- Title
- The outports of New South Wales: a paradigm of regionalism
- Creator
- Gallagher, James Edward
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 1979
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This thesis examines the phenomenon of agitation for the establishment of deepsea port outlets in non-metropolitan New South Wales during the century after 1860. Aspirations for such development persisted throughout the entire period throughout the entire period although, for a number of reasons, they seem to have been more intense and the goals were pursued more vigorously at certain times when events favoured the revival of the idea. Although often espouses actively by inland townsmen, the belief that great progress and prosperity would follows the construction of harbour works or cross-country railway lines from the coast to the interior was centred mainly on the coastal port towns. The struggle for possession of the potential hinterlands by the potential deepsea ports was fought on several fronts, chief among which was the political front where individuals, town organisations and regional pressure groups sought to gain Parliamentary sanction for their own particular port and railway schemes. It was an unequal and frustrating contest for the agitators, however, because the central place which Sydney held in the trade of the Colony already in 1860 continued to grow in importance as the city population multiplied until, by 1890, Sydney's dominance over the outports was ll but complete. After about 1890, the struggle for new deepsea port development became increasingly the struggle of vision against a reality in which almost all of New South Wales had become the hinterland of Port Jackson through the instrumentality of the railways which radiated from Sydney and of the coastal shipping fleets which centred their operations on Sydney. Townsmen continued to agitate for decisive Government intervention for the implementation of a policy of transport decentralisation but action never came, through promised on many occasions. Although there were some victories for Newcastle, almost the only decentralisation of export trade which developed occurred where specialised cargoes such as coal or steel products were involved. This thesis identifies and examines a number of key elements in the story. One was the towns themselves whose dreams of aggrandisement, often mutually exclusive, by raising parochial jealousies hindered the implementation of effective strategies for co-ordinating action. Another was the part played by the coastal shipping fleets both in centralising trade on Sydney and also in discouraging intrusion by interstate shipowners interested in establishing themselves in the trade of the outports distant from Sydney. A third was the role of the Public Works engineers and port experts in influencing the direction which development might possibly take through their understanding of the problems associated with port construction. Yet another element in the story was the reality of political life where the matter of decentralisation of transport facilities remained contentious and therefore, in practice, politically untouchable. The thesis seeks to explain why the idea of deepsea port development has persisted for so long outside the metropolitan area and why, in spite of a century's agitation, the results are so meagre. In the process of addressing itself to such questions the thesis also provides some understanding of the society which has developed in the towns along the New South Wales coast and of the relationships which have evolved between central government and the regions.
- Subject
- agitation; deepsea port outlets; New South Wales
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1312560
- Identifier
- uon:22429
- Rights
- Copyright 1979 James Edward Gallagher
- Language
- eng
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