Australian rural life - Did the bush barbarise its settlers? Major Essay

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject History - Australia, Oceania, grade: A, La Trobe University Melbourne (Faculty of Humanities and Social Science), course: Outwest and Downunder, language: English, abstract: In my essay I argue about the question if the bush in rural Australia in the 19th century is barbarising its settlers. While I am answering this question I am trying to give a representative insight into the life of selectors in Victoria. Based on the statements of Manning Clark1 and J.W. McCarty2 I will show that even though there were a lot of different problems which made life hard for selectors, there was indeed a new kind of freedom and even a 'progress towards happiness' for the early settlers. Looking at different primary sources (including collected data from selectors in the parishes of Kalkee) I finally want to disagree with Manning Clark's statement that the continent itself is barbarising people. To understand the circumstances of living and to support my opinion I will also write about the problems that early settlers were confronted with as well as about the role of women and family.