Many Australians see tropical cyclones as a northern phenomenon — storms that belong to Cairns, Townsville, or the Kimberley. Yet, the Fraser Coast, stretching from Fraser Island through Hervey Bay to Maryborough, has long been within their path. Cyclones are not uncommon visitors here. In fact, they have shaped our coast, forests and local stories.
A forgotten history – cyclones on the Fraser Coast Read More »
On a damp May night in 1905, the O’Connell children coughed and wheezed in their cramped weatherboard cottage at the corner of Sussex and Pallas Streets, Maryborough. Their neighbour, Mrs Letetia Edwards, heard the rasping sounds through the thin walls and crossed the street to help.
The plague that stopped at Maryborough Read More »
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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.
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 purple reign in an Australian spring Read More »
In the years leading up to Queensland’s separation from New South Wales in 1859, the political mood across the continent’s northern reaches was restless yet hopeful. From the sunbaked cattle runs of the Darling Downs to the pine-timbered ridges around Moreton Bay, there was a low murmur that grew louder. Why should decisions for the north be made from distant Sydney?
Lighting the way – the fledgling colony’s early beacon Read More »
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.
Australia’s Amphibian Apocalypse Read More »
Queensland’s national parks are a testament to the foresight and dedication of its early foresters. What set forest management apart in Queensland from the other states was the role of foresters in managing national parks. While their counterparts in other states focused primarily on timber and the sustainable utilisation of the timber resource, Queensland’s foresters were pioneers in balancing conservation with economic interests.
Forester’s unique legacy in Queensland Read More »
At 9.00 pm that night, it came bucketing down nonstop. It was so loud that it was hard to hear anything. By 11.00 pm, I thought it was pointless to go to bed and looked outside to check this downpour, with thunder rumbling and lightning flashing around us.
A resident describing conditions in Gympie on Friday night, 25 February 2022.
A rain bomb hits Gympie and surrounding districts Read More »
Growing up in Australia in the 1970s, I spent countless hours playing backyard cricket during those balmy summer evenings. Despite my love for the game, I never excelled, oscillating between dreams of being a superb bowler or a top-order batsman, yet failing to master either. My lack of skills was evident as I was always the 11th-picked player on our school cricket team, batting last and rarely bowling.
The Cricket bat – a journey from the backyard to Test matches Read More »
It began as a deep distant rumbling, like the stirring of some gargantuan subterranean beast.
It was unsettling at first, ominous, something you felt in your guts more than you heard with your ears, an eerie subsonic vibration that seemed to rise from the bowels of Hades.
As the she-devil crept closer, the wailing began.
The year Santa never made it to Darwin Read More »
At the start of WWII, Australia was unprepared for a prolonged conflict, processing just enough petrol reserves for three months and limited storage capacity.
Though fuel rationing wasn’t immediately imposed, the government urged citizens to conserve petrol, hoping to avoid drastic measures.
While the motor industry strongly petitioned against any fuel rationing, by 1 October 1940, however, fuel rationing became a necessity.
The unsung timber product during war time Read More »
