Дисертації з теми "Clans New South Wales"

In the two decades between 1970 and 1990, hundreds of people passed through the ALP branches of Leichhardt Municipality. These were predominantly members of what this thesis calls a 'middle class Left', employed in professions and para-professions like teaching or the public service and motivated, to one degree or another, by the social movements and politics of the late 1960's and early 1970's. This is a social history incorporating the life histories of a selection of these people. It is set against the backdrop of conflicts with incumbent, conservative, working class-based political machines and the political climate of the times. The thesis is in four parts. Part I, the introduction, establishes the point of view of the writer as it shapes what is also a 'participant history'. In this context, and that of the oral history interviews, the introduction addresses the relationship between memory and history. Parts II and III are the body of the thesis and each is lead by a 'photo-essay', recognising the complimentary importance of a visual narrative. Part II sets out the broad political topography of the 1970's and early 1980's. Chapter one describes the middle-classing of the ALP in Leichhardt Municipality, set against a review of the principal literature. It then moves through chapters two to four to examine the three loci of middle-classing: Annandale, Balmain and Glebe. Part III moves on into the 1980's when the middle class Left 'takes power'. It examines, in chapter five, the emerging, sharp, divisions among the Left on Leichhardt Council and in the contests for federal and state parliamentary seats. Chapter six examines the deepening of these divisions in the mid to late 1980's, concluding with the climactic struggle over the Mort Bay public housing project. Chapter seven looks at the diaspora of the Labor Left in Leichhardt at the end of the 1980's as the branch membership declined and many sought out political alternatives to the ALP. Part IV brings the thesis to its conclusion, focussing on the complexities and ambiguities of the middle class Left and drawing out the main socio-political themes of the two decades.

This thesis argues that the colonial ruling class developed its first White Australia policy in 1888, creating most of the precedents for the federal legislation of 1901. White Australia was central to the making of the Australian working class, to the shaping of Australian nationalism, and the development of federal political institutions. It has long been understood as a product of labour movement mobilising, but this thesis rejects that approach, arguing that the labour movement lacked the power to impose such a fundamental national policy, and that the key decisions which led to White Australia were demonstrably not products of labour movement action. ¶ It finds three great ruling class agendas behind the decisions to exclude Chinese immigrants, and severely limit the use of indentured “coloured labour”. Chinese people were seen as a strategic threat to Anglo-Australian control of the continent, and this fear was sharpened in the mid-1880s when China was seen as a rising military power, and a necessary ally for Britain in its global rivalry with Russia. The second ruling class agenda was the building of a modern industrial economy, which might be threatened by industries resting on indentured labour in the north. The third agenda was the desire to construct an homogenous people, which was seen as necessary for containing social discontent and allowing “free institutions”, such as parliamentary democracy. ¶ These agendas, and the ruling class interests behind them, challenged other major ruling class interests and ideologies. The result was a series of dilemmas and conflicts within the ruling class, and the resolution of these moved the colonial governments towards the White Australia policy of 1901. The thesis therefore describes the conflict over the use of Pacific Islanders by pastoralists in Queensland, the campaign for indentured Indian labour by sugar planters and the radical strategy of submerging this into a campaign for North Queensland separation, and the strike and anti-Chinese campaign in opposition to the use of Chinese workers by the Australasian Steam Navigation Company in 1878. The first White Australia policy of 1888 was the outcome of three separate struggles by the majority of the Anglo-Australian ruling class—to narrowly restrict the use of indentured labour in Queensland, to assert the right of the colonies to decide their collective immigration policies independently of Britain, and to force South Australia to accept the end of Chinese immigration into its Northern Territory. The dominant elements in the ruling class had already agreed that any serious move towards federation was to be conditional on the building of a white, predominantly British, population across the whole continent, and in 1888 they imposed that policy on their own societies and the British government.

Abstract Aragonite is a minor secondary mineral in many limestone caves throughout the world. It has been claimed that it is the second-most common cave mineral after calcite (Hill & Forti 1997). Aragonite occurs as a secondary mineral in the vadose zone of some caves in New South Wales. Aragonite is unstable in fresh water and usually reverts to calcite, but it is actively depositing in some NSW caves. A review of current literature on the cave aragonite problem showed that chemical inhibitors to calcite deposition assist in the precipitation of calcium carbonate as aragonite instead of calcite. Chemical inhibitors work by physically blocking the positions on the calcite crystal lattice which would have otherwise allowed calcite to develop into a larger crystal. Often an inhibitor for calcite has no effect on the aragonite crystal lattice, thus aragonite may deposit where calcite deposition is inhibited. Another association with aragonite in some NSW caves appears to be high evaporation rates allowing calcite, aragonite and vaterite to deposit. Vaterite is another unstable polymorph of calcium carbonate, which reverts to aragonite and calcite over time. Vaterite, aragonite and calcite were found together in cave sediments in areas with low humidity in Wollondilly Cave, Wombeyan. Several factors were found to be associated with the deposition of aragonite instead of calcite speleothems in NSW caves. They included the presence of ferroan dolomite, calcite-inhibitors (in particular ions of magnesium, manganese, phosphate, sulfate and heavy metals), and both air movement and humidity. Aragonite deposits in several NSW caves were examined to determine whether the material is or is not aragonite. Substrates to the aragonite were examined, as was the nature of the bedrock. The work concentrated on Contact Cave and Wiburds Lake Cave at Jenolan, Sigma Cave, Wollondilly Cave and Cow Pit at Wombeyan and Piano Cave and Deep Hole (Cave) at Walli. Comparisons are made with other caves. The study sites are all located in Palaeozoic rocks within the Lachlan Fold Belt tectonic region. Two of the sites, Jenolan and Wombeyan, are close to the western edge of the Sydney Basin. The third site, Walli, is close to a warm spring. The physical, climatic, chemical and mineralogical influences on calcium carbonate deposition in the caves were investigated. Where cave maps were unavailable, they were prepared on site as part of the study. %At Jenolan Caves, Contact Cave and Wiburds Lake Cave were examined in detail, %and other sites were compared with these. Contact Cave is located near the eastern boundary of the Late Silurian Jenolan Caves Limestone, in an area of steeply bedded and partially dolomitised limestone very close to its eastern boundary with the Jenolan volcanics. Aragonite in Contact Cave is precipitated on the ceiling as anthodites, helictites and coatings. The substrate for the aragonite is porous, altered, dolomitised limestone which is wedged apart by aragonite crystals. Aragonite deposition in Contact Cave is associated with a concentration of calcite-inhibiting ions, mainly minerals containing ions of magnesium, manganese and to a lesser extent, phosphates. Aragonite, dolomite and rhodochrosite are being actively deposited where these minerals are present. Calcite is being deposited where minerals containing magnesium ions are not present. The inhibitors appear to be mobilised by fresh water entering the cave as seepage along the steep bedding and jointing. During winter, cold dry air pooling in the lower part of the cave may concentrate minerals by evaporation and is most likely associated with the ``popcorn line'' seen in the cave. Wiburds Lake Cave is located near the western boundary of the Jenolan Caves Limestone, very close to its faulted western boundary with Ordovician cherts. Aragonite at Wiburds Lake Cave is associated with weathered pyritic dolomitised limestone, an altered, dolomitised mafic dyke in a fault shear zone, and also with bat guano minerals. Aragonite speleothems include a spathite, cavity fills, vughs, surface coatings and anthodites. Calcite occurs in small quantities at the aragonite sites. Calcite-inhibitors associated with aragonite include ions of magnesium, manganese and sulfate. Phosphate is significant in some areas. Low humidity is significant in two areas. Other sites briefly examined at Jenolan include Glass Cave, Mammoth Cave, Spider Cave and the show caves. Aragonite in Glass Cave may be associated with both weathering of dolomitised limestone (resulting in anthodites) and with bat guano (resulting in small cryptic forms). Aragonite in the show caves, and possibly in Mammoth and Spider Cave is associated with weathering of pyritic dolomitised limestone. Wombeyan Caves are developed in saccharoidal marble, metamorphosed Silurian Wombeyan Caves Limestone. Three sites were examined in detail at Wombeyan Caves: Sigma Cave, Wollondilly Cave and Cow Pit (a steep sided doline with a dark zone). Sigma Cave is close to the south east boundary of the Wombeyan marble, close to its unconformable boundary with effusive hypersthene porphyry and intrusive gabbro, and contains some unmarmorised limestone. Aragonite occurs mainly in a canyon at the southern extremity of the cave and in some other sites. In Sigma Cave, aragonite deposition is mainly associated with minerals containing calcite-inhibitors, as well as some air movement in the cave. Calcite-inhibitors at Sigma Cave include ions of magnesium, manganese, sulfate and phosphate (possibly bat origin), partly from bedrock veins and partly from breakdown of minerals in sediments sourced from mafic igneous rocks. Substrates to aragonite speleothems include corroded speleothem, bedrock, ochres, mud and clastics. There is air movement at times in the canyon, it has higher levels of CO2 than other parts of the cave and humidity is high. Air movement may assist in the rapid exchange of CO2 at speleothem surfaces. Wollondilly Cave is located in the eastern part of the Wombeyan marble. At Wollondilly Cave, anthodites and helictites were seen in an inaccessible area of the cave. Paramorphs of calcite after aragonite were found at Jacobs Ladder and the Pantheon. Aragonite at Star Chamber is associated with huntite and hydromagnesite. In The Loft, speleothem corrosion is characteristic of bat guano deposits. Aragonite, vaterite and calcite were detected in surface coatings in this area. Air movement between the two entrances of this cave has a drying effect which may serve to concentrate minerals by evaporation in some parts of the cave. The presence of vaterite and aragonite in fluffy coatings infers that vaterite may be inverting to aragonite. Calcite-inhibitors in the sediments include ions of phosphate, sulphate, magnesium and manganese. Cave sediment includes material sourced from detrital mafic rocks. Cow Pit is located near Wollondilly Cave, and cave W43 is located near the northern boundary of the Wombeyan marble. At Cow Pit, paramorphs of calcite after aragonite occur in the walls as spheroids with minor huntite. Aragonite is a minor mineral in white wall coatings and red phosphatic sediments with minor hydromagnesite and huntite. At cave W43, aragonite was detected in the base of a coralloid speleothem. Paramorphs of calcite after aragonite were observed in the same speleothem. Dolomite in the bedrock may be a source of magnesium-rich minerals at cave W43. Walli Caves are developed in the massive Belubula Limestone of the Ordovician Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup (Barrajin Group). At the caves, the limestone is steeply bedded and contains chert nodules with dolomite inclusions. Gypsum and barite occur in veins in the limestone. At Walli Caves, Piano Cave and Deep Hole (Deep Cave) were examined for aragonite. Gypsum occurs both as a surface coating and as fine selenite needles on chert nodules in areas with low humidity in the caves. Aragonite at Walli caves was associated with vein minerals and coatings containing calcite-inhibitors and, in some areas, low humidity. Calcite-inhibitors include sulfate (mostly as gypsum), magnesium, manganese and barium. Other caves which contain aragonite are mentioned. Although these were not major study sites, sufficient information is available on them to make a preliminary assessment as to why they may contain aragonite. These other caves include Flying Fortress Cave and the B4-5 Extension at Bungonia near Goulburn, and Wyanbene Cave south of Braidwood. Aragonite deposition at Bungonia has some similarities with that at Jenolan in that dolomitisation of the bedrock has occurred, and the bedding or jointing is steep allowing seepage of water into the cave, with possible oxidation of pyrite. Aragonite is also associated with a mafic dyke. Wyanbene cave features some bedrock dolomitisation, and also features low grade ore bodies which include several known calcite-inhibitors. Aragonite appears to be associated with both features. Finally, brief notes are made of aragonite-like speleothems at Colong Caves (between Jenolan and Wombeyan), a cave at Jaunter (west of Jenolan) and Wellington (240\,km NW of Sydney).

Glenbrook Lagoon, an 8 hectare lake receiving rainfall runoff from a residential catchment, is experiencing nutrient enrichment problems expressed as excessive aquatic plant presence. This study aims to assess the relative nutrient contribution of the total system compartments, including catchment loading, water column, aquatic plants and surface sediment. This information is utilised in the formulation of management strategies which may produce a sustainable nutrient reduction and general improvement in the system. The total nutrient content of the aquatic system was determined to be high in comparison with the present nutrient loading from the catchment. The ideal management case considers nutrient reduction of the surface sediment compartment firstly, followed by the aquatic plant community, with the water column and catchment influence as relatively low priority compartments. Various strategies for managing these are proposed. The total system benefits of the ideal management case are reductions in nutrients, aquatic plant biovolume and suspended solid loading. Unavoidable constraints placed upon the ideal management case include the excessive aquatic plant presence restricting accessability to the surface sediment for dredging. The resulting best management case requires aquatic plant eradication prior to sediment management, with the total system benefits associated with the ideal management case being retained.
Master of Science (Hons)

Over the last 60 years, grass tetany has been recognised as a significant lethal condition in sheep and cattle.Outcomes from this study include documentation of the likely precursors to grass tetany, ways to recognise these precursors, and long term practices that will enable producers to minimise livestock deaths. The benefit of this research to beef producers is that the environmental circumstances thought to be associated with outbreaks of grass tetany have been identified, along with remedial action that can be taken to prevent deaths occurring.Recommendations to industry on best practice to be adopted by leading producers to minimise outbreaks of grass tetany are made.This study provides an alternate strategy for the management of grass tetany in beef cattle, to the more clinical approaches previously recommended. It is suggested that losses from this economically important metabolic disease can be minimised if management practices of beef cattle producers in eastern Australia can incorporate a more holistic approach to farm management, which takes account of the soil/plant/animal/climate inter-relationships.
Master of Science (Hons)

In the years between 1960 and 1975 in NSW there emerged a loosely connected network of women interested in modern or creative embroidery. The Embroiderers' Guild of NSW served as a focus for many of these women, providing opportunities for them to exhibit their work, and to engage in embroidery education as teachers or as learners. Others worked independently, exhibited in commercial galleries and endeavoured to establish reputations as professional artists. Some of these women were trained artists and wanted embroidery to be seen as 'art'; others were enthusiastic amateurs, engaged in embroidery as a form of 'serious leisure'. They played a significant role in the development of creative embroidery and textile art in NSW and yet, for the most part, their story is absent from the narratives of Australian art and craft history. These women were involved in a network of interactions which displayed many of the characteristics of more organised art worlds, as posite d by sociologist Howard Becker. They produced work according to shared conventions, they established co-operative links with each other and with other organisations, they organised educational opportunities to encourage others to take up creative embroidery and they mounted exhibitions to facilitate engagement with a public audience. Although their absence from the literature suggests that they operated in isolation, my research indicates that there were many points of contact between the embroidery world, the broader craft world and the fine art community in NSW. This thesis examines the context in which creative embroiderers worked, discusses the careers of key individuals working at this time, explores the interactions between them, and evaluates the influence that they had on later practice in embroidery and textiles in NSW.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Injuries to people living and working on farms in New South Wales continue to be a significant burden on the health system, Workers’ Compensation system, agricultural industries and farming families. Strategies to reduce the number and severity of injuries suffered by farmers and people working on farms rely on accurate information. Unfortunately there is no one dataset available to describe the circumstances surrounding farm injuries and the size of this burden in Australia. Hence, a number of different data sources are required to provide a picture of farm injuries. To date, there has been very little critical examination of what value each of these datasets provides to describing farm injuries. This Thesis aimed to: • Undertake surveillance of injuries occurring to people on farms or during agricultural production in NSW using data from an Emergency Department, NSW Hospital Separations information, NSW Workers’ Compensation Claims, and ABS Deaths data. • Critically examine the utility of Emergency Department, Hospital, Workers’ Compensation, and ABS Deaths Data for the surveillance of farm injuries in NSW. • Critically examine data classification systems used in Emergency Department, Hospital, Workers’ Compensation, and ABS Deaths data collections to describe the breadth of farm injuries in NSW. • Define the priority areas for farm injury prevention initiatives in NSW based on the information obtained from the examination of the data from Emergency Department, Hospital, Workers’ Compensation, and ABS Deaths. • Evaluate the effectiveness of the NSW Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) rebate scheme and examine the utility of the data currently available in NSW to measure the performance of the program. Four datasets, Tamworth Emergency Department, Hospital Separations, Workers’ Compensation and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Deaths data were used to provide information on the surveillance of farm injuries, describe the breadth of classifications used to describe farm injuries, and define priorities for the prevention of farm injuries. There were 384 farm-related injuries which presented to the Emergency Department at the Tamworth Base Hospital between 1 September 1997 and 31 August 1998. Emergency Department data collected in this study used the Farm Injury Optimal Dataset (FIOD) for classification, which allowed for a comprehensive picture of the circumstances surrounding the injury event. The three most common external causes of injury were related to horses, motorcycles, and animals. Commonly people were working at the time of injury. Children represented 21% of the people injured. The average number of injuries per 100 farms per annum was 34.7. An examination of hospital discharge data for NSW was undertaken for the period 1 July 1992 to 30 June 2000 where the location of the injury was a farm. Classification of cases in this dataset conformed to the International Classification of Disease (ICD) versions 9 and 10. There were 14,490 people who were injured on a farm during the study period. The three most common external causes of injury were motorcycles, animals being ridden and agricultural machinery. Children represented 17% of all farm injury cases. The rate per 1,000 farms ranged from 19 to 42 per annum. An examination of Workers’ Compensation claims for agricultural industries in NSW between 1 July 1992 and 30 June 2001 was undertaken. The ‘Type of Occurrence’ classification system was used to code the claims. There were 24,332 claims of which the majority were males (82%). The incidence of injury / disease in agriculture per annum varied from 37 per 1,000 workers to 73 per 1,000 workers. The rate per 1,000 agricultural establishments varied from 54 to 76. The average cost of a claim was $10,880 and the average time lost per claims was 9.2 weeks. There were 81 deaths and 3,158 permanent disabilities. The three most common agents were sheep / goats (5%), ferrous and non-ferrous metals (5%), crates / cartons / boxes / etc (5%). Using ABS deaths data to examine the deaths of people working and living on farms was limited to males whose occupation was recorded as ‘farmer and farm manager’ and ‘agricultural labourer and related worker’. There were 952 deaths over the period 1 January 1991 and 31 December 2000. The information provided a consistent series of cases over time. Areas where prevention should be directed included motor vehicle accidents; falls; agricultural machinery; other machinery; firearms; poisoning; and drowning. Using any one of the datasets alone to examine people injured on farms not only underestimates the number of people injured, but also misses particular types of agents involved in farm injuries. Each of the datasets used in this Thesis provides a different perspective of farm injury in NSW. By examining the information together, there are a number of areas which are consistently represented in each dataset such as falls and agricultural machinery. While no one dataset provided all the information that would be useful for the prevention of injuries, the available information does provide direction for the development of prevention strategies. The overall weakness of the information provided is that it misses a number of risk factors that contribute to farm injuries such as fatigue and training. The lack of appropriate denominator information also makes it difficult to directly compare the datasets and estimate the size of the problem. There are a number of additional coding categories that could be included in each dataset that would provide a better understanding of the different groups at risk of sustaining an injury on a farm or during agricultural work. These coding categories include activity at time of injury, admission to hospital, and occupation. An example of the use of data to determine the effectiveness of a farm injury prevention program is the ‘NSW Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) Rebate Scheme’ evaluation. Tractor rollover deaths have been identified as an issue for prevention by Farmsafe Australia; however, such deaths were not identified in any of the datasets used in this Thesis due to coding limitations in the ABS data. In this Thesis information about the evaluation of the ‘NSW ROPS Rebate Scheme’ is presented. The scheme was successful in fitting 10,449 ROPS to tractors and the following lessons were learnt: when providing a rebate, the administration (i.e. sending the cheque) needs to be done well; advertising is important and should be co-ordinated, increase the awareness of the risk(s) the intervention is aiming to prevent and effectiveness of subsequent solution (s); the program should ensure there is an increased awareness of the outcome the intervention is aiming to prevent; if regulation is part of the program, enforcement needs to undertaken; and should address any barriers to uptake. The information provided in this Thesis highlights the substantial burden that farm injury places on the agricultural and rural sector of NSW. While there is no one data source that can describe the circumstances and the burden of farm injuries, the currently available datasets do provide an insight into the circumstances of farm injuries and the burden these injuries place on health, Workers’ Compensation, agricultural industries and farming families.

Doctor of Philosophy
Responsible Government began in New South Wales in 1856. Direct participation by women began 70 years later in 1925 with the election of Millicent Preston-Stanley. Her first speech questioned whether Parliament was a fit place for women. Another significant milestone was reached after another 70 years when female MLAs in the Fifty-first Parliament constituted 15% of the Legislative Assembly and female MLCs made up 33% of the Legislative Council. In the 1990s there was no formal barrier to the participation of persons on the basis of their sex but no scholarly study had addressed the question of whether the Parliament’s culture was open to all gender orientations. This study examines the hypothesis that the Parliament informally favoured some types of gender behaviour over others. It identifies ‘gender’ as behaviour rather than a characteristic of persons and avoids the conflation of gender with sex, and particularly with women exclusively. The research used interviews, observation and document study for triangulation. The thesis describes the specific context of New South Wales parliamentary politics 1995-1999 with an emphasis on factors that affect an understanding of gender. It explores notions of representation held by MPs, analyses their personal backgrounds and reports on gender-rich behaviours in the chambers. The study concludes that gender was a significant factor in the behaviour of Members of the Parliament. There were important differences between the ways that male and female MPs approached their roles. Analysis of the concept of gender in the Parliament shows that some behaviours are more likely to bring political success than are others. The methodology developed here by adapting literature from other systems has important strengths. The data suggest that there is a need for many more detailed studies of aspects of gender in parliaments.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2003.
Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 8, 2009) Degree awarded 2003; thesis submitted 2002. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Government and International Relations, Faculty of Arts. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

This thesis examines mortality rates among adults who experienced full-time imprisonment in New South Wales between January 1988 and December 2002, by record linkage to the Australian National Death Index. The cohort included 76383 men and 8820 women. Over a mean follow-up of 7.7 years, 5137 deaths (4724 men, 423 women) were identified. Three hundred and three deaths (295 men, eight women) occurred in custody. The median age at death was 36.6 years for men and 32.7 years for women. The prominent causes of death were drug overdose, suicide, accidental and cardiovascular disease. The crude mortality rate was 797 per 100000 person-years for men and 685 per 100000 person-years for women. Risk of mortality was 3.7 times greater in male and 7.8 times greater in female prisoners than the standard population. The excess mortality was substantially raised following release from prison in both men (standardised mortality ratio 4.0 vs 1.7) and women (standardised mortality ratio 8.2 vs 2.1). The period of highest risk of death was the first two weeks after release. Drug overdose was the main cause of death, responsible for 68% of the deaths in the first two weeks for men and for 90% of the deaths in this period for women. In men, there was also a clustering of suicide directly after release. Prisoners admitted to prison psychiatric hospital, repeat offenders and those in the early stage of followup were at increased risk of mortality. Violent offenders were overrepresented in suicide figures and property offenders in death from overdose. Minority groups, in particular men, had a lower risk of death than white people. The above findings reinforce how disadvantaged prisoners are, measured by mortality as the most fundamental scale of human wellbeing. Prison represents a potential opportunity for treatment and public health intervention to address some of the health problems underlying the high mortality found in this study. The key challenge is, however, to provide a continuum of care between the prison and community.

This research conducts a conceptual and qualitative investigation into the practices, rationales and functions of imprisonment in NSW. A specific system of imprisonment, in this case the prisons operated by the NSW Department of Corrective services, is explored in order to examine the practices, processes and justifications for incarceration. The various purposes, theories, rhetorics, practices and contradictions of the prison system in NSW and the ways in which the people who are responsible for the administration of this system make sense of its operations and its incoherencies, are central to this analysis. This research utilises a hybrid methodology involving aspects of content analysis and grounded theory. At the centre of this research are eight interviews with senior NSW Corrective Services staff. This analysis is supplemented by interview with ex-prisoners, and other people familiar with, but not working for Corrective Services. In addition a documentary analysis of both Corrective Services documents, and external literature examining NSW prison is carried out. The findings of these analyses are then explored with reference to both their internal coherency, as well as their relationship to a range of theoretical frameworks. The thesis connects abstract and philosophical questions of punishment and penalty with the logistics of running the prison system in NSW. This research found a diversity of practices, understandings and justifications of imprisonment which connected to particular cultural, social philosophical and structural trends. These included victimary discourses, the rhetoric of progress, the influence of managerialism, the faith in ???objective??? professionals, the increasing emphasis on empiricism, the conflicts between coercive practices and individual responsibility, the construction of prisoners as dangerous, and an ongoing struggle for purpose. Imprisonment in NSW was found to be characterised by discrepancies between the intentions of its administrators and pragmatics of its practice, conflicts between internal explanations of its purpose, as well as contradictions between internal Corrective Services accounts and external expectations about the roles, functions and practices of imprisonment. Theoretical perspectives explaining why these characterise imprisonment in NSW were developed. These perspective include the ???ought/is??? confusion of penal administrators, the inhumanity of humane containment, the myth of technocratic amorality, and the sedimentation of purpose.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Environmental & Life Sciences, Graduate School of the Environment, 2002.
Includes bibliographical references: p. 228-232.
Geomorphology, archaeology and geoarchaeology: introduction and background -- Surface stone artefact scatters: why can we see them? -- Geomorphic controls on spatial patterning of the surface stone artefact record -- A temporal framework for interpreting surface artefact scatters in Western NSW -- Synthesis: stone artefact scatters in a dynamic landscape.
Surface scatters of stone artefacts are the most ubiquitous feature of the Australian Aboriginal archaeological record, yet the most underutilized by archaeologists in developing models of Aboriginal prehistory. Among the many reasons for this are the lack of understanding of geomorphic processes that have exposed them, and the lack of a suitable chronological framework for investigating Aboriginal 'use of place'. This thesis addresses both of these issues. -- In arid western NSW, erosion and deposition accelerated as a result of the introduction of sheep grazing in the mid 1800s has resulted in exposure of artefact scatters in some areas, burial in others, and complete removal in those parts of the landscape subject to concentrated flood flows. The result is a patchwork of artefact scatters exhibiting various degrees of preservation, exposure and visibility. My research at Stud Creek, in Sturt National Park in far western NSW, develops artefact and landscape survey protocols to accommodate this dynamic geomorphic setting. A sampling strategy stratified on the basis of landscape morphodynamics is presented that allows archaeologists to target areas of maximum artefact exposure and minimum post-discard disturbance. Differential artefact visibility at the time of the survey is accommodated by incorporating measures of surface cover which quantify the effects of various ephemeral environmental processes, such as deposition of sediments, vegetation growth, and bioturbation, on artefact count. -- While surface stone artefact scatters lack the stratigraphy usually considered necessary for establishing the timing of Aboriginal occupation, a combination of radiocarbon determinations on associated heat-retainer ovens, and stratigraphic analysis and dating of the valley fills which underlie the scatters, allows a two-stage chronology for huntergatherer activity to be developed. In the Stud Creek study area, dating of the valley fill by OSL established a maximum age of 2,040±100 y for surface artefact scatters. The heatretainer ovens ranged in age from 1630±30 y BP to 220±55 y BP. Bayesian statistical analysis of the sample of 28 radiocarbon determinations supported the notion, already established from analysis of the artefacts, that the Stud Creek valley was occupied intermittently for short durations over a relatively long period of time, rather than intensively occupied at any one time. Furthermore, a gap in oven building between about 800 and 1100 years ago was evident. Environmental explanations for this gap are explored, but the paiaeoenvironmental record for this part of the Australian arid zone is too sparse and too coarse to provide explanations of human behaviour on time scales of just a few hundred years. -- Having established a model for Stud Creek of episodic landscape change throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene, right up to European contact, its veracity was evaluated in a pilot study at another location within the region. The length of the archaeological record preserved in three geomorphically distinct locations at Fowlers Gap, 250 km south of Stud Creek, is a function of geomorphic dynamics, with a record of a few hundred years from sites located on channel margins and low terraces, and the longest record thus far of around 5,000 years from high terrace surfaces more remote from active channel incision. But even here, the record is not continuous, and like Stud Creek, the gaps are interpreted to indicate that Aboriginal people moved into and out of these places intermittently throughout the mid to late Holocene. -- I conclude that episodic nonequilibrium characterizes the geomorphic history of these arid landscapes, with impacts on the preservation of the archaeological record. Dating of both archaeological and landform features shows that the landscape, and the archaeological record it preserves, are both spatially and temporally disjointed. Models of Aboriginal hunter-gatherer behaviour and settlement patterns must take account of these discontinuities in an archaeological record that is controlled by geomorphic activity. -- I propose a new geoarchaeological framework for landscape-based studies of surface artefact scatters that incorporates geomorphic analysis and dating of landscapes, as well as tool typology, into the interpretation of spatial and temporal patterns of Aboriginal huntergatherer 'use of place'.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
vii, 232 p. ill., maps

This sociological investigation examines the changing role of parents in the education of their children in Catholic schools in New South Wales over the twentieth century. Catholic Church documents specifically state primary parental responsibility for their children???s religious education. Catholic schools were established to inculcate faith, and assist parents??? role. This thesis asks, to what extent that role has been realised? It unravels the processes that determined and defined the changing role of Catholic parents during this period, and identifies significant shifts in institutional thinking and practices related to parents and resultant shifts in cultural and social perceptions. After half a century of conformity and comfort, a significant era followed as the Australian Church responded to challenges, including financial crisis for Catholic schools, reform in the Australian education system, and the impact of the Second Vatican Council. Cohorts from three generations were selected. Interviews and focus groups elicited memories that were recorded and analysed, in terms of the integral questions; the role and involvement of parents in Catholic schools. Participants recalled their own childhood in Catholic schools and, where applicable, as parents educating their own children, or as religious teachers. The analysis was theoretically informed by the work of Durkheim, Greeley, Coleman and Bourdieu. A review of Church documents and commentaries through the twentieth century, bearing on the education of children, showed the official Church position. Despite numerous rhetorical statements issued by Catholic authorities, emphasising the role of parents as ???primary educators???, the practical responses ranged from active encouragement to dismissal. Teachers in Catholic schools and related bureaucracies were, seemingly, reluctant to initiate a more inclusive partnership role. Gradually, and in a piecemeal fashion, the Catholic Church and its schools have been responding to growing parental consciousness of their role and responsibilities. A significant shift was signalled by the New South Wales Bishops in establishing the Council of Catholic School Parents, to be supported by a full-time, salaried Executive Officer, in 2003. But any accommodation to new understandings of parent/teacher, or family/school relation is complex and not to be oversimplified as a simple sharing, or ceding of authority.

This thesis examines cancer and mortality rates among people diagnosed with hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infection in New South Wales (NSW) from 1990 through 2002, by linking hepatitis notifications with the NSW Central Cancer Registry (CCR) and National Death Index. Of the 39101 HBV, 75834 HCV and 2604 HBV/HCV co-infection notifications included 1052, 1761 and 85 were linked to cancer notifications and 1233, 4008 and 186 were linked to death notifications respectively. Of 2072 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) notifications to the CCR 323, 267 and 85 were linked to HBV, HCV and HBV/HCV co-infection notifications. Incidence of HCC was 6.5, 4.0 and 5.9 per 1000 person years for HBV, HCV and HBV/HCV co-infected groups. Risk of HCC in those diagnosed with hepatitis was 20 to 30 times greater than the standard population. There was a marginally statistically significant increased risk of immunoproliferative malignancies associated with HCV infection (SIR=5.6 95% CI 1.8 ???17.5). Risk of death for those with hepatitis was significantly greater, 1.5 to 5 fold, than the general population with the greatest risk among those with HBV/HCV co-infection. The primary cause of HBV deaths was liver related, particularly HCC, whereas in the HCV groups drug related deaths were most frequent. Among people with HCV, risk of dying from drug related causes was significantly greater than from liver related causes (p=0.012), with the greatest increased risk in females age 15- 24 years (SMR 56.9, 95%CI 39.2???79.9). Median age at diagnosis of HCC varied markedly by country of birth and hepatitis group: HBV 66, 63 and 57years ; HCV 51, 68 and 71 years; unlinked 69, 70 and 64 years for Australian, European, and Asian-born groups, respectively (P<0.0001 for all groups). While the risk of cancer, particularly HCC, is elevated among people with HBV and HCV infection, the absolute risk remains low. Young people with HCV face a higher mortality risk from continued drug use than from liver damage related to their HCV infection. The influence of IDU in the epidemiology of HCC in New South Wales was possibly reflected in the varying distributions of age and country of birth.

Intertidal wetland habitats in southeastern Australia have changed significantly during the past sixty years. Mangrove habitats have expanded both seawards and landwards, the latter being at the expense of saltmarsh habitats. This relatively common phenomenon is generally suggested to be an outcome of sea-level rise. Several factors potentially responsible for this change are examined, including changes in mean sealevel during the past 50 to 100 years, changes in climate, population growth, catchment landuse, and estuary type. A protocol for mapping estuarine habitats was developed and implemented, incorporating the application of geographic information systems. Spatial and temporal coastal wetland habitat changes at nine sites along the New South Wales coast are illustrated. These habitat dynamics were shown to not correlate between sites. The results demonstrate that sea-level rise in this region cannot solely account for the extent of change during the past sixty years. With the exception of one site (Careel Bay), there have been no correlations between contemporary mean sea-level rise and mangrove incursion of the saltmarsh habitats at the study sites, or with rainfall patterns, at the scale of observation in this study, which was largely decadal. The only correlations determined during this study have been between population growth and coastal wetland habitat dynamics in some sites. In spite of saltmarsh habitat loss being a regional phenomenon, local factors appear to have a profound bearing on the rates of change. Neither contemporary mean sea-level rise, rainfall patterns, estuary type, catchment landuse, catchment natural cover nor population pressure can account solely for the patterns in the spatial and temporal dynamics of the coastal wetlands of New South Wales. It seems apparent that regional factors create preconditions favourable for mangrove incursion, but that localised conditions have been responsible for the extent of these incursions from site to site. That is, despite higher sea-level and greater rainfall, the extent of change has been determined by the unique characteristics of each site. The results have important implications for current estuary management practices in the state of New South Wales. The lack of spatial and temporal trends in coastal wetland habitat dynamics point to the need for management to be conducted on a localised, rather than regional scale. Additionally, anthropogenic influences must be carefully managed, since the extent of mangrove habitat expansion into saltmarsh areas is unlikely to be a natural occurrence.

In this thesis I explore the emerging concept of and existing approaches for, Sustainability Management Systems (SMS), and consider their relevance and potential application to the context of landfill facilities in New South Wales. The methods I employ for this research are literature review and analysis supported by an illustrative desktop case study. The first part of my literature review provides an understanding of universal sustainability characteristics, including the three widely recognised dimensions of sustainability: environmental protection, social or community well-being, and economic viability; along with stakeholder engagement, intra and inter-generational equity, and innovation. The literature review then explores existing approaches for developing SMS, and the context of landfills in New South Wales. Through the review and analysis of existing SMS approaches in light of the New South Wales landfill context, I identify the ‘Expansion of Environmental Management Systems (EMS)’ approach as the most appropriate to follow. I develop a SMS framework based on the ‘Expansion of EMS’ approach specifically for landfills in New South Wales. The framework follows the Plan, Do, Check, Act continual improvement cycle utilised by EMS and expands the typical scope of an environmental management system at each stage of the cycle to include sustainability characteristics identified earlier through the literature review. In applying my SMS framework to a real-life New South Wales landfill in a desktop case study I provide an example of how the framework can be interpreted to design and develop a landfill sustainability management system. Overall my study demonstrates that the emerging field of SMS is indeed relevant to landfills in New South Wales and provides a framework and guidance to the waste management industry for SMS design and development.

Doctor of Philosophy
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The decline and extinction of amphibian species over the past three decades is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest biodiversity crises of modem time. Providing convincing data to support hypotheses about these declines has proved difficult, which has greatly restricted the development and implementation of management actions that may prevent further amphibian declines and extinctions from occurring. In this thesis, I present research that was undertaken as part of the recovery programs for the southern corroboree frog (Pseudophryne corroboree), and the Booroolong frog (Litoria booroolongensis); two species that underwent very rapid declines in distribution and abundance during the 1980's. More specifically, I investigated potential causal factors in the declines of both species using experimental and correlative studies, and examined the mechanisms by which one threatening process (chytridiomycosis) may be causing continued decline and extinction in P. corroboree. I also examined the implications of population dynamics for monitoring L. booroolongensis, and suggest a possible monitoring strategy that may reliably facilitate the implementation of recovery objectives for this species. I also tested one possible reintroduction technique aimed at preventing the continued decline and extinction of P. corroboree populations. In Chapters 2 and 3, I present the results from a series of experiments in artificial enclosures designed to examine whether the tadpoles of L. booroolongensis are susceptible to predation by co-occurring introduced predatory fish species; brown trout (Salmo trutta), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), European carp (Cyprinus carpio), redfin perch (Percafluviatilis), and mosquito fish (Gambusia holbrooki). I demonstrated that the tadpoles of L. booroolongensis, and a closely related species Litoria lesueuri, were palatable to non-native trout species, but not to two native predatory fish species, Gadopsis bispinosus and Galaxias olidus. A pond breeding frog species included in this experiment, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis, was palatable to both the native and non-native fish species. In a separate experiment I also demonstrated that the tadpole of L. booroolongensis is palatable to the three other introduced fish species examined in this study; C. carpio, P. fluviatilis, and G. holbrooki. In three of the experiments, the provision of rock within enclosures as a potential refuge habitat did not afford protection to L. booroolongensis tadpoles from predation by any of the five introduced fish species examined. While all the introduced fish species tested here did consume L. booroolongensis tadpoles, the results also suggested that chemical unpalatability might afford some level of protection against some of these fish species. Firstly, the addition of alternative prey items in one of the experiments reduced the proportion of tadpoles consumed, suggesting that L. booroolongensis may not be a preferred prey item. Secondly, the proportion of tadpoles consumed varied greatly among the different fish species examined, suggesting differing levels of palatability. Overall, this study supports previous research in suggesting that chemical unpalatability may be an important strategy for the tadpoles of riverine frog species in south-eastern Australia to avoid predation by native fish species, and that this strategy is less effective against introduced fish species. While L. booroolongensis currently persists in streams inhabited by a number of introduced fish species, this study supports the likelihood that these species are having a negative impact on populations of L. booroolongensis in the wild. In Chapter 4, I present the results of a study aimed at examining potential monitoring techniques for L. booroolongensis. The results of a mark-recapture exercise demonstrated that L. booroolongensis may exhibit large fluctuations in abundance from one year to the next, and through a prospective power analysis approach, I demonstrated that it would be difficult to confidently identify population trends of interest using either indices or estimates of abundance for this species. An assessment of the capacity to identify the presence or absence of L. booroolongensis using nighttime spotlight surveys demonstrated the high detectability of this species using this technique, at both the scale of 300-meter sections of stream and individual breeding areas (typically less than 10-meters of stream). This study suggests that the monitoring objectives of the L. booroolongensis recovery program would be most effectively achieved using presence/absence surveys at different scales. In Chapter 5, I present the results of a field survey aimed at determining the current distribution and habitat requirements of L. booroolongensis in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales. Of the 163 sites I surveyed across 49 streams,I located L. booroolongensis along 77 of these sites from 27 streams. Based on population and habitat connectivity, this study identified 18 populations of L. booroolongensis that are likely to be operating as independent populations. Twelve of these populations are not represented in conservation reserves, but rather occur along streams that flow through the agricultural landscape. A broad scale habitat analysis identified a positive relationship between extent of rock structures along the stream and the occurrence of L. booroolongensis, and a negative relationship between the proportion of canopy cover and this species' occurrence. At the breeding habitat scale, this study identified a positive relationship between the presence of breeding males and; number of rock crevices in the aquatic environment, extent of emergent rocks, and proportion pool. This analysis also detected a negative relationship between occupancy and water depth. These results confirm previous work suggesting the importance of rocky stream habitats to the persistence of L. booroolongensis, but also suggest how disturbance processes, such as increasing sedimentation and weed invasion, may reduce the suitability of rocky structures as breeding sites. In Chapter 6, I investigated current levels of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) infection in corroboree frog populations, and used retrospective screening of museum specimens to assess the possibility that this pathogen was implicated in the initial decline of the corroboree frogs. Using histology, I did not detect any B. dendrobatidis infections in corroboree frog populations prior to their decline, however using the same technique, moderate levels of infection were detected in post-decline populations of both species. Real-time PCR screening of skin swabs identified much higher overall infection rates in post-decline populations of P. corroboree (between 44% and 59%), while significantly lower rates of infection were observed in P. pengilleyi populations (14%). These results suggest that the initial and continued decline of the corroboree frogs may well be attributed to the emergence of B. dendrobatidis in populations of these species. In Chapter 7, I investigated how B. dendrobatidis may be causing the continued decline of P. corroboree through the presence of an abundant reservoir host for this pathogen. I found that populations of adult C. signifera in sub-alpine bogs carry high B. dendrobatidis infection rates (86%), but appear unaffected by this infection. An experiment involving the release of P. corroboree tadpoles into 15 natural pools resulted in metamorphs from seven of these pools testing positive for B. dendrobatidis, with all these individuals dying soon after metamorphosis. These results support the possibility that B. dendrobatidis infection in P. corroboree populations is being facilitated by the presence of large numbers of infected C. signifera in the shared environment. Chapter 8 presents the results of a population augmentation study for P. corroboree. I investigated the extent to which increasing recruitment to metamorphosis may result in population recovery in this species. This was undertaken by harvesting eggs from the field and rearing them through to mid stage tadpoles over the winter period prior to being released back to their natal ponds in spring. While I was able to increase recruitment to metamorphosis by an average of 20 percent, this did not result in a noticeable influence on the subsequent adult population size, as both manipulated and non-manipulated sites declined over the course of this study by an average of 80 percent. I observed a positive relationship between natural recruitment to a late tadpole stage and subsequent adult male population size, however there was considerable variation associated with this relationship. The relationship between recruitment and subsequent population size at the augmentation sites was consistent with the relationship observed at the non-manipulated sites. These results suggest that recruitment to metamorphosis may not be the most important life stage restricting the population recovery of P. corroboree, but that mortality during post-metamorphic stages may be more important in regulating current population size. Hence, further attempts to use captive rearing to increase P. corroboree populations in the wild should focus on the release of post-metamorphic frogs. Overall, this thesis demonstrates the value of quantitative research to the implementation and progress of threatened species recovery programs. While this research will specifically contribute to the recovery programs for L. booroolongensis and P. corroboree, it more broadly contributes to the understanding and capacity to respond to the concerning levels of amphibian extinctions currently occurring throughout the world.

In response to concern that excessive macroalgal growth and accumulation was occurring in some inshore areas of Lake Macquarie, the distribution, abundance and seasonality of macroalgae was investigated in relation to nutrient input and power station cooling water. Macroalgal dry weight biomass was measured at ten sites on a monthly basis for two years, with an analysis of community structure conducted using Multi-Dimensional Scaling. The macroalgal community in Lake Macquarie was typical of those found in other New South Wales coastal lagoons, exhibiting considerable spatial and temporal variation. A close similarity was observed in macroalgal community structure at sites affected by urban nutrient input, these being characterised by a high biomass often attributable to only one or two species. These nuisance macroalgae were mostly green algae, which were almost entirely absent from other sites. Biomass at sites affected by urban nutrient input was generally within the range documented for eutrophic estuaries elsewhere. Analysis of macroalgal community structure showed no evidence of large-scale changes macroalgal communities attributable to the effects of power station cooling water except within 500m of the outfall. At sites affected by a 1-2??C temperature increase, community structure and the magnitude of the biomass were similar to sites deemed as being relatively free of human impact. A reduction in species diversity occurred only within the immediate discharge zone, where water temperatures were approximately 6??C above ambient temperatures. Excessive growth of nuisance macroalgal species was not observed at any of the sites influenced by power station cooling water. There were no distinct patterns in seasonality of macroalgal growth in this study, though the greatest biomass appeared to occur in spring. The irregular temporal variation in macroalgal growth suggests that the most significant factors affecting growth occur on a time scale of weeks to months. It is therefore likely nutrient input to the nearshore through surface runoff is an important influence on the distribution and abundance of macroalgae in Lake Macquarie. This emphasises the need to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus input from urban sources in Lake management.

Throughout their world distribution, fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) play an extremely important role in forest ecology through seed dispersal and pollination. However, the recognition of their role in maintaining forest ecological diversity has been largely overshadowed by the fact that fruit bats are known to cause damage to a wide variety of cultivated fruits and, as a result, significant effort is undertaken to control fruit bat numbers in areas where crop damage frequently occurs. In Australia, fruit bats of the genus Pteropus (or flying foxes) are well known for their role in destroying valuable fruit crops, particularly along the east coast from Cairns to Sydney. Historical evidence suggests that flying foxes have been culled as an orchard pest in large numbers for the past 80 years. Uncontrolled culling both on-farm and in roosts coupled with extensive habitat destruction in the past century, has resulted in noticeable declines both in flying fox distribution and local population numbers. In New South Wales, flying foxes have been 'protected' under the National Parks and Wildlife Act (1974) since 1986. From that time, fruitgrowers have been required to obtain a licence (referred to as an occupier's licence) from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to cull flying foxes causing damage to fruit crops. However, despite the 'protected' status of the species, flying foxes continue to be culled in large numbers as an orchard pest. An examination of the management of flying foxes in NSW, has shown that, between 1986-1992, fifteen NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Districts issued a combined total of 616 occupier's licences to shoot flying foxes with an total allocation of over 240,000 animals. In addition, most flying foxes are culled when the female is carrying her young under wing or when the young remain in the camp but continue to be dependent on her return for survival. Further evidence on the extent of culling includes a widely distributed fruitgrower survey with responses indicating that as few as 50% of the fruitgrowers shooting flying foxes in NSW obtain the required licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service. While the NPWS has undertaken research into the role of flying foxes in seed dispersal and pollination, management effort largely continues to focus on resolving conflicts between fruitgrowers and flying foxes primarily by issuing culling permits to fruitgrowers. At present, there is no NPWS policy on the management of flying foxes in NSW to guide the administration of the permit system. As a result, the process of issuing permits for flying foxes is largely inconsistent between NPWS Districts. The absence of comprehensive goals and objectives for the management of flying foxes has resulted in the current situation where large numbers of flying foxes are being culled both legally and illegally in the absence of any data on the impacts of unknown culling levels on local flying fox populations. The NPWS has a statutory obligation to manage flying foxes consistent with the 'protected' status of the species in NSW and several well known principles of wildlife management. However, current management of flying foxes in indicates that the Service may be in violation of the requirement to 'protect' and 'conserve' flying foxes as required under the National Parks and Wildlife Act (1974). This study recommends that licences issued to fruitgrowers to cull flying foxes be discontinued immediately and that adequate enforcement be engaged to reduce illegal shooting. This action should continue until such time that research on flying fox populations is able to demonstrate that the culling of flying foxes will not lead populations into decline. Furthermore, management effort should focus on the development of alternative strategies to reduce crop damage by flying foxes and provide incentives for growers to utilize existing control strategies such as netting.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked lethal condition associated with high morbidity and mortality. There is currently no cure for this disease. Several gene-based therapeutic approaches for treating DMD are currently under development but all are dependent on the knowledge of the causative dystrophin gene mutation. A combined mutation detection approach consisting of a quantitative PCR based analysis and DNA sequencing of the dystrophin gene resulted in a mutation etection rate of 96% in the New South Wales (NSW) DMD cohort. The proportion of exon duplication mutations was twice that generally reported for similar patient opulations. The clinical utility of the combined mutation protocol for DMD carrier testing clarified the carrier status of an additional one-third (33%) of female relatives compared to a conventional approach of biochemical, pedigree and linkage studies. The generally accepted view that two-thirds of mothers of isolated cases of DMD are themselves mutation carriers is challenged. Although this assumption is valid for duplication and DNA sequence mutations, it is not valid for deletion mutations in the NSW cohort. The incidence of new cases of DMD in the New South Wales population was educed from approximately 1 in 3594 live male births to 1 in 6022 live male births over a 25 year period, indicative of a significant effect of the combination of genetic counselling and improved methods of carrier detection over that period. In a study of a cohort of boys with DMD, who had both psychological and mutational analysis, it was shown that mutations affecting the shorter, C-terminal isoforms of dystrophin are associated with decreased mean intellectual function. A hypothesis is presented that mutations within the long 5' untranslated region of the Dp140 isoform are unlikely to significantly affect expression of this brain-expressed isoform. During the course of studying the NSW DMD cohort a family was identified which exhibited X-linkage and a unique clinical presentation involving episodes of severe and prolonged muscle weakness. A novel variant in the pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha subunit (PDHA 1) was identified. The phenotypic effect of this variant is not proven but a body of evidence implicates this as likely to be causative of the observed phenotype.

Master of Philosophy in Public Health
This thesis is about the substantial service Karitane provided in the teaching of mothercraft to guide parents in the care of their young children in New South Wales. At first called the Australian Mothercraft Society, it emerged in New South Wales as a voluntary organisation in 1923, closely allied to New Zealand’s Plunket Society founded in 1907 by Sir Truby King. Karitane was at its most active in the 1940s when it provided over a quarter of Sydney’s residential mothercraft services. Its beginnings were overshadowed by conflict and the New South Wales Department of Public Health did not acknowledge Karitane until the 1960s. Until then Karitane was absent from the public record of services for mother and baby in NSW. Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs community and the Karitane Products Society in New Zealand supported Karitane before it integrated into New South Wales’ government supported health services. Throughout it delivered on its aims of teaching mothers ways of caring for infants, disseminating knowledge about the care of young children and preparing specialist nurses. The main theme of this thesis is the ‘moving frontier’ that is the boundary between the voluntary providers of health services and governmental provision of health services. Karitane’s development has depended on the politics of health care at Commonwealth, State and local levels. The secondary themes derive from the competition for scarce resources amongst the professional groups involved; doctors, nurses and health service administrators. Karitane’s experience has not been unique; it has followed a trajectory common to voluntary organizations providing personal care services through the twentieth century and it has conformed to trends in public health. Sometimes Karitane led the trends and sometimes it trailed; it adapted to circumstances but it retains a degree of independence. Shining through all the problems with resources are the human experiences of appreciative mothers who used Karitane’s services and the dedicated staff and supporters who provided mothercentred help with the care of infants. The mother/infant relationship continues to be a central concern for public health. This study of Karitane gives a longitudinal perspective on the contribution of a small band of skilled people with a clear mission to provide services to assist mothers with their babies and young children.

Knowledge of the convict period in New South Wales has been substantially expanded and enriched through a number of revisionist scholarly studies in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The cumulative result has been the establishment of a number of new orthodoxies. These studies have drawn on a number of analytic frameworks including feminism and cliometrics, successfully challenging the previous historiography. The rich archival sources in New South Wales have been utilised to reformulate the convict period by a number of scholars, demonstrating the complexity of life in the penal colony. Academic divisions between what are regarded as “Australian” history and “British” history have imposed their own agendas on writing about transportation. This study challenges this imposition through an examination of petitioners’ approaches to the home and colonial administrations. A lacuna in the scholarly studies has been a lack of attention to transportation’s consequences for married couples and their children. This study seeks to narrow that gap through these petitions. The findings of the study demonstrate the continuation of links between those who were transported and those who remained in Britain. It is argued that these findings have important implications for future research within Britain, and that what is disclosed by these petitions and the individuals who were involved in on-going communications cannot be restricted either to Australian or convict histories. Our knowledge of what transportation meant to individuals in the periphery as well as those in the metropole is diminished if the focus remains firmly on the settler community. Supplementary material from contemporary sources as well as the official records passing between the two administrations has been utilised and these supplementary sources suggest that there was a broad division between official publicly stated policy and practice in respect of transportees’ family circumstances. Chapter One establishes the architecture of the thesis and explains the methodology adopted. Chapter Two offers a reinterpretation of the colony’s formation in 1788 and inserts the “convict audience” of that day into the historiography . Chapter Three examines two petitioners writing from different gaols in Britain prior to their expected transportation. A resolution of the division between cliometrics and this more qualitative humanist approach is proposed. Chapter Four is a study of petitioners in Britain and a study of the process required for a reunion and reconstitution of family units in New South Wales. Chapter Five seeks to a resiting of male convicts as family members through an examination of a number of contemporary sources. Chapter Six examines the petitions raised by husbands and fathers for their wives and families to be given free passages to the colony. Chapter Seven provides case studies of three transportees and their experiences of the petitioning process. In Chapter Eight the focus broadens out from married men to examine and provide a revision of convicts’ correspondence with their relatives and friends in Britain. Such correspondence has previously provided the basis for nationalist interpretations; the revision here suggests that such interpretations are anachronistic. Chapter Nine is an extended metaphor drawing the material together to the conclusions of the study.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2008.
Title from title screen (viewed February 12, 2009). Includes graphs and tables. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Geosciences, Faculty of Science. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2008.
A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, School of Social Sciences, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosphy. Includes bibliographies.

In this thesis I explore the conflicts which have arise between middle class' conservationists and working class timber communities. I examine the New South Wales rainforest controversy as a case study and seek to place the animosity and hostility which arose there within the context of class analysis. At the same time, I integrate other important dimensions of social life, particularly rural ideologies and ideologies of masculinity, into an overall analysis of class power. I show that important cultural divisions underlaid the political conflict, particularly differing conceptions of nature and history, and that these had their roots in different labour processes. After introducing my theoretical framework, I provide an economic context for my cultural analysis by examining the restructuring of the north coast hardwood timber industry during the 1960s and 1970s. This is followed by two chapters which analyse the labour process in the timber industry. Here I explore both class struggles on the shop-floor and cultural productions which arise within the workplace and in rural communities. The subsequent chapters focus more closely on environmental politics. I analyse the New South Wales rainforest campaign by offering a critique of 'pluralist' political strategies and I then locate this campaign within a wider context by briefly overviewing the anti -uranium and green bans campaigns of the 1970s. One of my major conclusions is that environmental politics is flawed by the neglect by activists of the class effects of their political activities. Assessments of political campaigns solely in terms of ecological goals are seriously deficient because they fail to register how conservationists' actions facilitate capitalist strategies of industry restructuring and thereby further entrench capitalist class power. Theoretically, my thesis is based on principles of 'realist' methodology and I use concepts drawn from labour process theory, class analysis, and the theory of ideology. The thesis is heavily weighted toward oral history material, gathered during field work interviews on the north coast of New South Wales. I analyse this material using 'popular memory' theory and other studies of working class culture. In so doing, the thesis provides timber workers with a voice in a debate which has largely been dominated by 'middle class' conservationists. Politically, the thesis is an intervention into current debates about new social movements and their relationship to the left. I argue that an effective alliance between socialists and environmentalists entails a rejection of wilderness politics in favour of urban environmental issues. I conclude that 'pluralist' political strategies of lobbying for state- conferred concessions should be rejected in favour of strategies which develop alternative economic programmes at local and regional levels.

This thesis challenges current neo-Marxist, feminist and neo-Weberian theories of the state which ignore or underestimate the role of state bureaucrats in the construction of state institutions and the formulation and implementation of state policies. Drawing on theories of the new middle class and intellectuals which emphasise the potential of educated workers for autonomous and united action, the thesis examines the role of public servants, doctors and lawyers in determining the form of the New South Wales state and some of its major institutions and policies between 1830 and 1930. The thesis focuses in particular on the influence of new middle class men on state labour market and family policies concerning women. Using the New South Wales public service as a case study, it explores aspects of the development of the new middle class during this period, and documents the strategies by which three groups within this class - male public servants, doctors and lawyers - attempted to extend and control their labour markets through the agency of the state, and the effect of those strategies on educated women workers. The study finds a contrast between an early period of relative tolerance of labour market competition from women and a later period of exclusion, domination and marginalisation in which women were confined to a secondary labour market. It relates these changes to variations in the labour market conditions and political power of new middle class men and women. Arguing that the economic and political conditions of the period after 1882 gave new middle class men the motivation and power to use the coercive and ideological resources of the state to protect their own labour market position, it shows, through a study of the interpretation of occupational statistics, public personnel policies, the infant welfare program and the arbitration system, how new middle class men contributed to the intensification of gender differentiation, the exclusion of women from the primary labour market, and to the institutionalisation of dependence as the natural status of women.

The principle tenet of this Study is that place and its role in social process is poorly understood. This is a serious problem in human geography where one of the major tasks is to elucidate the spatial elements in social process. The resulting difficulties are compounded in empirical analysis where the spatial and social are highly disaggregated. Any response must, therefore, address these features of the problem if the situation is to be redressed. A twofold response was formulated. The first, concentrates attention on labour exchange as a key element of social process and investigates spatial differences from the highly disaggregated local perspective. The second involves transferring Tukey's philosophy of EXPLORATORY DATA ANALYSIS to geographical research. This has been done to overcome analytical rigidities which impede progress where theory concept or dat a are sufficiently suspect as to cause uncertainty. Implementation of this strategy progresses from comparatively simple and conventional treatments of place in labour exchange to more sophisticated examinations which explore spatial aspects of differentiation in controlled analytical environments. Substantive investigation of labour exchange, from an exploratory point of view, provides powerful insights into the role of place in labour exchange because it is less constrained than conventional treatments. These insights are manifest through analyses of extent and nature in differentiation between places. Results are of three types: structure in place and social process which establish a prima facie case for more general analysis; structure of place in a widely defined social environment; structure in social process which is sufficiently general as to sustain hypotheses of ubiquitous spatial structure. These interim findings, of merit in their own right, combine to provide a sound foundation for proposition of a model relating place to social process. This model is significant because it reverses the principal tenet of traditional empirical models, which reduce place to the status of an analytical convenience, and argues that it is inherent in considerations of social process.

This thesis examines the political economy of working class women in contemporary Campbelltown (NSW). A broad political economic approach is employed that considers relevant social structures, their effects, and working class women’s responses to them. It includes investigation of material and non-material, subjective and objective, aspects of this dialectical relationship. This study argues the political agency of Australian working class women has rarely been acknowledged, let alone understood. The thesis focuses on working class women in the suburbs and their politics of everyday life. Though these women rarely attract political investigation, they are too often assumed to be passive, apathetic, unenlightened or conservative bearers of oppression. These stereotypes persist despite the variability in historical portrayals of working class women, suggesting working class women’s politics only makes sense in the context of their conditions of existence in specific times and places. The thesis makes a contribution towards the field of applied feminist political economy research. It employs a historical materialist approach to demystify working class women’s politics. The empirical heart of the project draws on in-depth interviews with local working class women about their experiences and views of family, community, politics, work, unemployment and social institutions. This qualitative material is set against a detailed local political economic analysis of contemporary Campbelltown. The interconnections of capitalist and non-capitalist modes of production in which working class women labour, survive and resist are explored. The thesis questions what part capitalism and socialism play in their pursuit of self and social emancipation. Understanding the political economy of working class women is fundamental to social and ecological health and sustainability. Questions of class power and conflict, and gendered distributions of work and poverty locate working class women at the core of these pressing concerns. The central hypothesis of this study is that working class women are engaged in a wealth of political strategies stemming from their everyday bid for survival. Their (often contradictory) collective and self-activity coalesces around a politics antithetical to the logic of capitalism because it depends on their exploitation and immiseration for its viability. Working class women practice and reproduce a politics of survival and hope that informs their hidden worlds of resistance.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis argues that the colonial ruling class developed its first White Australia policy in 1888, creating most of the precedents for the federal legislation of 1901. White Australia was central to the making of the Australian working class, to the shaping of Australian nationalism, and the development of federal political institutions. It has long been understood as a product of labour movement mobilising, but this thesis rejects that approach, arguing that the labour movement lacked the power to impose such a fundamental national policy, and that the key decisions which led to White Australia were demonstrably not products of labour movement action. ¶ It finds three great ruling class agendas behind the decisions to exclude Chinese immigrants, and severely limit the use of indentured “coloured labour”. ...

Dryland salinity is claimed to be potentially the nation's greatest environmental problem. In NSW, it occurs mainly in the upland areas in the south-east of the State. This region is part of the Murray-Darling Basin and has the potential to contribute to its worsening salinity. This thesis examines the nature of its occurrence in this area, and the implications for its remediation. There are two opposing models of the causes of dryland salinity. The first, a more long held view, is that salinisation is localised, restricted to particular soils and landforms, restricted in its spread, episodic in its development, and responsive to mitigation measures within its own local catchment or recharge area. A more recent view is that the problem is one of regional dimension, driven by rising regional groundwater systems, progressive in its spread, and having the potential to degrade large areas with serious off-site consequences, principally as a result of increasing stream salinity. Here, the genesis of the problem is seen as the widespread clearing of timber in regional recharge areas following European settlement. The chief remedy proposed is to restore tree cover; with up to 50 percent of the higher rainfall zone in the Murray-Darling Basin being replanted to trees. The opposing models differ greatly in their conception of the magnitude of the problem, and its potential for expansion. They present widely different management and policy options for its mitigation. The social and economic impacts of any programs proposed similarly differ. This thesis uses aerial photography, site inspections, and farmer interviews to trace the development of dryland salinity in the south-east region of NSW. The findings are compared with the expectations from the two models. It was found that dryland salinity across the region was not a recent phenomenon. One site developed before 1900 and there were episodic periods of expansion in the 1930s and 1950s to 1960s, with most sites reaching their maximum extent by the early 1970s. Most sites occurred as isolated outbreaks, associated with local landscape features and soil types. Their development appeared to be closely related to changes in rainfall patterns, to past land use and management of the affected sites themselves, and their local recharge areas. There was no evidence of continued expansion in the last two decades, and little evidence of any progressive spread, either spatially or temporally, as projected from regional watertable modeling. However the conditions that predispose lands to dryland salinity still exist, and there could be an extension of the problem in the future. In a limited number of cases, rehabilitation of former saline areas has been achieved at the local property level. Here the landholders had broader objectives than solely controlling salinity. Their primary objectives were to develop more productive and sustainable farming systems. The improved practices introduced also overcame other associated land degradation problems. These measures, at a local recharge level, were effective within a reasonably short time. Although long term regional programs may be needed, the study showed that many of the incidences of local salinity development appear to be associated with local factors. Successful treatment at a local property level appears to confirm this. Such treatments have the potential to reduce salt flushes from farm lands to streams. The success of these treatments is not consistent with the regional groundwater model. Tree planting on the scale proposed from this model, may not be necessary; and the development and adoption of more sustainable farming systems widely across landscapes may largely redress the situation. These systems in themselves would include more trees. This approach would not require the huge capital investment necessary with tree or engineering solutions. The necessary treatments would be more within the reach of individual landholders, and would be much less disruptive to the existing agricultural infrastructure and community life than the massive tree planting programs proposed, and may ensure a better allocation of resources overall. More support at the local community level should also be achievable. Dryland salinity is a symptom as well as the result of unsustainable land use and management. It is concluded that reduction in the hazard does not depend on a singular approach such as tree planting, but principally on the development and adoption of more sustainable and productive farming systems. Technology is being developed that could provide the basis for such systems. Means also must be developed to foster their wider adoption.

Paediatrics became a viable medical specialty in Australia and New South Wales between 1945 and 1965. Paediatricians took possession of occupational spaces previously claimed by other medical groups and created their own new spaces. They argued that children were still growing and differed physically and emotionally from adults. Their special needs warranted the formation of a new division in medicine. Paediatricians adopted the new knowledge, technology and therapeutics that became available in the post-war period and demonstrated that they were capable of following the scientific medicine paradigm, the prevailing standard in internal medicine. Access to the children's hospital was essential for paediatricians as a workshop for their professional development, to treat their seriously ill patients, to support their claims for occupational space and for their authority and status as specialists in medicine.. Scientific medicine demanded more of the time of the paediatricians and in RAHC they elected to continue working in an honorary capacity. In another children's hospital, RCH in Melbourne, paediatricians were employed in a version of the full-time system. The different approaches to staffing illustrate the conflicts of interest found in specialty development in Australia and the pervasive influence of medico-political issues. As members of a privileged autonomous profession paediatricians in RAHC owed a duty to the people of NSW, and in their honorary positions, to the hospital. They had responsibilities to their patients, both private and public. They were committed to their own professional development and they had to make a living in private practice. By retaining the honorary system paediatricians in RAHC were obliged to give priority to their interests outside the hospital so that scientific medicine expanded only slowly. In RCH service development and research were enhanced because the conflicts of interest were reduced and paediatricians could devote more of their time to the hospital without compromising their other roles. The development of a new specialty required the acquisition by members of professional power, authority and status. This process was assisted by the formation of a professional association, but paediatricians had difficulty in creating an independent body that they controlled. For professional authority and status paediatricians in RAHC were strongly dependent on maintaining their dominant position in the hierarchy of the hospital. Although children were central to the development of paediatrics, their place at the bottom of the institutional hierarchy meant they were disempowered and unable to influence the development of the specialty.
PhD Doctorate

Paediatrics became a viable medical specialty in Australia and New South Wales between 1945 and 1965. Paediatricians took possession of occupational spaces previously claimed by other medical groups and created their own new spaces. They argued that children were still growing and differed physically and emotionally from adults. Their special needs warranted the formation of a new division in medicine. Paediatricians adopted the new knowledge, technology and therapeutics that became available in the post-war period and demonstrated that they were capable of following the scientific medicine paradigm, the prevailing standard in internal medicine. Access to the children's hospital was essential for paediatricians as a workshop for their professional development, to treat their seriously ill patients, to support their claims for occupational space and for their authority and status as specialists in medicine.. Scientific medicine demanded more of the time of the paediatricians and in RAHC they elected to continue working in an honorary capacity. In another children's hospital, RCH in Melbourne, paediatricians were employed in a version of the full-time system. The different approaches to staffing illustrate the conflicts of interest found in specialty development in Australia and the pervasive influence of medico-political issues. As members of a privileged autonomous profession paediatricians in RAHC owed a duty to the people of NSW, and in their honorary positions, to the hospital. They had responsibilities to their patients, both private and public. They were committed to their own professional development and they had to make a living in private practice. By retaining the honorary system paediatricians in RAHC were obliged to give priority to their interests outside the hospital so that scientific medicine expanded only slowly. In RCH service development and research were enhanced because the conflicts of interest were reduced and paediatricians could devote more of their time to the hospital without compromising their other roles. The development of a new specialty required the acquisition by members of professional power, authority and status. This process was assisted by the formation of a professional association, but paediatricians had difficulty in creating an independent body that they controlled. For professional authority and status paediatricians in RAHC were strongly dependent on maintaining their dominant position in the hierarchy of the hospital. Although children were central to the development of paediatrics, their place at the bottom of the institutional hierarchy meant they were disempowered and unable to influence the development of the specialty.
PhD Doctorate

While individual biographies of convict lives have appeared in the literature of Australian colonial history - albeit in truncated form - an aggregate study of convicts selected from a homogeneous group has appeared less often. Thus an opportunity has been missed to examine the commonalities as well as differences of such individuals over time - both before and after their punishment. My thesis examines the lives of 15 convicts who had worked during their bondage at the Australian Agricultural Company in New South Wales. Although the primary purpose is to use the method of micro-prosopography to seek the commonalities, differences and idiosyncrasies of these convicts' experiences, as well as their aggregate, the biographies are important in themselves. By compiling portraits of their lives I have sought to rescue them from what E.P. Thompson famously called 'the enormous condescension of posterity'. Although gaps in the biographies inevitably appear, and more information about some than others has been found, all biographies reveal enough information to highlight broader themes in colonial history - criminality and punishment, alcohol, and economic outcomes - which have been explored extensively. By tracing, where possible, the trajectory of the lives of their families I have also examined the legacy of convicts in the later history of Australia.

The recent years have witnessed an increase in revisiting language descriptions of the ‘sleeping’ traditional languages of south-east Australia from available historic material. The languages of south-east New South Wales have thus far been largely neglected and this thesis fills a gap in the contemporary language work that has and still is being undertaken on traditional New South Wales languages. This research study investigates the traditional Aboriginal languages of the New South Wales South Coast. The languages presented here are Dharrawal, Dharumba, Dhurga and Djirringanj, which were spoken from the southern parts of Sydney and Botany Bay down along the coast, close to the Victorian border. The language material used for the analysis consists entirely of archival material that was collected by various people between ca. 1834 and 1902. Although previous work on the New South Wales South Coast languages (see Capell (n.d.) and Eades’ (1976)) offered insight into the structure of the languages, the available archival material has not been exhaustively utilised until now. Part B of this thesis presents the seventeen previously unanalysed texts transcribed by Andrew Mackenzie and Robert Hamilton Mathews during the latter half of the 19th Century. These texts supply a significant amount of additional morphological and syntactical information, and insights into narrative and discourse features; as well as mythologies of the South Coast people. Throughout the thesis, issues of working from archival material are appropriately discussed to clarify interpretation of the material and to introduce the reader to the stages and processes involved in working from historic material. This work is ultimately produced as a tool for local Aboriginal communities and community members to assist in current and future language reclamation and revitalisation projects, and to allow for projects to aim for higher language proficiency than has previously been possible.

Effective communicable disease control calls for a wide range of core public health competencies. In fulfilling the requirements of the Masters of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE), I conducted projects in my placement at Health Protection New South Wales (NSW) between March 2014 and October 2015 which highlight some of these competencies. In May 2014, the Communicable Diseases Branch was notified of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in two men who had not recently travelled overseas, but had both shared a meal with seven other work colleagues at a single Sydney restaurant. We conducted an investigation to assess the source and extent of the outbreak. We found a further 15 HEV cases linked to the restaurant. Pork pate was consumed by all 17 diners. Pork livers used to make pate were traced back to a single Australian farm. This is the first reported outbreak of locally-acquired HEV in Australia and has important clinical and public health implications. We recommend that clinicians consider locally-acquired HEV infection in patients with unexplained acute hepatitis regardless of travel history and that the public cook pork products thoroughly. An outbreak was also the basis for my epidemiological project which involved a case-control study assessing risk factors for acquisition of a novel strain of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcal aureus (MRSA) in a local health district (LHD) in NSW. Despite this new strain replacing endemic MRSA strains in nine hospitals in the LHD, we found no significant differences in clinical infection, admission to an intensive care unit or mortality when compared to people infected with endemic strains. Whole genome sequencing was used to describe transmission pathways. This modality may play a role in better characterising MRSA outbreaks in future. In November 2014, I volunteered to assist in the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic that affected three countries in West Africa. I worked in Monrovia, Liberia as a clinician at a Medecins sans Frontieres Ebola transit centre. At this centre, we admitted and tested patients with signs and symptoms of EVD. I analysed clinical and demographic data of patients who presented to the centre in our first month of opening and found that almost half did not have a measured temperature greater than 37.5oC. This has important implications for screening procedures in EVD-affected countries and elsewhere. Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) and its sequelae, Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) are conditions thought to be rare in NSW. With an aim of improving cardiac outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, NSW Health committed to establishing a register-based control program for these diseases. In establishing this program, my work included quantifying the burden of disease, engaging with stakeholders and designing a system for notification and registration of cases. Both conditions were made notifiable in NSW in October 2015. This thesis documents the investigation of Australia’s first reported locally-acquired hepatitis E outbreak, the assessment of a novel strain of MRSA, the establishment of a system for notification of two important public health conditions in Australia and the public health response to a global health emergency. Findings from these projects will contribute to the body of knowledge and provide important information to guide public health policy and stimulate ongoing research.

Aims and objectives: To investigate the epidemiology, risk factors, and preventive strategies for serious head and spinal injuries related to rugby league and union football in New South Wales (NSW). Methods: The three main components of this study included. 1. A retrospective analysis of clinical and compensation case file records during the 16-year period, 1984-1999. 2. A review of game rules, weights and heights of players, over the past 100 years. 3. A review of film and video footage of rugby football games spanning most of the 20th century. A method was developed to allow valid comparisons in style of play over a 70-year period. Results: The estimated annual incidence rate of SCI for rugby league players was 1.9 (95%CI 1.3 - 2.8) per 100,000 estimated players per year, and 3.3 (95%CI 2.2 - 4.8) per 100,000 estimated rugby union players per year over the study period 1984 to 1999. There was no significant change in the incidence of rugby league related serious spinal cord injuries (1984-1999), fatalities (1984-1999) or serious head injuries (1984-1999). There was a small but significant decline in rugby union related serious spinal cord injuries (1984-1999, P<0.05). However, the relative risk of spinal cord injury was 1.34 times greater for rugby union compared to rugby league over the entire study period (95%CI 1.01 - 1.67, P<0.05). For rugby football, the evidence suggested that the force of impact between participants was a key causal risk factor for serious injury. Elite rugby league and union players from 1999-2000 teams were significantly heavier (P<0.05) and taller (P<0.05) than players pre 1950. Players in modern elite games post 1989 were more likely to be tackled by multiple opponents (P = 0.000), tackled head on (P<0.05), at chest level (P<0.05) and at greater speeds than their earlier counterparts pre 1958. However, modern players appear to be no more aggressive or perpetrate greater foul play than their predecessors. Conclusions: There was a continued annual occurrence of catastrophically serious injuries leading to permanent brain damage and quadriplegia associated with rugby league and union in NSW. The critical risk factors found to be associated with serious injury in rugby football suggest relatively novel approaches to the development of preventive strategies.