Travel

Sweet ambition: the story of Bundaberg sugar

9 January 2026 / 5 Comments

This is a story about how sugar transformed a riverside settlement into one of Queensland’s most prosperous regional centres.

Pioneering the Burnett

When surveyor John Charlton Thompson first mapped out Bundaberg in the early 1870s, few could have imagined that the small settlement on the Burnett River would eventually become the beating heart of one of Queensland’s most renowned agricultural industries.

When Beetles Lit the Night

12 December 2025 / 4 Comments

For many Australians of a certain age, the magic of Christmas wasn’t just about the excitement of presents under the tree or the smell of a roast wafting through the kitchen. It also meant the annual arrival of Christmas beetles.

Their abundance meant they quickly became ingrained in our cultural psyche.

When Beetles Lit the Night Read More »

The Valley’s last turn

14 November 2025 / 5 Comments

Another Spring Carnival in Melbourne has come and gone. I wasn’t born a racing man. While I went to school with guys steeped in the Sydney scene at Royal Randwick Racecourse, I was never hooked. I have a couple of mates in Hervey Bay, Dave from “the Shire” in Sydney and Macca from Alice Springs.

The Valley’s last turn Read More »

A purple reign in an Australian spring

10 October 2025 / 2 Comments

“

Streets with trees come to hold a cherished place in the hearts and minds of those living with them … recollections of growth from seedling to maturity, of gracious light and shade, brilliant young green of spring-time, dignified shade in the heat of the day.

W. B. Bailey-Tart

Every spring, as October fades and the heat of the coming summer begins to crackle in the air, something magical unfurls across parts of Australia.

A crustacean chronicle

12 September 2025 / 3 Comments

Some say Australia runs on prawns, and during our travels around Australia, I saw a hint of truth to that statement.

The prawn has come a long way from humble beginnings in the shallow waters of Sydney Cove to vast aquaculture farms in Shark Bay and bustling trawler fleets off Karumba.

A crustacean chronicle Read More »

Gregory’s boab: a sentinel of history

8 August 2025 / 6 Comments

While visiting the Victoria River region in northern Australia, it felt like stepping back in time. The land seemed as wild and untamed as when Augustus Charles Gregory and his men arrived 170 years ago. I set off toward their historic base camp, eager to be a part of where history unfolded.

The good oil – from swampland to super remedy

11 July 2025 / 8 Comments

This story explores the transformation of the humble Australian tea tree (Melaleuca spp.), which thrives in swampy areas, into an essential oil and other various health care products sold globally.

The burgeoning tea tree industry began in a remote, swampy area of the Richmond River Valley district in northern New South Wales.

Australia’s Amphibian Apocalypse

13 June 2025 / 5 Comments

Ninety years ago this month, Australia embarked on an ambitious but ultimately ill-fated experiment in biological control.

In 1935, Queensland sugar cane farmers faced a relentless enemy—the cane beetle. These voracious insects burrowed into sugarcane roots, devastating crops and threatening an industry vital to the nation’s economy. Desperate for a solution, scientists at the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (BSES) looked to overseas biological control methods for inspiration.

The man who walked the Bass Strait

9 May 2025 / 10 Comments

The Bass Strait submarine cables

In 1859, the first underwater telegraph cable in the Southern Hemisphere and the longest in the world was laid across Bass Strait.

Planning began in 1853 when discussions were held to build an overland line from Hobart in the south to Launceston in the north of Tasmania, extending across Bass Strait to Victoria.

Guardians of health and security: Point Nepean’s twin roles in history

18 April 2025 / 4 Comments

Point Nepean, located at the tip of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, is a site of remarkable historical significance. It houses Australia’s second-oldest surviving barracks-style quarantine buildings and fortifications that once protected the colony’s coastline. As the primary quarantine station in Victoria until 1979, Point Nepean played a pivotal role in safeguarding public health.