Garbage Dumps and the Expansion of Sydney from the Late- 18th to the Mid-20th Century

Abstract

Rubbish is a by-product of all human activity. It is one of the inevitable realities of human existence. Left untreated and unchecked, the accumulation of rubbish can become a major issue for health and quality of life. The need for adequate and effective waste disposal has been a requirement for urban centres for centuries. This thesis examines the waste management strategies of Sydney from colonisation to the mid-1950s. In revealing the rubbish dumps of Sydney, a multi-layered, complex relationship has been identified. The social aspects of these dumps, the benefits and disadvantages of disposal processes, and the ongoing management strategies our rubbish requires have been explored in this thesis. This data has the potential to lay the foundation for a model which could relate the expansion of urban areas to the location of rubbish deposits. The dumps are an important part of every society, culture and city and this thesis aims to add to the academic literature surrounding rubbish dumps. The research establishes a link between the changing location of rubbish dumps across Sydney’s landscape and the expansion of the urban centre.