Encountering multiculturalism in rural Victoria: negotiating migration and change in Shepparton

This thesis will explore negotiations of migration and change in a rural context. This is in order to understand the ways in which conceptions of multiculturalism and rurality interact in this setting, and how individuals respond to such interactions. Shepparton, a rural city in northern Victoria, was the site chosen for this study, and provides a particularly engaging case study. As an established multicultural rural area, this region stands in contrast to popular ideologies of Australia which often resonate a distinct dichotomy between images of `the bush' and `multicultural Australia'. Contrary to popular ideologies of `rural white spaces', this study aims to demonstrate that places can be both `multicultural' and `rural'. Tensions between these two concepts will be explored, focussing particularly on the reluctance to introduce female-only swim sessions in Shepparton (primarily to cater for Muslim women), as it seems to demonstrate that there may be a persistent reluctance to actively acknowledge a relationship between multiculturalism and rurality. This thesis will therefore use the pool issue in Shepparton to supplement an investigation into negotiations of and responses to multiculturalism and change in a rural context. This will be achieved by considering direct interpretations of what multiculturalism means to individuals and its place in a rural locality, as well as concepts such as `community' and `work ethic', which appeared to be intimately related to physical context and the settlement of migrants in the Shepparton area