Plus footy battles and graveside angels. Welcome to Galah Weekly, our award-winning newsletter keeping you up to date with regional headlines that matter, plus other delightful things from life beyond the city. By Dean Southwell, who is allergic to bees but fond of them.
The closure of WA’s Port Hedland shipping terminal for just a few days during Cyclone Zelia delivered an estimated hit of $4.6 billion to the national economy.
Operator Pilbara Ports said about $300 million in trade, mostly iron ore, passes through Port Hedland each day. The three-day closure as the cyclone hit the Pilbara east of Port Hedland last week, combined with a day lost to Cyclone Sean in January, brought the cost to about $1.2 billion.
But Curtin University supply chain expert Elizabeth Jackson said the real cost to the broader economy was about four times that.
This week, with roads cut by flooding across the region and many supermarket shelves empty, transport companies were scrambling to find alternative routes to bring staples in via SA and the NT. Pastoralists are also assessing stock losses.
A drone bee’s penis comprises about a third of its bodyweight, and that could be a valuable asset as scientists try to help the pollinators resist the potentially devastating varroa mite.
Researchers and beekeepers are turning to artificial insemination to help bees survive the onslaught, and the drones’ relatively large endowment apparently makes collecting bee sperm easier – though it’s still a delicate process.
In Tasmania, artificial insemination is being used to try to maintain a healthy population of queen bees, which can no longer be imported from mainland sources affected during the past two years by outbreaks of varroa mite. The island state’s often unsettled spring weather can also upset the natural production of queens.
Aside from using artificial insemination to try to bolster honey bee numbers, researchers are also trying to selectively breed bees with natural resistance to the varroa mite.
Why it matters Varroa mites weaken and kill bee colonies that agricultural sectors worldwide rely on to pollinate crops. The first Australian detection was in NSW in 2022 but it has since spread and early attempts to eradicate have switched to ongoing management.
Australia’s cattle industry is quietly confident its US exports won’t be hit by tariffs, with at least one report making the link with President Donald Trump’s love of hamburgers.
Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association CEO Will Evans, who has been touring the States, said Americans gained huge benefits from Australian beef imports. US cattle numbers have declined for more than 40 years, and Evans argues access to Australian beef helps keep prices stable.
The US was Australia’s biggest market for beef exports last year, worth more than $4.3 billion. Much of it was destined for use as lean ground beef in hamburgers.
If Trump’s love of burgers can potentially help limit tariff damage, maybe he’d like our fries, too? The US is a net importer of potatoes but virtually none of those spuds come from Australia.
A couple in the WA Kimberley town of Kununurra have made it their mission to beautify graves in the local cemetery – often those of strangers. In the process they’ve brought comfort to people living thousands of kilometres away from the resting places of their loved ones.
Caroline Banton responded to a Facebook request a few years ago from a woman living on the east coast for someone to put flowers on the grave of a long-lost uncle.
Banton went a step further, tidying the grave and lining it with pebbles. Now she and her partner, Christian Barnaby, have taken it on themselves to tend many graves.
In a remote town with a transient population, Banton said she was compelled to help because people can’t “call up the local graves fixer”.
Members of a Victorian women’s football team said a “horrible, volatile environment” of inequitable treatment and lack of respect had caused them to leave their club.
Thirty-five members of the women’s football team in the Kyneton Football and Netball Club (KFNC) have left to form their own club. Among other allegations, the women said they were forced to clean up blood, faeces and spit in the club’s bathroom when they arrived after men’s games. They’re now hoping to find a league to join this year.
The KFNC has denied the allegations. It maintains the club has always been as inclusive as possible, and says it is the subject of a smear campaign.
Victorian government research found about a third of female players were considering leaving their clubs because of inequitable treatment, including problems with access to resources. This is despite strenuous efforts to promote women’s sport by elite-level organisations such as the AFLW and in national sports including soccer and cricket.
Storms did more than hit buildings in the NSW towns of Harden and Murwillumbah last week – they sparked a community effort to save huge numbers of injured birds.
Community volunteers have set up a triage centre in the poultry pavilion at the Harden showground to help corellas, galahs and cockatoos injured when the storms hit.
Harden resident and vet Stephanie Ellis said the initial focus after the storms had been on buildings, then residents noticed the absence of the usual bird noise and found hundreds of dead and injured birds.
Last week’s snake tales reminded NSW artist and Galah on the ground Nic Mason of a two-metre brown snake that became trapped in her studio in the state’s central west, in the middle of a busy work schedule. Mason’s blog describes how she used framed works to form a barrier to help guide the snake outside.
Meanwhile, a goat named Gonkey bitten by a snake at a NSW wildlife park has been given round-the-clock care, $3000 worth of antivenom and aid from as far away as Victoria.
Galah magazine’s Issue 12 is on its way, so there are plenty of reasons to become a subscriber.
A subscription to Galah is the gift that delivers three beautiful bookish magazines to keep your mum, partner, cherished teacher or friend inspired, informed and entertained all year.
Subscribe before Thursday 13 March to receive free shipping (a saving of $10) and a three-issue subscription starting with Issue 12, which is dispatched on 7 April.
Hosted across 17 vineyards in the Victorian region of Rutherglen, this three-day celebration showcases the area’s award-winning wines, artisanal produce and food culture. On 7-9 March. Read more
Nine key artworks by acclaimed digital artists Tim and Mic Gruchy feature in The Brothers Gruchy, which examines the intersections of technological innovation with biological forms, human perception and artificial intelligence. At Cowra Regional Art Gallery, NSW, until 23 March. Read more
The TarraWarra Museum and Art Gallery opens the doors of the Eva and Marc Besen Centre next month, a major expansion of its Healesville facilities in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. The centre hosts the Australian Chamber Orchestra as part of the TarraWarra Festival on 1-2 March, then it opens to the public on 4 March. Read more
Interview by Emma Hearnes.
From the road of her regional tour, Darwin comedian and MC Amy Hetherington talks life-changing dares and BYO baby tours.
Is it true your comedy career started with a dare? Yes, about 12 years ago I was doing a fundraiser for Healthy Harold (you remember the giraffe that teaches kids about drugs and alcohol?). My gimmick was: dare me to do something you’d never do sober. Someone said they’d donate $200 if I did stand-up comedy. And I did.
How has living in Darwin shaped your sense of humour? Darwin is a bit different to the rest of Australia. Everyone is tropical laid-back and it's humid and sweaty and weird things happen, which makes for great comedy material. Like, I got bitten by a mud crab in my backyard – it escaped from my neighbour’s Esky. That’s not happening in Sydney or Melbourne. With fewer comedy clubs or regular shows in Darwin, you’ve got to work out what you think is funny, rather than falling into comedy trends.
What is the most unconventional thing you've done on a tour? I’ve made a bit of a name for myself for baby-friendly comedy shows. When I had my daughter in 2021 there were a lot of social media comments from people saying I’d have to slow down the touring. I just dragged the baby with me. I’ve changed her nappy on the roof of the car, I’ve breastfed her midway through a show and she’s been to every state and territory in Australia. A room full of parents and babies laughing at the chaos of newborn insanity is a ball.
What’s your favourite part of performing for regional audiences? They’re keen for entertainment and they’re happy to laugh about themselves. If you get a local reference right, you can blow the roof off a venue, too. I’m far happier telling stories in a country pub than in a busy city festival. That’s why I’m doing this 50-show tour across Australia.
A decade ago Denise Alison overheard some Byron Bay cafe patrons criticising her hometown. “Why would you want to live in Lismore?” was the general theme.
Alison picked up her camera in anger and started interviewing people around the beleaguered town, and the Facebook page and website Humans of Lismore was born. For the past decade it’s been a focal point for stories of people and their place, particularly during the region’s devastating 2022 floods.
In December she went a step further, launching the Humans of Lismore book.
We’d love to hear about the news, events and people that should be making the headlines in the Galah Weekly newsletter. Share what’s new(s) in your neck of the woods with us at newsie@galahpress.com
