- Transition:
the latest
Geeveston
At a recent meeting, the Geeveston Transition Town Initiative
discussed trying to make their movement financial, through grant
writing for funding. Other ideas included starting a seed-saving
network, a community garden, and installing a community owned
wind turbine.
Linda Cockburn, one of the group founders, said, “We are
pursuing the community owned wind turbine idea, and community
gardens. It’s early days yet. If people have visions and
ideas for Geeveston, and a low energy future, don’t be shy,
don’t hang back, share them with us. Tasmanians already
have the skills – they are natural barterers and resourceful
people. We can all learn from each other.”
The Geeveston Community Centre has recently undergone renovations,
creating a more comfortable and readily accessible meeting venue.
Linda says, “We have a bread-and-cheese-making workshop
planned for Saturday 31st July. GECO is a good meeting place
– come and see us in School Road, Geeveston.” The Geeveston
Transition Town Initiative group can be contacted through Geeveston
Community Centre (GECO) on 6297 1616.
Franklin
The Franklin Transition Town group is underway, after a lively
introduction to the Transition Town model at a community screening
of the film “In Transition”. More than 30 people attended
a screening at the Palais Theatre in Franklin.
The following lively discussion resulted in the formation of
groups to pursue ideas to be applied in Franklin. There was interest
in leading some principal Transition groups. The food group will
deal with a variety of ideas, including food co-operatives and
a community garden. The transport group will explore the possibilities
of improving public transport, car-pooling, and fuel alternatives.
A community awareness / media and promotion group will assist
with public education, while the community currency group will
explore the idea of creating a local currency. Alternative finance,
including the Local Exchange Trading Systems idea (LETS), has
grown out of the worldwide reaction to the precarious situation
of globalised economies. The Franklin Transition Team has also
started a waste group. Contact Celia Leverton, 0429 931 640 for
further details.
Cygnet
Transition Cygnet is planning another get-together following
its inaugural meeting on June 27, when nearly 70 people turned
up at the bottom pub.
Host Gill Hunt and her staff provided facilities for the screening
of two films. The films explained peak oil and the reasons for
the Transition movement. Subsequent discussion centred on directions
Cygnet can take to meet the challenges of climate change and
peak oil.
An exciting aspect of the Transition movement is that there are
no hard and fast rules, so each community develops in its own
way depending on the interests and skills of those involved.
Judging from the enthusiasm and ideas at the first meeting, Cygnet
will doubtless soon have several groups contributing to the resilience
and wellbeing of our community.
The next meeting — on Sunday 1st August at 2.30pm, also
at the Bottom Pub — will start with a short film followed
by a think-tank session to develop directions. It may then be
possible to form groups with specific Transition interests.
Don’t go it alone
If you’ve been operating in isolation, join a team. Celia
Leverton, the Franklin contact, reminded me of a quote from Bill
Mollison, the founder of permaculture: “I can’t save
the world on my own – it’ll take at least three of
us.”
- Merlene Abbott
& Bob Hawkins
Winter
picnic
It’s rainy, it’s
cold and it’s grey outside. It’s winter in Tassie.
But, far from hiding in their homes with family blocks of chocolate,
three hardy local bands are rugging up and stepping out to put
on an unusual - and very original - afternoon of music in Franklin.
The Winter Picnic will be held on Saturday 7th August inside
the Palais Theatre. It is the brainchild of Huon Valley singer
songwriter Amy Kendall.
Amy felt that the cold and gloom outside was no reason the sun
can’t shine indoors on a cosy hall full of music lovers.
“I wanted to put on a gig of a different kind, held during
the day, in an environment where everyone could feel welcome
including families,” Amy said.
“A lot of my friends work full time in the city and it’s
not always convenient for them to come out late at night to the
traditional music venues like pubs and clubs.
“I thought an event like this, in a beautiful venue like
the Palais, would be a perfect opportunity for people to pack
a grown-up picnic and enjoy an afternoon out in the wintertime.
Basically the kind of gig that I would want to go to!”
Amy Kendall and her band, The Kitchenhands, will be joined by
fellow local artists, The Steadfast Shepherd and Dominic Francis.
Amy Kendall has been enthralling Hobart audiences with her angelic
voice, floating guitar melodies and insightful ‘storytelling’
lyrical style since her move to the state in 2005. Amy has been
playing with The Kitchenhands since 2008. The current line up
boasts a cello, guitar, banjo, percussion and three-part harmonies.
Her newest EP, A Week of Saturdays was released in 2009.
Amy Kendall and the Kitchenhands have had a stellar 2009/10,
playing the Wynyard Bloomin Tulips Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival,
Falls Festival, Taste Festival and Qantas National Tourism Awards,
as well as regular shows at local venues.
The Steadfast Shepherd is husband-and-wife duo Nathan & Fairlie
Collins. Based around acoustic guitar, organ, and vocal harmonies,
The Steadfast Shepherd’s songs draw on folk and country
traditions to paint stories of times and places.
In 2008, The Steadfast Shepherd moved to Hobart, completed a
six-date tour of Japan, and performed in both Melbourne and in
their new city. They also self-released their debut five-song
CD The Open Sky.
Dominic Francis first stepped out of the lounge room to share
his tunes with the world in 2007, and has since been earning
a positive reputation on the local folk scene. Honest, witty
and insightful, Dominic explores and reflects upon themes such
as love, grief, fatherhood and mateship. With a great deal of
self observation, it is the clear, emotive lyrics and hidden
word plays that absorb the listener on a transparent, humorous
and quirky journey.
The debut album Expression of Interest was released in 2009.
So, if you’re looking for the perfect winter pick-me-up,
grab your picnic blanket and thermos, pack a good, hearty lunch
and relax with an afternoon of laid back original music.
Tickets available at the door $10 or $20/families. Doors open
at 12.30pm, with music from 1pm til 4pm. To book phone 0414 286
994 or email
bookings@amykendall.com.au
Cygnet
Better Futures Inc
Cygnet has a new not-for-profit
incorporated group aiming to promote and develop the sustainable
economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being of the
Cygnet community. Cygnet Better Futures Inc. will help individuals
and groups to apply for community project funding. As an incorporated
body, it will be able to auspice and administer grants for unincorporated
groups and individuals, who wish to undertake activities for
the benefit of the Cygnet community. It will provide regular
updates on available grants and will, if appropriate, seek funding
in its own right in partnership with other local groups. Community
groups can currently apply for funding from:
• Tasmanian Community Fund for community projects in one
of two categories – under $10,000 or over $10,000. For guidelines
and application details go to www.tascomfund.org. Closes 20th
August.
• Caring for our Country Community Action Grants Program
for projects with a biodiversity or threatened species focus
from $5,000 to $20,000. For details go to www.nrm.gov.au. Closes
31st August.
• Community Capacity Building Grants Program will be available
from 31st July – 30th September. Look out for workshops
during August. For more information email
cdgrants@dpact.tas.gov.au
• Sport and Recreation Tasmania grants of between $15,000
and $80,000 are available now until 1st Feb, 2011. For more information
and guidelines go to
www.development.tas.gov.au/sportrec
If you would like help to apply for these grants, more information
about other community grants or to become a member of Cygnet
Better Futures Inc please email Helen Pryor at helenpryor@hotmail.com
Helen Pryor
Regional
Water Scheme boost to Valley
Huon Valley Mayor, Councillor
Robert Armstrong, has voiced his support for the Huon Valley
Regional Water Scheme, saying it is the most important project
to take place in the Huon Valley in his time as a councillor.
“The benefits that will come from this scheme when completed
will keep flowing to our children and their children. By building
this scheme we are securing their future here in the Huon Valley.”
Councillor Armstrong’s comments come following recent criticism
of the scheme, focused on plans to connect Cygnet to the pipeline.
“It amazes me to read comments suggesting the existing supplies
are adequate,” Cr Armstrong said.
“I have lived in Cygnet for most of my life and I know about
the water shortages and restrictions that are too much a part
of life there.”
“I remember a particularly bad summer in 2000 when we all
but ran out of water.”
Cygnet’s two main storages on Grey Mountain were virtually
empty due to poor rainfall in the months leading up to summer.
Despite severe water restrictions and the fruit processing plant
ceasing operations to conserve water, Cygnet still needed an
additional 200,000 litres a day to meet demand.
As a last resort the council planned to transport water from
Huonville and pump it into the Cygnet system. That emergency
measure would have come at a cost of $10,000 a week.
“I had young mums come up to me with bottles of brown, mucky
water that had come out of their taps. They couldn’t wash
their babies clothes in it because the washing came out brown,”
said Councillor Armstrong. The other major benefit is the return
of environmental flows to the rivulets that are currently used
for the supply. The scheme will reduce pressure on several degraded
creeks and rivulets by using a single sustainable water supply
from the Huon River, returning around one gigalitre of water
back to these overstretched environmental sources. That’s
about 400 Olympic swimming pools of water that will be returned
in environmental flows to improve biodiversity. The Huon Valley
could be facing water restrictions again this summer with some
ares of southern Tasmania experiencing their warmest and driest
June on record.
This year the Huon Valley has had just 600mm of rain. The dry
autumn and winter means Cygnet may require water restrictions
this summer.
“The simple fact is that if we have no significant rain
to fill the dams, we are going to run out of water,” Cr
Armstrong said.
Cygnet, like much of the Huon Valley, has endured water restrictions
every summer between 1999/2000 and 2008/09. When completed in
2012, the Huon Valley Regional Water Scheme will provide a reliable
potable water supply to the Huon Valley community.
Construction and operation of the scheme is now the responsibility
of Southern Water, with planning and construction still in its
early stages. “They’ll do a great job and I look forward
to the day when it’s finished,” Cr Armstrong said.
Huon Valley Council
Media Release
Interest
rates promise
Sometimes politicians
pretend they can influence interest rates. They might claim at
election time that they can put downward pressure on interest
rates – as John Howard did in 2004. “I will guarantee
that interest rates are always going to be lower under a coalition
government,” said the then PM. Whereupon he suffered six
interest rates rises between the time he made the promise in
2004 and the 2007 election. Now it seems the current Leader of
the Opposition is daring the Fates again. In an interview on
Sky News Mr Abbott was asked if he could guarantee his policies
would put downward pressure on interest rates, and he replied:
“Absolutely I do.”
Funny thing, that!
Just two days later, Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens was
taking questions at the Australian Business Economists’
conference when a creative young journo from the Daily Telegraph
stood up to put his question. “My question today requires
a bit of audience participation,” he told a bemused but
accommodating Stevens. He turned to the gathered economists and
said “Please raise your hand if you believe one side of
politics can apply more downward pressure on interest rates than
the other.”
There were 370 economists in the room, and amid chuckles and
guffaws, not a single hand was raised. Pushing his luck, the
journo – John Rolfe – turned back and asked Stevens,
“Governor, therefore my question to you is: do you agree
with the consensus view of the room?” – more laughter.
“I have two words,” replied Stevens: “No comment!”
– more laughter still.
Steadfast and unwavering
Glenn Stevens then pressed his fiercely independent representation
of the Reserve Bank as immune from political pressure, stating
categorically that if interest rates needed to go up, they would
go up. “The Board will meet, consider all the issues for
the economy, and do its job. What else would people expect?”
he said.
Strong words from Stevens. Game man Tony Abbott, to believe,
despite the lesson of history that he could influence this Governor
who showed in 2007 that he would not be intimidated, and certainly
not influenced by the political needs of either party.
And so much for any leader guaranteeing that interest rates will
be lower under his government than the other’s. It just
doesn’t work like that.
John Fleming
Top
short films return to Cygnet
Prize-winning films and
stand out favourites from this year’s St Kilda Film Festival
Top100 Australian shorts will be shown this Friday in Cygnet
Town Hall Supper Room from 6.30 – 9pm.
Highlights include Best Short Film Tomorrow, directed by Simon
Portus, produced by David Curzon and starring Leah Purcell. The
film tells a compelling story about the meeting of a country
town teenager and a businesswoman on her way to Brisbane. Simon
Portus picked up Best Director for his role and Laura Davies
won the Best Actor award.
We will also get to see the Best Animation winner Ink. Directed
and animated by Justine Wallace, the stylised animation follows
the search for a lost toy, a stolen childhood and a girl spray-painting
the streets. Ink also won Best Achievement in Screenplay and
Best Achievement in Sound Post Production.
Winner of the Festival Audience Favourite is Gemma Lee’s
The Wake which stars Angus Sampson and Pippa Black. Angus Sampson
also appears in Celestial Avenue, winner of the Audience and
Craft Awards, which tells the story of Kath, a young women who
has been looking for love in all the wrong places, until she
finds herself in Chinatown. This funny 20-minute film is unlike
anything you’ve ever seen Sampson in.
A unique documentary, Helmut’s House is a recounting of
filmmaker Jess Dickenson’s encounter with 89-year-old Helmut,
an original character leading an unconventional life in the wilderness.
Helmut has lived alone and remote for nearly 40 years in a hand-built
house on the bed of one of the largest rivers in the country.
For more information visit www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au. Tickets
cost $15 or $10 for Art Council Members and Concession. Films
are unclassified so persons under 15 will not be admitted unless
accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.
The Cygnet Community Arts Council is bringing this one to you,
so bring a cushion for your chair and some coins for a cuppa
and a slice of something nice. See you there!
Frances Butler
Concert
and cakes
What a combination –
the perfect recipe for a wintry Sunday afternoon.
The Huon Valley Concert Band is offering this tempting mixture
on 8th August at the Ranelagh Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, from
2pm.
The family concert will present music spanning genres and eras
from the past to the present, from the boisterous to the reflective.
Several new players have recently joined the band, and the addition
of percussion and euphonium and extra trumpet and flute players,
has boosted its depth to an enormously satisfying degree.
The band will play two brackets, of about 40 and 30 minutes respectively,
with a short break in between – and then comes the feast!
All the kinds of sweets and savouries you could imagine, with
tea, coffee, hot chocolate and cordial.
Admission is only $5 for adults, and free for children under
12. Who would want to miss it?
Enquiries: Desley, 6266 3148; Lesley, 6264 2664
Lesley Parker
-
National
Tree-Planting Day
Winter is wonderful.
Once we have passed the winter solstice, and the worst of the
cold weather is over, we can look forward to spring. Before that,
there are terrific events to herald the new season, and the regeneration
we all love. You guessed it. It’s National Tree Planting
Day.
Vall ey Planting
In the valley, National Tree-Planting Day is being held on different
dates at different sites. Landcare groups have exciting working
bees and get-togethers planned on Sunday 1st August. The Mountain
River Landcare Group will be holding a working bee/tree-planting
session at the Mountain River site, at Bennetts Road Bridge,
594 Mountain River Road. The session starts at 10.30am and is
followed by a BBQ at the Mountain River Hall. The Nicholls Rivulet
planting session begins at 11.30am at the bridge, at the junction
of Underwood’s Road and Nichols Rivulet.
Huonville Girl Guides have organized a get-together/tree-planting
day at Emma Haswell’s farm/sanctuary Brightside. The tree-planting
at Brightside is a special occasion for local Girl Guides. Celebrating
100 years of operation, the combined Geeveston and Huonville
Girl Guides groups will each try to plant “100 trees for
100 years”. According to Ann Brittain, Huon District Girl
Guide Leader, the 200 hundred trees to be planted at Brightside,
mark a very special occasion. The guides’ enthusiasm for
tree-planting is part of their participation in the future of
the valley.
Huonville
In Huonville, the Huonville Land care group will host a tree-planting
event at the Flood Road site for the Year 5 class from Huonville
Primary School. The morning of fun begins at 10am with planting,
and finishes at 12pm, after hand-washing (of course!) drinks,
lamingtons and jam drops. Happy National Tree-Planting Day!
- Merlene Abbott
- How
healthy are your children's teeth?
- A federal government report
on the dental health of Australian children has claimed that
nearly half of Australia’s six-year-olds have a history
of decay in their baby teeth.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, Dental
health of Australia’s teenagers and pre-teen children: The
Child Dental Health Survey, Australia 2003-04, provides national
information on the dental health of children attending school
dental services in Australia.
The research examined the dental data of 250,000 children from
all states and territories except New South Wales. The report
showed that decay is relatively common in children and teenagers
within Australia.
The report claims that nearly half (48.9%) of six-year-old children
had a history of decay in the deciduous (‘baby’) teeth,
that is, one or more decayed, missing and filled deciduous teeth.
On average, six-year-old children had two decayed, missing and
filled baby teeth per child.
Reasons for the high figures include increased intake of acidic
foods, including soft drinks, which dissolve the teeth. Fruit
juice and soft drinks are high in sugar and acidity. These sugars
eat away at the enamel that protects teeth, causing tooth decay.
Inadequate brushing was also a major risk factor for decay. Other
reasons may include: changes in dietary patterns including less
drinking of fluoridated mains water, increased snacking, especially
on processed foods with high sugar and carbohydrate content,
an increase in sweetened beverage consumption (soft drinks, sports
drinks, and acidic juices in baby bottles and sippy cups), lower
consumption of fruits and vegetables and changes in school dental
programs.
To promote oral care during Dental health Week, 1-7th August,
the Huon Valley Council’s Children’s Services Unit
will be holding a Community Playgroup session about how to prevent
tooth decay in children. The session will be on Tuesday 3rd August
from 9.30 at Children’s Services, 91-93 Main Road, Huonville.
As part of the session, the Council in association with the Huon
Community Health Centre has provided the following guidelines
for how to care for your children’s teeth.
As parents we all want the best for our children, but our children
rely on our choices of food and drink and oral hygiene habits.
Tooth decay is preventable
Parents/carers should be good role models and have healthy gums
and teeth by brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. This
reduces the risk of transmission of decay-producing bacteria
to baby and children. Decay-producing bacteria in the mouth use
sugars from the diet to produce acids that attack the outer layer
of the teeth and cause cavities. Eating sugary snacks and foods
promotes more acid attacks, and a higher likelihood of decay.
Bacteria + sugars + acid + teeth = decay
Early childhood decay is a form of tooth decay that develops
when sugars (present in milk, cordial, honey and other liquids
and foods) are in the mouth often and for long periods. It can
start after the first tooth appears. Prolonged comfort sucking
increases the risk of early childhood decay. Remember every child
can have a sparkling and healthy smile!
Tips to avoid early childhood tooth decay
• Brush your baby’s teeth gently morning and night
with a soft, small brush as soon as the teeth appear.
• Use a pea-sized amount of low fluoride toothpaste from
18 months.
• Encourage baby to spit and not rinse. This helps the fluoride
strengthen the teeth.
• Introduce a cup from 6-8 months and wean from the bottle
at 12 months.
• Bottles are for water, milk or formula.
• Sippy cups and bottles are for water.
• Try to wean to a cup from 12 months. Tap water (boiled
until 12 months) is the best drink in-between meals and at bedtime.
• Offer tooth-friendly foods and liquids for snacks and
meals from six months.
• Offer sugary foods at mealtimes.
• Have your child rinse out with water if brushing is not
possible. This should not replace cleaning morning and night.
• Lift the lip every month to look for early signs of tooth
decay. Check around the top of the tooth for signs of whitish
lines along the gum line, or brown or yellow spots that don’t
brush off. If you see any, seek dental advice immediately.
• Don’t put Nutella, honey or any sweet food on a dummy.
• Limit juice to once a day at a meal time. One cup of orange
juice may contain up to four oranges.
• Offer fresh fruit and vegetables.
• The frequency of sugars in the diet (snacking on sugary
foods continually) will be more damaging to teeth than the quantity.
• It’s much better to eat biscuits or lollies all at
once and then clean your teeth.
• Treats don’t mean sweets. Try stickers or small toys
or read a book.
• Take your child for a dental visit by their first birthday.
Talk about the trip in a relaxed manner, and avoid talking of
negative experiences. The dental professional will make your
child’s visit a fun and positive experience that will be
informative and helpful for the parent.
If you would like learn more about how to best care for your
children’s teeth then join Moriah and Tilly the Cow from
Huon Community Health Centre at the Huon Valley Council’s
Community Playgroup. The Playgroup session runs from 9.30am -11.30am
Tuesday 3rd August. Everybody is welcome.
- Huon Valley Council
Media Release
Welcome
to the Classifieds monthly Garden Guide
- It’s easy to get confused
about gardening if you’ve just started doing it and you
never had a dad who spent all his weekends out in the back yard.
When I first moved to the Huon Valley, I asked my best friend
what I should be planting and when. She promptly gave me a moon
planting calendar. “I think I’ll skip it”, I
said, “I want to plant by sunlight.” “No, not
moonlight,” she replied, “This tells you on what day
of the moon cycle you should plant.” For many years this
calendar lived proudly on the toilet door while I painfully tried
to follow its mysterious instructions. These days, I store the
moon calendar where I store my moon crystals, my table of lunar
influences on my horoscope and my other moon paraphernalia –
shredded in the compost pile with the vegie scraps – so
it will one day be of real benefit to my vegie garden. (Don’t
panic – the moon calendar was printed with natural dyes,
so I’m sure the compost was OK).
And it got worse, because next this girlfriend gave me The Gardener’s
Book of Companion Planting, telling me how my cabbages “love”
my carrots and how they “hate” my zucchini. Love?
Hate? It seemed there was more fear and loathing happening
in my vegie garden than in a full series of Desperate Housewives.
Next she gave me a Jacqui French gardening book. I followed Jacqui’s
advice and planted neat little rows of lettuces and carrots (it
was June). Watching those brave little lettuces slowly freeze
to death made me think that maybe I needed a new best friend
to give me advice. These days I love Jacqui French, but if
I wanted to learn how to garden in Southern Tasmania, I wouldn’t
read a book by someone who lives in a much warmer climate. That
would be like reading a book by Albert Einstein, to help you
figure out how to programme the DVD player. The guy knows his
stuff, but is it really the stuff you need to know?
I realised I needed help, so I turned to local vegie growers
here in Tasmania, with dirt under their fingernails and generations
of feeding families from their gardens. I turned to the gurus
of Tasmanian gardening - Peter Cundall, Steve Solomon and Paul
Healy. Slowly I learned how to grow a garden.
And so now here at the Classifieds we are pleased to introduce
our own contribution to your gardening. At the end of each month
we’ll give you a friendly reminder of what tasks lie ahead
in the garden over the next month. We’ll tell you what
we’ve tried, what worked and what hasn’t worked. We’ll
give you a few laughs as well, because let’s face it, gardening
can be more heart breaking than a 14-year-old’s first romance.
And we want to hear from you. After all, the Huon and Channel
have more expert gardeners per square kilometre than Melbourne
has cafes. So please, write in and tell us if you agree with
our suggestions, if you have other ideas or just want to share
your own gardening stories.
Naomi Edwards
-
- Garden Guide - August
- Some years ago I went to buy
seed potato. At the first shop I was told “Sorry you’re
at least two weeks early for seed potato, come back in a fortnight”.
I rushed up the street only to be told, “Sorry we’ve
sold out of seed potato for the year. You should have come much
earlier”. Totally confused, I went to the local hardware
shop and pleaded with them to tell me when I should be planting
my early potatoes. “Sorry, we don’t have any potato
seed in stock,” they replied, “but when we do, that’s
the right time to plant them”.
So when the heck is the right time to plant your early potatoes?
The answer is, unfortunately, it depends. You can plant them
from early July if you have somewhere warm and dry-ish (i.e.
well drained and North facing) so they won’t rot when (and
if) the winter rains come. But the best time to get them in
is August. I stagger my pink eye plantings from July through
to the end of August so that if the early ones get nipped by
frost I can still have some for Christmas.
If you haven’t got them in already, August is your very
last chance for broad beans (again, make sure their feet won’t
get too wet). Planting broad beans this late makes them very
susceptible to rust and mould later on. Some people plant peas
in late August but generally peas planted a bit later catch up
with the earlier plantings and are stronger.
Much as I love potatoes and peas, my favourite August garden
job is sowing all my heat-loving seeds into little pots. After
about 20th August, you can start your tomatoes, capsicums, pumpkins,
zucchinis and chillis off from seed on the kitchen window sill.
Yes, this may involve a full kitchen renovation to achieve sufficient
window space, or alternatively you can use every window ledge
in the house, hot water cupboards, underwear drawers, bath-tubs
and your room-mate’s bed (not recommended). Just don’t
forget where you’ve put them – last year I forgot about
the tomatoes I had germinating on the high shelf in the hot water
cupboard and ended up with one foot high translucent space aliens,
not tomato seedlings.
Naomi Edwards
-
- August Tasks
- Still time to plant rhubarb,
strawberry runners, raspberry canes and of course, all your bare-rooted
deciduous trees can go in now, but get them in well before the
end of the month.
Plant pink eyes and peas.
- From August 20th – start
heat lovers (tomatoes, capsicums, pumpkins, zucchinis and chillis)
off indoors.
Keep the feed up to your animals if they are starting to get
hungry as the grass runs out.
When the buds on your peaches and nectarines start swelling (normally
in late August), give them a spray with a
Bordeaux or Burgundy mix to prevent leaf curl.
-
- Tip of the month - stonefruit
sprays
- Just before bud burst peaches
and nectarines can be sprayed with one of the following mixtures
to help prevent leaf curl and brown rot. Always use plastic containers
for mixing. Although these sprays have been used for many years
by gardeners please use carefully to protect yourself and the
environment. The use of warm water will help the materials dissolve
quicker.
Bordeaux mixture
To make 5 litres of spray dissolve 50gm of builders lime in 2.5
litres of water. Dissolve 50gm of copper sulphate in a second
2.5 litres of water. Keeping the lime mix agitated pour it into
the copper sulphate solution and mix together. Keep the mix well
agitated to prevent settling. Use within a couple of days.
Burgundy mixture
Is essentially the same as Bordeaux with washing soda substituted
for the lime.
-
- Hint of the month
Buy all your certified
seed potato now, even though you won’t plant the main crop
til September, because, yes, the stores do seem to run out very
early.
- Words
that last
- I was in my early twenties and
teaching in a small town on what was generally described as the
‘bald-headed prairies’ of Alberta, Canada, when US
Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was assassinated in June
1968. Brother John F Kennedy had been cut down just five years
earlier, and Dr Martin Luther King – clergyman, activist
and leader of the American Civil Rights movement – had been
shot and killed by an assassin two months before Robert. It was
an ugly, troubled time in the US with powerful racial tensions
running riot. Robert Kennedy, by then presidential candidate,
broke the news of the assassination of Martin Luther King just
an hour after the event when he arrived at Indianapolis airport
and, against the advice of his minders, addressed a highly agitated,
mainly coloured crowd awaiting his arrival. “It is not the
end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it’s
not the end of disorder,” he told them, prophetically, in
an address for which he is still remembered. Just 62 days later,
he too was assassinated.
From highs to lows
The day of his assassination produced some words I’ve remembered
equally well as those he had spoken – for different reasons
– for 40 plus years. “Somebody knows something, somebody
knows something about that family!” sniped a no holds barred
ultra-conservative in the staff room – someone who had moved
to backwoods Alberta from an all-white village of around 100
people in backwoods Nebraska, a short distance from the Republican
River. Maybe a sign of those times, it was an ugly insinuation
that suggested there was something very sinister about the Kennedy
family that was now being dealt with – perhaps even appropriately.
It was one of those emotive, irrational comments that people
might make when whatever reasoning they have deserts them, and
when an all-defeating ignorance has the last word. There was
no way of responding to such an outburst. I knew that any disagreement
with her comment would have had her instantly label me, a newly-arrived
stranger in the town, as ‘one of ‘them’. Such
were the times; witch-hunter Senator Eugene McCarthy had been
dead for less than ten years, but his spirit could sometimes
still be heard and felt in small-town North America.
Train of thought
Those words from the 1960s came back to me through a pretty circuitous
path – when I heard some miners from WA being asked on radio
what they thought of Julia Gillard – and if they would vote
for her. One after the other they said they couldn’t, but
no one could say why. Then one of them decided she was a ‘Pom’,
as he said, so you couldn’t vote for her. His mates enthusiastically
chimed in to agree with his ruling. Case closed. This lowbrow
interview was broadcast on radio; it must’ve been a slow
news day. I wonder how the interviewees would have reacted to
being informed – just for the record – that Tony Abbott
was actually born in the UK, too. And in London, not Wales.
Poor Julia: talk about the sins of the parents being visited
on their children! Just four years old when her struggling Welsh
family brought her here. That makes her more Australian than
I am – having arrived here from the northern hemisphere
– when I was a whole seven years old, and fiercely Australian
ever since.
But it wasn’t the ruling of the WA miners that took the
cake, so to speak. The doozey came later. Before Julia ever became
PM, I was told by a very English-spoken person at a social encounter
that “Julia needs elocution lessons” – at which
point I led with my mouth, firmly stating my preference for her
purposeful and controlled speech to anything that might train
her to properly enunciate ‘the rain in Spain falling mainly
in the plain.’ So why did I jump so readily to her rescue?
I think that on hearing that judgement I felt as protective and
insulted as Yabba did when the MCC was body-lining our Australian
cricketers. Yabba – Stephen Harold Gascoine – was the
Aussie legend whose voice used to thunder around the SCG in the
1930s. One memorable day when England captain Douglas Jardine
started swatting flies, Yabba riled by the injustice that was
dominating the ‘game’, counselled him from the Hill
to “Leave our flies alone, Jardine! They’re the only
friends you’ve got here!” And what riles me, re Julia,
is the trite commentary of those obsessed with the trivia of
hair, clothes – and accent. The sooner they get over it,
the better. Yabba would’ve given them one of his immortal
serves…
John Fleming
New
awards promote business excellence
New awards have been
launched to recognise business excellence in the Kingborough
municipality.
The inaugural 2010 Kingborough Business Excellence Awards are
an initiative of the Rotary Club of Kingston, in partnership
with the Kingborough Council and the Kingborough Community Enterprise
Centre.
Chairman of Kingston Rotary’s Vocational Service Committee,
Terry Warren, said the awards aim to promote economic growth
and employment in Kingborough.
“Kingborough has some 600 businesses in the municipality
and this number is expanding, reflecting our fast-growing population”,
Mr Warren said. “Rotary believes it is important to recognise
and encourage business excellence because this will promote a
vibrant local business community and drive further economic growth
in our municipality.”
The 2010 Kingborough Business Excellence Awards have five categories:
retail, primary industry, manufacturing, tourism, services (including
trades and community service).
Kingborough Mayor, Dr. Graham Bury, encouraged all businesses
with their principle place of business located in Kingborough,
to consider entering the awards.
“The awards are open to all businesses, large and small,
and provide an opportunity to gain recognition for innovative
practices and excellence in business leadership.” Mayor
Bury said.
“As well as recognising business achievements, council also
hopes that these awards will provide inspiration and role models
for other businesses. In addition, the awards will highlight
that Kingborough is an attractive place in which to establish
and grow a business.”
For further information and to obtain an entry form for the 2010
Kingborough Business Excellence Awards, please contact:
Terry Warren 0419 113 397 or David Cleary 0408 299 200 or download
an entry form from website: www.rotaryclubofkingston.org.
Entries close Friday 27th August. Winners will be announced on
Wednesday 6th October.
Do
you remember?
Until 60 years ago Australia
was Australia, if you grasp my meaning. It was a privilege to
live during that time. It was the time of ‘On a sheep’s
back.’ Aussie Man wore grey flannel trousers, and a white
open-neck shirt, carried a Gladstone bag containing the daily
paper and a bottle of beer, and rolled his own cigarettes. He
also owned a second-hand car, either a T Model or A Model Ford,
or a Chevrolet or even an old Jaguar. After a week of hard graft,
he could be found at the local footie ground supporting his team
before spending a few hours at the pub with his mates.
He never had to lock his car, in fact usually left the keys in
the ignition, that is if there was an ignition key. He never
locked the doors of his house.
Inevitable changes
Back then milk was delivered early morning, mostly in bulk to
a Billy can left on the front porch, as was the bread. There
were no super markets no huge shopping centres or malls, no bottle
shops. You purchased your grog across the bar at your local pub.
There was no Tote or TAB, only the SP Bookies, around the back
of the pub. And – heaven! – no television. Or even
poker machines. For entertainment there were the occasional wonderful
bush dances, the travelling boxing show or even the once-a-year
local show, or rodeo. On the minus side there was the six o’clock
swill at the pub, or the chook raffle, with said chook or joint
of meat, unfrozen and possible sitting on the bar all afternoon.
People smoked in eating places as well as in the cinemas, and
public transport was usually only the local taxi service. When
there were trains they were mainly either steam locomotives,
or evil smelling diesels engines. Heating in the carriages of
the country trains was a metal foot box full of sand which had
been baked in an oven. There were very few restaurants as we
know them today.
Change from a pound
But there were cafes, which served steak and chips and little
else. When it came time to fill up the tank on your old banger,
then the bloke at the service station would not only do this
for you with a smile and a chat, he would also check the oil
level and even the tyre pressures,
while you just sat in the car, discussing the weather, wool prices
or how Old Joe had recently caught a 12-pound trout in the pool
under the wooden bridge. And there was some change out of your
pound note. But all of the above has changed dramatically and
I wonder how many of you out there would love to return to those
times. For many reasons I know I would, but as the saying goes,
nothing is for ever.
More developments
Reading recently about another proposed shopping centre in
Kingston, it brought to mind just how different this area was
as recently as 15 years ago. It has many advantages, but there
are also many disadvantages, most of which affect our younger
generation. It does however have an enlightened and well managed
local council who together with local service clubs are doing
their best to address many of these issues. Both the astute planning
and the advent of these developments must have a very positive
effect for our young. There will be more jobs, and hopefully,
more reasons for them to stay a while longer on this beautiful
island before they inevitably spread their wings. In addition
other benefits will most definitely flow, such as an improved
transport and road system.
Mike Bowyer
Stand
steady in Kingston
Osteoporosis Tasmania
(incorporated under Arthritis Tasmania) announced today that
it will be hosting an information session on osteoporosis and
falls management in Kingston, as part of National Healthy Bones
Week.
Healthy Bones Week will run from 1st to 7th August nationwide.
To highlight the week a session will be held in Kingston to
educate people about Osteoporosis and to give them the knowledge
to help prevent falls in and around the home.
Osteoporosis is a very common condition in Australia, which affects
both men and women. It is estimated that one in two women and
one in three men aged over 60 will have an osteoporotic fracture.
Osteoporosis is a silent disease – there are no symptoms
until a bone breaks.
Jackie Slyp, Osteoporosis Tasmania Chief Executive Officer, said
“This is an excellent opportunity for people to learn more
about the condition and take a step towards taking some more
control over preventing it or managing it. This session will
be of interest to young and old. Many management strategies should
be employed from a very young age to ensure healthy bones later
in life.
We have been able to secure some excellent speakers for the day
including optometrist Derek Fails who will speak about vision
and fall prevention. We will also have physiotherapist Margaret
Mollison demonstrate the correct way to get back up again after
a fall.”
The session will be held on Wednesday 4th August at the Kingborough
Council Chambers. Entry is via gold coin donation. It is essential
that interested people ring and register with Arthritis Tasmania
on 1800 242 141 as numbers are limited. All participants receive
a free copy of the booklet Stop the Next Fracture. The session
will commence at 10am.
-
- Art and Abel Tasman
- “I’m going to show
you how well-raised we are in Lutjegast,” said Mark Kooistra
at a reception in his honour as winner of the Abel Tasman Art
Prize. Mark was expressing his thanks to the organising committee,
obviously very happy to be in Tasmania and keen to do his home
country, the Netherlands, his home-town, Lutjegast, and his family
proud. But his comment raised a smile or two, especially from
mothers who recognise the line: “Do your best. Make us proud.
Show them how well you’ve been brought up!” Indeed,
maybe even Abel Tasman’s mother farewelled her son thus
as he set off to discover the great South Land in 1642. Lutjegast
is the town in the municipality of Grootegast, Holland, where
Abel Tasman was born, and 2009 was the first time the ATAP has
been won by someone from this small town.
The Dutch connection
With many Dutch Tasmanians having settled in Kingston in the
early days of post-war migration to Australia, Kingborough and
Grootegast have enjoyed a long-standing sister-city relationship.
Those early migrants overcame many hardships, including homesickness,
and made a place for themselves in their new country where their
contribution has been enormous. At the same time, they’ve
managed to maintain links to the old country and build a friendship
between the old and the new that benefits both. While Abel Tasman
was sailing south, nearly four centuries ago, some of his countrymen
were back home creating a heritage of artworks in the Netherlands,
artists the like of Vermeer and Rembrandt. Tasman’s epic
voyage built for him a reputation as lasting and sound as those
of the artists back home. Ten years ago the Abel Tasman Art Prize
was conceived as a way of celebrating both the voyage to a new
world, and the art of the old world the Dutch migrants left behind
and the new one that welcomed them.
The competition
The ATAP is a collaboration between the Dutch Australian Society,
Kingborough Council and the Education Department. Every second
year it offers the opportunity for a young Tasmanian artist to
travel to Grootegast, fostering the links between Kingborough
and Grootegast and gaining an appreciation of Dutch culture and
the social and physical environment. And in alternate years,
a young artist from Holland enjoys the reverse: a chance to travel
to Kingborough, to learn about Australia, especially Tasmania,
and to enjoy the best experiences our municipality has to offer
in hospitality and sightseeing. Last year’s winner was Mark
Kooistra. His winning entry features a raven observing aborigines
by the light of fire, stars and moon. The aborigines are unaware
of the threat European settlement brings to their lives, but
at the same time the painting evokes a sense of exhilaration,
of new and wonderful opportunities in a new land.
Working to criteria
The Abel Tasman Art Prize is themed ‘Journeys’, highlighting
Tasman’s epic voyage into the unknown and symbolic of the
journeys, both physical and metaphorical, that ordinary people
may experience during their lifetime. The competition is open
to Year 11 and 12 students up to 20 years of age in southern
Tasmania who are capable of travelling overseas independently.
The artwork, which can be part of the student’s body of
work for pre-tertiary assessment, must be accompanied by an artist’s
statement of at least 250 words. Finalists are interviewed to
determine communication skills, capacity to interact with people
in the host country, the depth of awareness of historic and cultural
links between the Netherlands and Tasmania and an ability to
work to enhance these links. This year it’s Tasmania’s
turn to choose a prizewinner. The deadline for registration is
October 1st with work submitted in December, immediately following
completion of College assessment.
Mark’s programme
Mark is hosted by two families while in Kingborough and many
others are involved in making sure he has a good time. His activities
include air-walking, rock-climbing, mountain-bike riding; enjoying
Mt Wellington, Salamanca Market, a cruise on the Derwent and
the Bruny Island Cruise, courtesy of sponsor, Pennicott Wilderness
Journeys; visiting local artists, galleries and museums and,
of course, the Abel Tasman Monument. At his welcome reception
Mark did Lutjegast and his upbringing proud, and had lots to
look forward to. His farewell reception in August will be tinged
with the sadness of leaving new friends, but full of memories
of the trip of a lifetime for a 17-year old enjoying his first
overseas trip. There’s no doubt he would recommend the competition
to all young artists!
Judy Redeker
Visit www.kingborough.tas.gov.au - community and recreation.
Ask your art teacher for a brochure. Or contact Kingborough Council
on 6211 8200.
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