Migration to the New South Wales North Coast 1986–1991 : Lifestyle motivated counterurbanisation

Abstract

Although Australia's settlement pattern is characterised by a high level of primacy, there is evidence of deconcentration and Counterurbanisation as internal migrants move to attractive coastal regions, often putting a strain on the physical environment and social infrastructure of such regions. Some of the nation's most rapid population growth rates have been recorded on the North Coast of New South Wales. The paper sets this migration flow in an international context and looks in detail at the profile, decision-making, and experience of 150 households who moved to the North Coast in the 1986–1991 intercensal period. Results corroborate earlier findings that many coastal migrants are motivated by non-economic considerations. ‘Pull’ factors are much more important than ‘push’ factors, with the influence of the physical environment, climate and relaxed lifestyle dominant. Many households decided to move without a prior visit to the town in question, suggesting that it was the overall image of life on the North Coast that was important to them. This image, and thus the migration flows, are unlikely to change in the short-term, making Australia's Counterurbanisation experience remarkable in terms of its location (coastal ribbon development), duration (in excess of two decades), and underlying motivation (lifestyle considerations).