Coffs Harbour

A case study in folly #4: The price of ignoring fire risks

7 March 2025 / 5 Comments

The day started rather innocuously on 18 March 2018 at Tathra, a serene coastal town nestled amidst the forested hills of southern New South Wales, renowned for its natural beauty near the sea. Yet, by 5 pm, this picturesque setting became the backdrop for a disaster that laid bare systemic failures in firefighting coordination, urban planning and bushfire preparedness.

Reflections on working in a hippy valley

6 September 2024 / 9 Comments

“Bellingen continues to attract younger people with what they perceive as Bellingen’s ‘hippy’ and ‘alternative’ reputation, with love and peace in their hearts and wellness and wokeness in their souls. Paul Hemphill

The Bellinger Valley has a long history of dairy farming and timber harvesting.

The devastating floods of the 1950s played a major role in the eventual decline of the dairy industry.

Three days of hell in the valley

3 November 2023 / 10 Comments

Introduction

This month marks the 55^th anniversary of the worst fires experienced in the Bellinger Valley since European settlement. The late spring and early summer of 1968 was one of the worst fire seasons experienced in New South Wales. Spring was exceptionally dry in coastal areas, with Sydney only receiving 29.5 mm for the season, easily the driest on record.

The truth behind the rainforest battles in NSW (part 1) – the historical background

30 June 2023 / 3 Comments

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it” ― Winston S. Churchill

Introduction

One of the great joys I have experienced during my working career and travels around Australia has been the opportunity to walk through rainforests. There is no better feeling. While protected from the heat of the day, or from bitterly cold winds, the chance to walk beneath the towering trees under a closed canopy of large shady leaves allows the opportunity to listen to the cacophonous bird songs.… Read more

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The formation of Bush Watch in Tasmania and its direct links with Surrey Hills

24 March 2023 / 10 Comments

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 banana (and sugar and pineapple) state – a look at some major food crops in the Queensland tropics

9 April 2021 / Leave a Comment

Driving around tropical North Queensland, we have seen and walked in remarkable rainforest-clad mountains and viewed beautiful coastal scenery. However, one of the more enduring memories was the actual extent of banana, sugar cane and pineapple farms.

I was exposed to banana and sugar cane farming in my youth. When I lived in Maryborough (Queensland) in the early 1980s, sugar cane was a dominant enterprise.… Read more

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A strange name for a tree

2 April 2021 / 7 Comments

While visiting Cardwell in North Queensland, we enjoyed the forest drive in Cardwell State forest. We stopped to look at Attlie Falls, and as I walked the short distance, my focus was towards the ground. I noticed bark on relatively large trees resembled a Pinus spp (an exotic pine tree). I had a brief but strange thought I was walking through a very mature pine forest until I looked up and realised I was looking at one of my favourite eucalypt trees.… Read more

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Koalas, head lice and the great green deception

30 August 2020 / 16 Comments

While we were in Narrandera for a few days before the COVID-19 lockdowns last March, we went on a lovely walk along Talbots Lake and the Town Common. It is within a river red gum forest (E. camaldulensis) near the Murrumbidgee River.

The area has a fascinating history. The attraction was an opportunity to see koalas in the trees as the Town Common (or Koala Reserve) is a renowned koala habitat area.… Read more

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