The Historical Geographies of Showing Livestock: a Case Study of the Perth Royal Show,Western Australia

This paper examines changes in the entries of livestock to competitions at the Perth Royal Show in the course of the twentieth century. It identifies trends in the showing of animals at the Show and explains these with reference to the wider geographies of state and national agricultural change in Western Australia (WA). In doing so, it provides a longitudinal perspective on the socioeconomic contexts of farming in WA and identifies some of the key cultural and economic drivers that have influenced livestock farming in that locality. In turn, these findings contribute to wider understandings of the global countryside and of the imagined ruralities that exist within and beyond the spaces of showgrounds.     

The Potential of Tree Rings in Eucalyptus pauciflora for Climatological and Hydrological Reconstruction

We investigate the causes of variability in a tree‐ring chronology comprising data from Eucalyptus pauciflora Sieb. Ex. Spreng. at the alpine treeline on the Kosciuszko Plateau in New South Wales, Australia. Following verification of crossdating in a subset of the available data, we found that ring width correlates significantly with net radiation, precipitation and mean minimum and maximum air temperature during the preceding winter and spring of the growing season. Our results for spring are consistent with the impact of climate on tree growth in alpine woodlands reported in previous studies. Analyses of snow‐depth data revealed negative correlations with ring width throughout winter and spring. Our results indicate that low temperature and high precipitation during winter negatively affect the growth of E. pauciflora by prolonging spring snow cover. Ring width also correlates significantly with an index of soil dryness and flow in rivers with their headwaters in the Kosciuszko plateau. Given the apparent sensitivity of our chronology to climate and snow conditions, our results suggest that tree‐ring chronologies comprising data from E. pauciflora at the alpine treeline have potential for climatological and hydrological reconstruction in southeast Australia.     

A Call to Action: New Party Candidates and the 1931 General Election*

Sir Oswald Mosley established his New Party in early 1931. It proposed to cut across the party and class divides, with the objective of providing a ‘national’ solution to the economic crisis of the time. According to Mosley, the ‘old parties’– meaning the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Parties – had revealed themselves unable to adapt to the post‐war age. In their place, he argued, a modern organisation, based on youth, vitality and a scientifically reasoned economic plan, was needed to save Britain from terminal decline. Few heeded his call, and the party ultimately paved the way for the British Union of Fascists to emerge in 1932. Nevertheless, the New Party fought the general election of 1931, offering an unsuccessful but suitably intriguing challenge to the National coalition and Labour Party. This article will assess the New Party's election campaign, concentrating on those who briefly rallied to Mosley's appeal only to fall foul of the ballot box. In other words, it provides a case study of those who contributed to a dramatic electoral failure, and traces a significant stage along Mosley's journey to fascism.