Europeans and the Australian Environment

When Europeans arrived and finally settled in Australia as a new British colony, they were confronted by an ‘alien’ and unfamiliar land which would have no doubt frightened them for reasons of shelter, safety and sustenance. There have been many interpretations as to their response and actions taken, including both criticism and inspiration.

Historian Gaynor contends that new European settlers were intimidated by their surrounds and sort comfort in their memories of home, in turn introducing European flora and fauna to replicate the homes that they had left. Some were for sensible and sustainable reasons, such as the introduction of sheep which became an excellent food source and export through the wool industry. However, this is also seen by Gaynor as a negative, through the vast environmental damage where “sheep would pulverise topsoil, decimate vegetation, and contribute to the extinction of medium-sized marsupials over much of semi-arid Australia”, although she does use some historiography in pointing out that there is much debate over the issue of whether the damage was immediate or only emerging as sheep numbers soared. On the other hand, a large majority of introduced species of flora and fauna was for the sake of pleasure, such as the decision to import several rabbits by Thomas Austin for the simple but inane reason of game hunting which would leave lasting devastation upon the natural environment. Gaynor seems to be fairly sympathetic to the new Australian citizens in their naïve and unethical approach to their surrounds, pointing out that while ‘axe wielding’ pioneers were clearing their surrounding environment, there was also some effort made to conserve the area, as she states, “in the name of science” with concerns that “the Australian flora and fauna were disappearing before they could be studied”. However, ultimately she concludes that not all of the damage made in the nineteenth century can be “ascribed to ignorance”, as there was criticism by contemporaries against the treatment of native flora and fauna even then.

Speck, conversely, is of the opinion that the settlers made sense of their new environment by embracing its natural beauty and incorporating its qualities of hardship and overcoming adversity into the emerging national identity. Artists and poets gradually moved away from their European style and created their own vision and view of the bush to show work which was both anthropologically accurate and aesthetically pleasing. As Speck phrases it, many “immersed themselves in the bush to paint it, then eulogised those bush qualities in their paintings and letters to each other… by describing the land and its people it also defined a nation” (see image). Many works showed not only the bush, but those who lived within it, exposing their lives and hardships, hence further exploring a new national character and spirit such as that of the hardworking pioneer. Artists of all genres came to understand their wild surroundings and unfamiliar setting by embracing it and realising its underlying beauty and potential.



Frederick McCubbin for example, came from a new school of art and interpretation known as the Heidelberg School which focussed upon living in the natural environment to accurately depict their surroundings with correct colours, shades and shapes to be shown.  This is shown in his three-tiered painting, The Pioneer,  showing a time sequence with the pioneer's life pondering their life to come in a new place, the couple tending the land with a promise of a new beginning, and then devestation with a death, whilst a development and cleared land can be seen peaking through in the background vista.
(Source: National Gallery of Victoria, http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/ngv-collection/highlights?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cubmd2LnZpYy5nb3YuYXUlMkZjb2xhcHAlMkZwdWIlMkZhcnR3b3JrcyUyRjU5OTAlMkZkZXRhaWxzJmFsbD0x)