The changing rural environment : a study of rural retreats, new lifestyles and land use in southern Tasmania

The intention of this study was to provide a detailed analysis, undertaken at the personal level, of the phenomenon of rural retreating. The personal approach was adopted as the only way of documenting the lifestyles and land use of the new settlers. The Cygnet-Channel area was chosen for study, as it was felt that a relatively comprehensive survey of the area could be completed within the time-scope of the course. To have taken a larger area would have meant a less satisfactory coverage and would have limited the depth of information collected. As such, the study would have been like many others, and would not have come to grips with the phenomenon of rural retreating on the personal level. A further intention of this report was to devise a workable terminology and classification. To this end, the reader is provided with a glossary of terms used in the report, thus avoiding the ambiguity of many of the popular terms. The typology of landholders is presented as a system which makes the categorisation measurable and avoids the value judgements on lifestyles which commonly distort the assessment of effective differences between landholders. The identification of areas of concern and potential problems, stemming from the inward migration of previously urban-based people, was the goal of this report. The discussion of these issues leads to the question of what action can be taken and by whom? The strategies presented do not attempt to resolve these questions; rather the intention is to indicate a few directions and alternatives for the future.