Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip from 1982 shows reporter Jim Downes in the shire of Coonamble in north-western New South Wales where he surveys the effects of a drought. Standing on the dry bed of the Castlereagh River, Downes says that when British explorers found the river it was so full they thought it might be an inland sea. However, the area proved prone to extremes of drought and flood. As the camera moves through stunted wheat crops in baked cracked earth, Downes says that local farms have been affected by drought and local towns by economic depression.

Educational value points

• The drought depicted in the clip was perhaps the worst in the 20th century in terms of rapid onset and short-term lack of rainfall. Over two to three months in 1982 drought became established in most of eastern Australia, with extensive areas experiencing record-low or near-record-low rainfall from April to December. By February 1983 the drought was at its worst. Flooding rain finally fell in March and further rain in April and May.

• The drought was financially crippling for farmers and graziers and led to an estimated loss of about $3 billion to the Australian economy in 1982–83. The stunted wheat crop shown in the clip was planted in the autumn of 1982 when some rain had fallen and farmers were hoping for reasonable follow-up rain in winter; however, the rain did not eventuate until the following autumn. Graziers were forced to sell flocks and herds, and livestock prices plummeted.

• During times of drought and low rainfall much of the lower Castlereagh River resembles the dry sandy riverbed seen in the clip, but the river continues to flow beneath the surface. During times of heavy rainfall the river flows on the surface as well. The Castlereagh begins near Coonabarabran in NSW and flows into the Darling River. Its underground water is used by towns along its route, including Coonamble.

• When this Four Corners program was made in 1982, the Australian economy was in severe recession. That year, the GDP fell by 3.8 per cent, the greatest fall since the Second World War. Although part of a worldwide economic downturn, the recession was exacerbated by the rapid onset and severity of drought in eastern Australia. As Downes says in the commentary, recession and drought 'king hit the bush a double blow’.

• With a low mean annual rainfall of 501.9 mm and highly variable extremes, ranging from 1,129.0 mm recorded in 1950 to 176.6 mm recorded in 1902, the Coonamble area is marginal country for agriculture. Cattle runs were set up in the 1840s, and in the late 19th century the belief that 'rain would follow the plough’ led to extensive clearing. Although soil degradation is also a problem, the area produces an average of 300,000 tonnes of wheat annually.

• The area around Coonamble was explored in 1818 by NSW surveyor general John Oxley (1785–1828) and his deputy George Evans (1780–1852). The expedition set out to look for a fabled inland sea and land for pastoral expansion. They discovered the Castlereagh River while tracing the course of the Macquarie River, which they had hoped would lead to the inland sea.