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Urbanization: The evolution of an Australian capital
REVIEWS
325
analyses, gravity models nor other tools employed in recent studies in historical geography are found here. The only exception to this is the use of a theoretical construct of the market and trade in wheat at several different times within New South Wales. Valid insight may be gained “the old way”, and Robinson certainly does generate insight. Several criticisms must be made. First, the political struggle which preceded the 1861 Lands Acts is not fully developed in the context of contemporary New South Wales. We are left unclear about all of the power groups which promoted the various alternatives, and about how the final compromise was worked out. Second, insufficient attention is given to the ways in which wheat growers perceived the various physical environments in which they operated after 1870 (in contrast to the lengthy treatment of coastal farming). Third, Robinson does not seem aware of the important role played in New South Wales farming by banks and other financial institutions, especially on large sheep properties and especially after 1880. On balance the weaknesses of this work are outweighed by the strengths of Robinson’s presentation. This is a worthwhile contribution to the growing collection of studies of the historical geography of Australia in the nineteenth century. Western Michigan University
CHARLES F. HELLER
R. J. SOLOMON,Urbanization: The Evolution of an Australian Capital (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1976. Pp. xviii + 434. $4500) The author of this lavishly illustrated book is one of the better-known of the surprisingly small number of historians and historical geographers attracted during the 1950s and 1960s to the study of urbanization in Australia. The bulk of the work on which the book was based was undertaken during Dr Solomon’s tenure at the University of Tasmania and prepared for publication during his varied career in the 1970s-as a Liberal M.P. in the federal parliament and subsequently as a senior executive in urban planning consultancy and national advertising. Although it contains an astonishing amount of detailed and useful information, it is not an easy book to read thoroughly and for this reason alone it seems unlikely to appeal to more than a very small local audience. This is unfortunate, for there is still an urgent need for painstaking analyses of the urbanization experience in Australia. Solomon’s objective is stated to be the “geographical analysis of mainly historical data to interpret the course of Hobart’s evolution and to throw additional light on the elements and processes of urbanization”. The study falls into five parts : definitions of urbanization and a treatment of some aspects of the general Australian situation; the early growth of Hobart, 1803-47; a reconstruction of the town in about 1847; Hobart a century later (in the 1950s and 1960s); and an analysis of change, and a description of the elements of change, over that century. More critical readers will find the title of the book unsatisfactory. Despite the bold claim to wider significance, the main strength of the work is in its relatively novel investigation of the changing internal morphology of a particular Australian city; it has very little to say about broader processes of urbanization wherein a much more complex system of settlements within and beyond Tasmania would necessarily be encountered. Outdated references to the literature of urban studies are scattered through the book with insufficient discrimination. Inevitably, there are several claims which look exceedingly odd even to those with a mere passing knowledge of recent writings in the field : the supposedly “remarkable” dearth of research into the contribution of developing towns to developing regions (p. 105), for example, and the repeated suggestion that the urban “frontier” has been neglected in Australian studies. This suggestion is quite misleading, not least because the term “frontier” has itself been under challenge, while political and social historians, together with some historical geographers, have accorded a good deal of attention to urban pressure groups and the like. Similarly, Solomon’s consideration of Hobart’s townscapes in the 1950s and 1960s makes an interesting effort to use Lynch’s “imageability” notion, but does not incorporate recent extensions and criticisms of that approach by Lynch and others.
326
REVIEWS
Dr Solomon is on firmer ground in his various reconstructions of nineteenth-century Hobart, and although the greater part of this material first appeared in print twelve years ago, he has wisely elaborated on it for the present volume. The high and enduring significance of the port characteristics of the city is reasonably well brought out, and the link between the descriptions of historical and modern Hobart is aptly made by focusing on the preservationist aspect, which now taxes Australia’s city planners and environmentalists. There are over 170 tables and figures, and 120 plates. Many of these illustrations are interesting and vital to the argument, but others are superfluous and generally confusing: there is, for example, a plethora of finely textured choropleth maps of inner Hobart-22 in fact, far too many even for the professional specialist to evaluate or for the general reader to comprehend. Despite its title, this is a book which is very largely about Hobart alone. The work has only a little to offer to those seeking some description and explanation of processes of urbanization which were and are specifically Australian; it is not yet possible to assess the degree to which its interpretation of changing internal morphology is sufficient or representative. Hobart was and is a small town-containing 21,000 people in 1847 and only 110,000 in 1961-in an insulated social and economic environment and with unusually significant penal origins. It should have been possible (and perhaps it would have been far more relevant) to produce a detailed picture of the environmental interpretations and responses of the citizens: at minimum, the activities of Hobart’s managers and the lives of ordinary people still require description. More detailed studies are required of the other more important state capitals and this book does give some indication of the kinds of sources which might be tapped. Yet the author’s laudable desire to reach a more general audience will be defeated by three basic factors: the sheer bulk of the book, its very high cost and the frequent lapses into jargon, tortuous qualifications and asides, which the author’s recent experience in the “real” world might have been expected to check. Monash University
J. M. POWELL
LOUIS-ANDRE VIGNERAS, The Discovery of South America and the Andalusian Voyages (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1976. Pp. ix + 170. $lO*OO) Those of us who have long lamented the declining attention given to something as fundamentally geographical as exploration and discovery now have cause to rejoice. This book, a companion volume in the Monograph Series of the Society for the History of Discoveries, makes an extremely valuable contribution to the annals of Spanish exploration. In 1825, an officer in the Spanish Navy, Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, published his Coleccidn de Viajes, which dealt with Columbus, Vespucci, Magellan and the “Minor Voyages”. Subsequently, most scholars have drawn heavily from Navarrete’s works with the greatest attention being given to the “Major Voyages”. Vigneras’ emphasis is on the lesser known “Minor Voyages”, those which were stimulated by the discovery of South America in 1498. These voyages from Andalusia are described in meticulous detail, much of the information having been gleaned from fresh archival sources. The reader is left with the conclusion that there was nothing “minor” in terms of their importance; indeed, their leaders made a major contribution toward securing the Spanish Empire in South America. The book is divided into three sections, each of which is sequential, though the specific topical content of each may be appreciatedwithout reference to the others. ‘The discovery of South America by Columbus: its causes and consequences’, is followed by ‘The business of discovery’, each in prelude to ‘The Andalusian voyages’. ‘Amerigo Vespucci’s Portuguese voyage’ appears as an appendix, and is followed by chapter reference notes, a bibliography including some seventy-five entries, and a detailed ten-page index. In his preface the author reviews in some detail the stage-setting impact of the first three journeys by Columbus to the Antilles. Careful attention is given to the historical,
325
analyses, gravity models nor other tools employed in recent studies in historical geography are found here. The only exception to this is the use of a theoretical construct of the market and trade in wheat at several different times within New South Wales. Valid insight may be gained “the old way”, and Robinson certainly does generate insight. Several criticisms must be made. First, the political struggle which preceded the 1861 Lands Acts is not fully developed in the context of contemporary New South Wales. We are left unclear about all of the power groups which promoted the various alternatives, and about how the final compromise was worked out. Second, insufficient attention is given to the ways in which wheat growers perceived the various physical environments in which they operated after 1870 (in contrast to the lengthy treatment of coastal farming). Third, Robinson does not seem aware of the important role played in New South Wales farming by banks and other financial institutions, especially on large sheep properties and especially after 1880. On balance the weaknesses of this work are outweighed by the strengths of Robinson’s presentation. This is a worthwhile contribution to the growing collection of studies of the historical geography of Australia in the nineteenth century. Western Michigan University
CHARLES F. HELLER
R. J. SOLOMON,Urbanization: The Evolution of an Australian Capital (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1976. Pp. xviii + 434. $4500) The author of this lavishly illustrated book is one of the better-known of the surprisingly small number of historians and historical geographers attracted during the 1950s and 1960s to the study of urbanization in Australia. The bulk of the work on which the book was based was undertaken during Dr Solomon’s tenure at the University of Tasmania and prepared for publication during his varied career in the 1970s-as a Liberal M.P. in the federal parliament and subsequently as a senior executive in urban planning consultancy and national advertising. Although it contains an astonishing amount of detailed and useful information, it is not an easy book to read thoroughly and for this reason alone it seems unlikely to appeal to more than a very small local audience. This is unfortunate, for there is still an urgent need for painstaking analyses of the urbanization experience in Australia. Solomon’s objective is stated to be the “geographical analysis of mainly historical data to interpret the course of Hobart’s evolution and to throw additional light on the elements and processes of urbanization”. The study falls into five parts : definitions of urbanization and a treatment of some aspects of the general Australian situation; the early growth of Hobart, 1803-47; a reconstruction of the town in about 1847; Hobart a century later (in the 1950s and 1960s); and an analysis of change, and a description of the elements of change, over that century. More critical readers will find the title of the book unsatisfactory. Despite the bold claim to wider significance, the main strength of the work is in its relatively novel investigation of the changing internal morphology of a particular Australian city; it has very little to say about broader processes of urbanization wherein a much more complex system of settlements within and beyond Tasmania would necessarily be encountered. Outdated references to the literature of urban studies are scattered through the book with insufficient discrimination. Inevitably, there are several claims which look exceedingly odd even to those with a mere passing knowledge of recent writings in the field : the supposedly “remarkable” dearth of research into the contribution of developing towns to developing regions (p. 105), for example, and the repeated suggestion that the urban “frontier” has been neglected in Australian studies. This suggestion is quite misleading, not least because the term “frontier” has itself been under challenge, while political and social historians, together with some historical geographers, have accorded a good deal of attention to urban pressure groups and the like. Similarly, Solomon’s consideration of Hobart’s townscapes in the 1950s and 1960s makes an interesting effort to use Lynch’s “imageability” notion, but does not incorporate recent extensions and criticisms of that approach by Lynch and others.
326
REVIEWS
Dr Solomon is on firmer ground in his various reconstructions of nineteenth-century Hobart, and although the greater part of this material first appeared in print twelve years ago, he has wisely elaborated on it for the present volume. The high and enduring significance of the port characteristics of the city is reasonably well brought out, and the link between the descriptions of historical and modern Hobart is aptly made by focusing on the preservationist aspect, which now taxes Australia’s city planners and environmentalists. There are over 170 tables and figures, and 120 plates. Many of these illustrations are interesting and vital to the argument, but others are superfluous and generally confusing: there is, for example, a plethora of finely textured choropleth maps of inner Hobart-22 in fact, far too many even for the professional specialist to evaluate or for the general reader to comprehend. Despite its title, this is a book which is very largely about Hobart alone. The work has only a little to offer to those seeking some description and explanation of processes of urbanization which were and are specifically Australian; it is not yet possible to assess the degree to which its interpretation of changing internal morphology is sufficient or representative. Hobart was and is a small town-containing 21,000 people in 1847 and only 110,000 in 1961-in an insulated social and economic environment and with unusually significant penal origins. It should have been possible (and perhaps it would have been far more relevant) to produce a detailed picture of the environmental interpretations and responses of the citizens: at minimum, the activities of Hobart’s managers and the lives of ordinary people still require description. More detailed studies are required of the other more important state capitals and this book does give some indication of the kinds of sources which might be tapped. Yet the author’s laudable desire to reach a more general audience will be defeated by three basic factors: the sheer bulk of the book, its very high cost and the frequent lapses into jargon, tortuous qualifications and asides, which the author’s recent experience in the “real” world might have been expected to check. Monash University
J. M. POWELL
LOUIS-ANDRE VIGNERAS, The Discovery of South America and the Andalusian Voyages (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1976. Pp. ix + 170. $lO*OO) Those of us who have long lamented the declining attention given to something as fundamentally geographical as exploration and discovery now have cause to rejoice. This book, a companion volume in the Monograph Series of the Society for the History of Discoveries, makes an extremely valuable contribution to the annals of Spanish exploration. In 1825, an officer in the Spanish Navy, Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, published his Coleccidn de Viajes, which dealt with Columbus, Vespucci, Magellan and the “Minor Voyages”. Subsequently, most scholars have drawn heavily from Navarrete’s works with the greatest attention being given to the “Major Voyages”. Vigneras’ emphasis is on the lesser known “Minor Voyages”, those which were stimulated by the discovery of South America in 1498. These voyages from Andalusia are described in meticulous detail, much of the information having been gleaned from fresh archival sources. The reader is left with the conclusion that there was nothing “minor” in terms of their importance; indeed, their leaders made a major contribution toward securing the Spanish Empire in South America. The book is divided into three sections, each of which is sequential, though the specific topical content of each may be appreciatedwithout reference to the others. ‘The discovery of South America by Columbus: its causes and consequences’, is followed by ‘The business of discovery’, each in prelude to ‘The Andalusian voyages’. ‘Amerigo Vespucci’s Portuguese voyage’ appears as an appendix, and is followed by chapter reference notes, a bibliography including some seventy-five entries, and a detailed ten-page index. In his preface the author reviews in some detail the stage-setting impact of the first three journeys by Columbus to the Antilles. Careful attention is given to the historical,