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  • © 2019

Agriculture and Resilience in Australia’s North

A Lived Experience

  • Provides a detailed insight into the resilience strategies of individuals operating small enterprises across large, sparsely-populated areas
  • Presents a detailed and comprehensive review of contemporary resilience discourse and adaptation strategies
  • Provides a succinct history of Northern Australia: a platform to better examine and understand the historic aspirations for northern development, how these differ from contemporary aspirations, and what lessons of history need to be remembered
  • Introduces the evolving concept of “fairness” is considered as a pivot for policy decision-making

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
  2. North Australian Theory and Realities

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Agriculture as a Human Endeavour

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 3-15
    3. Resilience Discourse and Adaption Strategies

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 17-34
    4. Agricultural Development in Northern Australia

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 35-67
    5. Framing Northern Australian Agriculture’s Future

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 69-96
    6. Why and How to Consider the Resilience of Individuals?

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 97-107
  3. Part II

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 109-109
    2. The Resilience Strategies of Individuals

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 111-161
    3. The Influence and Importance of the Built Environment

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 163-181
    4. Health as a Building Block for Resilience

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 183-197
  4. Part III

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 199-199
    2. Bringing It Together: The Thread of Fairness

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 201-215
    3. A Fair Go, a Fair Future

      • Keith Noble, Tania Dennis, Sarah Larkins
      Pages 217-226

About this book

This book examines the mechanisms and strategies farmers in North Australia adopt to manage the setbacks and challenges they face. This social research is based on farmers’ experiences, but also draws on the author’s own experience after his tropical fruit farm was destroyed by two Category 5 cyclones in five years.

Through historical analysis, the book compares historic and contemporary aspirations for northern development, and discusses the influence of the built environment on individuals as well as access to health and other social services.

Exploring the implications of individual resilience strategies for policy development within the broader context of northern development and evolving environmental governance, the book also highlights the fact that this is occurring in a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene.

The book will provide a unique perspective and understanding to government, individuals and industries interested in northern Australia and its relationship to the world



Authors and Affiliations

  • James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

    Keith Noble

  • Insideout Architects, Townsville, Australia

    Tania Dennis

  • College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

    Sarah Larkins

About the authors

Keith Noble trained as an Agricultural Extension Officer and worked in a range of industries before focusing on farming in Queensland’s Wet Tropics. With cross-cultural communication skills and expertise, particularly with regional Australians and their communities, Keith is able to solve problems, identify opportunities, and provide solutions that build on the inherent strengths of people and their place. Keith chairs Terrain NRM, the Regional NRM body for Queensland’s Wet Tropics bioregion.
Tania Dennis is an architect from the top end of Australia, who has designed an impressive series of places and buildings that allow people access to healthy living. Winner of numerous architecture awards, including the National Award for Small Project Architecture and Commendation for Sustainable Architecture, Tania’s projects respond to and offer positive built spaces that influence how communities function and are perceived. By working with local people, makers and artists, and using skills applied through local culture to architecture, interior and urban design, Tania’s work offers intricate and insightful interpretations of place.


Sarah Larkins is an academic general practitioner and Associate Dean of Research at the College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University.  Sarah has particular skills and experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research and health services as well as workforce research, and is an internationally recognised expert on social accountability in health professional education. Sarah is also Co-Director of the Anton Breinl Research Centre for Health Systems Strengthening, a centre of the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine. Sarah's particular focus is on collaborating to improve equity in health care services for underserved populations, particularly rural, remote, Indigenous and tropical populations, and on training a health workforce with appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills for this purpose



Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access