Tourism and Recreation

This content is currently under review. Statistics date from 1990.

Tourism can be defined as short-term leisure and business travel activities away from the normal place of residence and work. It involves particular destinations and both domestic and international travellers. As they bring money into tourist destinations, visitors provide increased job opportunities and tax revenues, thus contributing to the economies of the destinations (Hall 1991, 3). In some locations, catering for visitors is the major sector of the economy. Tourists are provided for by a large range of goods and services, including transport and tour operators, accommodation establishments, theme parks and attractions, entertainment and arts venues, recreational facilities, museums and historical sites, restaurants, travel agents and souvenir retailers. From the available data, it is not possible to separate leisure and business travel activities.

Recreation refers to leisure activities which are undertaken by the residents of an immediate region, whose spending patterns will involve a recycling of money within the community, though it should be noted that tourists also often engage in such leisure activities (Hall 1991, 3).

For Australia as a whole, tourism directly and indirectly contributes about 5.5 per cent of GDP and accounts for about 6.0 per cent of total employment. There is no reason to believe that figures for the MDB are any lower; in fact, they may well be higher, certainly in some parts of the Basin.

Tourism and Recreation in the Murray-Darling Basin

The Murray-Darling Basin is an important destination for domestic and international tourists as well as a location for recreational activities, for both residents and visitors. The Basin contains a great variety of tourist attractions. In addition to the many national parks and other reserves (see National Parks and other Reserves and Wetlands), much of Australia's history is located in the MDB, both in the natural and built environments (see Heritage Resources). As indicated in other pages, many of the Basin's major economic activities also incorporate important tourist components, such as Mining and Minerals Production, Forestry, Manufacturing Industry, Agriculture, and Irrigation. It is thus not surprising that tourism and recreation make a major contribution to the Basin's economy.

In 1993-94, on the basis of survey data compiled by the Bureau of Tourism Research, over 12.7 million visits were made to locations in the Murray-Darling Basin, with visitors spending over 41 million nights (Table 1). These figures are only estimates, as not only are they based on survey data, a number of the regions for which the data are compiled do not accord precisely with the MDB (Figure 1), and so adjustments have had to be made. In terms of Australian tourism, the Basin is an important destination for domestic travellers, but less so for international ones. The discrepancy becomes more evident in terms of nights spent within the Basin (Table 1). Whilst it appears that the Basin gets its share of visitors, attention needs to be given to how they can be encouraged to stay longer.

The Bureau of Tourism Research estimates that domestic tourists have an average expenditure per night on overnight trips of $83.00; for international visitors, the figure is $77.00 (it excludes pre-paid package tours and airfares paid overseas). On the basis of these figures, the Basin receives $3,123.9 million from domestic tourism and $267.7 million from international tourism. To these figures can be added the contribution of day trips. The Bureau of Tourism Research estimates the average expenditure on day trips at $41.00, for an Australian total (in 1992) of $253 million (BTR 1994). Assuming the same proportion for the Basin as for overnight visits (20.9 per cent), the value of day trips is at least $52.9 million. In total, tourism in the MDB is worth over $3,444.5 million.

Table 2 makes use of Australian Bureau of Statistics data for licensed hotels, motels, etc.; Table 3 provides similar data for caravan parks. They provide an indication of the main visitor centres within the Basin. The data clearly have their limitations, covering only part of the picture, perhaps no more than 70 per cent according to indications from the Bureau of Tourism Research. Thus, visits to relatives and friends are not included, yet these are clearly very important. A recent study indicated that such visits contributed nearly a third of the $175 million tourism industry in Albury- Wodonga.

For the Basin as a whole, takings from accommodation in licensed hotels, motels, etc. in 1993-94 totalled $337.6 million (Table 2). Canberra, with takings of $69.6 million, is by far the most important tourist destination in the Basin. This is a reflection of the nature of the visitors to the national capital and the number of 'five star' hotels. Following Canberra are Snowy River ($18.3 million), Albury-Wodonga ($18.2 million), Dubbo ($11.9 million), Wagga Wagga ($9.2 million), Tamworth ($9.0 million), Bright ($8.8 million), and Toowoomba ($8.1 million). In terms of numbers of establishments, Snowy River (only a small part of which is in the MDB) tops the list with 62, followed by Albury-Wodonga (51), Bright (50), Canberra (43), Toowoomba (33), and Dubbo (32). Occupancy rates present even more interesting figures. The highest figures are Goondiwindi (68.6 per cent), Dubbo (65.6 per cent), Canberra (64.2 per cent), Gundagai (62.7 per cent), Murray (57.3 per cent), Parkes (57.1 per cent), Orange (57.0 per cent), and Toowoomba (56.3 per cent). The lowest room occupancy rates are found in some of the major holiday destinations: Mansfield (18.5 per cent), Bright (18.7 per cent), Snowy River (22.6 per cent), Alexandra (25.3 per cent), and Port Elliot and Goolwa (26.1 per cent). Apart from Canberra, the major centres mentioned fall into three groups: those that are clearly holiday destinations, such as Bright, in the Ovens Valley, the Snowy River, and Murray; those that are primarily administrative and commercial centres, such as Dubbo and Toowoomba; and those that are overnight stops on major transport routes, such as Gundagai and Goondiwindi.

The data for caravan parks present a somewhat different picture. Takings from accommodation in caravan parks in 1993-94 totalled $64 million. The leading locations are Mildura, Snowy River, Bright, Corowa, and Murray. The highest sight occupancy rates are in Murray (77.6 per cent), Mansfield (67.6), Corowa (65.8), and Toowoomba (64.7). It is interesting to note that in a number of tourist locations, such as Snowy River, Mansfield and Bright, occupancy rates for caravan sights are much higher than for hotel and motel rooms.

Destinations and activities

Given the nature and variety of the recreational activities and the tourist destinations in the Murray-Darling Basin, it is difficult to separate the two. Also, it is only possible to provide an illustrative selection of activities, attractions and facilities.

In a primarily dry, inland environment, water-based recreation of all kinds is particularly important. In such an environment, water is also important from an aesthetic point of view. The Basin's many water bodies provide locations for all kinds of water-based activities - yachting, motor boats, canoes, house boats, paddle-steamers and other passenger craft on the Murray, water skiing, swimming, fishing (see Fisheries), bird watching, and simply appreciating the landscapes. The numerous reservoirs are particularly important for such activities, with many of them in New South Wales having State Recreation Areas on their shores, for example. Burrinjuck, Wyangala, Burrendong, Keepit, and Copeton. Similar facilities are provided at many of the reservoirs in Victoria, such as Eildon, Nagambie, Eppalock, Cairn Curran, Dartmouth, and Hume.

Recent years have seen a tremendous increase in boating activities of all kinds, not only on the many reservoirs and lakes, but especially on the River Murray. As well as the numerous houseboats, there is a growing number of paddle-steamers, mostly for day trips, but also others providing accommodation and extended cruises. These are based at such places as Echuca, Mildura, South Australia's Riverland towns (Renmark, Berri, Loxton, Waikerie), and Goolwa. The importance of the Murray for visitors is confirmed by the Bureau of Tourism Research data, which indicate tourism being worth over $824.6 million to communities along and within a short distance of the River.

There is a comparable variety of land-based recreational and tourism activities. The many national parks provide locations for all kinds of bush walking, from the High Country to the semi-arid areas in the western parts of the Basin. Longer walks are catered for by such facilities as the Hume and Hovell Walking Track (Hill 1993). The Basin contains many of Australia's major ski resorts in the High Country areas of New South Wales and Victoria. Of a very different nature, are such pursuits as golf and bowls along the Murray, particularly associated with the many clubs on the NSW side of the river (related to the presence of poker machines in NSW long before they were permitted in Victoria), such as the area between Howlong and Tocumwal (including Cobram-Barooga, Yarrawonga-Mulwala, and Corowa), publicised as the 'Sun Country Playground'.

Many places in the Basin have their own particular attractions. These are so many and varied that it is possible to give only a few illustrations. There is the Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo, where wild life from many parts of the world roam free over large areas and where important breeding programs are being undertaken. As indicated earlier, many activities have important supplementary tourist functions, such as a number of large telescopes: the Parkes CSIRO radio telescope; the Coonabarabran Siding Spring Observatory optical astronomy research centre; and the CSIRO Australian telescope, near Narrabri, the newest and most powerful radiotelescope in the Southern Hemisphere, which when linked with Parkes and Coonabarabran, can mimic a telescope about 320 km in diameter. There is also the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Communication Complex near Canberra, its five antennas providing important links with spacecraft as well as undertaking work for NASA. Taking advantage of the generally favourable weather conditions, Waikerie and Narromine are major centres for gliding. The Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme has made a significant contribution to tourism and recreation in the High Country and Kosciuszko National Park in particular, not only through its power stations, roads and other facilities, but also, in the words of Klaus Hueneke, to the 'greening of the High Country' (see for example Hueneke 1987).

At various locations, some of the Basin's resource-based and manufacturing industries have their associated tourist components (see Manufacturing Industry). Among the more well known examples are the many wineries, as in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, Mudgee, and many places in northern Victoria, and the Riverina's rice industry. Less well known examples are found within Victoria's Wimmera district and at such places as Ganmain, 'the hay-making capital of Australia', with its museum of hay-making equipment and where hay ricks can be seen standing in the paddocks.

Some places are known for particular events, such as motor racing at Bathurst; Tamworth is 'the country music capital of Australasia', its Country Music Festival attracting some 40,000 each year. Other places are associated with particular people, such as Dorothy MacKellar with Gunnedah; the artists Pro Hart and Jack Absalom with Broken Hill (where they have their galleries).

Some tourist destinations

The Ovens Valley

All year round, the Ovens Valley provides a scenic environment and one with a rich history and heritage. It has long been an important agricultural area. Pastoralists moved into the Valley in the late 1830s, but it is now noted for its fruit, vegetables, walnuts, vines and cool climate wines, hops and tobacco. The river flats were also the scene of early alluvial gold workings dating from the late 1850s, to which most of the settlements trace their origins, with the last of the dredges working at Harrietville until 1956. The 'Tronoh', weighing 5,000 tonnes, was the largest such dredge in the Southern Hemisphere. The Valley may be regarded as the location of some of the earliest environmental controversies in Australia, with farmers opposed to gold dredging because of the land destruction that it created. Much of the land has been reclaimed and is now used for pine plantations, the basis of yet another of the Valley's industries.

Whilst agriculture, forestry and mining have been and continue to be important, the Ovens Valley today is now best known as a tourist destination. This is no new development, however, for the first guide book for Bright was produced in 1887. Bright has been described as 'one of the most beautiful towns in Australia', especially at the time of its 'Autumn Festival'. This owes much to the avenues of European deciduous trees, initially planted at the suggestion of Baron von Mueller. Beechworth is the historic gold mining town, having been the centre of Victoria's largest goldfield (see Mining and Minerals Production). Myrtleford is the Valley's commercial centre. On the southern slopes of the Valley is the Mount Buffalo National Park, one of the earliest national parks (established in 1898), its spectacular scenery being a destination for visitors all year round. Mount Buffalo was named in 1824 by Hume and Hovell. Skiing at Mount Buffalo dates from the 1920s. At the head of the Valley, is Mt Hotham, Victoria's highest settlement and Australia's highest ski village, located in the Alpine National Park.

South Australia's Riverland

South Australia's Riverland extends along the River Murray from Renmark to Morgan and includes such towns as Berri, Barmera, Loxton, Kingston, Waikerie and Cadell. With the exception of Morgan, each of the towns is surrounded by irrigated land producing vines, citrus, stone fruits, vegetables and other crops (see Agriculture and Irrigation). These form the basis for numerous wineries and food processing industries, in particular Berri Orchards. The irrigation areas provide a stark contrast to the semi-arid dryland farming areas that surround them. The River, the parks and nature reserves (especially the bird life of the Murray River National Park), the towns, the irrigation areas, their history and the climate (except perhaps in the heat of summer) provide the attractions for the tourists.

Morgan, located where the Murray suddenly changes from its westerly course to a southerly one, dates from 1878, when the railway from Adelaide provided a link to the river trade - to the cost of the port of Goolwa. By the turn of the century, it was the busiest river port in South Australia, though for little more than a decade when the expansion of the railways brought about the decline of river traffic (see Heritage Resources). Renmark was the first of the irrigation settlements, having been established by Canadian-born George and William Chaffey in 1887. It is the centre of the state's largest irrigation scheme, covering some 4,700 hectares. It remains a community scheme, run by the Renmark Irrigation Trust (see Irrigation). Many of the town's private and public buildings date from the early years of irrigation. In addition to its agricultural activities, it is now also a tourist centre, based especially on the Murray, with its many houseboats and the paddle-steamer 'Murray Princess'. Berri dates from 1910 and is now the economic and administrative centre of the Riverland, as well as being the home of Berri fruit juices. Barmera regards itself as the country music capital of South Australia. On nearby Lake Bonney, Donald Campbell achieved a speed of 347 kilometres per hour in 1964, turbulence on the Lake preventing him setting a new world water speed record. Also nearby is the Cobdogla Irrigation Museum. Loxton is the newest community, being essentially a post World War II soldier settlement scheme. Waikerie was originally established as a community settlement in 1894, though its real growth only came in the post World War II period.

Canberra

In terms of visitor numbers, Canberra is one of the major tourist destination in the Murray-Darling Basin. As the national capital, it attracts numerous visitors associated with the many functions of government - diplomats, politicians, bureaucrats and business people. These make up a significant proportion of visitor numbers, especially at what may be termed the higher end of the tourism market (such as the four and five star hotels).

Because it is the national capital, many institutions of national importance are located in Canberra, such as the High Court, the National Library, the National Science and Technology Centre, the Australian War Memorial, the Royal Australian Mint, the Botanic Gardens, and the National Gallery, as well as Parliament House itself. These are all attractions for non-business visitors. For example, special exhibitions at the National Gallery, such as the Rubens and Matisse exhibitions (the latter attracting over 50,000 visitors), bring large numbers of visitors to Canberra. Though a new city, having been founded in 1913, it contains much of heritage value, not least Old Parliament House. Further, Canberra is unusual in Australia in being a totally planned city and one that is located in a magnificent natural setting, complemented by Lake Burley Griffin and a number of other artificial lakes. Within 'the bush capital' itself and beyond, there is much to attract the nature-tourist, especially at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Namadgi National Park (see National Parks and other Reserves).

In 1992-93, Canberra had an estimated 1,536,000 visitors, the domestic market accounting for almost 84 per cent of them. Almost a third of the visitors are day trippers. Tourism in the ACT had an estimated turnover of $580 million and, with some 9,400 directly employed, is the largest private sector employer, making a significant contribution to the Territory's economy. It has the potential to contribute over $1 billion to the Territory's economy and provide direct employment for some 20,000 people.

Queensland's Southern Darling Downs

The Southern Darling Downs constitute a unique environment in Queensland, the result of their location, altitude (at over 800 metres), and consequent mild climate. The area around Warwick and the 'Granite Belt' to the south, centred on Stanthorpe, contain some spectacular scenery, especially in a number of national parks. These include Girraween, Main Range, Cunninghams Gap and Queen Mary Falls. This area is also the source of the Condamine River, which eventually becomes the Darling River. These features help to make the area an attractive destination for tourists, especially in summer.

But there is more than the scenery and the fishing. It is an important fruit and vegetable producing area, with which are associated the annual 'Apple and Grape Harvest Festival' and the 'Spring Wine Festival'. Stanthorpe originated in the early 1870s as a tin mining town; there are still some alluvial workings in the area.

Cowra

Located in the Lachlan Valley, Cowra is in many ways a typical country town. It is a rural service and administrative centre, providing for the area's diverse agricultural industries. These support a number of processing industries in the town, including vegetable canning - it was the original 'Edgell's Country Garden' - and wool processing. In times past, Cowra was a major railway centre, but is now best known, in railway terms, for its railway museum and privately-operated tourist services, run by the Lachlan Valley Railway Society. Nearby, the Wyangala Reservoir and associated State Recreation Area provide a focus for water-based recreation activities, including fishing.

However, it was a unique event that provides the origin of much of Cowra's tourist business today. During World War II, Cowra was the site of a large prisoner of war camp, from which, on the night of August 5, 1944, there was a major outbreak. Some 231 Japanese prisoners died, as did a number of Australian soldiers. But out of this tragic event has come Cowra's unique attractions and contributions. It is the location of the Japanese War Cemetery, with the graves of all 522 Japanese who died on Australian soil during the War, including those from the camp. It is an official Japanese-style cemetery, located adjacent to the Australian War Cemetery. The two are linked to the site of the prisoner of war camp by an avenue of cherry trees. In 1979, the Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre were established. In 1991, Cowra was awarded the World Peace Bell for its contributions to peace and its Festival of International Understanding, which has been held annually since 1965.

Conclusion

Tourism and recreation make a significant contribution to the life and economy of almost all parts of the Murray-Darling Basin, much more so than is generally appreciated. This fact has to be recognised in the management of the Basin's resources and the ways in which they are put to use.

References

Tourist information brochures from numerous locations within the Murray-Darling Basin.

Anon. (1993): Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Australian Places. Reader's Digest (Australia) Ltd., Sydney.

BTR (1994): Australian Tourism Data Card 1994. Bureau of Tourism Research, Canberra.

Hall, C.M. (1991): Introduction to Tourism in Australia: impacts, planning and development. Longman Cheshire, Melbourne.

Hill, H. (1993): The Hume and Hovell Walking Track Guidebook. Crawford House Press, bathurst.

Hueneke, K. (1987): Kiandra to Kosciusko. Tabletop Press, Canberra.

MDBC (1992): River Murray Boating Management: draft discussion paper. Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Canberra.

Phelan, K. (1995a): Australian and International Visitors to Regions of New South Wales (Including ACT). Bureau of Tourism Research, Canberra.

Phelan, K. (1995b): Australian and International Visitors to Regions of Queensland. Bureau of Tourism Research, Canberra.

Phelan, K. (1995c): Australian and International Visitors to Regions of South Australia. Bureau of Tourism Research, Canberra.

Phelan, K. (1995d): Australian and International Visitors to Regions of Victoria. Bureau of Tourism Research, Canberra.

Price Waterhouse (1995): ACT Tourism Development Strategy. Volumes 1 and 2. Canberra Tourism Commission, Canberra.

RWCV (1989): Lakeside Leisure: enjoying Victoria's rural water storages. Rural Water Commission of Victoria, Melbourne.

Figure 1 Tourism regions in the MDB

Table 1 Visitors to Regions of the Murray-Darling Basin, 1993-94 (source: Phelan 1995)

N.B.: A Visit is made to each place where a stay of one or more nights is spent while on a journey. Visitor nights are those spent away from home on a journey, using any sort of accommodation and including staying with friends and relatives.

* Adjustments made to BTR figures to allow for parts outside the MDB.

Table 2 Licensed Hotels, Motels, etc., in the Murray-Darling Basin, 1993-94 (source: Data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Brisbane)

* For reasons of confidentiality, it is not possible to provide fully detailed data. Illustrative data for particular locations are given, with these being included in the complete Statistical Division (SD) figures.

Table 3 Caravan Parks in the Murray-Darling Basin, 1993-94 (source: Data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Brisbane)

* For reasons of confidentiality, it is not possible to provide fully detailed data. Illustrative data for particular locations are given, with these being included in the complete Statistical Division (SD) figures