Comments on Life and Events

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FOOD  FOR  THOUGHT

All drivers of motor vehicles - young or old.  Please don't be tempted to drive over the speed limit - you may not only take your own life (or be terribly injured ) but you may take the lives of others innocently going about their own business. Be aware of what you are doing and where you are going. A moment of carelessness and the aftermath could live (or die!) with you forever.  The best driver is the courteous driver.

HIGH COUNTRY HOSTAGE

Thousands of migrant workers were brought to Australia and worked digging dams, burrowing tunnels and making pipelines from the late 1940's to the mid 1970's to form the Snowy River Scheme. Water was needed for the expanding agricultural industries to the west of the Great Dividing range and also for the production of hydro-electricity,   so the flow from the Snowy River  (the celebrated river of one of Australia's most famous poems by Banjo Paterson) was diverted into the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers.

It was not until the Year 2000,  after years of calls by concerned conservationists pleading to have a decent amount of water restored to the ailing Snowy River,   that the state authorities agreed to set a project in place to restore  the stream to at least some of it's former  glory.

I applaud the decision - we have no right to 'kill' any river.

Reports of the Snowy River being reduced to muddy,   weed infested puddles along it's strangling upper reaches reflected badly on methods of management.  Some species of flora and fauna may never be seen again.

We live in a very dry continent with  limited water resources  and must base our agricultural and water use for all purposes according to supply. We must all learn to be water wise and accept that our country just does not have enough water to adequately support huge population growth

This year, 2003,   sees the announcement of further programmes to restore health to the whole River Murray system.   If successful it can only mean good news for us all and for our beautiful rivers and their unique inhabitants.

HOME RULE

Democracy?  Your  questions answered ... perhaps! 

IT'S  A.U.S.  not  U.S.A. !.

Many Australians are dismayed at the way American slang words,  accents and attitudes (even the way words are spelled) are swamping almost every facet of the Australian way of life.  Please,  kids,   be proud,  be Australian!

LETTER TO MIRANDA

'Miranda'  is the inherited name adopted by a succession of lady columnists for a very popular feature in 'The Weekly Times' - a  newspaper with the proud claim of being  'the voice of the country' since 1869.   I wrote this verse to express my disappointment that they too,  were insisting on celebrating the end of the Millennium at the end of 1999,  a year too early.

LIFE SONG

Such wonderful memories of growing up in the country  in the loving world of my family.

LOST DREAMS

The seasons of life turn. Spring will come again and winter’s chill depart. In the depths of despair hope brings comfort.

MARY,MARY

Yes, I know - someone wrote the nursery rhyme many years ago!   This parody version was written when  people all over Australia were donating and transporting fodder to drought stricken Queensland several years ago. We happened to be just leaving Melbourne and watched a huge convoy of laden trucks heading north and cheered  them  on.

MILLENNI-HO-HUM

A reminder that the New Millenium really started at the beginning of Year 2001.  The Commonwealth of Australia was born on  the 1st. of January, 1901,   a date considered to be an auspicious one for this very important milestone in the history of our country as it was also the beginning of a new century.

 So-o-o ... plenty of reasons to celebrate! A new century and the Centenary of Federation.

MISSING THE LINK

Don't suppose anyone really enjoys paying tolls.

ODE TO A POLITICIAN DEAD OR ALIVE

Writers were asked to submit something to illustrate this topic in a competition held at Coolac, N.S.W. in 2001. I believe they got a lot of entries!

OLYMPICS ..AUSTRALIA .. YEAR 2000

Carrying the Torch for Wangaratta

The Olympic Torch

In 1956 I travelled to Melbourne by train with many other students from the Wangaratta High School to see the Olympic Games. Our group were part of the huge crowd watching the athletic events.  I remember remarking on the scattering of television aerials on rooftops as we came into the city,   a new addition to the skyline.

Back at home people would crowd around shop windows where operating sets were displayed and marvel at the wonders of technology as the flickering black and white pictures fascinated  viewers.

In the Year 2000  every detail of the Olympic Games held  in Sydney came into our lounge rooms in full colour. We heard the grunts,   saw the straining muscles and strained expressions of the competitors (and were thankful all that perspiration wasn't dripping on our carpet!)

I enjoyed watching the events but perhaps the happiest part of having the Games held in our country was the friendly atmosphere surrounding the long journey of the Olympic Torch as it was passed from hand to hand around Australia.

CARRYING A TORCH FOR WANGARATTA

The Olympic Torch reached Wangaratta on the 12th. August,  2000,  on the 66th. day of it's 100 day trek around our country after which it would preside over the Games in Sydney until they were concluded.  A proud moment for many of our local citizens as they shared the honour of actually carrying the flame.

THE OLYMPIC TORCH

A salute to the spirit of friendship which accompanied the journey of the Olympic Torch around Australia in 2000.

ONE SEPTEMBER DAY - 2001

In the times of recorded history there have been many acts of utter cruelty and intolerance inflicted on innocent people by their own kind.  Greed and the desire for power is often the real driving force behind a hatred of those with a different belief, a different colour, or whatever other difference that can be cited to rouse anger and suspicion.

We should be expending our energies on caring for this beautiful, diverse world we inhabit.  Our energies would be put to much better use  fighting disease, caring for the environment, making education available for all and seeing that no child ever suffered from hunger .

PLEASE, NO QUARRIES

My own heartfelt plea protesting at the intended siting of a quarry on our quiet little road.  It went ahead,   although the trucks must only exit on the shortest route to the asphalt and not travel the full length of the road. We appreciate the consideration.

SHARE THE DREAMS

Our childhood days seemed so much simpler, our pleasures not needing the mad frenetic atmosphere that seems to lead to the hopelessness or self destructive actions of so many of our young people.  It is not all doom and gloom,  there are many wonderful youngsters. Unfortunately,  they don't get the publicity.

THE HODGSON-HORSESHOE HIKE ABOUT

As a member of the local Hodgson/Horseshoe Creek Landcare Group I  joined a bus tour of our area. We visited pasture trial sites , examples of erosion prevention measures , stands of young trees planted to combat salinity problems. It was an interesting and enjoyable day.

THE PINE-ING

The gradual advance of introduced pine forests has made many areas of our Australia look like vast tracts of a foreign land.  Native flora rarely grows beneath the featureless ranks of dark green and not many of our bush creatures find food or haven there.

Editor's note: The pine plantations in the high country were used as the backdrop for promotional photos for the local production of the "Sound of Music" as they lent a European feel to them.

I don't find our own eucalyptus species very attractive either when grown in formal rows without natural undergrowth.  Unfortunately,   our growing population demands more and more timber,  but our shrinking areas of irreplaceable,  beautiful bushland should not be sacrificed to grow more plantations.  This is a global problem as great acreages of precious rainforests,  etc. are cleared at planet destroying rate all over the world.