Gilding the Smokestacks: The New Symbolic Representations of Deindustrialised Regions

Central to attempts to restructure the economic and industrial base of deindustrialised regions is the redefinition of image and the creation of new forms of identity. It is argued that this cultural focus is often absent from analyses of industrial change and the regeneration of localities. With a focus on two deindustrialised areas in Australia which have faced significant job loss in recent years, the local promotional texts are analysed to investigate how important the production of a revitalised image has been to the regeneration of these areas. The author looks at what elements in the texts drew on specifically local or national myths and culture and what elements drew on more universal symbolic discourses and realities, in particular dominant Western notions of masculinity. The concern was to see if the form of representation of the dominant discourses varied spatially or in the process of change.