Spatial and temporal information on catchment sediment sources and sinks can provide an improved understanding of catchment response to human-induced disturbances. This is essential for the implementation of well-targeted catchment-management decisions. This thesis investigates the nature and timing of catchment response to human activities by examining changes in sediment sources and sinks in a dry-tropical subcatchment of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchment area, in northeastern Australia. Changes in catchment sediment sources, both in terms of spatial provenance and erosion type, are determined using sediment tracing techniques. Results indicate that changes in sediment source contributions over the last 250 years can be linked directly to changes in catchment land use. Sheetwash and rill erosion from cultivated land (40-60%) and channel erosion from grazed areas (30-80%) currently contribute most sediment to the river system. Channel erosion, on a basin-wide scale, appears to be more important than previously considered in this region of Australia. Optically stimulated luminescence and 137Cs dating are used to determine pre-and post- European settlement (ca. 1850) alluvial sedimentation rates. The limitations of using 137Cs as a floodplain sediment dating tool in a low fallout environment, dominated by sediment derived from channel and cultivation sources, are identified. Low magnitude increases in post-disturbance floodplain sedimentation rates (3 to 4 times) are attributed to the naturally high sediment loads in the dry-tropics. These low increases suggest that previous predictions which reflect order of magnitude increases in post-disturbance sediment yields are likely to be overestimates. In-channel bench deposits, formed since European settlement, are common features that appear to be important stores of recently eroded material. The spatially distributed erosion/sediment yield model SedNet is applied, both with generic input parameters and locally-derived data. Outputs are evaluated against available empirically-derived data. The results suggest that previous model estimates using generic input parameters overestimate post-disturbance and underestimate predisturbance sediment yields, exaggerating the impact of European catchment disturbance. This is likely to have important implications for both local-scale and catchment-wide management scenarios in the GBR region. Suggestions for future study and the collection of important empirical data to enable more accurate model performance are made.

The thesis is concerned with the establishment of the Anglican presence in Central Queensland and the history of the first fifty years of the Diocese of Rockhampton. The historical method employed examined the attitudes and mentalities of the Anglicans during that fifty years and attempted to determine how the process of transplantation and adaptation of the English social institution was, or was not, achieved in the new physical and social environment. Various aspects of Anglican Diocesan administration such as recruitment of clergy, financial shortages, cultural isolation, racial issues, episcopal appointments and ecumenical relationships, are taken as units and analysed in the overall context of transplantation and adaptation. It is argued that ‘Australianisation’ came gradually and without conscious manipulation. Where change from the English model was attempted, it was often initiated by the English clergy rather than the Australian laity.

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This work takes as its central "conceit" a specific cultural site, namely a small town choir-- The Emu Park and District Amateur Choral Society Inc., which operates in Central Queensland, circa 1965. A discontinuous narrative of interconnected short stories of one chapter each, highlight significant and often highly traumatic aspects of the interconnected lives of selected choir members. The narrative lampoons the English choral tradition against the setting of a society which does not deal with the political and social negativities of Queensland in the sixties. It is a culture in denial. The comedy deals with the often banal, though always good natured, behaviours of the choir members in dealing with often black-edged lives. An Overture introduces all characters, while Acts I, II & III deal with individual's stories. The Finale deals with the outcome of rehearsals in a culminating performance of the Emu Park and District Amateur Choral Society Incorporated. The short stories, one to a chapter, concern individual choir member's life stories and form discreet, fully finished pieces of work in their own right. Background action throughout the stories involves a series of rehearsals which structurally tie all the narratives to the final chapter. Lyrics of popular songs of the 1900's through to early 1960's are mentioned within the text. For copyright reasons the texts are not reproduced in full. However, these lyrics do comment tangentially on some aspect of the character's story.

Over past decades, governments within Australia and throughout the Western world have sought to establish multi-sectoral planning processes that operate at a regional scale. Research on these processes has tended to focus on the challenges of ‘joining-up’ government and non-government sectors to create robust, effective and democratic regional structures and processes. Far less attention has been paid to integration within and between the various entities of government involved within these regional governance initiatives. This thesis, therefore, investigates the role of inter-governmental integration, or ‘whole-of-government’ activities, in relation to regional multi-sectoral governance. The institutional forms, enabling and constraining factors, and implications of inter-governmental arrangements between the various agencies and levels of government are examined. The study applies a sociocultural approach to institutional analysis. Commonly known as grid-group cultural theory, this approach provides a conceptual framework for identifying the fundamental social dynamics underlying differing forms of social organisation and governance. This framework specifies the primary forms, modus operandi and enabling social contexts of inter-institutional integration. These are, respectively: coordination by authority within hierarchy; cooperation through self-interest based collective action within competitive individualism; and collaboration through trust and a sense of commitment to the group within a communitarian social context. This study sought to investigate whole-of-government within regional governance through examination of two contemporaneous region-wide, multi-sectoral planning projects in Central Queensland, Australia. These were, namely, Central Queensland: A New Millennium, covering planning across a broad suite of issues, and the Fitzroy Basin Association, more specifically focussing on natural resource management planning for the region. Both bodies were in the process of implementing their regional plans at the time of this study. A qualitative case study methodology was employed in research, involving in-depth interviews with government officials, examination of project documents, and participation at meetings. The research data were analysed to identify the main processes and perceived outcomes of the two projects, and underlying factors relating to these. The two regional planning processes were generally perceived to have resulted in widely differing levels of success, and with many of the same government officials involved, there was considerable scope to contrast the whole-of-government structures and processes applied in the two cases. Analysis of the case material in the light of the theoretical framework and broader literature emphasised the nested and subordinate nature of regional whole-of-government efforts within the broader system of government. This system was revealed as characterised by horizontal fragmentation between departments and between jurisdictional tiers of government (Federal, State, and Local) but strong vertical integration within departments. The research highlighted the importance of central level political commitment to regional level integration efforts. Support is seen as particularly important in the form of 1) the political will to direct high-level coordination between departments and to advance cooperation between tiers of government; 2) sufficient resources allocated to regional plan implementation in order to motivate inter-governmental cooperation at a range of levels; and 3) the granting of sufficient autonomy to ensure effective devolution and regional level ownership that assists cooperation and collaboration at the regional level. In the light of the decisive importance of central level support, it was found that while high quality regional level leadership of regional whole-of-government processes is a necessary condition for their success, it is not a sufficient condition. To be effective, regional whole-of-government leadership requires both meaningful devolution and substantive central support. The study identified the multiple and contradictory forms of inter-governmental relations that comprise the social contexts at different levels within the broader system of government. In particular, the case study comparison suggested that success at the regional level relies on the application, at all levels, of forms and mechanisms of inter-governmental integration that are appropriate to the specific social contexts within which they are embedded.

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