The Ghost Cities Of Australia

This book examines failed new city proposals in Australia to understand the hurdles – environmental, societal, and economic – that have curtailed such visions. The lessons from these relative failures are important because, if projections for Australia’s 21st century population growth are borne out, we will need to build new cities this century. This is particularly the case in northern Australia, where the federal government projects a four-fold increase in population in the next four decades. The book aims that, when we commence 21st century new city dreaming, we have learnt from the mistakes of the past and, are not doomed to repeat them.

Brief references to Aborigines, NT, Qld, including pp.76-78; Jack the Ripper, Innamincka and pituri trade (SA); pp.136-172; 19th century violent conflicts, poor relations with settlers, miners; employment on coffee plantations, cannibalism in Port Douglas, Palmer and Daintree Rivers area; pp.216-223; Port Essington Malay trade, hostilities.

Other cultures have lost civilisations, we have ghost towns. Australian landscapes are littered with the half-buried remains of once thriving towns. The renowned pioneering spirit of settler society often faltered under the onslaught of changed circumstances--mine yields that declined, industry that failed and the end of penal colonies. Some towns are in ruins today, while others have become tourist destinations, such as Port Douglas, Port Arthur and Oodnadatta. This extensively researched book delves into the stories of these ghost towns--rich with memories of turmoil, perseverance, resistance and dogged optimism

Where can you go to see what the Earth might have looked like billions of years ago? Outback Australia has some of the oldest landscapes in the world, with meteor craters that cover tens of kilometres. In this book you will also discover the ghost towns and underground communities that all help to make Australia such an interesting place to live or visit. How much do you really know about Australia? Did you know that the whole continent is on the move, or that Aussies were the first to use penicillin? Dip in anywhere throughout this series to find masses of mini articles on everything you could want to know about Australia.

Digging beneath the sun-baked soil, Shane Thoms uncovers the modern ruins scattered over this arid continent and reveals a series of beautifully broken abodes hiding in the crevices of the Great Southern Land.