1.
Australia and New Zealand
 Background
– basic kinship between Australia and New Zealand
– similarities of population, cultural heritage, and
type of economy
– products of British colonization
– speak English, live under parliamentary forms of
government, schools patterns after British model
– both have aboriginal minorities surviving from
prewhite times
– close political and economic relations with US,
Japan, and Europe

2.
– both prosperous nations with per capital incomes
comparable to those of the small states of Europe
– Commonwealth ties with UK
 Australia’s Physical and Climatic
Characteristics
– Australia is country and island continent
– sparsely populated
– very arid climate with high temperatures and rapid
evaporation

3.
– Only 6% of Australia if cultivated today
– 14% classified as forests or woodlands
– 50% suitable for grazing
– 20% total wasteland in the interior
– despite small proportion of arable land, ratio of
crop-producing land to total population is favorable
– Australia is the size of the continental US but only
has 19 million people, fewer than live in California
– distribution of population follows arable land
– most Australians live in humid eastern highlands
and coastal plains and humid grasslands

4.
 Natural Regions of Australia
– humid eastern highlands
 only major highlands on east coast from Cape York to
Tasmania
 elevation under 3,000 feet
 only part of country with no drought
 Pacific winds bring much rain but rugged relief
prevents much agriculture
 south of Sydney has marine west coast climate
 north of Sydney has humid subtropical climate

5.
– tropical savannas of north Australia
 north Australia receives heavy rainfall in summer with
dry conditions in winter
 monsoon winds blow onshore in summer and offshore
in winter
 produces savanna vegetation with coarse grasses,
scattered trees, and patches of woodlands
 arid conditions, poor soils, and lack of rivers make
agriculture difficult

6.
– Mediterranean lands of southwest and south
 southwest corner of Australia and land around the
Spencer Gulf have a Mediterranean climate
 winter rain and summer drought
 Mediterranean crops do well here
 lack of highlands to catch moisture
 limited irrigation

7.
– dry interior
 huge interior of Australia is desert surrounded by a
fringe of semi arid grassland (steppe)
 covers half of the continent
 general elevation between 1,000 and 1,500 feet
 few mountain ranges too low to influence climate
 lowest part of interior around Lake Eyre Basin is driest
part of the country
 Murry-Darling Basin only area of river systems with
some irrigation possible

8.
Australia: Physical Map

9.
 Australian Economy
– Country’s leading exports are mining, grazing,
and agriculture
– large and dependable markets for Australian
primary products in Japan, US, and Europe
– cheap and efficient transportation by sea
– sheep and cattle raising important
 penal colony near Sydney in 1788
 difficult to grow crops but sheep did well
 by 19th C Australia was largest supplier or wool

10.
 sheep industry concentrated on western slop of
eastern highlands, border of New South Wales, and
western border of Victoria
 exports of wool have declined due to synthetics
 cattle ranching in north around Queensland
 exports of meat to Japan, US, and Europe
 construction of rural roads to coast aided exports
– wheat farming
 wheat is major export of Australia
 originally developed to help feed population around
Sydney
 State of South Australia now most important wheat
area

11.
 Adelaide is major port for wheat exports
 mechanization, railroads, scientific plant breeding, and
new markets helped wheat exports
 wheat and sheep often occupy same areas
 southwest corner near Perth second area of growth
 small labor force, large acreage, good yields per
worker make this an efficient industry for Australia
– dairy farming
 largest industry in terms of employment
 humid coastal plains of Queensland, New South
Wales, and Victoria

12.
– sugar production
 sugar industry begun on coastal plain of Queensland
in 19th C
 laborers imported from Melanesia to work fields
 formation of Commonwealth of Australia in 1901
led to repatriation of imported black labor in the
interests of preserving a “white Australia.”
 high protective tariffs on sugar preserved the
industry
 large estates divided up into family farms producing
sugar

13.
 Urbanization and Industrialization
– most Australians are city dwellers
– Sydney 3.7 million; Melbourne 3.1 million;
Brisbane 1.3 million; Perth 1.2 million and
Adelaide 1 million
– 40% of Australian population live in two largest
cities
– 85% of total Australian population live in urban
areas
– largest cities are all seaports

14.
– much of Australian internal trade moves by
coastal steamer
– problems with internal rail system because each
state built it own system with different gauge
tracks
– work underway to standardize rail gauge
– Australian government has encouraged
industrial development to diversify economy
– concern about national security, adequate
defense, self-sufficiency in case of war

15.
 Mineral Wealth
– mineral resources of continent relatively rich
– adequate supply of minerals for internal
development and export
– ample supply of coal in New South Wales and
Queensland
– steel plants near coal mines at Newcastle north
of Sydney and Wollongong to south
– coal is major export to Japan
– iron ore deposits close to coast facilitating
exports

16.
– Major reserves of bauxite near north
Queensland coast, Darling Range near Perth,
and on coast of Amhem Land
– Australia is world’s leading producer of bauxite
for aluminum production
– processed alumina exported overseas
– gold mining played large role in Australia’s
history as it did in California in 1849.
– Australia also source of copper, lead, titanium,
zinc, tin, silver, manganese, nickel, tungsten,
uranium, and diamonds.

17.
– Broken Hill Proprietary Company, Australia’s
largest private company, began as a mining
company now produces steel and other related
businesses
– deficiency in petroleum and natural gas though
small fields were developed in the 60’s and 70’s
– Australia dependent on overseas manufactured
products from Japan and US
– domestic manufacturers dependent on
government protection
– manufacturing encouraged to provide jobs and
security for Australian people

18.
– Government has encouraged immigration of
white, skilled, English-speaking people
– discriminatory policies against blacks and Asians
criticized by world community
– immigration more dependent on education and
English speaking ability since 1973
 New Zealand
– located 1,000 miles southeast of Australia
– New Zealand consists of two large islands- North
Island and South Island separated by the Cook
Strait with a combined population of 4 million
– North Island smaller with larger population

19.
New Zealand: Physical Map

20.
– population of New Zealand 4 million
– rugged terrain characterizes much of New
Zealand
– mountains of South Island dominated by the
imposing Southern Alps with many glaciated
summits above 10,000 feet
– mountains of North Island less imposing with
some peaks over 5,000
– lowland areas received more than 30 inches of
rain per year, evenly distributed throughout the
year.

21.
– rain shadow east of Southern Alps
– moderate temperatures with pervasive
maritime influence
– temperatures average 60-70 in summer and 40-
50 in winter
 New Zealand Economy
– climate idea for growing grass and raising
livestock
– pastures and meadows support a thriving sheep
and cattle industry

22.
– meat, wool, dairy products and hides account for
half of New Zealand’s exports
– pastoral exports have provides New Zealander’s
with a comfortable life with per capital incomes
equivalent to smaller European countries
– UK used to be the main market for NZ products
– UK decision to join the EEC hurt New Zealand
– NZ has tried to open new markets in Asia, US, and
Australia
– 1983 Agreement with Australia opened these
markets to NZ products

23.
– industrial and urban development growing as
the NZ government has tried to diversify the
economy
– modest reserves of coals, iron, and other
minerals.
– excellent hydroelectric potential
– good forest product exports
– urbanization somewhat smaller than in
Australia
– six urban populations with more than 100,000
people including Auckland 890,000; Wellington
375,000; and Christchurch 335,000

24.
– 1840 Treaty of Waitangi- supposed to protect
indigenous Maori people from land grabs
– Different interpretation of this treaty have
worked against Maori tribes who were deprived
of their historic territories
– NZ government set up the Waitangi Tribunal to
investigate land claims. Some compensation
provided to the Maoris, but not much.
– “Whale Rider”- NZ Maori girl seeks to learn
her traditions.