Rights to the rangelands: European contests of possession in the early 20(th) century

Resolving competition over rights to the resources of Australia's rangeland s is an issue of national prominence. In the early 20(th) century, European competition over the rangelands reflected the idea that the land needed to be used 'productively' for its occupation to be legitimate, acid the idea that the rangelands were the 'public estate'. These perspectives about righ ts to the rangelands expose roots of today's conflicts. A central theme of 19(th) century Australian history has been conflict between squatters and c olonial governments. By the beginning of the 20(th) century, occupation of the rangelands had been mostly legitimised through leases and licences. Gov ernments have continued to use leases to influence access and the use of th e rangelands. The 20(th) century saw conflict continue over rights to the rangelands. Clo ser settlement, an expression of this conflict, sometimes led to land use t hat was disastrous for the land and those who used it. The career of the pa storalist Sidney Kidman illustrates the conflicts between the landed and la ndless, and the inseparability of 'productive' and 'legitimate' land use. T he beginning of the 20(th) century also saw growing knowledge about the env ironmental impacts of rangeland pastoralism. The rights of lessees and gove rnments were widely renegotiated, in the example of New South Wales, in an attempt to make land use better reflect this new knowledge and to protect t he 'public estate'. and landless, and the 20(th) century also saw growing k nowledge about the environmental impacts of rangeland pastoralism. The righ ts of lessees and governments were widely renegotiated, in the example of N ew South Wales, in an attempt to make land use better reflect this new know ledge and to protect the 'public estate'. Today, the history of the rangelands is used by different groups to justify perceived rights to its resources - these rights are legitimised culturall y as well as by the narrower prescriptions of the law. As social values cha nge, different interests in the rangelands need to be accommodated. A bette r awareness of past ideas about the rights to the rangelands may in a small way help reconcile these interests, if only by reminding us that in the co ntinuing process of adapting to the rangelands, rights have always been con tested and negotiated rather than immutable.