Search

Abstract Arsenic (As) contaminated gold mine waste represents a significant issue for ecosystem and human health, as it is a known carcinogen and environmental toxin. Bendigo in Victoria, Australia, has reported As concentrations up to 22,000 mg/kg, exceeding the national soil guidance values (100 mg/kg) by 220-fold. To reduce exposure and potential human health risk, remediation or risk management strategies are required. Traditional remediation, such as excavation and landfill, often fail to improve soil conditions and are expensive. Biological remediation using plants (phytoremediation) represents a cost-effective strategy that results in the restoration of soil function and ecosystem services. There is a need to identify native plants for phytoremediation as current research focuses on fern species, which are not suitable for Bendigo. This study aimed to identify a native phytostabilising plant by conducting a mesocosm experiment involving Juncus usitatus, Poa labillardieri, and Themeda triandra. Plants grew in mine waste for 100 days; all survived and bioaccumulated As in the roots (phytostabilisation). Poa labillardieri grew significantly more biomass (roots 0.24 ± 0.01 g; shoots 0.22 ± 0.03 g (d/w)) and bioaccumulated the most As (~ 100 mg/kg plant biomass). The bacterial community was investigated to assess soil health and As association. The rhizosphere microbiota stabilised after root colonisation for Poa labillardieri and Themeda triandra, as indicated by richness and evenness changes. The two dominant phyla were Actinobacteriota and Proteobacteria, which displayed As tolerance. A keystone taxon, Latescibacterota, exhibited a positive relative association with As remediation. Poa labillardieri is a good candidate for future phytostabilisation trials.

Droughts are a canonical feature of Australian history and climate, and Australia's paleoclimate and colonial past is dotted with extended periods of low rainfall. The Federation Drought was one such period. The result of a series of El Niño events, it parched much of Australia between 1895 and 1903 and remains one of the most significant and prolonged periods of rainfall deficiency since European colonisation. It also coincided with, and fuelled, a substantial increase in press coverage of the weather. In this article we examine reportage of the Federation Drought through two newspapers from the Victorian city of Bendigo: The Bendigo Advertiser and The Bendigo Independent. We identify themes that have persisted in drought coverage to the present day, highlighting the role the press has played in shaping how communities and policy makers have understood and managed the extremities of Australia's climate. We also offer insights into the evolution of current drought reportage and the perspectives it enables or silences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated nest temperatures in nest boxes occupied by single lactating brush-tailed phascogales (n = 8 boxes) and 1–3 adult sugar gliders (n = 7 boxes) when overnight ambient temperature dropped to <5°C. Temperature in the nest decreased or increased rapidly as animals vacated or re-occupied their nests. In the hour following first night-time departure, temperatures in sugar glider nests dropped by 9°C but only by 4°C in phascogale nests. The slower rate in phascogale nests was due to the presence of nestlings. Phascogales returned repeatedly to the nest during the night, resulting in an average 15°C differential above ambient over the night (2200–0500 h). Gliders returned infrequently during the night, resulting in an average nest-ambient differential of 3–5°C. After departure some glider nests tracked ambient to <0°C. The ability of nests to insulate and moderate temperature fluctuations requires further study. Our study highlights that we have incomplete knowledge of many aspects of the nesting ecology of cavity-using Australian mammals. We describe winter temperature variation in nest boxes occupied by brush-tailed phascogales and sugar gliders when overnight temperatures dropped to <5°C. Phascogale mothers returned often during the night, keeping nest and nestlings warm. Gliders returned infrequently to the nest, so some nests tracked ambient to <0°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sovereign Hill is an outdoor museum at Ballarat opened in 1970 and representing the historic gold mining era in Victoria. One of its many exhibits is an engine house with what has always been said to be a 'John Donald' winding engine. This paper is an attempt to uncover more of the story of this historic winding engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of surgical operations performed at Bendigo Gold District General Hospital in the 1890s offers an insight into the medical administration of a large, regional, charitable hospital as colonial doctors strove for professional status and livelihood. Hospital records reveal a dramatic rise in surgery as honorary doctors gained medical control of the hospital in a trial begun in 1892 and abandoned six years later. The paper discusses the possible reasons for the rise in surgery, primarily by the honorary medical staff, and the criticisms levelled at trial's end. In a period of profound change in medicine, Bendigo Hospital's honorary trial--conducted in the midst of its long-standing reluctance to adopt a system of medical management in widespread use elsewhere--demonstrates the impact of doctors' interests as they sought to work the charitable hospital to their professional advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This series of articles systematizes the events of settlement and economic development of vast spaces of North America, Australia, South Africa and North Asia, which are related to the movement of gold and diamond hunters (gold and diamond rushes). A chronological survey of the events is offered, the general phenomenon analyzed as well as specific aspects of its historical, mining, geological and organizational constituents covered. The material is divided into three separate but thematically united parts which describe the phenomenon of gold rush-spontaneous large-scale gold mining at newly discovered deposits in remote (for Europeans) parts of the world in the second half of the 19th century - the early 20th century. The impact of gold rushes in North America and Australia on the processes of global economic and financial transformations is shown. Large outputs resulted in setting a monetary gold standard which had been in place up to World War I: a wide turnover of gold coins, displacement of silver which began to act as token money as well as free exchange of paper money for gold coins. The above contributed to a sustainable development of world money relations which gave rise to a global financial system in the modern sense; a significant banks' influence on economic transformations as well as establishment of international centers for financial capital. Huge gold reserves were purposefully accumulated in the USA which, extracting an ample quantity of gold in its territory, bought up a considerable part of the world gold output, which eventually secured the key status of the American currency in world trade. Extracted gold played a key role in provision of financial resources for large-scale industrial development of the industrial epoch. Numerous migrations of working people from gold mining sites promoted the development and settlement of remote territories as well as the utilization of their natural resources in the global economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese-Australian and son of an entrepreneur, Edward Ni Gan, a successful lawyer and would be politician, was, in 1904, the first candidate in a Bendigo municipal election to tie his campaign to the Labor Party platform. Labor had just achieved the significant victory of three months in power at a federal level, and, although Ni Gan did not win in 1904, his support for the movement was well-received in Bendigo. When he tried to stand the following year as the endorsed Labor candidate, however, he was quickly disillusioned by procedural rules and his inadequate trade union networks. His speeches as an independent candidate showed his political position recast as a radical liberal in the Deakinite mode. In both campaigns, Ni Gan's colour was a difference which could be accommodated since he otherwise so happily embodied the young, white, "fair and square" sportsman who was an ideal progressive Bendigonian. His engagement with Labor politics in the first decade of the twentieth century shows that the drive for "White Australia" which often dominated the national conversation, could be less powerful at local levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports findings from a comparative study which investigated public attitudes to recycled water in two Australian locations both in the state of Victoria: the capital city, Melbourne, and Bendigo, an urban regional centre. Two commercial buildings were used as case studies, one at each location. These buildings will soon be using recycled water for non-potable uses. The study was facilitated by an on-line survey of future occupants of both buildings to gauge their attitudes to recycled water use. Specifically the paper reports on happiness/willingness to use recycled water for various uses and attitudinal factors which were found to influence this. The circumstances for potable water availability and recycled water use differ in Melbourne and Bendigo, making this study a significant contribution to understanding public acceptance of recycled water use in these different contexts. No significant difference in happiness to use recycled water was found between locations. However, prior experience (use) of recycled water was found to be a significant and positive factor in facilitating happiness/willingness to use recycled water, particularly for closer to personal contact uses such as showering and drinking. Various attitudinal and demographic variables were found to influence happiness to use recycled water. Results indicate it is not just the locational context of water availability that influences happiness to use recycled water, but a person's experience and particular perceptions that will facilitate greater willingness to use recycled water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]