All round Australia a phenomenon is emerging. While country centres stagnate or decline, some have transformed themselves into "regional cities" that grow and grow, dominating large catchments far beyond their local districts.
The modern story of Wagga and Alice Springs, Mackay and Bunbury, is the story of dozens of cities—and of changes that have reoriented Australian society. Warrnambool makes a perfect illustration, with extra interest from its distinctive locale. Each aspect of communal life shows how these centres increasingly replicate capital cities, and concentrate activities once spread across their regions. Education, culture, health, retailing, economies and governments, homes and workplaces—all dramatically rearranged—form the new pattern of urban and country life illustrated in this handsome book.
