Sustainability

       The cross-curriculum priority of the Australian History curriculum encourages students to think about the past, present and future developing their knowledge of stewardship of the natural environment and knowledge to contribute to ecologically sustainable development (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2011). This song is a challenging resource for students to understand what their environment is going to be like in the future if no action is taken.

“In the New Landscape

by Jack Mundey

In the new landscape there will be only cars

And drivers of cars and signs saying

Free Swap cards here

And exhaust-fumes drifting over the countryside

And sounds of acceleration instead of birdsongs

In the new landscape there will be no more streets

Begging for hopscotch squares, only roads

The full width between buildings and a packed mob

Of hoods surging between stop-lights

-       so dense a sheep-dog with asbestos pads

Could safely trot across

(Streets will be underground and pedestrians pale.

Motorists on the other hand will be tanned.)

  

In the new landscape there will be no trees

Unless as exotica for parking-lots

-       and weeds,

weeds, too, will be no more

And we will construct in keeping with these times

A concrete god with streamlined attributes

Not likely to go soft at the sight or sound of

Little children under the front wheels

Or lovers who have willfully forgotten

To keep their eyes on the road,

While by a ceremonial honking of motor-horns

We’ll raise a daily anthem of praise

To him in whose stone lap are laid

The morning sacrifices, freshly-garlanded, death’s rictus carved

On each face with the sharp obsidian blade

Of fortuitous (steam-hoses will be used

To cleanse the altar …)

And in the new landscape after a century or so

Of costly research it will be found

that even the irreplaceable parts

Will be replaceable, after which

There will be only cars.” (cited in Leo, 2013)

        Aboriginal people lived for thousands of years in this continent within a subsistence economy based on hunting and gathering, and maintaining a balance with the land and the environment (Australian Government, 2007). “Traditionally, Aboriginal people have exemplified the qualities of good stewardship in their interactions with the environment” (TN41, n.d.). The earth is thought of as a living person for the Aboriginals and they call it “Mother Earth” (TN41, n.d.). Therefore, the land was cared for and looked after as if it was a part of their family (Paulson, 1996).  

       This song clearly describes the influences brought by the European Settlers to the land and its environment. The European Settlers not only destroyed the Aboriginal people and their cultures but also the land which they call “Mother Earth”. It is a challenge for modern Australians, especially students, to reflect on how the land of Australia and its people were altered in the past and plan for the future.

     Looking at this song, students will understand that the Australian landscape is being destroyed and learn that unless the attitude towards the environment is not change “Mother Earth” eventually will die. The major challenge will be finding the balance between the sustainable uses of resources and maintaining the natural environment (Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2005). The Aboriginal people have much to offer in the development of this scene of stewardship (Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2005).

  

Reference List

Australian Government. (2007). Working with indigenous community. Retrieved 24

May 2013 from http://www.ret.gov.au/resources/Documents/LPSDP/LPSDP-

IndigenousCommunitiesHandbook.pdf

Department of the Environment and Heritage. (2005). Why is a sustainable future

important? Retrieved 24 May 2013 from http:// www.environment.gov.au/

education/publications/pubs/sustainable-future.pdf

Leo, R. (2013). The future eaters: the contested space of landscape [PDF file].

CR181 lecture, Christian Heritage Collage. Retrieved 25 May 2013 from

http://chc.moodle.com.au/pluginfile.php/38036/mod_folder/content/0/Lecture

%20%2313%20-%20The%20Future%20Eaters.pdf?forcedownload=1

 TN41. (n.d.). Aboriginal perspectives of sustainable development. Retrieved 24 May

2013 from http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/frame_found_sr2/

tns/tn-41.pdf

Paulson, G.A. (1996).The value of Aboriginal culture. In A. Pattel-Gray (Ed.),

Aboriginal spirituality: Past, present and future (pp. 81-93). Pymble, NSW:

Harper Collins Religious.