AUSTRALIA FAUNA FLORA
“Using the work of great Australian painters and poets as an entry point, this cultural study counters the popular myth that early colonial settlers were environmentally irresponsible and offers both aesthetic and historical evidence that suggests nature always figured prominently in the Australian national consciousness. Preserving endangered species, protecting forests, maintaining public land rights, and staving off climate change were at issue in the first environmental law of Australia enacted in 1788. Parliamentary debates, personal observations, and artistic renderings explore the texture and dimensions of early Australian environmentalism.”
When the First Fleet sailed for NSW in 1787, the British government ordered Governor Phillip to preserve the cattle, sheep and hogs he brought with him but not the environment he found. Yet Phillip and his officers were quick to try to protect Australia’s land. This book challenges the equation of colonization with destruction.
