Inspired by the past, driven by the passion: music in state-supported education in New South Wales and Victoria 1848-1920

This investigation considers the development of class music teaching in New South Wales and Victoria during the first seventy-two years of state-supported primary education. The first chapter describes the English background including music teaching methods (resulting from the mid-nineteenth century English choral singing movement) and the subsequent development of music teaching in English elementary schools. The promotion of school music is then considered on a broadly chronological basis in the two states and several themes are identified in relation to school music policy and practice. These include the status of music (core curriculum or extra-curricular subject), who should teach music (generalist or specialist teachers), what teaching methods and music notation should be used (staff or Tonic Sol-fa), musical training for generalist teachers, and curriculum content in relation to the aims and objectives of school music. Comparisons are made between developments in both states and between both states and English school music. The final chapter demonstrates the relevance of many of the historical themes identified for music education today. The thesis concludes by identifying a recurring problem from the past. namely the lack of co-ordination between various aspects of school music policy, as the most serious problem to be overcome in the future.

Peopling of the Northern Territory part 1: a white elephant in a white Australia? The Northern Territory, 1901-1920

As a result of negative net immigration during the 1890s depression, Australians at the time of Federation were preoccupied about the slow rate of growth of the population. The non-Aboriginal population at the end of 1904 was approximately three and three-quarter million. and the publication in March 1904 of the Report of the New South Wales Royal Commission on the Decline of the Birth Rate and the Mortality of Infants did nothing to allay these concerns. Despite the perceived need for more people. the desire for racial unity was paramount. The main goals of policy makers at the time were to preserve a 'white' and essentially British Australia and create an imperial bastion in the Southern Hemisphere.

Woolgrowers, brokers and the debate over the sale of the Australian wool clip, 1920-1925

Prior to the First World War, the selling of the Australian wool clip rested firmly in the hands of the large woolbroking firms. An agreement between the British and Australian governments during the war saw many of the wool-selling functions of broking firms taken over by the Central Wool Committee. At the conclusion of hostilities, brokers moved to regain their role in the market. However, market conditions had changed. On an international level, traditional trading relationships had broken down, leaving commodity markets unstable and prices unpredictable. On a local level, woolgrowers had benefited from the wartime orderly marketing scheme and the high price guaranteed by the British government for their wool clip. As a result, they had begun to demand a greater role in the selling arrangements of their clip. This paper investigates the debates over the sale of the wool clip in the 1920s and how woolbrokers and growers eventually arrived at an understanding as to the manner in which the market should operate.

The origins of formal collusion in Australian fire insurance 1870-1920

The market for insurance has become increasingly competitive in recent years. However, it has not always been so. At the end of the nineteenth century, it was characterized by a highly concentrated and tightly controlled oligopolistic market structure. As such, the history of the fire insurance industry provides an interesting case study in the development of collusive behaviour amongst firms. Up to 1897, pricing agreements among firms were generally short-lived, and were followed by periods of intense competition. After this point, an agreement was forged, which proved very resilient to market pressures and formed the basis of premium rate setting until the 1970s. This paper investigates the difference between this agreement and previous efforts to set premium rates, and points to some of the common features of the later compact, which explain its longevity.

Turning Victoria into cultural capital: Victorian arts policy 1992-1999

Cultural developments in Victoria represent an example of the industry approach to the arts, which guides contemporary public cultural policy. This approach evolved many years back but it is clearly expressed in the Kennett government’s cultural policy document.

Victorian local government reforms 1992-1999, revisited: implication for trade unions

Between 1992 and 1999 the Victorian State Government, Led by Jeff Kennett, set about implementing the most extensive public sector reform program ever witnessed in Australia, part of which involved significant changes in the organisation and operation of Local government. Although Local government had traditionally been 'the blind spot' in governmental arrangements, within three years of assuming office Local government had undergone major structural and operational change. This paper revisits this period by examining four elements of the reform agenda including the factors driving the reform, the Kennett government's approach to Local government reform, the expected outcomes sought by this government, and the policies implemented in Local government to achieve the expected outcomes. The paper identifies a number of implications for trade unions arising from this reform agenda and concludes that further investigation is warranted in this area.

Where pain = no gain : perspectives on sport, exercise and health, c. 1850-1920

A common perspective today is that sportspeople must train and compete to a level of exertion beyond the ‘pain threshold’ if they are to succeed; a view that has given rise to the popular expression ‘No Pain, No Gain’. Indeed, a common aphorism is that the health and quality of life of individuals and of the wider population is positively correlated with the frequency and vigour of physical exercise. In the period when modern sports were taking on their present characteristics (approximately 1850-1920), the prevailing opinions about the health and well-being effects of exercise were far more cautious, however. While the benefits of moderate exercise for physical and mental well-being went without question, too great an exertion was considered to be as risky as too little, causing ‘strain’ with the potential to inflict lasting and potentially fatal damage, including mental and physical complaints as diverse as neuralgia and ‘athletes’ heart’. The supposedly more strenuous sports, such as football, athletics and rowing, and the training required for them came under particular scrutiny in medical and popular discourses. This paper, an exercise in historical sociology, examines these discourses to demonstrate how advice about the risks on health of participating in sports and of too little or too much exercise more generally, was informed by prevailing physiological models and the interpretation of these within the medical profession and the wider population. The data sources include medical journals and texts, and sports training manuals from the period under investigation.

Separate spheres and public policy : the role of women in the development of children's services in Victorian local government, 1840-1992

The thesis is an explanation of the development of pre-school children's services (infant welfare, kindergartens and child care) at local government level in Victoria. The critical framework of analysis focuses on three dimensions of public policy: 1) the socio-historical environment; 2) the political processes involved in the development of the specific children's service; and 3) the major individuals and groups that exerted pressure for children's service, The argument is threefold. Firstly it is argued that the political environment of children's services has been dominated by the practice of separate spheres of public and private, in which the care of children is primarily the role of women. Secondly, it is argued that the political processes surrounding the development of local children's services have involved all levels of government in what is termed a local state. Thirdly, it is argued that the development of these children's services in local government has resulted mainly from the work of women both individually and collectively. Since the three services of infant welfare, kindergartens and child care all became a normal function of children's services at different times, the circumstances that surrounded each development exhibited different aspects of the three major arguments. The periodisation is broken into four phases: 1) the establishment of local government with no children's services in the nineteenth century; 2) the establishment of infant welfare services in local government in the early part of the twentieth century; 3) the incorporation of kindergartens into local government after the second world war; and 4) the incorporation of child care into local government in the 1970s and 1980s. The thesis concludes by arguing that the existence of children's services in local government in Victoria is testimony to the remarkable work of those women who have pursued the issue both individually and collectively. It has been the identification of children's services as a women's issue in Australian politics that has enabled women's groups at different times to influence the policy makers in diverse ways. However, while the establishment of children's services as a legitimate political concern brings the matter onto the public agenda, the separate spheres still remains a contested issue in the public policies of children's services.

Music in state-supported schooling in South Australia to 1920

This thesis is a study of the establishment of the music curriculum in state-supported schools in South Australia from the beginnings of such schooling until 1920. There will be a discussion of issues to be explored and the method by which this investigation will proceed. A literature survey of relevant research will be included, after which there will be a sketch of the development of state-supported schooling in South Australia. Several broad themes have been chosen as the means of organising the historical material: the rationales offered for the inclusion of music in schooling, the methodologies, syllabi and materials of such music instruction, the provisions for teacher training in music, both preservice and as professional development for established teachers, and the place and function of music in schooling. Each of these themes will form the framework for a chronological narrative. Comparisons will be made with three neighbouring colonies/States concerning each of these themes and conclusions will be drawn. Finally, overall conclusions will be made concerning the initial contentions raised in this chapter in the light of the data presented. Although this study is principally concerned with the establishment of music in state-supported schooling, there will be a brief consideration of the colony of South Australia from its proclamation in 1836. The music pedagogical context that prevailed at that time will be discussed and this will, of necessity, include developments that occurred before 1836. The period under consideration will close in 1920, by which time the music curriculum for South Australia was established, and the second of the influential figures in music education was at his zenith. At this time there was a new school curriculum in place which remained essentially unchanged for several decades. As well as the broad themes identified, this thesis will investigate several contentions as it attempts to chronicle and interpret the establishment and development of music in state-supported schooling in South Australia up to 1920. The first contention of this thesis is that music in state-supported schooling, once established, did not change significantly from its inception throughout the period under consideration. In seeking a discussion of the existence and importance of the notion of an absence of change or stasis, the theory of punctuated equilibria, which identifies stasis as the norm in the evolutionary growth of species, will be employed as an insightful analogy. It should be recognised that stasis exists, should be expected and may well be the prevailing norm. The second contention of this thesis is that advocates were and continue to be crucial to the establishment and continued existence of music in state-supported schooling. For change to occur there must be pressure through such agencies as motivated individuals holding positions of authority, and thus able to influence the educational system and its provisions. The pedagogical method introduced into an educational system is often that espoused by the acknowledged advocate. During the period under consideration there were two significant advocates for music in state-supported schools. The third contention of this thesis is that music was used in South Australia, as in the other colonies/States, as an agent of social reform, through the selection of repertoire and the way in which music was employed in state-supported schooling. Music was considered inherently uplifting. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the music selected for school singing carried texts with messages deemed significant by those who controlled the education system. The repertoire was not that of the receiving class but came from a middle class tradition of fully notated art music in which correct performance and notational reading were emphasised. A sweet, pure vocal tone was desired, as strident, harsh, speaking tones were perceived as a symptom of incipient larrikinism which was not desired in schooling. Music was seen as a contributor to good order and discipline in schooling.

Prayers and pastures : Moidart emigrants in Victoria, 1852-1920

In 1852 thirty-seven Households from working class Catholic backgrounds emigrated from Moidart, Scotland, to the Colony of Port Phillip in Australia. This study personalises and contextualises the experiences of three generations in Scotland, on board ship and in Victoria concluding that upward mobility and economic security were achievable.