‘The Long, Continued Dry’: Themes of the Federation Drought in Australian regional newspapers

Abstract

Droughts are a canonical feature of Australian history and climate, and Australia’s paleoclimate and colonial past is dotted with extended periods of low rainfall. The Federation Drought was one such period. The result of a series of El Niño events, it parched much of Australia between 1895 and 1903 and remains one of the most significant and prolonged periods of rainfall deficiency since European colonisation. It also coincided with, and fuelled, a substantial increase in press coverage of the weather. In this article we examine reportage of the Federation Drought through two newspapers from the Victorian city of Bendigo: The Bendigo Advertiser and The Bendigo Independent. We identify theme..