As we have travelled around Australia, one of the things I have picked up on is waving between caravaners as they pass each other. Anyone who has travelled on more remote roads would have waved at fellow travellers regardless of how they travelled. It is an unwritten road rule, isn’t it?… 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 on the Murray, the Lachlan and Edward Rivers, as well as in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation area.… Read more
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 travelled 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, such as Sydney’s ‘Latte’ line, the ‘Barassi’ line, and Tasmania’s ‘Beer’ line.… Read more
One of the best secrets in the hills surrounding Warburton is a plantation of various softwood species planted from the 1930s. The most impressive are the coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) which stand majestically at up to 60 metres tall. Called the Cement Creek plantation, the area is a significant softwood plantation.… Read more
This blog focuses on two Victorian bush fire disasters 70 years apart. It highlights a failure of governance, a failure to heed fire expert advice, a preoccupation with an emergency response model that has failed in North America and is failing forests and residents in Australia, and an arrogant contempt towards previous bushfire inquiries.… Read more
During the early growth of the industrial revolution, the great steel snake spread rapidly to open up the country for access and trade. Railways were pivotal in connecting the nation. Where the railways went, towns prospered. They became the lifeblood between the country and the cities. Wool, coal, grain and milk were transported to markets in ways never before possible.… Read more
“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 wildfires.… Read more
