1. Study Advice
VCE: Outdoor and Environmental
Studies (Unit 3)
Revised 2006

3. 1. Historical Perspectives
This area of study focuses on how Australians have understood and interacted with the
outdoors over time. This is investigated by exploring relationships with the outdoor
environment in different historical periods up to the end of the twentieth century.
Indigenous cultures relationships with the land
While it is important to recognise that contemporary indigenous Australians engage in
practices that are both traditional and contemporary, the emphasis in this key knowledge
point is on the traditional hunter-gatherer societies. However, with respect to
relationships with the land, it is also relevant to discuss the effect on indigenous cultures
by non-indigenous settlements over the past two hundred or so years.
Aboriginal groups first arrived in Australia at least 40,000 years ago, though some
archaeologists believe it could have been as long as 120,000 years ago
Indigenous relationships with the land are usually framed in terms such as:.
In Aboriginal Australia people and land were united in ways that are difficult for
outsiders to grasp. Access to land was vital for the maintenance of both body and
soul. Food and water were necessary for physical survival but land was far more
than an economic resource. People were tied spiritually to a particular locality; this
was their ‘country’, ‘home’ or ‘dreaming place’, a tangible link with the ancestors
who had lived and died there and with the Dreaming being who originally created
the territory. Through such links people derived a sense of belonging, of identity and
of oneness with the living world.
Neidje, Davis & Fox (Dingle, Aboriginal Economy, 1988, page9) expand on this point:
So, through 50,000 or more years, the environment which sustained life and culture
became bound intimately with every aspect of human life…Aboriginal and
environment were one and the same. Ownership of land in the European sense did
not exist. Aboriginals were part of the living systems because through their
mythology they understood that their ancestors created the landscape and the life on
it including themselves, with each part playing a role in the maintenance of the
whole dynamic world.
Geography and seasonality ruled the Aboriginal lives through their effect on access
and food supply…not so much controlling the shortage of food but the maintenance
of variety. Seasonal changes ushered in new foods. The Aboriginal seasonal calendar
emphasises this point.
(Neidge, Davis & Fox, Kakadu Man, 1986, pages 11, 12)
Both of the quotes support the notion that Aboriginal perceptions of the land were closely
tied to their spirituality and their uses of the land as more than just a resource. Students
need to understand these aspects of indigenous relationships with the land
These sources provide the basis for discussions about relationships with the land as they
tell various stories of how the land, flora and fauna originally came to be as it is now and
how it was long ago.
Direct evidence of the initial impact of hunter-gathering by Aboriginals in Australia have
long disappeared. However, there has been a long-term legacy in terms of:
• Vegetation changes due to firestick farming
• Extinction of megafauna due to the above or to hunting
• Partial extinction of some native fauna due to the introduction of dingoes.
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4. Some argue that the impact of these activities was relatively slow and there were likely
ecological adjustments as the impact appears to have been sustainable and ecological
balance was maintained.
Paddle (2000, page 18) also discusses how Aboriginals were in direct competition with
the indigenous megafauna, particularly the carnivores, and argues that the megafauna
‘were destroyed through direct competition with humans for a finite food resource’ and
that ‘ the demands of human predation, accompanying an increasing human population,
caused the complete disappearance of the previous ecological balance and the decimation
of whole prey species’.
It is important that students are aware of these different views on Aboriginal uses of the
land, their management practices and the impact of their uses as part of this key
knowledge point.
The arrival of European settlers and their conception that the land was owned or
possessed by nobody (terra nullius) impacted greatly on Aboriginal relationships with the
land.
Early settlers relationships with the land
The main ideas to be covered in this key knowledge point relate to the perceptions, uses,
management practices and impact of uses of the early non-indigenous settlers.
The standard view of the early settlement period is that the settlers exploited and
destroyed the Australian environment. For example, Marshall in The Great
Extermination (1966, page 2), wrote: ‘The bush, to our great-grandfathers, was the
enemy: it brooded sombrely outside their brave and often pathetic little attempts at
civilisation; it crowded in on them in times of drought and flood. It, not they, was alien.’
In contrast, Bonyhady (2000, page 3) writes that ‘While many colonists were alienated by
their new environment, others delighted in it… many members of the First Fleet lauded
the gum tree for its distinctiveness’. He later notes, ‘Thirty years later, most writers
condemned the eucalypts. Far from delighting in their difference, colonists and visitors
judged them against an English standard and found them wanting in even more
extravagant terms’ (2000, page 71).
Not only was there no consensus on perceptions of the Australian environment, there was
also much concern about the rapidly deteriorating state of the environment within a short
time of the arrival of the First Fleet. Bonyhady, for example, writes that:
The settlers’ attachment to the colonial landscape was matched by their desire to
preserve it. The protection of the continent’s native flora and fauna, pollution of its
rivers, degradation of its pastoral lands, planning and improvement of its cities,
preservation of beauty spots, retention of public reserves and access to the foreshore
were all major issues in the colonial era. Even climate change–perhaps the
environmental issue most thought of as modern–excited attention as early as 1795,
when the magistrate Richard Atkins speculated that the weather was changing ‘in
consequence of the country opening so fast.
The governments in the early years of European settlement in Australia failed to act on
their own environmental goals and legislation; even where the laws were in existence
they were rarely or ineffectually enforced. Environmental damage rapidly occurred due to
the pressures of population and the pressures of settlers concerned with short-term profit
rather than long-term environmental conservation. For example, by 1803 there were
flooding problems resulting from the clearing of cedars from the banks of the
Hawkesbury River, and between 1803 and 1829 the number of sheep in Tasmania rose
from 30 to 172,000, and there were 80,000 sheep in New South Wales in 1819 (Paddle,
2000). This grazing destroyed the native grasslands: for example, in 1882 Andrew Ross
(in Bonyhady 2000, page 284) states he deplored ‘the gradual but wholesale destruction
of the native grasses and herbage all over the country, resulting from the practice…of
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5. grazing immense flocks of sheep year after year on the same pasturage, without giving
any rest to the land’.
In addition to growing sheep to export wool back to England, the colony was charged
with securing naval timber for the British government. The early colonists also engaged
in sealing in Bass Strait and many other activities focussed on exporting resources.
Sustainability was not a concern.
Survival was an issue for these early settlers, both individually and collectively. Food
supplies arriving by ship from England were erratic and frequently delayed. The settlers
had to find their own food – by hunting and clearing the land. Gathering was not seen as
an option as the plants were alien and not recognised as food sources (even though the
Aboriginals were using them). Land was cleared for crops and grazing along the coast
and rivers and then further inland as the early explorers opened up routes. This land was
farmed in the same way as it was farmed in England, with no regard for the differences in
soils or climate. Even today the landscape in farmed areas resembles an English
countryside.
Students should develop an understanding of the effects of the traditions of urban
dwellers and people from domesticated rural environments in Europe on the Australian
environment, and how their lack of understanding of the local flora, fauna, soils and
climate related to their perceptions of and impact on the environment.
Students should be aware of the notion of Australia as a terra nullius and its implications
for relationships with the land in Australia. According to the Council for Aboriginal
Reconciliation (accessed on 14 December 2001):
British colonisation policies and subsequent land laws were framed in the belief that
the colony was being acquired by occupation (or settlement) of a terra nullius (land
without owners). The colonisers acknowledged the presence of Indigenous people
but justified their land acquisition policies by saying the Aborigines were too
primitive to be actual owners and sovereigns and that they had no readily identifiable
hierarchy or political order which the British Government could recognise or
negotiate with.
Goldrush to Federation relationships with the land
This historical period quite arbitrarily separates the early non-indigenous settlers from the
twentieth century. It has been distinguished at the Goldrush period because of the
changing nature of the relationships with the land that were happening around this time,
particularly in Victoria.
As with the previous periods there is no simple characterisation of relationships with the
land from the Goldrush period to Federation. In the goldfields there was not so much a
disregard for the environment as a focus on the potential reward that lay in the discovery
of gold. Large tracts of land were denuded and waterways and ecosystems were polluted
and eroded, but the environmental consequences of these activities were not considered
until later.
While most non-indigenous settlers were concerned with exploiting the land for its
mineral and timber resources and for agricultural export purposes, there was also the
beginnings of an environmental movement (Hutton & Connors, A History of The
Australian Environment Movement, 1999, page 46):
Colonial ignorance about indigenous flora and fauna and the limits of the climate,
and the under-resourcing of biological research by the state, led to the founding of
acclimatisation societies in the eastern colonies in the 1860s…Community-based
but, like the royal societies, supported by influential residents and amateur and
professional scientists, the acclimatisation societies played an important role in
public education and political pressure.
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6. Australia’s first national park, Royal National Park near Sydney in 1879 was also
declared during this period. Victoria soon followed with small areas set aside as national
parks for public recreation at Fern Tree Gully in 1882 and Tower Hill in 1892.
The publication in 1864 of Man and Nature by the American G. Page Marsh had a
similar effect on the attitudes of naturalists as did the publication of Rachel Carson’s
Silent Spring a century later. According to Hutton & Connors (1999, page 51), ‘Marsh’s
theme was the destructive effects of human domination of nature, and his ideas about the
damage caused by forest clearance were popularised in the Australian colonial press of
the 1860s’. For example, in 1871 Ferdinand von Mueller, Director of Melbourne’s Royal
Botanic Gardens passionately promoted the cause of the forests and intergenerational
equity: ‘I regard the forest as a heritage given to us by nature, not for spoil or to
devastate, but to be wisely used, reverently honoured, and carefully maintained’ (in
Hutton & Connors 1999, page 21). Forest conservation was also a concern for other
Victorians. For example, mining surveyors were concerned about the depletion of timber
supplies for mine-props in deep lead mines. Gradually each state established a
conservator of forests; although it was not until 1907 that the Forest Act was passed in
Victoria.
The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria was formed in 1880, and served as a leader and
lobbyist for conservation measures and included in its objectives ‘the preservation and
protection of the fauna and flora indigenous to Australia and its environs’ Similar clubs
were formed in provincial towns around Victoria.
The dominant relationship with the land at this time was development and export
oriented. Governments were interested in ‘opening up’ the land to settlers for agriculture
and grazing, and in timber and mineral reserves; resource conservation was low on the
agenda if it appeared at all. Settlers were interested in making money.
The growing urban population was also seeking nature experiences – scenery, fresh air, a
place to picnic and walk, and escape from the summer heat in Melbourne (see Bonyhady,
2000). Access was a limiting factor. Urban dwellers required railways or coaches to
access desirable places such as Mount Macedon, the Dandenongs, Queenscliff and
Brighton. In addition, as the cost of bicycles came within reach of working class pay
packets around the 1890s, so people could pursue outdoor experiences away from the
cities and beyond the train stations
Since Federation relationships with the land
Federation provides an artificial but useful demarcation between the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. The period in this key knowledge point finishes around 1970, with
the more contemporary aspects of the twentieth century being the focus of area of
study 2.
While many of the same perceptions, uses, management practices and impacts of human–
environment interactions continued, there were also changes in these in the twentieth
century. Topics to be investigated in this key knowledge point should include:
• the growth of recreational interest groups, e.g. bushwalkers, mountain climbers,
caving, boating, aquatics, snow skiing, pursuing the wilderness experience
• the growth of amateur bird watching, field naturalist and natural history clubs
• the impact of mass transit with the development of rail networks to open spaces and
scenic spots on the city fringes between 1880 and the 1920s
• the growth of the conservation movement, e.g. the Victorian National Parks
Association was formed in 1908 to promote more reservations for national parklands
(although it was shortlived and reformed in 1952), and the Federation of Victorian
Walking Clubs was formed in 1934 with an explicit conservation commitment.
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7. The environmental movement declined substantially following World War II (Hutton &
Connors 1999, page 89). This was in part due to declining membership of outdoor
recreation groups because of growing car ownership and weekend driving trips instead of
bushwalking, and to the former influential members of the groups now being members of
the bureaucratic structures they had argued to create. There was also the restriction of
legitimate spheres of citizen action in the light of the Cold War.
However, pollution problems in Western cities continued to grow.
By the 1960s, motor cars were bringing more and more people into contact with national
parks and contributing to a resurgence in outdoor recreation. Other technological
developments such as underwater photography popularised different recreational
activities including scuba-diving and snorkelling. Photographs from the lunar missions
were also important for the conservation movement as they made people aware that the
earth’s resources are finite:
‘Postwar economic growth fuelled by a surge of foreign investment, particularly in
the mining sector, along with rapid technological development, caused ‘progress’ to
intrude into new and once remote places across the continent’
Public consciousness of environmental degradation and threats to the environment grew
throughout the 1960s through issues such as land development schemes, mining of beach
sands, preservation of the Great Barrier Reef, the flooding of Lake Pedder for
hydroelectricity generation, and noise, air and water pollution. In Victoria, the Little
Desert campaign of the 1960s (Robin, 1998) can be seen as being of great significance in
attracting young people to the environment movement and helping to change its identity
and profile. This campaign brought together notions of the changing perceptions of the
land, uses, management practices and their impact during this period. Robin discusses the
changing conceptions of the bush – from Henry Lawson’s ‘Bush’ which was Australia’s
pastoral frontier so central to the mythical singular Australian identity, to the ‘bush’ of
the Save Our Bushlands Action Committee for whom ‘bushland’ was public land, free of
agricultural development: ‘For one generation bush-bashing meant heroism, for the next
vandalism’.
Environmental movements in Australia
The content to be covered in this key knowledge point relates to the history and role of
environmental movements in raising community consciousness and achieving
conservation of environments in Australia. The emphasis and orientation is community-
based environmental groups not government agencies.
As has been mentioned earlier, there has been concern about the deterioration of the
environment since the arrival of the First Fleet
The role of these groups is to protect the environment. The may be active in restoration
programs and pest removal programs. Educating the public about the importance of the
environment. Trying to influence decision makers by lobbying, direct action and letter
writing.
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8. 2. Contemporary relationships with natural environments
This area of study focuses on the current state of the environment and interrelationships
between humans and the environment. It examines a number of ways the Australian
outdoor environment is perceived, and the dynamic nature of human–environment
relationships.
Factors which influence patterns and types of interaction with natural
environments
The factors to be studied are those that are influences on human interactions with natural
environments. These include
• Technology: better equipment
• Media promoting of the environment through TV, magazines, etc
• Increased environmental awareness
interest in wilderness experiences
awareness of conservation issues
• Other Social influences:
increased leisure time
increased/improved economic situation
guide books and grading systems
packaging and marketing of activities
The types of human interactions with natural environments to be discussed in this dot
point include
• Conservation – many human interactions with the natural environment are for
conservation purposes such as protecting and restoring natural environments through
revegetation, erosion control, weed and pest control, habitat restoration, track
development and maintenance, working in clean up programs, supporting breeding
programs and wildlife sanctuaries, and working as a park ranger.
• Recreation – human interactions with natural environments for recreational
purposes include water activities such as swimming, canoeing, sailing, surfing, water
skiing, jet skiing; tobogganing, snow boarding and skiing; bushwalking and
rockclimbing; mountain biking and four wheel driving; adventure activities such as
whitewater rafting; and passive interactions such as strolling and sightseeing.
• Commerce – commercial interactions with natural environments use the
environment as a resource to generate profit, such as mining, agriculture, forestry,
fishing, grazing, tourist developments and resorts, water storage and hydro, tidal or
wind electricity generation.
• Tourism – tourist interactions with natural environments can be for recreational,
educational, commercial or aesthetic purposes (or a combination). Tourist activities
also include ecotourism.
• Aesthetic appreciation – human interactions with natural environments for aesthetic
purposes include writers, artists and photographers using the environment for
inspiration; tourists seeking the wonders of nature; and those seeking solitude and
spiritual renewal.
Each of these types of interactions is influenced by the factors listed above.
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9. The patterns of human interactions with natural environments are also influenced by the
factors listed above. Patterns of interactions – such as numbers of people engaging in
different types of activities and the types of activities taking place – have changed over
time as a result of these factors. For example, the development of new technologies and
products such as snowboards and jet skis has led to the development of new recreational
activities, and increased environmental awareness has led to more people visiting national
parks and the need for a permit system in some very popular areas. Other examples relate
state government proposals related to marine national parks and changes to forestry
practices.
Role of technology in shaping relationships
Consideration of the role of technology should focus on its mediating effect between
humans and natural environments. Students should consider the role of technology in the
way that it acts as an interface or intermediary between humans and natural
environments. That is, technology has changed the ways humans relate with natural
environments. As a result of technology people can engage in different outdoor pursuits
and recreational activities. Without technology mediating relationships with natural
environments these relationships would be different. Technology helps us move faster,
climb further, go to places we could not have previously accessed. Technology is the
intermediary that facilitates these interactions.
If a group of people were to go on a bushwalk and take a map and hand-held global
positioning system (GPS), the map and GPS can be understood as technology that
mediates the bushwalking experience in several ways. The journey becomes linear, for
example, there may be less focus on what is actually in the environment and more on how
to get through it from A to B. The focus is the map and the mathematical representation
of nature on the piece of paper and not so much on the landscape and its features (apart
from how they match the map). The dynamic in the group changes and the person/people
who can read the map and understand the GPS holds the 'answer'. The use of the map and
GPS has mediated the relationship between the users of the technology and their
experience of the natural environment.
The role of commercialisation of outdoor experiences
Commercialisation is generally used to describe the exploitation of a resource for profit.
Today selling outdoor experiences is a booming industry. Whether it is a guided walk in
the Botanical gardens, a bus tour down the Great Ocean Road or a fully supported
expedition to Mt Everest, someone is providing a service. The effect of many social
factors (described above) has enabled people to pay for the outdoors experience. They
pay for someone to take them there and provide the equipment.
A key factor in the modern day commercialisation of the outdoors experience is the
practice of “Ecotourism” This practice ensures the conservation of the areas by
minimising human impact on the environment and using sustainable practices. Education
of the participants is also fundamental.
Commercial operators that use the same location continuously can have a negative impact
on the environment. They portray the environment as a resource.
Commercialisation of outdoor experiences could include:
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10. • increasing availability of guidebooks and grading systems, making information
on areas and activities more readily available
• the marketing of outdoor activities, for example how the growth of the
ecotourism sector and tour guide companies might alter the outdoor experience.
The contemporary state of natural environments in Australia
The emphasis in this key knowledge point is on developing students’ knowledge of the
state of natural environments and the range of views about the state of these
environments. An understanding of the state of natural environments is often closely
related to the activities of community environmental groups and of government agencies.
State of the Environment reporting happens in a number of different ways. The most
obvious is State of the Environment Australia which was published by CSIRO for the
State of the Environment Advisory Council in 1996. Other reports (see their websites) on
the state of natural environments are forthcoming from government groups such as the
Australian Heritage Commission, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority,
Environment Australia and the Victorian Department of Natural Resources and
Environment. Environmental groups such as the Australian Conservation Foundation, the
Wilderness Society, the Victorian National Parks Association and the Community
Biodiversity Network also produce reports (see their websites) on the state of natural
environments, often closely related to their campaigns or areas of special interest. These
different groups often have differing views on the actual state of various natural
environments, and they will also differ from the views of other groups such as sawmillers
or fishing industry groups.
Students should investigate a range of different views about the contemporary state of
natural environments in Victoria and Australia so that they understand some of the
complexities of environmental decision making.
There are a number of areas of national concern related to the contemporary state of
natural environments – such as land degradation, erosion, inland water pollution, marine
environment pollution, biodiversity, deforestation, loss of native forests and grasslands.
These relate to government funded national programs and agencies such as Landcare,
Coast Action/Coastcare, and Greening Australia
The role of humans in outdoor environments
This key knowledge point is closely related to the following ones, which focus on views
and images of the outdoor environment and nature and the environmental movement in
Australia.
While most Australians would no longer see their outdoor environment as hostile and
alien, many still ameliorate their experiences of the outdoors through technologies of
various kinds. These include applying insect repellents, wearing protective clothing,
observing the outdoors through a car/bus/aircraft/chairlift/resort window.
Many Australians now also see their role as stewards or protectors of the environment,
hence all the green consumer guides, green products on supermarket shelves, the growth
of the environment movements and the development of codes of conduct for appropriate
behaviours in outdoor environments.
Not all Australians share these views. There are those who see the environment as a
resource to be exploited for short term gain, or who believe that their development is
sustainable.
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11. The outdoor environment and nature Contemporary views
Contemporary views of natural environments could include natural environments as:
• a resource (something to be used or harnessed to meet people's needs)
• an adversary (something to be beaten or a threat)
• a museum (for preserving behind barriers)
• a temple (a place of worship, of beauty and peace)
• a classroom (a place for learning)
• a gymnasium (a place to participate in physical activities).
Another possible contemporary view is that of ‘kinship’, where the environments are
subjectively identified with self. This image is consistent with deep ecology and
indigenous perspectives.
The various contemporary view could also emanate or be linked to the groups discussed
in the previous key knowledge points. In simplistic terms, for example, early settlers
generally perceived the Australian environment as an adversary – unknown and therefore
full of dangers and in need of clearing and conquering – contributing to a view still
shared by many members of the community today along with the media and in
advertising. Students should be able to equate and compare contemporary view of nature
as a resource for meeting human needs or as an adversary – where the land needs clearing
or native animals or plants encroach on their farmland, with those of a museum or
cathedral. The contemporary view of the outdoor environment as both an adversary – to
be confronted in various ways, and as a gymnasium, for exercise is a convenient vehicle
for would-be adventurers and risk takers that is used by the media in advertising and
programming. Artists have long created both cathedral-like contemporary view of the
outdoors and ones of adversity in portraying the outdoor environment.
Students are then required to analyse the role of these views in shaping relationships with
natural environments. For example, some views of nature and outdoor experiences could
contribute to:
• an increased community awareness of conservation issues and environmental
impacts
• an increased interest in wilderness experiences
• social perceptions of comfort and the associated demand for facilities to enhance
outdoor experiences
• the manner in which the media portray images of natural environments and
outdoor experiences.
For the purpose of this key knowledge point ‘views’ is defined as a particular way of
regarding the outdoor environment and nature in relation to its purpose as a result of a
direct relationship with it.
In this key knowledge point students should examine a range of views of the outdoor
environment held by a variety of people. The views of scientists, naturalists, adventurers,
artists, landholders and indigenous people.
This key knowledge point complements students’ developing understanding of the state
of the outdoor and natural environments in Australia and their studies of environment
movements. The emphasis should be on the wide-ranging nature of these views rather
than developing stereotypes or consensus.
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12. Naturalists view the outdoor environment and nature differently from scientists. Rather
than focussing on scientific details they are enthusiastic amateurs, ‘students of plants and
animals’ (Concise Oxford Dictionary), who appreciate the beauty and interrelationships
they perceive within nature. To some extent this enthusiasm can be found in the
television documentaries of people like David Attenborough.
Adventurers’ contemporary views of nature and the outdoor environment is reflected in
the growth of ecotourism and in the changing nature of risk-taking activities as a result of
developments in technology. Many still seek out the challenge of pitting themselves
against the elements and use satellite technology and other developments to try to ensure
their survival.
The contemporary views of artists are much more than just paintings and sketches. Artists
in contemporary times include photographers, graffitists and performance artists. The
exhibit catalogue for Federation: Australian Art and Society 1901–2001 (McDonald,
2000) includes a range of visual arts and ‘celebrates our indigenous communities, our
diversity and multiculturalism, our sporting heroes, our cities and the bush’
The contemporary views of landholders can be investigated through media reports and
groups such as Landcare, Ratepayers associations and Victorian Farmers Federation.
Most landholders have used their land to produce food and materials of value to human
populations. They see the outdoor environment and nature as a resource to be harnessed
but have an increasing awareness of conservation and associated sustainability issues.
The contemporary views of indigenous people are as varied as the environments with
which they have kinship. Most are concerned about the changes to the environments over
the past two hundred or so years as expressed in the work of people such as Bill Neidje
(1989) and other Aboriginal writers and in the work of numerous Aboriginal artists
Society response to risk taking
The ways in which people respond to risk-taking behaviour vary and they are generally
related to perceived risk rather than actual risk.
Responses can be affected by the way high risk adventures are portrayed in the media.
This could be viewed as either negative. A newspaper may describe the death of a skier in
the alpine area due to hypothermia. People reading the article may view the activity as
unsafe and therefore may not try it. Others may see it as unnecessary as it may have been
prevented if more phone towers were present in the region.
Response to tragedy by authorities usually involves regulations. These restrictions can
increase the safety to both users and the environment. Banning of rock climbing at
Hanging rock, which is an unstable rock face.
Typical response to risk taking
1. media coverage
2. public response
3. investigation
4. coroners inquest
5. media coverage
6. public response
7. criminal or civil proceedings
8. industry self-regulation
9. government legislation
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