When I imagine a desert landscape, I conjure thoughts of endless sand dunes under a blue sky with a relentless sun beating down. And not much vegetation. Travelling inland through some of the arid red centre for the first time in 2007, I was shocked at how different the reality was from my imaginings. I …
On 19 November 1941, on the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast, the Royal Australian Navy’s greatest warship, the HMAS Sydney II, was sunk by a disguised German raider. It was and still is the worst naval disaster in Australia’s history. All 645 officers and men on board HMAS Sydney II were lost at sea, representing 35 …
Swallowed up by the sea – solving Australia’s most enduring maritime tragedy Read More »
“It doesn’t matter what is true, it only matters what people believe is true.“[1] Before I started our travels, I recall hearing and reading stories about the parlous state of the Murray River and its basin. These calls are always louder when there is a drought.[2] On our trip, I have spent a lot of time …
I recall reading an article by demographer Bernard Salt a few years ago about Australia being a continent divided by borders, lines, fences and boundaries. As I travel el around Australia I am reminded of his reference to ‘lines and boundaries’. Being a demographer, Salt referred to imaginary concepts based on social or physical elements, …
“The dead ash forests reach starkly towards the sky like sentinels bearing witness to the holocaust just past, and those who love the bush are heavy hearted because this may be only the beginning of what is yet to come.” David Treasure, 2007[1] Since 1939, the high-country forests in Victoria were relatively free of devastating …
Our walks through the forest stimulate a lot of my blogs on forestry. I often see some features and plants which remind me of the Aboriginal uses of the bush I learnt while I was a forester. Over my 33-year career, I have tried to understand the indigenous use of the forests. I have studied their …
