World War 2

The aristocratic satinay

7 May 2021 / 13 Comments

Fraser Island is a beautiful place. It is the world’s largest sand island and vegetated dune system. I had the opportunity to work on Fraser Island in the mid-1980s and have had several recreational visits to the island over the years. I still pinch myself these many years later on how fortunate I was to spend two weeks bush-bashing through the satinay (Syncarpia hillii)-brush box (Lophostemon confertus) forests while doing regeneration surveys.… Read more

The aristocratic satinay Read More »

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

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

The Burridge family – synonymous with Guildford Junction

26 February 2021 / 9 Comments

Last month I shared a blog written by Lloyd Wilson, who grew up in Guildford in the 1940s and 50s. This month I want to share another Guildford story from Margaret Brown who was born at Guildford in 1935 and lived there until 1958.^[1] She is the longest-serving resident born at Guildford.… Read more

The Burridge family – synonymous with Guildford Junction Read More »