Underdevelopment in the Tropics: The Case of North Australia

The effectiveness of Thursday Island as an urban centre in meeting the needs of its community

“…Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders comprise a small exploited, minority group within Australia, documented in length by such writers as Altman and Niewenhuysen (1979) and Rowley (1970Rowley ( , 1971aRowley ( ,b, 1978. Statistics indicate poor standards of living and quality of life for Australia's indigenous peoples, with employment, education, health and housing arising as the main issues addressed by the wider society and, the maintenance of traditional values and culture addressed by the Aborigines (Australia, 1985, Drakakis-Smith, 1984bHoward, 1982). Even though there have been huge capital outlays in Aboriginal programmes, conditions could actually be described as deteriorating, resulting in a political mobilisation by the indigenous people.…”