Search

This article is a part of a larger project on the prevalence of intermarriage in Australia based on an analysis of census data. The primary aim of the article is to identify the extent of intermarriage between Italian-born migrants, people born in Australia and other birthplace groupings. The analysis focuses on the pattern of Italian intermarriage in Gippsland in order to demonstrate that the incidence differs from that in urban areas of Australia. Gippsland is a rural region in south-eastern Australia where the economy is based on brown coal power generation, a paper mill, timber extraction and dairying. Intermarriage in Gippsland will be compared with another rural area within the same state of Victoria and with the urban area of Melbourne. The rural area chosen for comparison with Gippsland was the statistical division of North East region in the state of Victoria. This area was selected because it contained a significant number of Italian immigrants who have been settled for a long period, primarily in the tobacco industry. In addition the state of Queensland, which has a high percentage of Italian immigrants, also in tobacco and sugar growing regions, was identified separately in the analyses. Cost considerations precluded the division of Queensland into rural and urban regions. Comparisons will also be made with intermarriage patterns among Italians in Melbourne, which has a long history of Italian settlement, and is the Australian city with the highest proportion of Italian immigrants.

Papers appearing in the journal 'Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology' are based on presentations at a symposium entitled Muscle Mechanics and Energetics: A Comparative View. The symposium was held in Melbourne, Australia, to celebrate the retirement of college teacher Colin Gibbs from Monash University in Gippsland, Victoria. Gibbs is a graduate of the Sydney, New South Wales-based University of Sydney in pharmacology and biochemistry, completing a PhD in 1964 in the area of cardiac electrophysiology. Colin was awarded one of the first Overseas Research Fellowships by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and this supported his post-doctoral training at the Heart Research Laboratory at the University of California at Los Angeles. Although Colin's primary focus has been on the energetics of mammalian cardiac muscle and extending the knowledge gained through research in this area to understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of the human heart, his interests span all muscle types. During his career, Colin has also published several important papers on aspects of the energetics of both skeletal and smooth muscle.