1 Land Use in Australia: Rouse Hill House and Farm and the Struggle between Tradition and Modernity

Land use in Australia from the period of Aboriginal occupation to European settlement and through to the present day can be understood by drawing on the concepts of modernism and tradition. Furthermore, a critical study of decisions concerning land management reveals a tension between these two ideologies, the dynamics of which continue to shift as society’s values and demands evolve. This is revealed by a study of Rouse Hill House and Farm, located on the north-western outskirts of Sydney, which has undergone the transition from bushland, to farmland for agriculture, and most recently a site for high density housing and a National Park. The site reflects the impact of the progress on Australia since 1788, and furthers our understanding of the factors which encouraged, and now challenge this movement; most notably society’s understanding of environmental impact and terra nullius. Rouse Hill House and Farm offers a rich history, having housed six generations of one family over almost two centuries since it was built by Richard Rouse in 1813. Rouse was a free settler and worked in the colony as Superintendent of Public Works and Convicts at Parramatta. Rouse received extensive land grants in the area Governor Macquarie named Rouse Hill, and it is the ongoing use of this land which forms the basis for this critical analysis (Thornton 1988)