Introduction
The first telegraph message in the world was sent on 24 May 1844, using Morse code, a system of dots and dashes representing letters of the alphabet. The system was invented by Samuel Morse, inspired by the fact that when his wife died in 1825, he did not hear of the event until days after her funeral due to the slowness of communications at the time.… Read more
Connecting Western Australia to the rest of the world Read More »
The reason why humans prioritise bad news, according to Nobel Prize-winning behavioural psychologist Daniel Kahneman, is because “organisms that treat threats as more urgent than opportunities have a better chance to survive and reproduce”.
In the lead-up to this year’s Earth Day celebrations later this month, I thought it was timely to look closely at whether they are still relevant, given the dire predictions that have emanated from this day each year have never come to pass. … Read more
Why on earth do we continue to celebrate Earth Day? Read More »
Bush Watch is a community policing initiative which encourages bush users to report unusual or suspicious activities. It was set up like Neighbourhood Watch to deal with the spate of sabotage on equipment, logs etc.
The Bush Watch idea was first developed by the now defunct Forest Protection Society (FPS). FPS started from humble beginnings in 1987 in frustration at government policies that increasingly destroyed small timber communities and their families.
The formation of Bush Watch in Tasmania and its direct links with Surrey Hills Read More »
The Great North Road was one of three great roads built simultaneously out of Sydney, heading north, west and south. While there is little evidence of the Great Western and Southern Roads, much more evidence still exists of the Great North Road. Up to 43 kilometres remain intact.
The Great North Road was built entirely by convict labour between 1826 and 1836.… Read more
I am seeking [local and state government departments] to work together and take action instead of pointing the finger at someone else whilst your citizens experience a crisis that can be avoided or at the very least less impactful.
Submission to Select Committee Inquiry into 2022 NSW Floods.
Introduction
In February and March last year, New South Wales experienced widespread rainfall, which resulted in extensive flooding in some areas across the state.
Another emergency disaster failure – the 2022 New South Wales floods in Northern NSW Read More »
Introduction
The summer of 1933-34 was very dry across most of Australia, including Tasmania. It began a pronounced drought period that lasted until early 1939.
Victoria had significant bushfires in 1932. “Red Tuesday” on 19 January saw many fires in almost every part of the state, particularly West Gippsland, where nine people died. … Read more
A fiery summer in north-west Tasmania Read More »
Introduction
The South Australian portion of the Nullarbor Plain was part of New South Wales. The reason can be explained by examining the stories behind the development of each of the state borders since colonisation. This blog will initially focus on the creation of the Western Australian, South Australian and Northern Territory border, which is now on the 129 Degrees East longitude (1290E) but was initially further east.… Read more
The pitfalls of having a border follow a celestial line Read More »
“If you do not graze and/or burn the country, it will turn into scrub. It will turn into a time bomb and one day it will explode”. Vic Jurskis.
“Burning small patches higgledy‐piggledy every 10 years or so doesn’t have much effect on wildfires”. Submission to the Wambelong fire
Introduction
My June 2022 forestry blog provided a case study into the current mismanagement of forest fuels in the Western Australian karri forests and last month’s blog was a case study of the disastrous 2003 Canberra firestorm.… Read more
A case study in folly #3 – the 2013 Wambelong fire Read More »
In Chapter 6 of my book “Fires, Farms and Forests”, I alluded to the acrimonious relationship between James Norton Smith, the Chief Agent for the Van Diemen’s Land Company (VDL Co.) and William Ritchie, the Chairman of the Mount Bischoff Tin Mining Company (MBTM Co.).
In early 1881, the animosity spread to a public spat, which is fascinating, not least because Ritchie was a partner in the law firm that acted as the VDL Co’s solicitor for their Tasmanian dealings.… Read more
Because the forestry profession is far from simple and the work highly variable, I have tried to describe what a forester does by outlining the development of the profession in Australia. In Part 1, I outlined the broad principles of forestry and the development of the forestry profession up until WWII.… Read more
What does a forester do? (Part 2) Read More »
