Kempsey, New South Wales : How social and political divisions in Kempsey’s early history impacted the town’s economic and environmental development to 1865, and its ongoing susceptibility to disaster

Abstract

This study addresses the question: how did social and political divisions influence the
 economic and environmental development of Kempsey during the colonial period up
 to 1865? Primary documents including personal letters, journals, memoirs, political
 and governmental papers, along with a range of colonial newspapers have been
 studied and interpreted to form a social historical solution to the question. Due to the
 range of sources available for this investigation, a variation of methodologies has been
 employed, with particular emphasis on an empirical qualitative analysis. In addition to
 considering existing non-scholarly thematic histories of the Macleay Valley, this
 thesis draws existing scholarly investigations together and builds upon them, looking
 into the interdependence between society and environment, politics and geographical
 developments, culture and social movements to piece together the story of Kempsey
 and uncover the key events which have led to long lasting impacts on the town. No
 other scholarly study of this kind has been undertaken to bring the entire complex and
 multifaceted story of Kempsey’s early years into one scholarly investigation.
 Implications for this study highlight the important factor that powerful social and
 political divisions in a community have when important decisions about town
 planning, environmental protection, and issues of social justice need to be addressed.
 These divisions can lead to catastrophic outcomes that could impact generations to
 follow, as shown in the tumultuous history of Kempsey, New South Wales