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The Demise of Central Queensland's Small-scale Sapphire Miners: 1970–1995

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Daniel Teghe  and
Jim McAllister
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Extract

In the capitalistic drive for economic and social ‘restructuring’ and an increase in economic ‘efficiency’, some of the industries supporting small-scale enterprises have been marginalised and labelled as ‘anachronistic’. Whilst studying the culture of the Queensland small-scale sapphire miner, we took the opportunity to observe and analyse a case of how this phenomenon and its consequences can develop in a specific community. Generally, we found that, when state policy supports and encourages larger enterprises to displace established small-scale enterprises in a particular industry, this can have dire consequences for small communities.

Type
Research Article
Information
Queensland Review , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , April 2004 , pp. 83 - 95
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 

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References

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