1921   Australia denies the image as being drought-prone.
Politicians and bureaucrats were eager to deny the image of Australia as drought-prone, lest this deter immigrants.
H. S. Gullett, the Commonwealth Superintendent of Immigration, was quoted as saying:
“Many thousands of Australians go abroad every year on business or pleasure.
The Commonwealth Immigration Office appeals to every one of them to embark with the resolve that he will on all possible occasions speak well of Australia.
Let none of them speak evil. Such words as 'drought' should be thrown overboard as the vessels put out to sea.”
(Sydney Morning Herald, 6 June 1921. )

2008  Australia bans word 'drought' as too upsetting for farmers
The word "drought" makes farmers feel depressed and should be replaced with "dryness", a panel of Australian government experts has said.
Source: Report by the Drought Policy Review Expert Social Panel

"'Cattle Kings' ye call us, then we are Kings in grass castles that may be blown away upon a puff of wind "   Patrick Durack 1878

Australia is prone to drought because of its geographic location.
Much of Australia lies in a latitude belt that is under the influence of an atmospheric phenomenon known as the subtropical high.
Just outside of the tropics in each hemisphere lies a swath of the globe where air frequently sinks toward the Earth’s surface from higher in the atmosphere.
The air warms and dries as it sinks, creating semi-permanent zones of high air pressure at the surface.
These subtropical highs are areas of stable, warm, and dry air that favour clear skies and little rainfall.
(In the Northern Hemisphere, several large deserts, including the Sahara, reside in the latitudes of the subtropical high.)

Australia lies in the mid-latitudes and has a climate that is similar to that experienced in Northern Hemisphere regions. On this map an outline of Australia is superimposed on Asia, Africa, and North America.

Many drought episodes in the eastern and northern part of the Australia are linked to El Niño episodes.

Governor Arthur Phillip 1791
Governor Arthur Phillip wrote the following to the Colonial Secretary, the Right Honourable W. W. Grenville on 4 March 1791:

"From June until the present time so little rain has fallen that most of the runs of water in the different parts of the harbour have been dried up for several months, and the run which supplies this settlement is greatly reduced, but still sufficient for all culinary purposes... I do not think it probable that so dry a season often occurs. Our crops of corn have suffered greatly from the dry weather."

On 5 November 1791, the governor of this colony, Arthur Phillip, reported that the normally perennial 'Tank Stream' river flowing into Sydney Harbour had been dry for "some months".
It did not flow again until 1794. Phillip marks the start of the droughts in July 1790; no rain had fallen by August 1791   **

During the drought in 1814 Governor Macquarie had to import food to avoid what he called:
"the heavy calamity of very great scarcity, both of animal feed and of grain, if not in an actual famine."

Our predecessors have recorded the climatic conditions endured during their exploration of Australia and in the new settlements.

Charles Sturt  1826
The year 1826 was remarkable for the commencement of one of those fearful droughts to which we have reason to believe the climate of New South Wales is periodically subject.
It continued during the two following years with unabated severity.
The surface of the earth became so parched up that minor vegetation ceased upon it.
Culinary herbs were raised with difficulty, and crops failed even in the most favourable situations.
Settlers drove their flocks and herds to distant tracts for pasture and water, neither remaining for them in the located districts. The interior suffered equally with the coast, and men, at length, began to despond under so alarming a visitation.
It almost appeared as if the Australian sky were never again to be traversed by a cloud.

But, however severe for the colony the seasons had proved, or were likely to prove, it was borne in mind at this critical moment, that the wet and swampy state of the interior had alone prevented Mr. Oxley from penetrating further into it, in 1818.

Charles Sturt  1826
The most serious disadvantages under which the colony of New South Wales labours, is in the drought to which it is periodically subject.
Its climate may be said to be too dry; in other respects it is one of the most delightful under heaven; and experience of the certainty of the recurrence of the trying seasons to which I allude, should teach men to provide against their effects.
Those seasons, during which no rain falls, appear, from the observations of former writers, to occur every   ten or twelve years;  and it is somewhat singular that no cause has been assigned for such periodical visitations.

Whether the state of the interior has anything to do with them, and whether the wet or dry condition of the marshes at all regulate the seasons, is a question upon which I will not venture to give my decisive opinion.
But most assuredly, when the interior is dry, the seasons are dry, and vice versa.
Indeed, not only is this the case, but rains, from excessive duration in the first year after a drought, decrease gradually year after year, until they wholly cease for a time.

It seems not improbable, therefore, that the state of the interior does, in some measure, regulate the fall of rain upon the eastern ranges, which appears to decrease in quantity yearly as the marshes become exhausted, and cease altogether, when they no longer contain any water.
A drought will naturally follow until such time as the air becomes surcharged with clouds or vapour from the ocean, which being no longer able to sustain their own weight, descend upon the mountains, and being conveyed by hundreds of streams into the western lowlands, again fill the marshes, and cause the recurrence of regular seasons.

Source:  TWO EXPEDITIONS INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA DURING THE YEARS 1828,1829,1830,1831 WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE SOIL, CLIMATE AND GENERAL RESOURCES OF THE COLONY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. ---- By Capt. CHARLES STURT, 39th Regt. F.L.S. and F.R.G.S.

Thomas Mitchell 1836
In consequence of a long-continued drought serviceable horses and bullocks were at that time scarce, and could only be obtained at high prices; but no expense was spared by the government in providing the animals required.
Source  : Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 2 (of 2) Author: Thomas Mitchell

But, it appears to me, it is not in the height and character of its hilly regions, that we are to look for the causes why so few living streams issue from them. The true cause, I apprehend, lies in its climate, in its seldom experiencing other than partial rains, and in its being subject to severe and long continued droughts
JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION TO THE RIVERS DARLING AND MURRAY, IN THE YEAR 1836.

The Governor Sir George Gipps 1838
In 1838, the colony of New South Wales had been in such severe drought that the Governor had proclaimed November 2nd as a national day of 'fasting and humiliation'.

The emigrants dilemma.
The drought conditions would have been a far cry from the lush green hop-growing regions of south-eastern England. Also at that time, there was major concern about frequent fights between the new settlers and the aboriginal population. Life in the bush was virtually lawless, and there were frequent reports of massacres by both the new settlers and the aboriginal population.

Sir T. L. Mitchell 1845
I joined the party encamped at Buree on the 13th of December, having rode there from Sydney in four and a half days, and on the following Monday, 15th of December, 1845, I put it in motion towards the interior.
The Exploring party now consisted of the following persons:— Sir T. L. Mitchell, Kt., Surveyor General, Chief of the Expedition.....
The very grass seemed parched and useless. I never saw vegetation so checked by drought.
A longer continuance was likely to kill all the trees, and convert the country into open downs.

View article about Drought and Bush Fires in Victoria
1851 Black Thursday 

Lack of water is a problem that dates back to time immemorial for Australia, the world's driest land. If Australia's total annual run-off was spread evenly over the continent, the water depth would be a mere three centimetres.

Down the length of the eastern side of the continent, most of the water run-off from the Great Dividing Range flows eastwards into the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea, leaving the vast tracts of land on the western side of he ranges dry and prone to lasting drought. Evaporation in the hinterland is high and in dry seasons many tributaries to the main inland rivers, the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan and Darling become little more than chains of waterholes.

Time and again lack of water almost wreaked a cruel end to the early settlement of eastern Australia. In the years 1813-15 it was drought and the spectre of famine which added urgency to efforts to find a way over the Blue Mountains from the Sydney area.

Widespread drought struck again from 1824 to 1829, withering the newly discovered plains country. Crops burned, stock died and despite their familiarity with the land's natural resources, many Aboriginals were also reported to have perished through starvation. The familiar visitation of disaster struck again from 1837 to 1840 and even the snow-fed Murrumbidgee was dry in places, allowing settlers in some districts to run horse races on its bed. In 1843 good sheep were selling for three pence a head. The list of bankruptcies grew longer daily. The Bank of Australia failed. James Tyson, the king of the squatters, sold one run for a tot of rum and a second for twelve pounds which he never bothered to collect.

The infant industry resorted to the desperate expedient of boiling down sheep for tallow. The average sheep yielded twelve to fifteen pounds of tallow and tallow was worth five cents a pound -- at least for a while. By the end of 1844 more than two hundred thousand sheep had been boiled down and tallow prices began to fall.

Drought struck again in the late forties and for more than a decade from 1861 to 1870. Some graziers built dams on creeks and guarded them with armed men against reprisals from aggrieved landowners further downstream. In a dry season in 1858 parties of men destroyed or damaged more than twenty-five dams on the Yanko Creek, which runs between the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers.

Still the droughts continued, bringing pain and despair. Rainless seasons continued to strike randomly through to 1878, almost wiping out whole pockets of the sheep and wool industry.

Then between 1895-1903 the so-called 'Federation drought' occurred.
The poet Henry Lawson has , avidly described the dire circumstances and plight of the farmer. His consternations were published in the newspaper " The Worker" in 1900 .

It appears from the writings of our pioneers that drought in Australia is a natural phenomenon that has to be endured by its inhabitants .
Although drought patterns will continue, they may sway from the norm as a new phenomenon has emerged, and that is , the global climatic pattern has changed.
Partially Referenced from:  'SNOWY - The Making of Modern Australia'  Author: Brad Collis

View article: Henry Lawson: Writings about the Australian Drought 1900 

Most areas of Australia were drought-affected for long periods between 1958-1968.
It was the longest drought in arid central Australia from 1958-67. Australia-wide, during its last two years alone (1967-1968) there was a 40% drop in the wheat harvest, a loss of 20 million sheep, and a decrease of farm income of up to $500m.
Event Start Date 01/01/1958    Event End Date 09/01/1968
Duration of Event   3896  days
Five million people were affected and a total loss of livestock was 50 million

In the late 1930's and 1940's major droughts affected most of Australia.  Nearly 30 million sheep died between 1942 and 1945.

Since the 1860s there have been 10 major Australian droughts.
Some of these major droughts could be described as periods consisting of a series of dry spells of various lengths, overlapping in time and space, and totalling up to about a decade.

The drought periods of 1895–1903 (the so-called ‘Federation drought’), 1958–68, 1982–83 and 1991–95 were the most devastating in terms of their extent and effects on primary production.
The latter drought resulted in a possible $5b cost to Australia’s economy, and $590m in drought relief by the Commonwealth Government.

The remaining major droughts occurred in 1864–66 (and 1868), 1880–86, 1888, 1911–16, 1918–20 and 1939–45. In this same period, several droughts of lesser severity caused significant losses over large areas of some states. They occurred in 1922–23 and 1926–29, 1933–38, 1946–49, 1951–52, 1970–72, 1976 and 1997–2000.
Source: 1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 1988 , 2006

Tasmania 2000
In March 2000, Central Highlands farmers said the worst drought since World War II was pushing them to the brink of despair. Some farmers believed their stock could be halved by the end of winter as the region endured its third consecutive year of drought.

Weather bureau figures showed that from October 1996 to almost mid-2001, the central and eastern region and the north-west of the State had experienced serious to severe rainfall deficiencies. From July to December 1999 almost all of the State experienced below normal rainfall levels and in parts of the South-East rainfall was the lowest on record.

The Tasmanian Department of Primary Industry, Water and Environment estimated that the drought had caused overall losses to the rural sector of sector of $50m from 1997 to 2000 with approximately $10 in 1997-98, $15m in 1998-99 and $25m in 1999-2000. (Another $10m was allowed for the remaining months of drought).

West Australia  2000
Not since the outbreak in WWI in 1914 had there been a drought so devastating in the eastern and northern wheatbelt.
A visit to the wheatbelt by the Minister of Agriculture in early July revealed an emerging tragedy in WA. The Minister said the drought was a tragedy of an enormous scale affecting one third of the Wheatbelt. He described the situation as "horrendous" and "sobering", a huge problem.

The Lakes District is at the heart of the worst affected area having recorded the lowest January to June rainfall on record. It was estimated only 70 per cent of crops had been planted and of those, about 50 per cent have germinated, with Western Australia facing a loss of up to $3 billion in total grain and livestock losses.
WA Agriculture minister Kim Chance estimated the drought will potentially cost the state $3 billion in livestock and cropping losses, depending on rainfall. 
Source:  Emergency Management Australia  http://www.ema.gov.au/

The 2002–03 Drought
While not quite as dry over most of eastern Australia as those of 1901–02 or 1982–83, was particularly severe in its impacts for two reasons.
First, it was accompanied by record high average maximum temperatures and, consequently, increased evaporation in many areas.
Secondly, it affected virtually the entire continent.
During earlier droughts the effects over Western Australia were more limited or non-existent.

The direct effect of the 2002–03 drought on agricultural production is that it had a downward impact on gross domestic product growth of almost one percentage point between 2001–02 and 2002–03 (see the article in the National Accounts chapter in Year Book Australia 2005).

Other notable droughts on the 1–2 year timescale include those of 1888, 1914, 1919–20, 1940–41, 1944, 1946, 1965, 1967 and 1972.

2002-06 Eastern and southern Australia is once again experiencing widespread drought, with agricultural income in 2006-07 expected to be at the lowest level since 1994-95.

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Latest Drought Updates.

September 18, 2008
For large parts of southern and eastern Australia, dry conditions have persisted since October 1996, a total of almost 12 years.
During the last 7 years in particular, the Murray-Darling Basin has experienced severe rainfall deficiencies, and from September 2001 to August 2008 was the 2nd driest seven-year period
(the driest was from 1939 to 1946).
Source:  MDBC Murray System Drought Update No. 15 – September 2008  www.mdbc.gov.au

July 6, 2008
A joint assessment by the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO, which found that what are now considered to be one in 25 year climate events could become as frequent as once every one to two years.
In particular, the study found exceptionally high temperatures would occur almost yearly, while low rainfall would almost double in frequency from current figures.
The report found about 50% of the rainfall decrease in south-western Australia since the 1950s was likely due to greenhouse gases.

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Yearly Rain Totals for location 5 km west of Romsey,
Located 65 kilometres north west of Melbourne Australia.
Elevation 610 metres 2000 feet above sea level.

The 32 year rainfall records from 1975 onwards show a marked and steady decline in precipitation since 1994.
There was a an average decline of 150 mm or 6 inches over the period from 1994 to 2006.

Updated November 2008