The Rural Riverina and the Urban Perth - Essay Example

The Rural Riverina and the Urban Perth Rachna Jalan The Rural Riverina and the Urban Perth Introduction: A study of the Riverina and the Perth located respectively in the eastern and western parts of Australia divulge a beautiful blend of rural and urban environmental factors. The rustic region of Riverina represented as "Riverina ' naturally!" in the branding statement of Riverina Regional Development Board (n.d.b) when compared with the metropolitan area of Perth, the capital and the largest city of Western Australia, reveal an interesting scenario of assorted environments (Perth 2007). Map of Riverina (region), New South Wales, Perth Map, Western Australia Australia Population Structure The population of Riverina in the year 2001 was 162,848 (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a) while that of Perth was estimated to be 1,325,392 in the same census (Perth 2007). Riverina's inland cities of Albury, Griffith, Wagga Wagga and the adjacent rural towns and hamlets reveal considerable variations in the regional population. In 2005 when Wagga Wagga region of Riverina projected a population of 58,055 ranking 29th in the list of populated cities in Australia (Wagga Wagga 2007), the Perth region ranked 4th with a population of 1,477,800 and a population density of 274.4 per sq. km in the same year (Perth 2007). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the Perth metropolitan area alone accounted for around 73% of Western Australia's population (Department of Local Government 2005). Age Group In Perth people over the age of 65+ were found to be the fastest growing age group in 1996-2001 (Department of Local Government 2005). Considerable growth was also observed in the 0-14 year age group during the same inter-census period (Department of Local Government 2005). The picture was just a bit different in the Riverina region where a steady rise in the number of people in the age group of 30+ mostly paved the way for growth in the region (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a). The fall in the population of the younger age groups mainly below 30 was overcome to a certain extent by the consistent rise in the older demographics (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a). Age-wise population distribution of Percentage of Residents in 0-14 and 65+ Riverina and New South Wales (2001) Age Cohorts in Perth Years 0-14 65+ 1996 21.5 10.8 2001 20.6 11.2 (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a) (Department of Local Government 2005) From the above assorted forms of data, the age-wise population of Riverina and Perth may be roughly illustrated from the following: Age-wise population distribution in Perth and Riverina in 2001 In Griffith region of Riverina where the 0-14 year age group reflected the maximum contribution to total growth, the 15-64 year age group chiefly signifying the working age population continued to grow considerably (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005a). Ethnicity and Religious Affiliations Both Riverina and Perth share common religious affiliations. Christianity was found to be the most commonly reported religion. Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Salvation Army, Churches of Christ, Uniting Church and other divisions of Christianity revealed to be predominant followed with Buddhism and small percentage of Islam, Hinduism and Judaism in Perth (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1994) as well as Riverina along with all the other regions of New South Wales (Community Relations Commission n.d.). Around 56% of youth population in Perth was found to be Christians, 2.9% were affiliated with Buddhism whereas 24% of them had no religious affiliations at all (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005c). Indigenous and non-indigenous sites of Cultural significance Both the Riverina and the Perth regions exhibit some of Australia's richest cultural heritage. When compared, it becomes extremely difficult to rank the two regions in order of their cultural possessions. Almost every town in Riverina owns heritage buildings and historical stories (New South Wales Holidays n.d.). Wagga Wagga - The town proudly stands out for the beauty of its Botanical Gardens exhibiting 9 vibrant flowers, striking hothouse flora and rainforest (Australian Tourism Net 2006a). Another park in the town includes a zoo and a formal council chambers house (Australian Tourism Net 2006a). An interesting art gallery also highlights the cultural richness of the town (Australian Tourism Net 2006a). Other innumerable culture and recreational facilities include National Art Glass Gallery, Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre, Riverina Theatre Company, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens, Williams Hill Model Railway, Victory Memorial Gardens, CSU Cheese Factory, and Museum of the Riverina, Wagga Wagga RAAF Museum, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Wagga Country Club, and Country Golf Club (Wagga Wagga 2007). The town is worth visiting for witnessing Wagga Wagga Gold Cup (horse race), Group 9 (Rugby), Miniature Railway, Tooheys Town Plate Day, Wagga Wagga Jazz Festival, Unsound (music), National Horse Festival, Wagga Wagga Food and Wine Festival, Riverina Rev Fest, Wagga Wagga Show, Lake to Lagoon Fun Run ( Wagga Wagga 2007). Albury's Regional Art Gallery in Albury/Wodonga region is an example of the region's rich culture (Australian Tourism Net 2006b). The Hay region is renowned for the writer Joseph Furphy who worked as a bullocky (Riverina 2007). His pen-name was used by Tom Collins the writer of Such is Life which was set in the Riverina (Riverina 2007). The day to day lives and mate-ship of the residents of Riverina was portrayed in the poems of Hartigan, a Roman Catholic priest who after spending a considerable time in Thurgoona and Berrigan, became the parish priest of Narrandera in 1917 (Riverina 2007).Tom Roberts, the renowned artist and the chief member of the Heidelberg School stayed for a while on a sheep station near Brocklesby before and during the painting of his renowned artwork, Shearing the Rams, which is currently present in the National Gallery of Victoria (Riverina 2007). While Riverina's cultural heritage is signified by umpteen numbers of historical artworks, literatures and museums, countless musical concerts and performances contribute to the richness of Perth's culture. In Perth, exclusive art collection of Western Australia is held by Visual Art, The Western Australian Art Gallery which also acts as a host to various exhibitions (Perth 2007). The Norm Lindsay exhibition held in 2006 experienced huge number of visitors (Perth 2007). Performing Arts The Perth Concert Hall is the principle venue for holding various theatres, ballets, operas and orchestral performances (Perth 2007). Other popular venues are Perth Convention Centre, His Majestics, Kings Park, Subiaca Oval, Clancys Tavern in Fremantle and Whiteman Park (Perth 2007). The Hayloft, the home of West Australia's Folk music in West Perth remained a desired site (Perth 2007). One of the cultural events of the city is the Perth International Festival of the Arts along with music (Perth 2007). Local, State and Federal Political Representatives At the federal level the Riverina is looked upon in two divisions of the Australian House of Representatives (Riverina 2007)). These are the Division of Riverina encompassing the Murrumbidgee Valley and the Division of Farrer signifying the region along the Murray River (Riverina 2007). In 2007, the Riverina is being governed by the National Party and the Farrer by the Liberal Party (Riverina 2007)). Both the parties together govern the country (Riverina 2007). At the local political level there exists a host of Local Government authorities in Riverina fro big metropolis such as Wagga Wagga, Albury and Griffith to low populated areas such as Urana, Canargo and Jerildrie (Riverina 2007). The three Regional Organisation of Councils (ROC) s, Murray ROC, Riverina ROC and Riverina Eastern ROC look after the whole area (Riverina 2007). Since October 1998, Kay Elizabeth Hull has remained a participant of the National Party of the Australian House of Representatives (Kay Hull 2006). She has been representing the Division of Riverina, New South Wales and was a member of the Wagga Wagga City Council between 1991 and 1998 (Kay Hull 2006). The Parliament of Western Australia along with its governor exists in the metropolitan city of Perth (Perth 2007). The metropolitan city of Perth has been divided into more than 30 local government bodies (Perth 2007). Sittings with permanent Federal and Family Court activities are organised on a regular basis by the country's High Court in the city of Perth (Perth 2007). The city is home to Supreme Court, the state's highest court along with the district and local courts (Perth 2007). Main Land Uses/Industries and number of people employed in those land uses Agriculture, wholesale trade and manufacturing primarily dominate the low growing industrial market of the Riverina region offering huge employment opportunities (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a). Since 1991, innumerable the retail trade sector experienced the highest rise in employment whereas the government administration and defence industry underwent the largest fall (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a). Industry 2001 Industry 2001 Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 17.8% Communication Services 1.0% Mining 0.1% Finance & Insurance 1.7% Manufacturing 10.2% Property and Business Services 5.6% Electricity, Gas and Water Supply 1.2% Government Administration & Defence 5.4% Construction 5.4% Education 7.5% Wholesale Trade 5.8% Health & Community Services 8.0% Retail Trade 14.7% Cultural & Recreational Services 1.1% Accommodation, Cafes & Restaurants 4.6% Personal & Other Services 3.4% Transport & Storage 4.2% Non-classifiable & non-stated 2.5% (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a) Around 11% of the Perth metropolitan area is occupied by the manufacturing sector (Kwinana Industries Council 2002). Perth's industrial sectors like that of finance, insurance, health and community services are clearly revealed (Kwinana Industries Council 2002). The retail sector covering jobs in supermarkets, grocery and department stores offers huge employment opportunities for the youths in Perth (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005b). The youth employment in Perth may be understood as around 33% in retail trade, 2% in government administration and defence, 1% in agriculture, forestry and fishing industries, 1% in mining industry, 10% in accommodation, cafes, restaurants and tourism industries, 6% in construction and 9% in manufacturing industry (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005b). The land-use of Perth Central Area can be understood as 61% office offering 60% employment, Health and Community Services involving huge staff, 56% of residential floor-space, and 13% of shop/retail floor-pace with 14% retail employment (Ministry For Planning 1997). The significant fall in the consumption of floor-space of manufacturing, storage, other retail, health and community services, residential and utilities are followed by a considerable rise in consumption of floor-space by the service industry, shop/retail, office and entertainment (Ministry For Planning 1997). Hence, retail trade remains the common steadily growing sector with rising employment in both Riverina and Perth. Among the other sectors where agriculture and manufacturing exist as the principle land-uses in Riverina, Perth dominates in service industry, office and entertainment (Ministry For Planning 1997). Conclusion From the above discussion we can well understand the mishmash of similar and different environmental factors of absolutely two different regions of Australia, the rural Riverina and the urban Perth. The alikeness as well as the diverse social, political and land-use environments of the two regions can hence be comprehended. 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