Chapter 4.2 - Change in Gulargambone - cause and impacts.

• pg 113: 1-11 (9A2 - Due Wed 14/9) (9B2 - Due Mon 12/9)

1. Drought causes economic hardship for the agricultural population, which has an effect on businesses, jobs and the local economy of the town. 

2. The soldier settler blocks in Gulargambone were unable to turn a profit. As many soldiers sold their farms, the neighbouring graziers bought them out. This resulted in farm areas increasing, but the number of farms decreasing. 

3. The collapse of the wool industry, machines taking jobs from people, employment rate rising.  and rising costs in agriculture. 

4. Many jobs that were once manual are now more mechanised. This meant that people were being replaced by machines, and more people were becoming unemployed. 

5. The improvement in roads and transport means that people are able to bypass smaller towns and go straight to places like Dubbo and Coonamble. 
6.  The age of the median is getting higher and lack of employment and education in Gulargambone.  
8. The graph shows that in the past 50 years, the population of Gulargambone has decreased, especially around the 1960s. 
9. This graph is presented in this way so that it is easier to interpret. It is much easier to show the exact population of them, other than the graph 4.12 which is less direct.
10. 
a. The enrolments increased slightly in the 1950s and then had a major decline until 2007.
b. The town over the last 30 years have experienced rural decline. There are many children who live there, until they grow old enough to leave. The median age is increasing which shows that people who have lived there for their entire lives live there. 
11. 
Social: Increase of median age
Economic: People leaving the town for employment elsewhere.
Environmental: Drought and decline in Agriculture and Employment.

•