Academic literature on the topic 'Queensland history'

In the last issue of Queensland Review, it was argued that the idea of Queensland literature has a history, and that the various competing formulations of that idea have implications for Queensland identity and politics. Queensland art, likewise, has some currency as an idea, particularly as an ‘art off centre’ to borrow the title of a recent conference. It is, therefore, somewhat surprising that the idea of ‘Queensland music’ has not emerged as a useful way of constructing a cultural or political identity. ‘Music in Queensland’, suggesting an exotic and not fully acclimatized cultural form, is instead the designation used in the few — mostly unpublished — works which treat Queensland's musical history.

This paper provides a comparative perspective on the development of tourism in Queensland through analysing the history of tourism in Hawaii. Both Queensland and Hawaii are heavily dependent on tourism, with the future of tourism being a constant focus of public debate in each case. Since Hawaii embarked on tourism development decades before Queensland, the history of Hawaiian tourism may present some important lessons for tourism in Queensland. Also, Hawaii is Queensland's most important competitor for the Japanese and emerging Asian markets (such as South Korea, Taiwan and mainland China) in sun-and-surf tourism.

In 2004, as the centenary of women achieving the right to vote in Queensland elections drew near, plans were made to hold a conference: ‘A Celebration of the Centenary of Women's Suffrage in Queensland and the Achievements of Queensland Women in Parliament’. The conference was about Queensland women in Parliament, a joint endeavour of Professor Kay Saunders of the University of Queensland and the Royal Historical Society of Queensland. The conference was held on Saturday, 5 February 2005 in the Red Chamber (the former Legislative Council Chamber) of Parliament House. Speakers were assembled to present a history of the attainment of women's suffrage in Queensland and to recognise the achievements since 1905 of Queensland women as politicians in both the state and federal spheres. The majority of those papers appear in this issue of Queensland Review.

Just as Queensland commemorated the centenary anniversary of the abolition of the state’s Legislative Council, the Labor government under Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, a ‘strong’ leader during the contemporaneous COVID-19 pandemic, found itself embroiled in the most serious integrity quagmire of its seven-year history. Given Queensland’s long history of ‘strong’ – even autocratic – political leadership and compromised government integrity, this article posits three arguments: that the abolition of the Legislative Council and a century of political excess in Queensland since 1922 are broadly related; that legislation in Queensland remains largely ‘executive-made’ and not ‘parliament-made’ law; and that the presence of a democratically elected Legislative Council after 1922 would have mitigated if not prevented much of Queensland’s political excess over the past one hundred years. The article also offers a model for a reintroduced Legislative Council that, given electoral distaste for ‘more politicians’, is unlikely to be approved at referendum.

The Queenslander garden is instantly recognisable both by those blessed with a Queensland birthright and by those who are newly arrived or perhaps making a brief visit to the state while on holiday. Since the proclamation of the State of Queensland in 1859 the Queensland domestic garden has undergone various and numerous changes. There have been changes in size, design and preferred plant species. There have been changes in the householder's perception, use and management of the garden. Importantly there has also been change in what constitutes the Queenslander house.

Queensland's heritage city of Maryborough was the focus of the Australian Garden History Society's 32nd Annual Conference, held from 19–21 August 2011. The Society is again delighted to collaborate with Queensland Review to bring the papers from this conference to publication, just as it did with those of the 2003 conference. Maryborough was selected for this event because the city centre is remarkably intact and coherent, and because of the appeal of its numerous charming ‘Queenslander’ houses to Southern delegates. The topics of the conference and the tours organised by the conference committee confirmed Garden History Society chair John Dwyer's opening description of Maryborough, quoted from the Australian National Trust's 1982 Historic Places publication, as ‘one of the four most charming places in Australia’.

Since the 1970s, there has been a strong and active gay and lesbian press in the southern parts of Australia. This press emerged later in Queensland than in the southern states but today it reaches many queer Queenslanders and performs a vital and multifaceted role. While this press provides essential representation and visibility for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ) population of Queensland, it also embodies a number of tensions inherent in this community. This article charts the development and history of the print media run by and for the queer community of Queensland, particularly focusing on the two major GLBTIQ periodicals currently available in Queensland. These are Queensland Pride, published monthly, and Q News, published fortnightly. The article explores the conflicts that exist in that queer print media, arguing that Queensland's queer press has struggled to adequately represent what has become an increasingly multifarious and diverse GLBTIQ ‘community’.

Global declines and disappearances of amphibians from high altitude, pristine habitats have been reported in recent years. To date the cause of many of these declines and/or disappearances has not been identified. Although it is well documented that life history characteristics of temperate amphibians are influenced by altitude (due to systematic variation of temperature with altitude), little work has been carried out on the effects of altitude on Australian anurans. This lack of ecological data is a major impediment to identifying the causal factors responsible for amphibian declines. Due to differences in life history characteristics, high altitude populations may be less resilient than their lowland counterparts and subsequently may be more vulnerable to extinction. Consequently, the main aim of this study was to determine whether altitude influenced life history characteristics and ultimately population resilience of anurans in the southeast Queensland region. Six anuran species; Litoria chloris, L. lesueuri, L. pearsoniana (Anura: Hylidae), Mixophyes fasciolatus, M. fleayi and M. iteratus (Anura: Myobatrachidae) were studied over three field seasons (1997-1999) in 18 sites of varying altitude (100-950m) in the southeast Queensland region. The life history characteristics examined were: activity and breeding season length, fecundity and egg size, number of clutches produced per season, tadpole growth and development rates, longevity, age at maturity, reproductive life span, average lifetime fecundity, survival and recapture rates. The data were collected using a combination of field-based surveys (body sizes, clutch sizes, and survival and recapture rates), museum specimen dissections (clutch and egg sizes), reciprocal transplant field experiments (tadpole growth and development rates) and skeletochronology (longevity, age at maturity, reproductive lifespan and average lifetime fecundity). On average, high altitude populations of all species had shorter breeding and activity seasons than low altitude populations (up to 10 weeks less in some cases). The magnitude of the difference in breeding season length varied among years depending on the average temperature and rainfall for the year; i.e. differences appeared greater in warmer and wetter years. Within a population males had longer breeding and activity seasons than females. Although breeding season length varied with altitude, the number of nights that individuals were active within the breeding season did not vary; i.e. low altitude populations were not active for more nights despite having a longer breeding season. This result was attributed to the absence of a relationship between individual activity and environmental variables (air temperature, rainfall, etc.) in many of the populations. Generally, intraspecific clutch size did not vary significantly with altitude. This result was due to the absence of a significant relationship between female body size and altitude (as clutch size is proportional to female body size). Egg size also did not vary with altitude however, suggesting egg size may be canalized (i.e. fixed) in these species. Results also suggest that females of these species only produce one clutch of eggs per season. Interspecific differences in reproductive characteristics largely reflected differences in reproductive mode, larval habitat and female body size. Altitude negatively influenced growth and development rates in L. chloris and development rates in L. pearsoniana. Tadpoles raised at high altitudes were also generally larger at each Gosner Development Stage in both species. The results of the reciprocal transplant experiments suggested that most of the variation in growth and development rates was due to environmental factors (water temperature) rather than genetic or maternal factors. Altitude or genetic factors did not significantly affect tadpole survival in either species. The results suggest that tadpoles occurring at high altitudes take longer to reach metamorphosis and do so at a larger size than their lowland counterparts. With the exception of L. lesueuri, skeletochronology was suitable for age estimation in the study species. Altitude had a significant effect on the age at maturity or longevity in some of the species, however there were trends toward older individuals and older ages at maturity in high altitude populations for the remaining species. Females were generally older than males for all species and in the case of longer-lived species (i.e. Mixophyes spp.) also tended to be older when breeding for the first time. The large overlap of body sizes of individuals of different ages demonstrates that body size is a poor indicator of age in these species. This is the first study to estimate average lifetime fecundity for more than one amphibian species and/or population. The results suggest that the absence of significant altitudinal variation in the average lifetime fecundity of different populations is due to tradeoffs made by females (current reproduction vs. survival). There was no significant altitudinal variation in annual survival and recapture rates in any of the species, and generally there was no difference in the survival and recapture rates of males and females in each population. Within a year, monthly survival and recapture rates were more variable at low than high altitudes and this was attributed to the longer breeding season of low altitude populations. The results did not support previous studies that suggested there was a size bias in survival and recapture rates. The shorter breeding seasons, slower growth and development rates, older age at maturity and greater longevity found in the high altitude study populations will result in increased generation time in those populations. In turn, increased generation time can cause high altitude populations to be less resilient (i.e. population takes longer to return to equilibrium after a disturbance away from equilibrium) (Pimm et al. 1988, Pimm 1991) and ultimately more vulnerable or prone to extinction or decline. The majority of unexplained global amphibian declines have occurred at high altitudes in tropical and subtropical areas. These latitudinal patterns may be explained by the narrow range of environmental tolerances exhibited by tropical organisms resulting in mountains being effectively “higher” in the tropics. Consequently, high altitude tropical species are likely to be even more vulnerable than temperate species occurring at similar altitudes. Further work on the effects of geographic variation, especially interactions between altitude and latitude are needed to evaluate the hypotheses for the causes of these declines and disappearances.

Global declines and disappearances of amphibians from high altitude, pristine habitats have been reported in recent years. To date the cause of many of these declines and/or disappearances has not been identified. Although it is well documented that life history characteristics of temperate amphibians are influenced by altitude (due to systematic variation of temperature with altitude), little work has been carried out on the effects of altitude on Australian anurans. This lack of ecological data is a major impediment to identifying the causal factors responsible for amphibian declines. Due to differences in life history characteristics, high altitude populations may be less resilient than their lowland counterparts and subsequently may be more vulnerable to extinction. Consequently, the main aim of this study was to determine whether altitude influenced life history characteristics and ultimately population resilience of anurans in the southeast Queensland region. Six anuran species; Litoria chloris, L. lesueuri, L. pearsoniana (Anura: Hylidae), Mixophyes fasciolatus, M. fleayi and M. iteratus (Anura: Myobatrachidae) were studied over three field seasons (1997-1999) in 18 sites of varying altitude (100-950m) in the southeast Queensland region. The life history characteristics examined were: activity and breeding season length, fecundity and egg size, number of clutches produced per season, tadpole growth and development rates, longevity, age at maturity, reproductive life span, average lifetime fecundity, survival and recapture rates. The data were collected using a combination of field-based surveys (body sizes, clutch sizes, and survival and recapture rates), museum specimen dissections (clutch and egg sizes), reciprocal transplant field experiments (tadpole growth and development rates) and skeletochronology (longevity, age at maturity, reproductive lifespan and average lifetime fecundity). On average, high altitude populations of all species had shorter breeding and activity seasons than low altitude populations (up to 10 weeks less in some cases). The magnitude of the difference in breeding season length varied among years depending on the average temperature and rainfall for the year; i.e. differences appeared greater in warmer and wetter years. Within a population males had longer breeding and activity seasons than females. Although breeding season length varied with altitude, the number of nights that individuals were active within the breeding season did not vary; i.e. low altitude populations were not active for more nights despite having a longer breeding season. This result was attributed to the absence of a relationship between individual activity and environmental variables (air temperature, rainfall, etc.) in many of the populations. Generally, intraspecific clutch size did not vary significantly with altitude. This result was due to the absence of a significant relationship between female body size and altitude (as clutch size is proportional to female body size). Egg size also did not vary with altitude however, suggesting egg size may be canalized (i.e. fixed) in these species. Results also suggest that females of these species only produce one clutch of eggs per season. Interspecific differences in reproductive characteristics largely reflected differences in reproductive mode, larval habitat and female body size. Altitude negatively influenced growth and development rates in L. chloris and development rates in L. pearsoniana. Tadpoles raised at high altitudes were also generally larger at each Gosner Development Stage in both species. The results of the reciprocal transplant experiments suggested that most of the variation in growth and development rates was due to environmental factors (water temperature) rather than genetic or maternal factors. Altitude or genetic factors did not significantly affect tadpole survival in either species. The results suggest that tadpoles occurring at high altitudes take longer to reach metamorphosis and do so at a larger size than their lowland counterparts. With the exception of L. lesueuri, skeletochronology was suitable for age estimation in the study species. Altitude had a significant effect on the age at maturity or longevity in some of the species, however there were trends toward older individuals and older ages at maturity in high altitude populations for the remaining species. Females were generally older than males for all species and in the case of longer-lived species (i.e. Mixophyes spp.) also tended to be older when breeding for the first time. The large overlap of body sizes of individuals of different ages demonstrates that body size is a poor indicator of age in these species. This is the first study to estimate average lifetime fecundity for more than one amphibian species and/or population. The results suggest that the absence of significant altitudinal variation in the average lifetime fecundity of different populations is due to tradeoffs made by females (current reproduction vs. survival). There was no significant altitudinal variation in annual survival and recapture rates in any of the species, and generally there was no difference in the survival and recapture rates of males and females in each population. Within a year, monthly survival and recapture rates were more variable at low than high altitudes and this was attributed to the longer breeding season of low altitude populations. The results did not support previous studies that suggested there was a size bias in survival and recapture rates. The shorter breeding seasons, slower growth and development rates, older age at maturity and greater longevity found in the high altitude study populations will result in increased generation time in those populations. In turn, increased generation time can cause high altitude populations to be less resilient (i.e. population takes longer to return to equilibrium after a disturbance away from equilibrium) (Pimm et al. 1988, Pimm 1991) and ultimately more vulnerable or prone to extinction or decline. The majority of unexplained global amphibian declines have occurred at high altitudes in tropical and subtropical areas. These latitudinal patterns may be explained by the narrow range of environmental tolerances exhibited by tropical organisms resulting in mountains being effectively “higher” in the tropics. Consequently, high altitude tropical species are likely to be even more vulnerable than temperate species occurring at similar altitudes. Further work on the effects of geographic variation, especially interactions between altitude and latitude are needed to evaluate the hypotheses for the causes of these declines and disappearances.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Environmental and Applied Science
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
Full Text

The conservation of historic cultural landscapes in Queensland is in its infancy. Effective conservation practice, however is based on sound historical information, and no previous study has investigated the historical development of local parks, gardens and other landscapes. The objectives of this research were to examine the factors which influenced landscape design in Queensland, to identify the forms and expressions of design derived from these influences, and to identify any distinctive aspects related to local landscape character. The timeframe chosen for this investigation was from the beginning of the separate colony of Queensland (1859) to the outbreak of World War 2 (1939). Using historical method, the research began with an exploration of published primary sources (particularly garden literature from the 1860s to 1930s) related to Queensland and other 'tropical' areas. A series of hypotheses was proposed to explain the findings, and these were tested by further analysis and data gathering. There followed a triple-layered central proposition, suggesting that: (i) in Queensland, the traditional delineation of styles to describe landscape design is of limited application because of the lack of elite professional designers and wealthy clients; (ii) there developed a discernible 'tropical landscape design character' in suitable climatic areas, which included two distinct visual aspects expressed in the landscape (the 'exotic' and the 'prosaic'); and, (iii) these design outcomes were the result of a design process of 'acclimatisation' experienced by early settlers (gardeners and designers) working in unfamiliar lands and climates, and includes the stages of experimentation, adaptation and innovation.

Frontier issues are an inevitable part of Australian historiography, and have often been dealt with in either an indifferent or a moralistic manner. Specifically, it has been widely argued that records of officially condoned frontier violence have been destroyed or lost. This thesis, which deals with the Native Police in Queensland from 1860 to 1905, attempts to move the discussion on to firmer ground. It is driven by a passionate commitment to the rights of Indigenous Australians, and shows that detailed archival research does not support those who deny the violence that accompanied the colonisation of Australia. Apologists for dispossession will find no comfort in the archival records. The Native Police force was widely reputed to have been the most violent police force on the Australian frontier. Long-standing and widely cited references about the lack of Native Police records have been tied into arguments about the kind of force it was. This dissertation is the first significant archival work on the Native Police force after Separation. The force was part of broader colonial settler-society, and I analyse the Native Police in that context. The problem with existing literature is that the archives have not been adequately consulted, and historians have neglected vital contextual aspects of the force in Queensland. The sociology of policing has not been integrated with a model of military force in the Queensland case, even though in colonial Queensland the same men formed the dual function of soldiers and police. The aim of the thesis is to provide an integrated model documented by detailed research in the archives. The research hypothesis is that the Native Police played a central role in the dispossession and punitive treatment of Indigenous people. Chapter 1 sets up the research problem in the context of the existing scholarship on native policing. Chapter 2 looks at the officers. Chapter 3 is concerned with the Aboriginal troopers of the force, and Chapter 4 examines the operations of the Native Police in Queensland. The thesis is very detailed, as the topic requires, but it still only opens up essential avenues of research. In particular, more work needs to be done on the experiences of the troopers and on the records of frontier violence in general.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Arts, Media and Culture
Full Text

This project examines the history of the guitar in Queensland from the start of European settlement in 1842 to the late 1940s, a research topic that has been hardly explored until recently. Therefore, it is not generally known that activities involving guitars and other fretted instruments were a significant element of musical life during this period. Rather than appearing in its soloistic capacity, the guitar was predominantly used in fretted instrument and plucked string ensemble contexts, and also to accompany other instruments and voices. It was an element in a musical culture that encouraged and fostered all types of small and large ensemble music. The outcomes of this project are presented in two parts: a dissertation and a creative portfolio. The dissertation is a foundational account of the guitar in Queensland, based on my thorough research into historical newspapers and related sources—sheet music, concert ephemera, photographs, maps, books, and journals—held in the National Library of Australia’s digital database, Trove. The creative portfolio expresses my artistic responses to the findings, and shows how I coalesced the research findings with processes of interpretation and activation to generate both new knowledge and continuing traditions around the instrument. A synthesis of historical research, historical musicology, and practice-based artistic research, the two parts constitute worded and sounded documentations of local guitar history. This project is significant because it is the first of its kind to document the history of the guitar in the state, particularly during the early period. In addition to enlivening the history of the guitar—highlighting the performers and the teachers, the instruments and the repertoire, and the many contexts and venues in which performances took place—this project demonstrates how an artistic practice can be substantiated and inspired by historical research. The overarching motivation for embarking on this investigation was to recover and reactivate what I felt was a neglected and, in many cases, much forgotten repertoire. Second to this was the desire to utilise the research findings to inform, influence, and inspire my artistic practices. I did this by adding recovered works to my repertoire; by creating historically influenced arrangements and original compositions; and by engaging instrumentalist partners to project a tradition into my contemporary context. This project is aimed to provide musicians—especially guitarists—and historians a source of information and also inspiration. It shows how the investigation of historical repertoire can nurture the practice of contemporary performer-composers and support the expression and significance of their work.
Thesis (Professional Doctorate)
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Queensland Conservatorium
Arts, Education and Law
Full Text

This is a study of Queensland's response to the reformist educational discourses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Usually referred to as 'the New Education' or 'progressive education', these discourses originated in industrialised Northern Hemisphere countries as a response to social and economic conditions during the final decades of the nineteenth century. The study investigates the impact of these discourses on Queensland's educational history, noting the uneven effects of these imported ideas on local policies and practices, in particular the implementation of new syllabuses of instruction for primary schools. Queensland was selected as the site for this study for several reasons. First, it is acknowledged by scholars in the field of Australian education history that the history of education in that state is under-researched in comparison with other Australian jurisdictions. Second, Queensland's educational history poses a unique problem in terms of the means by which the reformist 1905 Syllabus was produced. The problem is that the Herbartian ideals which were the central tenets of the New Education were anathema to the creators of the syllabus-the long-serving senior administrators of the Department of Public Instruction, Gerard Anderson and David Ewart. The study asks how their jointly shared conservative belief in the efficacy of the moral-intellectual discourse of education and its associated faculty psychology and mental discipline theory could be rationalised in the process of introducing the 1905 Syllabus and later developments. The investigation has three key components: a background study of Northern Hemisphere reforms; a study of Queensland's educational history from 1860; and, an analysis of the implementation of the 1905 Syllabus in terms of pedagogical and nonpedagogical outcomes. The first component documents the wide ranging and at times conflicting discourses that made up these constructs and examines a number of practices that were transported to Australian colonies/states at the tum of the twentieth century. In considering Australian responses to educational reform, the introduction and implementation of reformist practices in several Australian states are examined. This analysis identifies the contingencies that allowed for their adoption, particularly through the introduction of a primary school syllabus that embraced the principles of these reformist discourses. The second component considers Queensland's response to reformist educational agendas. To do so, an examination is made of education in the colony and state of Queensland over the period from 1860 when the first educational legislation came into practice in the new colony until the events which led to the production of the 1905 Syllabus. In contextualising education in Queensland, an analysis of the dominant pedagogical, institutional and administrative discourses that constituted the operation of the state education bureaucracy in this period is presented. The paucity of provisions for teacher preparation is noted. It is concluded that the disposition of senior bureaucrats made the possibility of improvement unlikely. As demonstrated in the third component of the study, the implementation of the pedagogical reforms of the 1905 Syllabus was more difficult than its introduction. While the logistics of its introduction were made simple by the highly centralised bureaucracy of the Queensland Department of Public Instruction, the pedagogical principles underpinning the document were problematic. With no attempt being made to reform teacher training, together with the conservative influence of the school inspectors and the limiting effect of the State Scholarship examination on the syllabus, the probability of the new syllabus being successfully implemented was seriously diminished. In contrast to curricula and pedagogical reform, the 'non-pedagogical' discourses of physical wellbeing and scientific testing and measurement were more readily implemented. The wellbeing of the pupil population was achieved through the appointment of medical and dental professionals who examined every school child on a regular basis. Operating as part of a pastoral bureaucracy, this service did not depend on a major change in the disposition of the teaching service for its success. While scientific testing was not taken up by state education in Queensland for several decades, its failure to be readily adopted was due to the State Scholarship examination which, it was believed provided a similar service at a far lower cost. The study concludes that the transportation to Queensland of the educational ideas and practices of Northern Hemisphere was problematic philosophically and pedagogically. At the same time, they were readily appropriated by educational authorities seeking bureaucratic simplicity as well as legitimation of their programs of pastoral care.

Using historical narrative and extensive archival research, this thesis portrays the story of the twentieth century Queensland Rural Schools. The initiative started at Nambour Primary School in 1917, and extended over the next four decades to encompass thirty primary schools that functioned as centralized institutions training children in agricultural science, domestic science, and manual trade training. The Rural Schools formed the foundation of a systemised approach to agricultural education intended to facilitate the State’s closer settlement ideology. The purpose of the Rural Schools was to mitigate urbanisation, circumvent foreign incursion and increase Queensland’s productivity by turning boys into farmers, or the tradesmen required to support them, and girls into the homemakers that these farmers needed as wives and mothers for the next generation. Effectively Queensland took rural boys and girls and created a new yeomanry to aid the State’s development.

A tide of conservatism is rising. Despite bushfires and a global epidemic, many are unwilling or unable to grapple with the facts behind these catastrophes. What is not said drifts in and out of public consciousness. In present silences and lacunae, past stories wait to be told anew. In this presentation, I reflect on discontinuity and continuity in the curious silence around the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era in Queensland history, a time remembered for corrupt politicians and cops, but otherwise culturally (and conveniently) forgotten in literary fiction. I discuss my creative response to this era, and outline processes that are saving me from drowning in entwined political, cultural and personal silences as I write an exegesis and novel.

The core premise of the paper focuses on approaching a specific case study as the subject and the object of an architectural research heritage course, in this case, the UQ Union complex (UQU). During the summer semester 2020 – 2021, thirteen students in the M. Arch program at the University of Queensland (UQ) studied and interpreted the tangible and intangible heritages of the UQU. Once an award-winning project back in the 1960s, the entire complex faced the threat of demolition by the university’s proposed master plan in 2017. There is no doubt that the demolition proposal was an ‘Ultra’ decision. The process followed an ‘Ultra’ reaction in the form of a campaign for saving UQU, supported by hundreds of activists, UQ staff, students, and alumni. Therefore, an ‘Ultra’ synthesis emerged from this dialectic. Besides the pedagogical approaches of the course, the site’s rich history shaped an important section of the paper. Given the spirit of the recent period, the ‘ultra-temporal’ and uncertain times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic created an ambiguous situation, and there is a major pause for the demolition proposal. The new response from the UQ administration was also briefly discussed at the end of the paper. Within the course, the curiosity to have an in-depth understanding of a built environment transformed and evolved. Thus, the outcome was two exhibitions titled ‘re-Presented’ as a result of this collective work. The course created the opportunity for students to think critically about the role of the UQU Complex within the new master plan and re-image its position in the university’s future by their provocative proposals. These innovative and creative exhibition pieces went beyond conventional methods of documentation. The paper focuses on the students’ journey and how they unpacked the site’s history. It explains how their ideas re-presented a daily built environment that has dispatched from its past and alienated among its users. In summary, an ‘Ultra’ perspective, such as the one exemplified by the described course, comes back in a full circle.

Modern concrete silos and grain elevators are a persistent source of interest and fascination for architects, industrial archaeologists, painters, photographers, and artists. The legacy of the Australian examples of the early 1900s is appreciated primarily by a popular culture that allocates value to these structures on aesthetic grounds. Several aspects of construction history associated with this early modern form of civil engineering have been less explored. In the 1920s and 1930s, concrete grain elevator stations blossomed along the railway networks of the Australian Wheat Belts, marking with their vertical presence the landscapes of many rural towns in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia. The Australian reception of this industrial building type of American origin reflects the modern nation-building aspirations of State Governments of the early 1900s. The development of fast-tracked, self-climbing methods for constructing concrete silos, a technology also imported from America, illustrates the critical role of concrete in that effort of nation-building. The rural and urban proliferation of concrete silos in Australia also helped establish a confident local concrete industry that began thriving with automatic systems of movable formwork, mastering and ultimately transferring these construction methods to multi-storey buildings after WWII. Although there is an evident link between grain elevators and the historiographical propaganda of heroic modernism, that nexus should not induce to interpret old concrete silos as a vestige of modern aesthetics. As catalysts of technical and economic development in Australia, Australian wheat silos also bear important significance due to the international technology transfer and local repercussions of their fast-tracked concrete construction methods.

Abstract This paper presents the development of a three-dimensional (3D) geotechnical model for an existing water dam in Queensland, Australia. The model incorporated data from historic construction records, recent investigation data as well as previously developed two-dimensional cross section interpretations and geological mapping records. The 3D model provided the project team and other stakeholders the ability to interrogate the ground model to an unprecedented level of detail. The geotechnical model development was complimented by an in-depth rock mechanics assessment to investigate kinematically feasible sliding mechanisms beneath the dam spillway and abutments. This package of work included creation of a discrete fracture network model. The DFN modelling in this study was undertaken in two stages, with an initial model built to be representative of sub-horizontal fractures (with a dip of <15°), followed by a refined model, built to be representative of all fractures at the site. The paper presents the input parameters, derivation of these parameters along with the model generation process are presented for both stages. The modelling was undertaken for both rock mass visualization and sliced on two cross-sections for input into 2D Finite Element analyses. This was particularly targeted at understanding intact rock forming bridges between laterally persistent defects within the volcanic host rock that were previously identified as a key risk to dam stability in the event of an overtopping event.

Background Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death worldwide.(1) It is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia (12,741 cases diagnosed in 2018) and the leading cause of cancer death.(2) The number of years of potential life lost to lung cancer in Australia is estimated to be 58,450, similar to that of colorectal and breast cancer combined.(3) While tobacco control strategies are most effective for disease prevention in the general population, early detection via low dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening in high-risk populations is a viable option for detecting asymptomatic disease in current (13%) and former (24%) Australian smokers.(4) The purpose of this Evidence Check review is to identify and analyse existing and emerging evidence for LDCT lung cancer screening in high-risk individuals to guide future program and policy planning. Evidence Check questions This review aimed to address the following questions: 1. What is the evidence for the effectiveness of lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? 2. What is the evidence of potential harms from lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? 3. What are the main components of recent major lung cancer screening programs or trials? 4. What is the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening programs (include studies of cost–utility)? Summary of methods The authors searched the peer-reviewed literature across three databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase) for existing systematic reviews and original studies published between 1 January 2009 and 8 August 2019. Fifteen systematic reviews (of which 8 were contemporary) and 64 original publications met the inclusion criteria set across the four questions. Key findings Question 1: What is the evidence for the effectiveness of lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? There is sufficient evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of combined (pooled) data from screening trials (of high-risk individuals) to indicate that LDCT examination is clinically effective in reducing lung cancer mortality. In 2011, the landmark National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST, a large-scale randomised controlled trial [RCT] conducted in the US) reported a 20% (95% CI 6.8% – 26.7%; P=0.004) relative reduction in mortality among long-term heavy smokers over three rounds of annual screening. High-risk eligibility criteria was defined as people aged 55–74 years with a smoking history of ≥30 pack-years (years in which a smoker has consumed 20-plus cigarettes each day) and, for former smokers, ≥30 pack-years and have quit within the past 15 years.(5) All-cause mortality was reduced by 6.7% (95% CI, 1.2% – 13.6%; P=0.02). Initial data from the second landmark RCT, the NEderlands-Leuvens Longkanker Screenings ONderzoek (known as the NELSON trial), have found an even greater reduction of 26% (95% CI, 9% – 41%) in lung cancer mortality, with full trial results yet to be published.(6, 7) Pooled analyses, including several smaller-scale European LDCT screening trials insufficiently powered in their own right, collectively demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in lung cancer mortality (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.73–0.91).(8) Despite the reduction in all-cause mortality found in the NLST, pooled analyses of seven trials found no statistically significant difference in all-cause mortality (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.90–1.00).(8) However, cancer-specific mortality is currently the most relevant outcome in cancer screening trials. These seven trials demonstrated a significantly greater proportion of early stage cancers in LDCT groups compared with controls (RR 2.08, 95% CI 1.43–3.03). Thus, when considering results across mortality outcomes and early stage cancers diagnosed, LDCT screening is considered to be clinically effective. Question 2: What is the evidence of potential harms from lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? The harms of LDCT lung cancer screening include false positive tests and the consequences of unnecessary invasive follow-up procedures for conditions that are eventually diagnosed as benign. While LDCT screening leads to an increased frequency of invasive procedures, it does not result in greater mortality soon after an invasive procedure (in trial settings when compared with the control arm).(8) Overdiagnosis, exposure to radiation, psychological distress and an impact on quality of life are other known harms. Systematic review evidence indicates the benefits of LDCT screening are likely to outweigh the harms. The potential harms are likely to be reduced as refinements are made to LDCT screening protocols through: i) the application of risk predication models (e.g. the PLCOm2012), which enable a more accurate selection of the high-risk population through the use of specific criteria (beyond age and smoking history); ii) the use of nodule management algorithms (e.g. Lung-RADS, PanCan), which assist in the diagnostic evaluation of screen-detected nodules and cancers (e.g. more precise volumetric assessment of nodules); and, iii) more judicious selection of patients for invasive procedures. Recent evidence suggests a positive LDCT result may transiently increase psychological distress but does not have long-term adverse effects on psychological distress or health-related quality of life (HRQoL). With regards to smoking cessation, there is no evidence to suggest screening participation invokes a false sense of assurance in smokers, nor a reduction in motivation to quit. The NELSON and Danish trials found no difference in smoking cessation rates between LDCT screening and control groups. Higher net cessation rates, compared with general population, suggest those who participate in screening trials may already be motivated to quit. Question 3: What are the main components of recent major lung cancer screening programs or trials? There are no systematic reviews that capture the main components of recent major lung cancer screening trials and programs. We extracted evidence from original studies and clinical guidance documents and organised this into key groups to form a concise set of components for potential implementation of a national lung cancer screening program in Australia: 1. Identifying the high-risk population: recruitment, eligibility, selection and referral 2. Educating the public, people at high risk and healthcare providers; this includes creating awareness of lung cancer, the benefits and harms of LDCT screening, and shared decision-making 3. Components necessary for health services to deliver a screening program: a. Planning phase: e.g. human resources to coordinate the program, electronic data systems that integrate medical records information and link to an established national registry b. Implementation phase: e.g. human and technological resources required to conduct LDCT examinations, interpretation of reports and communication of results to participants c. Monitoring and evaluation phase: e.g. monitoring outcomes across patients, radiological reporting, compliance with established standards and a quality assurance program 4. Data reporting and research, e.g. audit and feedback to multidisciplinary teams, reporting outcomes to enhance international research into LDCT screening 5. Incorporation of smoking cessation interventions, e.g. specific programs designed for LDCT screening or referral to existing community or hospital-based services that deliver cessation interventions. Most original studies are single-institution evaluations that contain descriptive data about the processes required to establish and implement a high-risk population-based screening program. Across all studies there is a consistent message as to the challenges and complexities of establishing LDCT screening programs to attract people at high risk who will receive the greatest benefits from participation. With regards to smoking cessation, evidence from one systematic review indicates the optimal strategy for incorporating smoking cessation interventions into a LDCT screening program is unclear. There is widespread agreement that LDCT screening attendance presents a ‘teachable moment’ for cessation advice, especially among those people who receive a positive scan result. Smoking cessation is an area of significant research investment; for instance, eight US-based clinical trials are now underway that aim to address how best to design and deliver cessation programs within large-scale LDCT screening programs.(9) Question 4: What is the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening programs (include studies of cost–utility)? Assessing the value or cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening involves a complex interplay of factors including data on effectiveness and costs, and institutional context. A key input is data about the effectiveness of potential and current screening programs with respect to case detection, and the likely outcomes of treating those cases sooner (in the presence of LDCT screening) as opposed to later (in the absence of LDCT screening). Evidence about the cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening programs has been summarised in two systematic reviews. We identified a further 13 studies—five modelling studies, one discrete choice experiment and seven articles—that used a variety of methods to assess cost-effectiveness. Three modelling studies indicated LDCT screening was cost-effective in the settings of the US and Europe. Two studies—one from Australia and one from New Zealand—reported LDCT screening would not be cost-effective using NLST-like protocols. We anticipate that, following the full publication of the NELSON trial, cost-effectiveness studies will likely be updated with new data that reduce uncertainty about factors that influence modelling outcomes, including the findings of indeterminate nodules. Gaps in the evidence There is a large and accessible body of evidence as to the effectiveness (Q1) and harms (Q2) of LDCT screening for lung cancer. Nevertheless, there are significant gaps in the evidence about the program components that are required to implement an effective LDCT screening program (Q3). Questions about LDCT screening acceptability and feasibility were not explicitly included in the scope. However, as the evidence is based primarily on US programs and UK pilot studies, the relevance to the local setting requires careful consideration. The Queensland Lung Cancer Screening Study provides feasibility data about clinical aspects of LDCT screening but little about program design. The International Lung Screening Trial is still in the recruitment phase and findings are not yet available for inclusion in this Evidence Check. The Australian Population Based Screening Framework was developed to “inform decision-makers on the key issues to be considered when assessing potential screening programs in Australia”.(10) As the Framework is specific to population-based, rather than high-risk, screening programs, there is a lack of clarity about transferability of criteria. However, the Framework criteria do stipulate that a screening program must be acceptable to “important subgroups such as target participants who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from disadvantaged groups and people with a disability”.(10) An extensive search of the literature highlighted that there is very little information about the acceptability of LDCT screening to these population groups in Australia. Yet they are part of the high-risk population.(10) There are also considerable gaps in the evidence about the cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening in different settings, including Australia. The evidence base in this area is rapidly evolving and is likely to include new data from the NELSON trial and incorporate data about the costs of targeted- and immuno-therapies as these treatments become more widely available in Australia.