Hi Yuyutsu,

Where to start ? So far, there is no such thing as 'too much population', it depends on technology and primarily the production of food. Modern food technology is vastly more productive than 2000 years ago; food production has doubled in just the last fifty years or so.

As for your observation, that

" .... The aboriginal population of Australia until the 18th century, about 750,000, was just about right (taking into account the arid inland), but alas what could they do when the white men from overpopulated continents invaded? They lived close to heaven with no state (or other central organisation) ...."

Well, the Aboriginal population would have fluctuated between (very roughly) 250,000 and 750,000, mainly because of the long-term effects of droughts. Life was incredibly hard in many parts of Australia, and only the ingenuity of people in difficult circumstances enables groups to survive. Living in such harsh conditions was amazing, but hardly close to heaven. Since the evils of colonisation fell upon them, their population has stabilised in far more (comparatively) affluent conditions. They now have the benefits of Toyotas, air-conditioning, medical services and ATMs.

Yes, our generation walked to school, barefoot, rain or shine. I don't think my parents who loved us totally, ever visited our schools. I still recall my jumper which I wore for a couple of years before it fell apart. We roamed far and wide around Bass Hill, built dams across the dirt road when it rained in order to piss off drivers. Cut ourselves, got ourselves poked in the eye, scabbed our knees and caught yabbies in dams. I recall cutting my bare feet many times tramping over the abandoned aircraft-wreck yard over near Villawood. Finding boxes of old books and magazines in the paper-bark scrub.

Ou parents probably knew nothing about this. Great times !

Joe

Yuyutsu

I thought your reference to walking through the forest an appropriate one for this article.

Were you as Goldilocks, a wayward child, or as red riding hood, a dedicated child?

I would also hope you avoided the outcome of Hansel and Gretel. Taken to the dark woods by their father, to be eaten by the witch.

Your reference: maybe kids should be forced to live for a period of their childhood in Iran. That experience would be sobering and life forming.
I notice a growing trend with Chinese Australians to send their infants back to China to be cared for by Grandparents. Cost of living is too high in Australia.

World population is exponentially driven; the higher the population, the faster it grows.

Dan

ok boomer

Hi Joe, did Keith Malcolm have the BP service station at Bass Hill in your day.

In my pre teens, just after the war, we lived on the approach road to Castle Hill Townsville. A group of us regularly went goat hunting on the hill. Armed with our Lawyer cane bows & read arrows, we were quite the big game hunters.

We never actually saw a goat, but were sure the wallaby poo everywhere was evidence that goats were there. Barefoot like you, [what returned soldier could afford shoes for their kids, even on the occasions when there were any to buy], we would climb hundreds of feet up that near mountain most afternoons.

In 1946 there was only one girl who had shoes in my class. Perhaps what we need today is our kids barefoot & mobile phone-less, to give them some connection with reality.

I looked around a gathering recently, with about 10 kids from 10 to 16 or so. All bar one had their noses buried in their phones. The big question is, who's fault is that?

Why are you people talking as if kids of today are similar to kids of years gone by. For one thing most of the kids I see in Sydney are mostly Chinese. and the Chinese are not interested in the things that you people are interested in. They're into making money and looking after the ancestors so they send their children to cram schools in order to get them into university to get into business and the professions to make lots of money to look after the ancestors. As one writer pointed out: every Chinese is born a future ancestor.

You guys really need to visit Sydney and have a look around to see what Australia's first Chinese city looks like. And ScuMo and his mates are bringing in more but now spreading them out into the country towns so that they can buy up all of the real estate and businesses there as well. I wonder how many more Gladys Lius ScuMo and his mates are planning to put into Parliament.

Dear Hasbeen,

Given what you just said that makes you 95 years old.