Mining in Australia: An historical survey of industry–community relationships

Abstract

The article sets out to provide an historical survey of the industry–community relationship in the Australian mining industry. The mining industry had a vital role in encouraging population growth, regional development, and industrial diversification. The relationship is understood through three key themes. Firstly, the industry–community relationship was underpinned by geology. Since ore was often found across large areas, mineral ‘regions’ developed. Secondly, the industry–community relationship was specific to particular places in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Mining towns became very distinctive communities that shared economic and social characteristics. Thirdly, the industry–community relationship did not finish at the town limits. The history of the mining industry in Australia offers a strong case for exploring the effects of both global and local impacts. Communities were heavily influenced by local economic and geological realities but as the twentieth century progressed the close geographical relationship between industry and community began to disperse with wider regional and interstate effects. The article posits ‘community’ as a description of a geographically specific social formation, but this final theme moves towards seeing ‘community’ as a wider concept transcending place and geography.