Eucalypts are a familiar part of the Australian landscape and an integral part of their identity. They have farmed them and used them to build houses, furniture, roads, and bridges since the beginning of white settlement. They have been inspired by them, painted them, made films about them, written books about them, and of course Aboriginal Australians have long made musical instruments from them. Though a small number are found as native plants in several other countries, Eucalypts are a very Australian tree. This book celebrates their diversity, their beauty, and the role they play in the history, culture, and economy of Australia. It looks at their evolution, biology, horticulture, and ecology, together with their classification and the botanists involved. Through historic and contemporary images, it examines the many ways in which they have served Aboriginal, colonial, and contemporary Australians in both practical and aesthetic ways. Eucalypts have quite literally been the building blocks of that nation and this beautiful book tells their complete story for the first time.

Many coastal areas around the world are experiencing dramatic landscape changes as a result of increased tourism development and the "sea change phenomenon" – the migration of affluent urbanites to small coastal towns seeking beautiful, natural surroundings. In response to these changes local residents in these places often complain that the distinctive character of their towns and/or individual neighborhoods is being lost or degraded. Coastal Towns in Transition looks at how changes due to unsympathetic development of the built environment and modification of the natural landscape are perceived to negatively impact on the character of small coastal towns. The book explores the concept of town character, and associated notions of sense of place, genius loci and place identity, as conceptualised by local residents in several coastal town communities along Australia’s Great Ocean Road. Findings of a four-year study involving over 1800 respondents from these communities are used to explore theoretical and methodological issues associated with the assessment of place character in the context of coastal towns that are experiencing rapid environmental change. This book will be of interest to planners and environmental designers, as well as scholars in both landscape studies and social science and planning fields who are interested in the sustainable development of coastal areas. The case studies and associated planning and design strategies, together with the bibliography of selected relevant literature, will provide an invaluable reference for these scholars.

A comprehensive review of our current knowledge of the health and diseases of eucalypts.