of Australia.

4) Australia ranks 18th in the world in accepting refugees, it was quite low compared to the USA and France.

5) I feel every person in the world has the obligation to help refugees who have fled war torn, corrupt countries. We are all equal, only through wealth we are different.

6) In Australia there is no extra support given to refugees. Refugees receive the same centrelink payments the less fortunate Australians receive.

7) 11 Asian nations have signed the UN  Refugee Convention

8) For refugees in Malaysia they do not have the rights of Refugees under the UN Convention. In Malaysia refugees are not allowed to work, they have to find a way of earning money and all ways are illegal.