Indonesia – Page 2

Even more war stories – how Australia came under attack from air raids during WWII

8 July 2022 / 2 Comments

My previous war story blog provided details of the bombing of Darwin and the subsequent battles against the Japanese in the Coral Sea and Papua New Guinea.

After the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942, the Japanese carried out further air-borne attacks across northern Australia. In total, between March 1942 and November 1943, the Japanese flew 64 bombing/strafing raids on Darwin alone and 33 bombing/strafing raids on other targets in Northern Australia.… Read more

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Cattle kings – the rise and fall of pastoralism in the East Kimberley region

11 March 2022 / 3 Comments

“The East Kimberley is the land of blacks, Sacks [another prolific local clan thought to be Irish] and bloody Duracks“. Anon

“If one were to paint this country in its true colours, I doubt it would be believed. It would be said at least that the artist exaggerated greatly, for never have I seen such richness and variety of hue as in these ranges and in the vivid flowers of this northern spring.”… Read more

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Traversing the outback with singing wire

12 November 2021 / 2 Comments

Ever since the invention of an electric relay in 1825, the opportunity to communicate long distances in a brief period was provided. When Samuel Morse invented the morse code in 1838, a revolution in communication began – it was akin to the internet in the late 19^th century. Around the world, a system of underwater sea cables enabled countries to communicate with each other much quicker.… Read more

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Resistance fighter, unconventional forester, family man and mentor – the life of Dick de Boer (1922-94)

22 October 2021 / 8 Comments

This month’s guest blog is written by David de Little.

In my book “Fires, Farms and Forests” I outlined the pivotal role Dick de Boer played in the development of eucalypt plantations on Surrey Hills. David was fortunate to work with Dick from 1975 to 1983 and got to know him very well.… Read more

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The radio electronics maestro

23 April 2021 / 10 Comments

This is a story about a quietly spoken Dutchman who had responsibility for setting up and maintaining a radio communication system in the early days of AFH when access to Surrey Hills was much more limited than today.

The radio system was the only form of communication between the administrative office in Burnie and the workers in Surrey Hills.… Read more

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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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