An experimental investigation into the drainage properties of coarse Loy Yang pond ash
- Authors: Stipcevich, Jack
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The Latrobe Valley mines, Victoria, Australia, are facing some major challenges as they approach the end of their mining life. Most of these challenges surround current rehabilitation practice and the ability to create safe and stable landforms for future land uses well after the mines have closed. As there has been no developed alternative use for the brown coal at this stage, stopping power generation leads to the cessation of mining. AGL Loy Yang is undertaking rehabilitation cover trials on exposed coal batters to investigate optimal cover materials that will enable safe and stable batters well beyond mine closure. A series of rehabilitation trials using coarse coal ash have been constructed by AGL to assess the performance of coarse coal ash as a ‘subsurface drainage layer’. One of the trials includes the use of a 1 metre coarse coal ash layer placed below a 1 metre thick clay cover and above a coal surface shaped to approximately 18 degrees (1V:3H). Without a drainage layer, water may percolate through the clay cover or seep through the intact brown coal, resulting in a build of pore water pressure at the coal – clay interface and increasing the potential for slope failure. The aim of this research work was to assess the spatial distribution of ash properties known to affect drainage behaviour at the field scale; to test and calibrate field-monitoring equipment that can be used to assess drainage behaviour at the field-scale; to provide recommendations for further research on the use of coal ash drainage layer; and to provide a benchmark for future testing and monitoring. Through an experimental investigation, it was shown that there no significant variation exists in the coarse fraction of Loy Yang pond ash’s physical and chemical properties. Monitoring equipment used to determine the field drainage performance of the ash included a T8 Tensiometer and EnviroPro (multi-capacitance sensor) that were calibrated and tested in the laboratory. It was determined that monitoring devices used in this study were suitable for measuring the ash’s hydraulic behaviour only once calibrations had been performed. As a result the tested field equipment were included in the design of a future monitoring program.
- Description: Masters by Research
- Authors: Stipcevich, Jack
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The Latrobe Valley mines, Victoria, Australia, are facing some major challenges as they approach the end of their mining life. Most of these challenges surround current rehabilitation practice and the ability to create safe and stable landforms for future land uses well after the mines have closed. As there has been no developed alternative use for the brown coal at this stage, stopping power generation leads to the cessation of mining. AGL Loy Yang is undertaking rehabilitation cover trials on exposed coal batters to investigate optimal cover materials that will enable safe and stable batters well beyond mine closure. A series of rehabilitation trials using coarse coal ash have been constructed by AGL to assess the performance of coarse coal ash as a ‘subsurface drainage layer’. One of the trials includes the use of a 1 metre coarse coal ash layer placed below a 1 metre thick clay cover and above a coal surface shaped to approximately 18 degrees (1V:3H). Without a drainage layer, water may percolate through the clay cover or seep through the intact brown coal, resulting in a build of pore water pressure at the coal – clay interface and increasing the potential for slope failure. The aim of this research work was to assess the spatial distribution of ash properties known to affect drainage behaviour at the field scale; to test and calibrate field-monitoring equipment that can be used to assess drainage behaviour at the field-scale; to provide recommendations for further research on the use of coal ash drainage layer; and to provide a benchmark for future testing and monitoring. Through an experimental investigation, it was shown that there no significant variation exists in the coarse fraction of Loy Yang pond ash’s physical and chemical properties. Monitoring equipment used to determine the field drainage performance of the ash included a T8 Tensiometer and EnviroPro (multi-capacitance sensor) that were calibrated and tested in the laboratory. It was determined that monitoring devices used in this study were suitable for measuring the ash’s hydraulic behaviour only once calibrations had been performed. As a result the tested field equipment were included in the design of a future monitoring program.
- Description: Masters by Research
From gold field to municipality : The establishment of Ballarat West 1855-1857
- Authors: Cartledge, Graeme
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the establishment of the Ballarat West Municipality in the years of 1855 – 1857 and the factors that contributed to the introduction of local self-government in the immediate aftermath of the Eureka Stockade. Underlying the study is the changing administrative requirements necessitated by the transition from a temporary gold field to a permanent city. A central theme explored in relation to this development is that it was a consequence of the emerging culture of modernity of that era precipitating radical political changes in local government that began with the 1835 British Municipal Corporations Act. This theme is expanded to highlight the reform of local government in the Victorian era in response to urbanization and the need for modern and rationalised methods of managing the new towns and growing cities. The difficulty in making and sustaining such progressive changes in Britain is contrasted with the eager adoption of the concept of progress and the new Victorian Municipal Corporations Act of 1854 on the Ballarat goldfields. The question as to why the Municipality was established is answered by exploring the connection between the failure of the Goldfields Commission at the end of 1854 and the belief held by many, that taxes should be accompanied with political representation and should be spent where they were collected. This study exposes the remarkable story of how the first elected councillors, starting from scratch, quickly established administrative systems and brought order to a community emerging out of turmoil. The process of how the municipality was established is uncovered by an extensive survey of the council minutes, the media, council correspondence and public records.
- Description: Masters by Research
- Authors: Cartledge, Graeme
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the establishment of the Ballarat West Municipality in the years of 1855 – 1857 and the factors that contributed to the introduction of local self-government in the immediate aftermath of the Eureka Stockade. Underlying the study is the changing administrative requirements necessitated by the transition from a temporary gold field to a permanent city. A central theme explored in relation to this development is that it was a consequence of the emerging culture of modernity of that era precipitating radical political changes in local government that began with the 1835 British Municipal Corporations Act. This theme is expanded to highlight the reform of local government in the Victorian era in response to urbanization and the need for modern and rationalised methods of managing the new towns and growing cities. The difficulty in making and sustaining such progressive changes in Britain is contrasted with the eager adoption of the concept of progress and the new Victorian Municipal Corporations Act of 1854 on the Ballarat goldfields. The question as to why the Municipality was established is answered by exploring the connection between the failure of the Goldfields Commission at the end of 1854 and the belief held by many, that taxes should be accompanied with political representation and should be spent where they were collected. This study exposes the remarkable story of how the first elected councillors, starting from scratch, quickly established administrative systems and brought order to a community emerging out of turmoil. The process of how the municipality was established is uncovered by an extensive survey of the council minutes, the media, council correspondence and public records.
- Description: Masters by Research
Exploring youth perceptions of school (dis)engagement and absence in Hepburn Shire
- Authors: O'Loughlan, Courtney
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the educational experiences of some young people living in the Hepburn Shire, a Local Government Area (LGA) in the Central Highlands of Victoria. These young people were in various stages of disengaging from the mainstream education on offer in the shire. The research came about via consultation between the secondary school and Federation University in response to data from the Department of Education and Training (DET) showing that the Hepburn area had the lowest school attendance figures of the eleven LGA’s in the Grampians region. The school was interested in the reasons behind the lower figures and sought to gather some further information which might shed light on the experiences of young people who had difficulty in connecting, or staying connected to, school. It was hoped that the resultant findings would inform the approach taken by the schools in offering appropriate programs to support people to re-engage with school. Thus, the research question underpinning this research is: What are the key reasons that school attendance has been identified as being lower in the Hepburn Shire Local Government Area than in other parts of the Grampians region? A critical ethnographic study was undertaken comprised of participant observation, facilitated by the researcher being situated within the school, and a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with young people (of secondary school age), families, teachers, Principals, support staff including welfare providers and a selection of other professionals working with youth and their families in the Hepburn Shire. The study revealed a complexity within the Hepburn community, where a rich diversity of views about child-raising and education was present. Such views spanned philosophies about ‘unschooling’, the benefits of home-schooling, and a sense of permissiveness about not attending school each day. Further, there seemed to be a tendency within the school (both by teachers and other professionals working with youth) to talk about disengaged students and families of nonattending students in terms of deficit: there was something lacking with them, parenting skills, work ethic, behavioural or emotional regulation, that was viewed as contributing to the students’ poor attendance. Finally, the centrality of the teacher-student relationship to both student engagement and disengagement was evident in the conversations with young people and their families. Building respectful, reciprocal relationships with at least one key member of staff seems to be a major protective factor against disengagement. And further, seems to be a pre-requisite for those students who are entering the school for the first time, or who are re-entering after a significant absence.
- Description: Masters by Research
- Authors: O'Loughlan, Courtney
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the educational experiences of some young people living in the Hepburn Shire, a Local Government Area (LGA) in the Central Highlands of Victoria. These young people were in various stages of disengaging from the mainstream education on offer in the shire. The research came about via consultation between the secondary school and Federation University in response to data from the Department of Education and Training (DET) showing that the Hepburn area had the lowest school attendance figures of the eleven LGA’s in the Grampians region. The school was interested in the reasons behind the lower figures and sought to gather some further information which might shed light on the experiences of young people who had difficulty in connecting, or staying connected to, school. It was hoped that the resultant findings would inform the approach taken by the schools in offering appropriate programs to support people to re-engage with school. Thus, the research question underpinning this research is: What are the key reasons that school attendance has been identified as being lower in the Hepburn Shire Local Government Area than in other parts of the Grampians region? A critical ethnographic study was undertaken comprised of participant observation, facilitated by the researcher being situated within the school, and a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with young people (of secondary school age), families, teachers, Principals, support staff including welfare providers and a selection of other professionals working with youth and their families in the Hepburn Shire. The study revealed a complexity within the Hepburn community, where a rich diversity of views about child-raising and education was present. Such views spanned philosophies about ‘unschooling’, the benefits of home-schooling, and a sense of permissiveness about not attending school each day. Further, there seemed to be a tendency within the school (both by teachers and other professionals working with youth) to talk about disengaged students and families of nonattending students in terms of deficit: there was something lacking with them, parenting skills, work ethic, behavioural or emotional regulation, that was viewed as contributing to the students’ poor attendance. Finally, the centrality of the teacher-student relationship to both student engagement and disengagement was evident in the conversations with young people and their families. Building respectful, reciprocal relationships with at least one key member of staff seems to be a major protective factor against disengagement. And further, seems to be a pre-requisite for those students who are entering the school for the first time, or who are re-entering after a significant absence.
- Description: Masters by Research
The use of on-farm water points and artificial wildlife ponds in providing habitat for fauna in the Wimmera and Southern Mallee, Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Starks, Jonathan
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: Fauna living in arid environments face strong ecological and physiological constraints. Water is the key requirement and vertebrates exhibit a range of adaptations for survival. Some species obtain water from their diet, but those which require water to drink or as habitat must either live in or near permanent water, or move in search of water. This strongly influences the distribution and abundance of vertebrate species in arid environments. In arid agricultural landscapes, the development of artificial water sources for stock has benefited water-dependant native fauna, particularly frogs. Little is known about the effects of removal of artificial water sources in these environments. In North-western Victoria, completion of the Northern Mallee Pipeline and the proposed construction of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline will ultimately replace over 20,000 farm dams, resulting in the widespread loss of an open water resource currently used by fauna across the Wimmera and southern Mallee. The wildlife values of the different on-farm water points in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the remaining Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Channel System were examined. Species richness and abundance of vertebrates were surveyed at farm dams, channels and stock troughs in open paddocks, and at farm dams in Mallee woodlands. Mallee woodlands with no available water were also surveyed. Sites were surveyed once per season to determine which species were utilising the different on-farm water points and Mallee woodlands. Knowledge of their usage by different species allowed the importance of each water point type to be determined and the impact of the closure of the channel system to be assessed. The study recorded 57 vertebrate species in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region, including six reptile, 43 bird, seven mammal and zero frog species. Surveys in the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region recorded 74 different species, including three reptile , 57 bird, eight mammal and six frog species. Overall species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, and the levels of species richness and abundance were significantly higher than at sites with Mallee woodland and no available water. The differences between the two site types were due mainly to greater abundance of water- dependant species at farm dams in Mallee woodland sites. For water points in open paddocks, species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in an open paddock and lowest at sites with a stock trough in an open paddock. The difference between the different open paddock water point types were significant, and like woodland sites, were driven by greater numbers of water-dependant species. The study also examined whether purpose-built artificial wildlife ponds could provide habitat for water-dependant fauna and whether artificial wildlife ponds could potentially maintain fauna populations after de-commissioning of the existing channel system. The results of this study showed that artificial wildlife ponds placed in Mallee woodlands can provide habitat for birds, both in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region. The results also showed that these wildlife ponds can support species assemblages at levels comparable to a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, demonstrating that wildlife ponds can be effective in providing a degree of ‘replacement’ habitat for birds on farms. Frogs were not recorded using wildlife ponds situated in Mallee woodlands and this was considered due to the wildlife ponds being placed at least 900 metres from a nearby water source potentially too far for many frog species to disperse in an arid environment. Given these findings, the position of ponds was adjusted for the ponds installed in Black Box woodlands. Wildlife ponds in Black Box woodlands were also successful in providing habitat for birds and functioned as an important source of water for water-dependant birds in summer. Frogs were recorded using the wildlife ponds situated in Black Box woodlands and this was most likely due to their close proximity (<200 metres) to a nearby water source, as well as being located in a wetland-associated vegetation type. The success of the wildlife ponds concept has been demonstrated both in their ability to function as habitat for water-dependant fauna and through widespread community acceptance and support. With the de-commissioning of the channel and dam system removing open water sources from the farming landscape, artificial wildlife ponds installed on farms across the region could provide not just a vital habitat resource supporting water-dependant fauna, but in many areas, the only source of water for wildlife within the Wimmera and southern Mallee regions.
- Description: Masters of Applied Science
- Authors: Starks, Jonathan
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: Fauna living in arid environments face strong ecological and physiological constraints. Water is the key requirement and vertebrates exhibit a range of adaptations for survival. Some species obtain water from their diet, but those which require water to drink or as habitat must either live in or near permanent water, or move in search of water. This strongly influences the distribution and abundance of vertebrate species in arid environments. In arid agricultural landscapes, the development of artificial water sources for stock has benefited water-dependant native fauna, particularly frogs. Little is known about the effects of removal of artificial water sources in these environments. In North-western Victoria, completion of the Northern Mallee Pipeline and the proposed construction of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline will ultimately replace over 20,000 farm dams, resulting in the widespread loss of an open water resource currently used by fauna across the Wimmera and southern Mallee. The wildlife values of the different on-farm water points in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the remaining Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Channel System were examined. Species richness and abundance of vertebrates were surveyed at farm dams, channels and stock troughs in open paddocks, and at farm dams in Mallee woodlands. Mallee woodlands with no available water were also surveyed. Sites were surveyed once per season to determine which species were utilising the different on-farm water points and Mallee woodlands. Knowledge of their usage by different species allowed the importance of each water point type to be determined and the impact of the closure of the channel system to be assessed. The study recorded 57 vertebrate species in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region, including six reptile, 43 bird, seven mammal and zero frog species. Surveys in the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region recorded 74 different species, including three reptile , 57 bird, eight mammal and six frog species. Overall species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, and the levels of species richness and abundance were significantly higher than at sites with Mallee woodland and no available water. The differences between the two site types were due mainly to greater abundance of water- dependant species at farm dams in Mallee woodland sites. For water points in open paddocks, species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in an open paddock and lowest at sites with a stock trough in an open paddock. The difference between the different open paddock water point types were significant, and like woodland sites, were driven by greater numbers of water-dependant species. The study also examined whether purpose-built artificial wildlife ponds could provide habitat for water-dependant fauna and whether artificial wildlife ponds could potentially maintain fauna populations after de-commissioning of the existing channel system. The results of this study showed that artificial wildlife ponds placed in Mallee woodlands can provide habitat for birds, both in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region. The results also showed that these wildlife ponds can support species assemblages at levels comparable to a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, demonstrating that wildlife ponds can be effective in providing a degree of ‘replacement’ habitat for birds on farms. Frogs were not recorded using wildlife ponds situated in Mallee woodlands and this was considered due to the wildlife ponds being placed at least 900 metres from a nearby water source potentially too far for many frog species to disperse in an arid environment. Given these findings, the position of ponds was adjusted for the ponds installed in Black Box woodlands. Wildlife ponds in Black Box woodlands were also successful in providing habitat for birds and functioned as an important source of water for water-dependant birds in summer. Frogs were recorded using the wildlife ponds situated in Black Box woodlands and this was most likely due to their close proximity (<200 metres) to a nearby water source, as well as being located in a wetland-associated vegetation type. The success of the wildlife ponds concept has been demonstrated both in their ability to function as habitat for water-dependant fauna and through widespread community acceptance and support. With the de-commissioning of the channel and dam system removing open water sources from the farming landscape, artificial wildlife ponds installed on farms across the region could provide not just a vital habitat resource supporting water-dependant fauna, but in many areas, the only source of water for wildlife within the Wimmera and southern Mallee regions.
- Description: Masters of Applied Science
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