Plus egg threats and an island wanderer. 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 has history with escapee dogs.
One grazier is donating hundreds of sheep, another is coordinating efforts to supply flood-affected homes with whitegoods, and yet another good Samaritan has rallied dozens of volunteer mechanics to help repair water-damaged equipment.
Queensland is rallying to help its own in the aftermath of this year’s devastating floods.
Grazier Will Roberts and his family, who farm at Morven in the state’s south-west and were unaffected by the floods, knew they wanted to do something to help. They donated 400 merino ewes and 14 rams originally destined for saleyards to fellow grazier Steven Hall, who lost 2500 of his 6000 sheep in the floods. Roberts’ donation was helped by a local carrier who offered to move the sheep for free and shearers volunteered to process the livestock.
Mary O’Brien is founder of Are You Bogged Mate?, which is dedicated to tackling depression and suicide among rural men. She organised the Grease Army, a team of mechanics from as far away as Victoria who volunteered their time to fix flood-damaged equipment.
O’Brien said farmers should feel comfortable accepting help. “It’s not a hand-out. It’s a hand up.”
Another Morven resident, Kylee Tindall-Smith, started Pay 4 A Panel to help graziers rebuild fences, while grazier Anthony Glasson coordinated the Fridge for a Friend project, which worked to provide a fridge and washing machine for every affected home in and around Thargomindah.
While Queensland deals with the aftermath of floods, SA and parts of Victoria have experienced their driest 14 months on record and the Bureau of Meteorology expects no improvement in the next few months.
Some farmers are culling stock and forking out tens of thousands for feed. Flow-on effects are expected elsewhere as shearers, faced with a lack of work because of a decline in wool production, potentially leave the industry.
Nimbin, 1973. Five thousand naked hippies descend on the town for the Aquarius Festival. Many never return home. Together they launch the world’s first forest wars to stop rainforest logging, creating a new form of blockade activism and a string of national parks.
In his new book, Rainforest Warriors: The Hippies Were Right, journalist Stephen Wyatt examines this extraordinary era of counter-culture and activism in words and images. Available at rainforestwarriors.net
Editor’s note: Read more about Nimbin’s “The ageing of Aquarius” in Galah Issue 12.
There’s a downside to Australia’s growing love of free-range eggs as poultry faces the ongoing threat of bird flu.
Industry expert Greg Mills says bird flu outbreaks, which have caused egg shortages in the past year, will continue and free-range chickens will be susceptible because they are more likely to come into contact with infected wild birds such as ducks.
Caged egg production is being phased out in the next decade to meet animal welfare standards endorsed by state ministers in 2023. Coles and Woolworths have pledged to end sales of cage-produced eggs this year.
Mills said a 1% cut in egg production is enough to cause supply shortages and the bird flu outbreaks and resulting culls last year had caused an 8% drop.
Pens floating 12 km off Tasmania’s north-west coast loom as a new battleground in the debate over salmon farming.
Blue Economy, a cooperative research centre for marine economic development, this week towed the first equipment into Bass Strait north of Burnie for an Atlantic salmon and kingfish farming trial.
A public information meeting organised by Blue Economy drew dozens of individuals and groups opposed to offshore fish farms.
Salmon farming became a critical issue in Tasmania during the federal election, with the major parties supporting election-eve legislation to protect salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour on the state’s west coast.
Not every postie covers 10,000 km a month, but it’s routine for outback postie Ruby Gamble.
The Australia Post contractor in the Cunnamulla region recently returned to duties after western Qld floods forced her into one of her longest “holidays” in almost three decades. Floods had forced her to take almost a month off earlier this year.
Many of the homes on Gamble’s round are isolated sheep and cattle stations and during the enforced layoff she kept in touch with her many remote customers.
Bundaberg mayor Helen Blackburn says her region is experiencing a boom that has people talking about it as the “next Sunshine Coast”.
Her council has approved about 5000 housing lots on a 15 km coastal strip west of the city in an attempt to meet demand that is often driven by retirees.
Further south, the Fraser Coast region is also experiencing rapid growth, with $3 billion in commercial projects approved last year.
While some locals support all that growth, they have raised concerns about whether roads and other infrastructure can support it.
Deakin University researchers have used dingo scats found in the Victorian and SA mallee country to show livestock comprises just a tiny proportion of the predator’s diet.
The study focused on the Big Desert-Wyperfeld-Ngarkat region and also analysed scats from foxes and feral cats. Livestock apparently featured in few of the scats; only 7% of fox scats contained traces of sheep or cattle and 2% of dingo scats.
Dingoes were found to be feeding predominantly on kangaroos, wallabies and emus. Compared with dingoes, cats and foxes ate 15 times the volume of small native animals, including birds.
The presence and control of dingoes around livestock remains a divisive issue. Last year two pet dingoes were killed on a WA outback property, raising concerns over bounty schemes.
Martin Martini says the mushroom “wants to find you”. ‘’All you have to do is dream them up and they’ll arrive.”
No, this is not about THAT mushroom court case.
The latest Galah podcast hosted by editor-in-chief Annabelle Hickson is all about mushrooms. She chats with Martini (@bellyoftheworldmushrooms), who Galah readers met in Issue 7. He has a very different take on mushrooms.
While mushrooms are Martini’s obsession, author and regular Galah contributor Tabitha Carvan is captivated by the people who pursue their particular obsessions. She features in another must-listen podcast.
You can find Galah on Apple or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Five days of celebration include new performances of old musical favourites and choreography and acting classes. Aside from conversations and workshops with some of the singing stars, there’s also a chance for crowd involvement in Choir in the Pub. Launceston, Tas, 21-25 May. Read more
Regional NSW artists have the chance to apply for a $10,000 Windmill Trust Scholarship for career development and presentation. The scholarship was established in 1997 in memory of artist Penny Meagher and can support research, professional development and exhibiting. Applications close 7 July. Read more
This is an exhibition of works by 23 artists and makers from across Australia curated by Yorta Yorta woman Kimberley Moulton. The title comes from the 1938 political movement, The Day of Mourning, in which Aboriginal leaders including Sir Doug Nicholls called for full citizenship and equality. TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, Vic, until 20 July. Read more
Interview: Emma Hearnes
It’s not every day you meet a coastal engineer who also runs a newspaper. Tim Leeson spends his days analysing the impact of waves and currents, and his nights editing Gippslandia, a quarterly publication that connects the people of Gippsland through positive storytelling. He reflects on publishing the final edition and its legacy.
How did you end up with your unique career combination?
My undergrad thesis and industry placement centred on developing a prototype circular wave pool in New Zealand. I'd met Nick Lawrence, the editor of Riptide Bodyboarding Magazine, which was my bible growing up and pitched him a highbrow piece on artificial waves that he published, and the die was cast. I've jumped between the two fields during the past 20 years.
When you’re done with your day job as an ocean analyst, what projects take over your evenings?
I'm a husband and a father, so those roles are the priority. I've also been extremely fortunate to be the editor and a co-founder of the positive quarterly newspaper, Gippslandia. Until recently I was involved with the amazing editorial team of Good Sport, a magazine out of left field. And I've held various roles with thr34d5 (“threads”), an NGO design studio fostering social inclusion through crafts.
What have you learned about regional communities through sharing their stories?
That they are more inclusive, supportive, collaborative, creative, entrepreneurial and passionate than many people assume. But Galah readers are well aware of this. We started Gippslandia to create a positive narrative for Gippsland, both locally and globally, and it has been a privilege to be entrusted with our community’s stories.
It’s the end of an era for Gippslandia. What led to the decision to finish up?
If we're honest, our demise is tied to our original business plan: we give our newspaper away for free. We shared a lot of ideas for the Gippsland region across our many pages, yet I don't feel that we're close to running out of ideas, which is a complicated feeling. Being an independent publisher isn't easy. I believe that most indie publications last just over two years and we made it to nine years.
What has it been like choosing stories for the Best Of Gippslandia book?
A joy. It's like being reacquainted with old friends. There's a story behind every story that's published, and it's great to be reminded of that.
Pint-sized dachshund Valerie has finally been reunited with her Albury owners 540 days after going missing on a camping trip to SA’s Kangaroo Island.
Valerie had run away from Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock at a campground bordered by farmland and scrub. Their search efforts, assisted by locals, were unsuccessful.
Then in March people started to report sightings of Valerie.
Kangala Wildlife Rescue volunteers spent weeks trying to recover the puny wanderer, whose recent visits to their traps and food drops were captured on camera.
Kangala director Jarred Karran said this week it appeared Valerie had largely survived on roadkill during her 18 months on the run because she appeared too timid to have had close contact with humans.
“When you look at the condition she was in and the amount of lean muscle that she put on – 1.8kg while she was out there – she definitely was getting a high protein diet.’’
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
