Enterprise and Ingenuity

New England, like similar parts of rural Australia, has a complicated pattern of independence and dependence on the outside world. This is especially obvious in the history of its town-based industries. The story is, at first sight, a simple one - of rise (in the second half of the nineteenth century) and decline (in the second half of the twentieth). During those three or four generations a complex body of skills was learned, handed down and adapted to continuous technological change, and is now largely - though not wholly - forgotten. A network of traffic and trade evolved, focused on local manufacturing, and a sense of collectivity and cooperation developed, sometimes with important political implications (see Chapter 20), all of which has now more or less passed away. Often the remains of buildings and machinery survive as relics of this vital period of New England's history, concealing stories that archaeology can partly uncover (see Chapter 21). The story is one of a triangular relationship, with the three parties being, first, Tamworth; second, the smaller towns of the region; and third, Sydney and Newcastle.