Another classic quote regarding representation of rural Australia in urban media:
‘But this being Queensland, the owner, a stubborn 80-year-old grazier who’d live on the block all his life, refused to sell to the government at any price.’
The article concerns the preservation of the red-finned blue-eye fish whose natural territory is confined to a tiny number of natural springs on Edgbaston station, north of Aramac (CW Qld).
Those who immediately understand what is wrong with the above quote will recognise the attitude behind the comment. And it is probably beyond the comprehension of those who prefer to view rural Australians, in particular rural Queenslanders, as an uneducated pack of stubborn hicks who are totally uninterested in conservation and devoid of laudable sentiment when it comes to land they’ve lived on all their lives (if they’re white, that is).
It is surprising there is absolutely no mention in the article of the positive fact that these fish had survived in the midst of a pastoral business. Whereas if they had been in an urban or semi-urban area, there is no doubt they would not have survived. But it apparently would not suit the writer, nor, evidently, the scientist, to find anything good to say about the owner of a ‘marginal sheep and cattle farm’ , ‘rundown grazing property’ with just a ‘tumbledown homestead’.
The description of bogging up the roads in the last paragraphs is ironic. Is the writer completely unaware most soil erosion in rural areas is caused by traffic on dirt roads, and his trip has just contributed to soil loss?
I used to enjoy reading Greg Bearup’s columns. What a pity he’s turned out to be just another promoter of negative rural stereotypes.