Research Essay

Name: Abdul Rakib Oshin

Unit: URP300 Rural Resource Planning

Title: Dowerin
 Background

Dowerin is a small town in Western Australia, Populated around 671 in 2019 (Ezez(b)).
2021). Dowerin was first founded in 1906 after the railway was created. The town of
Dowerin is has a high ageing population with the median age being 43 among 184
families. Dowerin has a lack of youth where the population of children aged between 0
to 14 is 23.2% according to the shire of Dowerin. The population of people aged 65 and
above is 20.7%, this endangers the lifespan with having more or less 10 – 20 years in
speculation (Ezez(a). 2021). However, the people of the town of Dowerin are very
welcoming in comparison to Greater Perth, where people are rather defensive and are
less likely to care about their neighbors.

Dowerin is more dependent on Agriculture where Wheat is their specialty and the whole
community is likely to be related to farming even the Shire owns his own farming land
where he grows his own vegetation. The Agriculture industry led to the start of the
transport industry. The people of the town also like to boast about their lifestyle which
fuels the retail industry. The town had in total 130 businesses including the butcher
shop and the motel. The Medical facilities of Dowerin had to be provided by the local
government for which the shire has to pay $50000 every year to keep the doctors
motivated to be in the vicinity hence, the hospital is 25 kilometers away as they have to
share it with the nearby towns (Ezez(a). 2021).

. The median income for the people of Dowerin are not that constrained in comparison
to average Australia where, the median income for Dowerin is $40,548 yearly while in
Greater Perth is $48,360. The gap in income is offset by the cheaper housing costs in
Dowerin. The number of people who have studied up to year 12 is 38.8% where in
Greater Perth it is 51.9% However the unemployment rate is 4.1% where as in Perth it
6.9% this shows that the job sector is not dire in Dowerin.
. Dowerin’s most intriguing tourist spot may be Rusty the Tin Dog, which has a deep
history to its existence where the students of Dowerin actually funded and inspired the
artist with the design to make the statue but, the most important tourist attraction for
Dowerin is its field-day where around 25000 people come to Dowerin from nearby
towns or villages. The people of Dowerin Volunteer to help with the Field day which
ranges from cleaning putting up the stalls. The town has a Community Resource Centre
which help with the mental health of the people.

The name "Dowerin" is taken from the aboriginal word "Daren" that was given to a
series of lakes 8 kilometers south of the town. The first settlement for agriculture was in
1897 but the town was not established until 1906 when the railway line was extended
from Goomalling. The town grew rapidly from that point, with the first store opening in
1906 and in a short time was able to cater for most of the settlers’ needs.

Introduction

. This paper about Dowerin will focus on the 6 capitals which makes livelihood attractive
for any rural town these include Human, Financial, Social, Natural, Physical and
Institutional capital. This essay will contain all the SWOT analysis for Dowerin. This
includes how Dowerin has the potential to move into the lucrative mining industry with
its rare Chrysoberyl reserves. Dowerin has an ageing population and hence suffering
from reduced economic revivability as a result. Dowerin is not a financially stressed
town, it has well built houses and the prices for these houses are very reasonable in
comparison Perth due to low Demand. This makes Dowerin a good choice for people
who are willing to retire to a rural land but this also means that it attracts more aged
people.

. Dowerin is relatively vulnerable to changing prices of commodities which is big

concern for the Shire as Dowerin is dependent on Agriculture and Farming Overall. A
slight change in the price for wheat means a big difference in the income earned by the
people as Dowerin is in a rural land price for daily consumption goods are relatively
higher as they have to be shipped from a long distance usually.

. Dowerin has an Ageing population which can be a bad indicator to its economic
revivability. The people of Dowerin tend to have stiff opinion to change whereas, the
Shire is working to make Dowerin more digital friendly starting with the creation of
internet towers with Telstra while funding 50% for the project.

Data Collection
. Data for Dowerin was collected from a range of different articles, the most vital
information being taken from the modules provided by the faculties. The video of the
shire of Dowerin and a council of the community. Statistical evidence was taken from
Australian Bureau of statistics and some other grey literature. The Shire of Dowerin
website provided most of the articles needed for the study such as the Annual report
and The Agenda.

SWOT Analysis

Strength-

 Many tourist attractions points where their Field-day brings in over 25000 people
every time and brings in a revenue of $7.2 million and average profit of $180,000.
 Well experienced in growing wheat.
 Good community engagement with a 35% volunteering rate in the Field-day
 Empathetic Community, everyone tends to ask about your whereabouts.
 Proximity to Perth.
 Not financially stressed and cheaper in comparison to Perth.

Weakness-

 Rely mostly on one industry and that is Farming, the dependability to growing
wheat make them vulnerable to changes in commodity prices.
 Lack of educational Facility due to a scarcity of youth.
 People start to feel empty due to some lacks in facilities which divide families.
 750 kilometers of gravel road, needs to be maintained which adds to overall
costs for the town’s shire.
 Mediocre medical services provided and the nearest hospitable being 25
kilometers away.
 Resource dependance on Agriculture and lack of infrastructure becomes a
barrier to innovation.
 Amount of hard work does not reap deserved rewards.
Opportunity-

 Mining still valuable with Chrysoberyl mine still being available.

 There is room for the Shire of Dowerin to partner with other town shires to work
together to solve issues and achieve economies of scale.
 There is scope for more supporting industries to be formed when the internet
towers will be placed.

Threat-

 The Town is dependent on grants by the state government where the amount is
reliant on how much GST had received in that year.
 Telstra offered to build internet towers in Dowerin where the Shire will bear 50%
of the cost which may lead to some conflicts.
 The radiation emitted from Telstra’s towers may deteriorate the environment and
affect Agriculture.
 Conflicts likely to emerge with the local government as the state government is
very reluctant with needs of the town.
 Last year the temperature increased by 1.3 ºC.
 State government not helping with jobs.

Critical Discussion

. Dowerin is a town with rich integrated plans for the future where most have been
implemented but some always fall under constraints. Lifestyle is pride for the people of
Dowerin as they want to keep the atmosphere of a family within themselves where
every person asks about themselves which keeps the mental health healthy for
everyone, however during Covid-19, the Field-day had to be halted which led to a
much-anticipated event not making any profits for the town. Hence which led to much
potential funds for projects being lost.

the Shire of Dowerin takes lifestyle as their number 1 priority and continuously markets
the town as a community, although the Marketing plan had to be deferred due to covid-
19. But Dowerin is in dire need of a different industry alongside the farming of wheat to
sustain a steady income for the community.

. Dowerin’s volunteering rate is quite commendable being 35%, where the money
generated in events such as the field day goes into developing the town, this allows
Dowerin to establish a “volunteer register” which will document the volunteering
capacity and overall measure how much volunteering is done in Dowerin encouraging
more tourists to come to Dowerin. This also allows Dowerin to maintain their Home care
volunteer register. However, the lack of youth in the high volunteering rate may not be
as effective as we think it to be (Rondón García & Ramírez Navarrro 2018).

. The Shire of Dowerin mostly is dependent on farming wheat which makes them
vulnerable to changes in commodity prices which means that their income source will
be instable every year. However, there is a an abandoned Chrysoberyl mine in Dowerin
which had to be stopped due to laws from the state but the law has recently been
withdrawn which allows the people of Dowerin to attract mining companies to come to
Dowerin creating jobs for the people. This will also attract the youth from nearby towns
where there is a scarcity of jobs due to the recent busts, that is when mining too much
leads to lower demand and as a result a loss.

. Dowerin has a lack of educational facilities, where classes only continue until grade 10
this is due to the fact that the town has a very low youth population, as there are too
less or no students for those classes, the students have to move to Perth for higher
education. The solution to this problem only lies in how the Shire attracts youth into
town and how many of the students they can keep from exiting the town. Hence the
retention rate of the youths can be improving by creating more job opportunities. This
can be done through opening the Chrysoberyl mine but this comes with many
drawbacks to the environment as mining will lead to many fertile lands being lost. Land
that was once bustling with grass for cattle will be lost, changing the landscape, which
will affect the aesthetics of Dowerin negatively. Along with Chrysoberyl there is an
abundance of Beryl and Zincian, Chrysoberyl and Beryl are used to make Beryllium for
which the most important use is to make Gemstone, a component used to make
jewelry.

. Moreover, Dowerin relies mostly on grants from the state government which
constitutes a large margin of the funds needed for Dowerin’s expenses including the
maintenance of the 750km gravel roads and the swimming pools due to the immense
heat. The Shire also offers

. Dowerin has an ageing population which means that medical services are vital for the
people but the nearest medical facility is 25 kilometers away from Dowerin which is a 50
Kilometer journey and due to the low population hospitals cannot survive in Dowerin for
low demand hence the Shire has partnered with nearby towns to pay the hospitals to
stay within the vicinity, where Dowerin pays around $100,000 a year but this may lead
to conflicts as one town pays more than other, it is difficult to enumerate how much
each of these towns will pay for the hospital facilities because while the other towns
may have higher population but the level of medical cases can be lower than a town like
Dowerin due to their ageing population. The Home and Community Care work with
many sectors of the town to ensure the mental wellbeing of the aged population of
Dowerin.

. Telstra Offered Dowerin to build internet towers around the town to improve the
internet bandwidth of the vicinity but they only have funds enough to pay 50% of the
costs placing the towers Hence, due to a hefty need for internet to create a digital
atmosphere to retain the youths leaving the town. Accumulating the fund can be a
problem for Dowerin, given the fact that they are dependent on grants given by the state
government which makes the funding vulnerable leading to conflicts or disputes with
company.
. Dowerin has a lack of infrastructure which constraints innovation in the economy of the
town which is a waste of potential, for instance the Shire of Dowerin stated in a seminar
that someone in the town wanted to farm salmon or trout, but salty water and limit to
water use constrained the potential growth he could have achieved. Hence, having
barriers to innovation can be said to be one of the causes why many people start to feel
empty because their skills and ideas cannot be directed towards something effective
that would reap the deserved benefits. This can also be the cause for which most some
people find that their hard work does not reap the benefits they deserve. This problem
can be addressed with the Shire of Dowerin teaming with nearby town Shires, this
means that the Shires can collect in the likeminded people with innovative ideas and
give them a medium through which they can showcase the potential innovative benefits
they can bring to the neighborhood. This includes the creation of new industries such as
farming Salmon or Trout or give artists the opportunity to build masterpieces such as
Rusty the Tin Dog which will make for great tourist spots for the near future. (Youtube(a)
2021)

. Housing in Dowerin is relatively cheaper in comparison to Perth but this can be offset
by the fact that the roads to Dowerin are rather under developed and flooded which can
make people turn their cars around due to the risky atmosphere. (Youtube(b) 2021). The
Shire has stated in its Community Strategic plan to innovate and re-purpose unused
building while also building more infrastructure to improve and support economic
development. But more research is needed to find a better use for these buildings as
the net migration for town is negative Moreover, if the town cannot keep its retention
rate then funds going into innovation may not reap any benefit.

. Dowerin has industrial bodies such as the Chamnber of Commerce to support

collaboration within local businesses to create opportunities to innovate and incorporate
information technology into their operations. Technological innovation also took place in
common households where almost every house has a solar panel placed on their roofs
which saves electricity in batteries for uses such as water heating.
. The Shire is keen on waste management as well such with the water management
plan which looks into all the aspects in which water is used and how the Shire can make
sure the least amount possible is wasted, this forces the local businesses to innovate
their ways of consuming water. (Pridham 2021)

Dowerin Member of NEWROC, which is a Co-operative with other towns nearby to work
together come up with better solutions with unity. (dowshire@dowerin.wa.gov.au 2019).

Conclusion

. In Conclusion, Dowerin is a town with great potential but development cannot be

achieved overnight. There are many factors, the most important of which, is funding that
come into play. Dowerin’s Economic revivability depends on the how it will attract more
youths into the town but this is also conflicted by the mindset of the people of the town
as they are not too supportive to change due to their ageing population. The shire plans
to make education and training a priority to increase the chances of employment for the
growing youths, with companies such as Dowerin Engineering works being hungry for
more fresh minded engineers. Dowerin prides the lifestyle of its people which supports
its retail industry but the rate at which people tend to buy clothing will depend on the
harvest of that year and at what price the harvested wheat was sold. Hence this in
terms will affect the overall economy of Dowerin adversely. The Shire of Dowerin takes
decisions collaborated with the community which makes the people feel important and
trust and help with the decisions taken. Dowerin seeks to improve its infrastructure and
incorporate more information technology into its operations to create more employment
opportunities and encourage more youths to migrate into Dowerin. Dowerin has traces
of Chrysoberyl which can create jobs for town attracting more youths from nearby towns
but the most important use of Chrysoberyl is to make gemstones hence it may not be
high in demand enough to create many jobs to make a big impact Moreover, Mining
may lead many repercussions to the natural environment which may be a reason for the
council to deny permission.
Recommendations -

. The most vital for Dowerin is to focus on its healthcare sector and it may be vital to
keep and nursing house close to the town due the ageing population there will be a
need for emergency medical care nearby or else people may start to leave town and
move to Perth to ensure their wellbeing. Communities with good health standards are
likely to withstand natural disasters.

. Dpwerin should adopt a performance culture to ensure a better performing society, this
will also encourage people to learn new skills and also improve upon them.

. Create more youth initiatives to attract more youths.

. Review management approaches and set meeting with the LGA and other towns to
ensure development in synergy.

In the end Dowerin has its own strategic plans in its Strategic community plan 2018-
2028, which was made by all the people concerned about the well-being of the town
including the shire along with the council.
 Reference

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Ezez (a). 2021. "Home » Shire of Dowerin". Dowerin.wa.gov.au. https://www.dowerin.wa.gov.au/.

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v=uRrGjg4PH4I&ab_channel=ABCNews%28Australia%29.

Youtube(b). 2021. A field day in Dowerin. Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=LmaDeM7Q1yw&t=3s&ab_channel=ShaneTheSharkcaver.

Pridham, Mark. 2021. Water Management Plan for the town of Dowerin. Ebook. 3 Baron-Hay Court,
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