Another Winter Bushfire

On Saturday I noticed on the ‘Fires Near Me” app (an essential for rural living) there was a bush fire to the north and west of us in the foothills of the Budawang Ranges. It was in  rugged but not inaccessible country and both National Park and RFS firees were there. The word was the fire was ‘under control’.
On Tuesday night however the wind got up and by the next morning it was gale force from the north west gusting between 60 and 100km/hr.

The Mt. Kingiman Fire (as it became known) came howling out of the mountains towards the town of Ulladulla and its southern suburbs.
We could see smoke to our north but thankfully we were not in the direct path of the fire.
An emergency situation was declared and rural properties to our west plus the suburbs of Kings Point and Burrill Lake were ordered to evacuate. The fire was spotting kilometers ahead of itself into those suburbs. The town was filled with smoke.

So water bombing helicopters were in the air (how difficult flying conditions were in that wind?) and hundreds of Rural Fire Service volunteers were on the ground.
It was a nerve racking day.
By nightfall 1500ha (3750acres) had been burnt but there had been no loss of life or property. The RFS as usual did an amazing job.
The wind dropped overnight and allowed some containment.

But today winds are predicted to be moderate so some flare ups can be expected.
The drought has made New South Wales a tinderbox. The fire map shows how many are burning along the entire coast line.

The Mt. Kingiman Fire                             NSW Fire Map                                  

No rain is predicted for the near future so we will have to be continually on alert.
Update: 19/08/18
For two days the winds dropped which allowed firefighters to contain the fire and back burn.
However yesterday the winds got up again and we went into another emergency status.
The fire broke through containment lines and continued its journey to the coast.
Somehow it was again contained by the efforts of those on the ground and in the air.
But it came at a cost. Sadly one of the helicopters crashed killing the very experienced pilot.
Today is also predicted to be windy.
Unless we get rain soon then I think this will be the daily pattern.
So far the fire has burnt out 2200ha (5500 acres).

Exhausted Firefighter         Photo: J.Hanscombe, Milton Ulladulla Times

Update: 2/09/18
The fire is still smouldering but under control. The forecasted rain that would put the fire out has not materialised. Light ineffective showers have been the order of the day. The bushfire season has been officially declared a month early.
This summer could be nasty.

The Canberra Quilt Show 2018

click on any pic to enlarge

A Trip to the Canberra Quilt Show

Once again we travelled up over the Great Dividing Range and headed for Canberra and their annual Quilt Show (pics in upcoming post).
The drought is much worse on the highlands. Not a green blade of grass to be seen and dams dry. Roadkill, while normally bad on the Braidwood to Queanbeyan stretch, is now in plague proportions. Wombat and kangaroo carcasses litter the verge. The wild life are desperate for water too. You would have to be crazy to drive this road from dusk to dawn when those animals are active.
The show itself was well organised as usual with some very impressive work on display.
The co driver won a third prize in the open art quilt section.

I left her to her wanderings and headed to the Australian War Memorial.
I had found a World War 1 service medal in my mothers belongings with her mother’s brothers name inscribed on it and thought it a good idea to try and trace his history.
The AWM combines a shrine and a world-class museum.

The two rolls of honour walls in the cloisters, either side of the pool. contain the names of over 102000 who have lost their lives in the service of their country. The entire west wall lists the 66000 killed during WW1 so it was a daunting task to find his name as they are listed by battalion. A lady docent with an iPad with all the records asked if she could help and we soon located him.

Robert S. Spiller killed in action in France in 30th September 1918 a mere 6 weeks before the armistice and buried at the Bellicourt British Cemetery, Bellicourt, Picardie, France.

The roll shows the names only, not rank or other awards, as "all men are equal in death". Visiting relatives and friends insert poppies in the gaps between the bronze plaques, beside the names of those they wish to honour.
For Australia, the First World War remains the costliest conflict in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of whom 66000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.

After checking in at the Adina we met up with a friend for dinner at the Malaysian Rasa Sayang in suburban Dickson, Canberra’s Asian restaurant hub.
It was a great meal as usual. After some spring roll, curry puff and dim sim starters we got serious with beef rendang, pork baba, nasi goreng and har chong chicken.
Next morning the city was enveloped in dense fog (and -2C temp) so we took our time over breakfast before heading out. Bright sunshine finally welcomed us in Queanbeyan a few kilometres out of the capital.

We were soon back in Braidwood for a coffee and to purchase the world’s best lamingtons at the bakery.
Then it was back down the Clyde Mountain pass and home.

A Day of Excitement

It started out as a normal day.
Weather was very windy as predicted. This plus the extreme dry caused by the drought meant a bad fire day.
No one would be so stupid as to start a so called controlled burn would they?
Yes, the farmer a few blocks behind us did.
He was the one who caused the big bush fire we had in 2009.
We could see smoke rising over us but someone had already reported it.
This is never a good thing to see in our area.
The local rural fire brigade was soon on the job and had a couple of trucks up there to put the runaway fire out.
I talked to the fire chief on his way out. What he said about our neighbour is unprintable.
He is apparently an annual problem for them and being the descendant of one of the pioneer families in the area doesn’t think the law applies to him.
So settling down to an early bottle of wine to steady the nerves, I got a call from my adjoining neighbour.

Our cows were acting funny, had something surrounded, were very agitated and making lots of noise.
I went to investigate.
When they saw me, they came charging up and then turned and ran back to the original spot as much as to say “here, here!
There I found a very young, tiny and frightened baby kangaroo (a joey) trying to hide in the grass. It had obviously been abandoned by its mother.
So I wrapped it up in my jacket and brought it up to the house.
She (as it turned out to be) was a quivering wreck but after a hour’s nursing she quietened down.
Once a father, always a father!
The co driver called the native animal rescue service, WIRES, and they came a few hours later to pick her up.
The kangaroos are suffering from a lack of feed caused by the drought and have ‘invaded’ the more populated areas.
What happened to the mother we will never know but ‘our girl’ is now in safe hands.
She will be reared by the carer to a stage when she can be released back into the wild.

An Overnight Trip to Sydney

I had an early afternoon specialist doctor's appointment on the north side of Sydney so we decided to spend the night rather than drive home the same day. Its a 4+ hour drive each way from the south coast.
It turned out to be a foodie and quilt shop couple of days.
On the way up we stopped off at our favourite cafe, The Emporium, in Berry for coffee. Berry has been bypassed by a new highway section in the last few months and what a difference that has made. The town is much more relaxed with no trucks rumbling down the main street. Business people have not noticed any drop in clientele which is also good.

We lunched at Bloom in Mosman near the doctor's office. They had a new menu and for once I tried a vegetarian bowl which was excellent.

After the appointment, we drove through what seemed 500 sets of traffic lights to the northern beach suburb of Mona Vale. 
Traffic in Sydney and suburbs is horrendous!  
There is a quilt store there which the co driver had been told about and she was very happy with what she found.
Then it was back to North Sydney and our hotel, The McLaren. 
North Sydney is a business area over the harbour bridge from the Sydney CBD (downtown). It used to be full of grand houses, many of which have been knocked down and replaced by the Warringah Freeway and glass and metal skyscrapers. Luckily a few have been spared, our hotel being one, in street where there were many 'survivors'.

The hotel is a mixture of olde worlde charm and modern convenience. Rates are half that of those across the harbour. The co driver was put onto this place when travelling to Sydney with her quilt group. We got upgraded due to her patronage,
Dinner was at the Sakura which was excellent.
We like Japanese food and this menu had many new things to try.
We have tentative plans to visit Japan in January 2020 for the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival so are looking forward to immersing ourselves more in their food then. 

The next morning we headed back into the business district with throngs of people making their way to work and found a place for breakfast.
The Garage served great food and coffee and obviously catered for the business crowd.
The service was fast and efficient. 
We noticed that people in the city walked twice as fast as us and most had heads down looking at phones or are tuning out the world with headphones. 
Nobody smiles much in contrast to those in our little town. Makes us glad we live where we live
Then it was home, again via Berry where we shopped for wine, books and more quilt stuff.
Hopefully we don't have to go to Sydney again until next year when we head to the airport for our USA trip.
Great to be back!

Book Reviews July 2018

I noticed there have been no book reviews on my blog for over a year.
This doesn’t mean I have stopped reading, just slowed down a little.
But we had a recent week’s Internet outage (thanks a lot, Telstra!) and quite a few hours sitting in airports which ramped up the reading activity considerably.
Here are a few of the recent reads, a few of which had been added to our Kindle list by the co driver.
The Finding Billy Battles trilogy continues with the second installment, The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles.
It's 1894 and Billy, mourning the loss of his wife, has left the USA and is heading for the Far East.
After visiting Hawaii, fending off pirates and meeting a very mysterious German baroness who subsequently becomes part of his life, he gets involved in the beginnings of the French Indochina conflict (that decades later would become the Vietnam War), fights in the Spanish-American War in the Philippines and the resultant Philippine-American War when the USA refused to recognize the nascent First Philippine Republic.
Then in Europe with 'his' baroness, he becomes involved in the German plot to invade the USA.

I like historical fiction novels especially those written about events that I know very little about.
This is one.
Written in a rollicking and at times humorous style this is a 'can't put down' read especially if one suspends reality for a while.
I am really looking forward to Part 3 which has already been published.
Highly recommended!
The Passage of Love by award winning Australian author Alex Miller falls into the autofiction genre ie. a memoir written in the style of a novel.
This is the story of Robert Crofts (Miller) who moves from a northern Queensland cattle station to 1950s Melbourne (my home town in that era) with desire to become a writer. Here he experiences all the pitfalls of an innocent in a big city and ends up marrying a complete mismatch in Lena.
With things not working out for them, their solution seems to be to move.
And they do. Often!

From suburban Melbourne to a sterile Canberra, to London, to pre-gentrified Leichhardt an inner suburb of Sydney and finally to a remote run down farm outside Braidwood (just up the road from where we live.)
Miller has said “The book is about a tormented relationship, magnified by the bonds of marriage, that neither of us understood. Friendship suited us better."
I found this an enjoyable read (despite the 600 pages) about complex relationships which was enhanced by knowing so many of the places where the story took place.
Fire and Fury really needs no introduction.
It was probably the first book about the Trump White House and was the subject of many interviews, TV news show discussions and literary critiques.

All I can say is if only 50% of what is written here is true, then the groundwork for 4 years of chaos has been laid.
How the USA could have elected a lying, incompetent, misogynistic, sexist, racist and six times bankrupt buffoon as President is beyond me.
But sadly for the world it did.
Much of this book is now old news but it is still compulsive reading. Whether or not you want to throw the book at a wall more often than not probably depends your political leanings.
Luckily I had the Kindle edition so the wall was spared.
Hopefully Robert Mueller will be able to stop all this nonsense sooner rather than later.
The Secret Wife is another historical fiction.
This one is about the Russian Revolution and the demise of the Romanovs and the rise of Lenin and communism.
However in this story it wasn't Anastasia who survived the royal family's massacre as is regularly suggested (she didn't), it was another daughter of Czar Nicholas, Tatiana.
She is the secret wife married to cavalry officer Dimitri who manages to extricate her from her fate then loses her.

This is a well written story that melds the fiction and fact seamlessly while at the same time giving a great insight into how and why the Revolution evolved and the horror that the royal family must have gone through while in captivity.
The hero is more than convincing.
The modern day tie in on how this story is uncovered by Dimitri's great grand daughter is a little flaky but doesn't distract too much from the tale.
I liked it.
Reckoning: A Memoir is by Australia's beloved TV and screen actress Magda Szubanski (she was Esme Hoggett in the movie Babe).
Born in the UK to a well off Polish father and poor Scottish mother, the family migrated to Australia where she grew up in outer suburban Melbourne.
The memoir centers on her relationship with her father. But this man who mowed the lawn, joined the local tennis club, wore shorts and long socks, wasn't your regular suburbanite.
He had been an assassin for the Polish resistance against the German occupation during WW11.

She also had to deal with her secret awareness of her sexuality at a very early age at a time when 'coming out' was always fraught with danger on personal relationship as well as career levels.
This is a very honest, open and, at times, moving autobiography even more so for many of us who only knew her as the affable 'clown' who appeared on our TV screens in classic comedies like Kath and Kim or who recently became a very public face of the Yes Campaign during the Same Sex Marriage debate.
One review I read said "a heartbreaking, joyous, traumatic, intimate and revelatory story".
Indeed it is!
Recommended.

Drought!

It has been very dry in our region for months.
Our creek has not run for a very long time. I have never seen it completely dry in the 30 years we have had the place.
Our dams are also low.
Pasture growth has been minimal over the warmer months and we are already hand feeding our cattle.
With lucerne (alfalfa) at $25 a bale this is an expensive exercise.
So now it's official, the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has revealed that the Shoalhaven is experiencing an ‘intense drought’, the most serious category.

In fact when the DPI released it’s June seasonal update this week, it showed that 99 per cent of New South Wales is experiencing drought, while 15 per cent is in the intense category.
An ‘intense drought’ is declared when ground cover is very low, soil moisture stores are exhausted and rainfall has been minimal over the past 6-12 months.

The official national climate outlook for July to September was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology on 28th June, with the chance of increased drier and warmer than average conditions predicted.
Not a good situation.

A Sad Trip

My oldest friend of 62 years had been fighting cancer for two years but word came the evening I got back from Port Macquarie that the battle was lost.
I flew up to Brisbane a day later to say good bye.
We had a good three hours together and he was with it enough to talk about our primary and secondary school days as well as some of our surfing exploits, ‘near misses’ in the stupid period of our late teen and young adult years, mutual dating fiascos and family life after settling down.
And even though I had left Brisbane for Sydney when 21, we still had maintained contact and visited one another.
He cracked a few jokes and was able to deliver few of his well known zingers.
His wife of around 45 years whom I had also known since primary school was with us as was a mutual school friend whom I hadn’t seen in a long time. Two of his three boys with their families dropped by.
We even managed a glass of wine to toast long term friendships.
Obviously not a happy time but it was a fitting and satisfying farewell and it was obvious he appreciated the efforts that friends were making to come see him.
I flew home with a heavy heart and he was gone the day after.
Lesson: Live each day to the fullest. You never know when life may be cut short.
Vale Bruce.

A Trip to Port Macquarie / Part 2

Day three started with another coffee in town before we headed 'down memory lane', also known as the Pacific Highway Freeway, an hour north to Crescent Head which is a famous long board point break.
One of the longest and most classic right hand point breaks in Australia the area was made a National Surfing Reserve in 2008.

We had visited there few times before in our younger surfing days but as usual the lack of surf was evident. We think we jinx the place. Despite this, it is a lovely to walk along the point up onto the headland. The water was so clear and blue and inviting despite the winter temperatures. A number of kids were spear fishing around the rocks on the southern side of the headland.

We had a beer in the tavern and a meat pie from the local bakery for old times sake. I have to say that this time we left the former in 'better condition' than we had in past visits.
On the way home we took the back road which is quite a rough gravel track through some very marginal cattle country.

But suddenly you are surrounded by tea tree plantations. This one was the 300ha (750 acre) Maria River Plantation and is part of huge plantings which stretch north almost to the Queensland border.
Total production of tea tree oil ranges between 70 and 100 tones a year.
Tea tree oil is distilled from one of the many species of the Australian native paper barks, Melaleuca alternifolia.
The final surprise of the trip was crossing the Hastings River by ferry back into Port Macquarie.
That night we had BBQ lamb with duck fat roasted potatoes and two bottles of excellent wine.
Next morning it was time to leave. The three days had gone all too fast.

The return trip was a mirror of the first except from Sydney to Moruya we flew to Merimbula way to the south to drop off passengers first, before heading back. This adds an hour to the trip. Strange scheduling but guess REX have the economics worked out.
Both landings were pretty 'exciting' as the weather had turned bad.
But all the pax must have been locals and used to it as there was not a peep as we bounced and swayed our way down to the runway before what seemed a controlled crash landing.

Stirls is off to the USA soon to visit his daughter and twin grand children. We should see him down this way in September. I am saving up all the two man farm jobs.

A Trip to Port Macquarie / Part 1

My old friend, Stirls, moved from the central coast (just north of Sydney) further north to Port Macquarie. This restricts our visits somewhat.

It's about a 700km drive from our place including the slow trek right across metropolitan Sydney which means probably 10 hours on the road and a night's stopover each way.

I looked at airfares from our small regional airport and found some relatively cheap ones with a connection in Sydney. I say 'relatively', as the cost was about half of a return ticket from Sydney to New York. Regional airlines with route monopolies charge like wounded bulls.

But it was much better than driving.

It's a pretty short trip for us to Moruya's tiny airport for the hour's flight with REX in a small Saab 340 turbo prop to Sydney. There are only three departures a day.
In Sydney it was a change of terminals, with an almost four hour wait (long lunch!), for another hour 's QANTAS Dash 8-400 flight to Port (as it is known by the locals). This was a pretty bouncy trip with no drinks served because of the turbulence.
Total trip time with the layover was 6 hours.

Port Macquarie was founded in 1821 as a penal settlement, replacing Newcastle to its south as the destination for convicts who had committed secondary crimes in New South Wales. It served that purpose until 1830.

Today with a population around 45000 the town boasts about its year round great climate, its 17 unspoilt beaches, a lush hinterland, a diverse variety of attractions including the Koala Hospital, a zoo, river cruises and the Hastings River wine region. Like our area it has become a popular sea change destination for retiring baby boomers. Housing is less than half the price of that in Sydney so you can sell your $2million shack there, buy/build a very comfortable home and live well off the difference.

The wine region combines high summer humidity and high rainfall, as well as being uncompromisingly warm. It can be affected by the tail end of tropical cyclones (hurricanes) moving down the coast from Queensland and by its proximity to the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean. A very difficult area to grow good quality grapes.....just like ours.

Its six wineries covering around 200ha produce mainly Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot and Chambourcin.
Our first day started with a coffee in blazing sunshine at the local marina before a walk along the town beach and the Hastings River breakwater where painting of the rock wall had obviously been encouraged.

Then it was a short road trip south along the coast to Laurieton and up North Brother mountain in the Dooragan National Park to the look out which has some spectacular views both north and south.

Lunch was at the Sandbar Cafe in North Haven. The selection of Malaysian food made choice difficult but I settled on beef rendang with roti, saffron rice and sambal beans which was delicious.
That evening we went to the Duck on Clarence for a few great craft beers before heading across the road for a good Thai dinner and a bottle of Clare Valley Riesling.
Then it was a late evening watching the Australian soccer team try to at least hold the French to a draw (after the latter had been awarded a very dubious penalty) in the World Cup.
Alas they lost 2-1 but were not disgraced.

Milton Quilt Show 2018

This weekend is the Queen's Birthday long weekend.
Nothing much royal related happens and the holiday is regarded as a good excuse for many to get away for a few days.
The south coast of NSW is a popular destination for those from Sydney and Canberra although I did notice that our local motel had vacancies which is unusual.
The biggest attraction for many years has been the Shoalhaven Coast wine region's winter festival.
Unfortunately this event has become the victim of its own popularity.

Last year an estimated 10,000 people turned up to the various wineries along the coast over the three days.
The (state) government stepped in (as they tend to do with most things these days) and wanted to enforce stringent traffic control and licensing regulations for the 2018 festival which the organizing committee couldn't comply with in the required time frame.
So the festival was cancelled.
From what we hear this did not stop the visitors coming however and most wineries enjoyed a brisk trade.

Not a lot was happening locally apart from the biennial Milton Quilt Show.
The co driver was heavily involved in this helping with the organization and working there over the two days. She also had a number of quilts on show.
The Saturday was really busy but not so much the Sunday.
Despite this, preliminary indications are that the show was a success.
Pics of the individual quilts will be available on the co driver's blog.
The local hospital auxiliary benefits from the proceeds of the show.

Wild Fermentation

The other night we opened a bottle of wild fermented New Zealand Pinot Noir from the Marlborough region.
It wasn't expensive and tasted excellent and quite different from most other Pinots in the same price bracket.
It had the depth of flavour and earthiness that is expected from more expensive wines of that variety.
Why would wild fermentation contribute to that difference?
Fermentation of wine is the conversion of sugar in grape juice by yeast into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

C₆H₁₂O₆ → 2 C₂H₅OH + 2 CO₂

Normally the yeast added to grape juice is a culture of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain.
Different S. cerevisiae yeast strains have differing physiological and fermentation properties which can have a direct impact on the flavour and complexity the finished wine.
Winemakers purchase one of the many strains of this yeast, rehydrate it and add it to the must.
They can be fairly certain that fermentation will proceed in a predictable way and produce a satisfactory result.
But there is another method ie. wild fermentation.
Wild or indigenous yeasts are the naturally existing yeasts in the air, on vegetation and on inert surfaces. Therefore they are found in the vineyard, in the winery and on winery equipment. 

So when grapes are picked and crushed and let sit, eventually they will ferment as the indigenous yeasts on the grapes and those hanging around the winery colonize and begin to consume the natural sugar in the must turning it into wine.

For this reason many winemakers add sulphur dioxide at this early stage of production to 'kill off" the wild yeasts or add a higher selected Saccharomyces yeast inoculum so they predominate in the fermentation process.

There are thousands of different types of wild yeast.

Many do not make good wine so they are broken down into two sub categories: wine yeasts and spoilage yeasts.

The most common wild yeasts found in the vineyard are from the genera Kloeckera, Candida and Pichia with Kloeckera apiculture being the most dominant species.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is actually quite rarely found in the vineyard or on the surface of freshly harvested wine grapes unless the winery frequently returns winery waste eg. pomace, to the vineyard.

A close up look at Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts

How do you know what yeast is there and whether it is good or bad?

Without a laboratory, there is no way of knowing what yeast is in the must.

So what are the dangers of wild yeast fermentation?
Many wild yeasts have a low resistance to alcohol (< 4%) so fermentation can become 'stuck'  ie. stops before all the sugar is consumed, producing flabby wines and unwanted residual sugar problems.
Many are slow to colonize meaning fermentation is delayed and the grape juice is left open to oxidation and infection by spoilage organisms.
Fermentation by-products can produce off aromas and esters which can taint the finished wine.
Then why do many wine makers proceed with wild fermentation?
Pretty much for some of same reasons considered as risks.
Delayed onset of fermentation allows longer contact with the grape skins developing better colour, depth of character and more body.
By-products can impart add complexity eg. as in our wine, earthiness.
By the time wild yeasts have reached their critical alcohol survival levels, they have already done their thing and any Saccharomyces present may have reached a level where they can take over and finish the fermentation. If not, monitoring of fermentation progress (by specific gravity based tests) allows the winemaker to inoculate the wine with the desired Saccharomyces strain at the right stage.
Wineries in the old world have been using this method for centuries with great success.
The new world is just catching on.
Is this something I might try?
All I can say is it's worth thinking about.

Autumn Grapevine Colour

During spring and summer the leaves are the engine room of the vine as it is where most of the food necessary for growth is manufactured. This process takes place in the numerous leaf cells containing chlorophyll.
It is chlorophyll which gives the leaves their green colour. This chemical absorbs energy from sunlight which it uses to transform carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates like sugars and starch.

Along with this green pigment are also yellow to orange pigments, carotenes and xanthophyll, which, for most of the year, are masked by the greater amounts of green.
In autumn, due to changes in the length of daylight and in temperature, the leaves cease the food-making process. The chlorophyll then breaks down, the green colour disappears and the yellow to orange colours become visible.
At the same time other chemical changes can occur forming additional colours through the development of red anthocyanin pigments.
Some mixtures give rise to the reddish and purplish colours while others express orange.
In other words all the different colours are due to the mixing of varying amounts of chlorophyll residue and other pigments in the leaf during the season.
At this time other changes are also taking place. At the point where the stem of the leaf is attached to the vine, a special layer of cells develops and gradually severs the tissues that support the leaf. The vine seals the cut, so that when the leaf is finally blown off by the wind or falls from its own weight it leaves behind a leaf scar.
This is called abscission. This is a fascinating and complex process. More information here.
With one or two exceptions, no Australian native plants change colour or lose their leaves in autumn so it is left to exotic plants to give us some colour other than green.
Grapevines are one of these.

Australian Currency

Way back in the 1960s Australia made the decision to change over from the imperial measurement system to metric (SI units)

This was done over a number of years from 1970 to 1988.

It was also decided we should first convert our currency from pounds, shillings and pence (£.s.d) to decimal.

The old system was a bit of a nightmare.

2 half pennies = 1 penny 

12 pennies = 1 shilling

20 shillings = 1 pound 

You imagine the time we wasted as school kids doing calculations based on this. 

There was some controversy when our obsessively royalist PM of the time, Robert Menzies, wanted to call the new unit of currency a Royal.
But sanity and the dollar prevailed.

The big day was 14th February 1966 and we were bombarded by various TV ads for many months before. That jingle never leaves your head!

But in the end all it meant was:
1¢ = 1d
$1 = 10 shillings.

$2 = £1

Both currencies were used in tandem for quite a while.

I was reminded of all this when I read the obituary of renowned gold and silversmith Stuart Devlin who was the designer of the original coins.

Below is a picture of the obverse side of them. The Queen's head is always on the other, even to this day.

They are (L to R) Australian coat of arms, feather tail glider, platypus, frilled neck lizard, lyre bird and echidna.

The 1¢ and 2¢ are no longer in circulation. The lowest denomination is now 5¢ and even this may be withdrawn in the not too distant future.

Paper currency started with the dollar and two dollar note progressing through 5,10, 20, 50 and 100.

The first two have been subsequently replaced by coins.

Stuart also designed the $1 coin which was released in 1984.

The $2 coin followed in1988.

Modern polymer banknotes were first developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and The University of Melbourne. They were first issued as currency in Australia during 1988. 

In 1996 Australia switched completely to polymer banknotes.
Many other countries have also gone completely polymer including Canada and New Zealand. The latest countries to introduce polymer banknotes into general circulation include the United Kingdom and Chile.
They are more durable than paper and have the ability to incorporate many security features.
Unfortunately even this hasn't stopped the forgers, just made it more difficult.
Our $50 note is a prime target.

A Trip to Melbourne \ Phillip Island, Wilson's Promontory and Home

Our destination for the day was Yanakie in the Gippsland region just outside Wilson's Promontory National Park so we had plenty of time for a small detour.
Leaving Melbourne on the M1 freeway we headed for Phillip Island. The island is about 100 km² (40 sq mi) in area and is connected to the mainland by a short bridge. It is a very popular holiday destination for Melbourne residents and tourist destination for those wanting to experience the Penguin Parade where the little penguins species come ashore in groups at dusk.
The beaches on the southern ocean side are surfing meccas and were designated Victoria’s first National Surfing Reserve
There is also a motor cycle Grand Prix and car racing circuit.
Cowes is the main town but being Victorian school holidays we avoided this area and, after excellent coffee at Smith's Beach with the surfing crowd, we ended up at the far end of the island at The Nobbies and Seal Rocks. This was surprisingly uncrowded so we enjoyed sitting in the warm sunshine looking out over the ocean. About 1.5 km offshore on a rocky outcrop is the largest colony of fur seals in Australia, up to 16,000.

Back on the mainland, and after lunch at Wonthaggi (ex coal mining town now site of a large wind farm), we stocked up on a couple of days supplies at Leongatha to tide us over for a two night stay at the very comfortable self catering Buln Buln cabins.

Next morning we drove into the Wilsons Promontory National Park which was first reserved in 1898.

It covers 505km² including offshore islands and is renowned for great views, wild beaches, cool fern gullies, spectacular rock formations and abundant wildlife.
It is home to more than 700 native plant species, 30 kinds of mammal (kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas, seals & bats) and approximately 180 species of birds.

First stop was Squeaky Beach so named for the quartz sand that squeaks when walked on. All our beaches at home squeak when you walk on them too so that is not such a big deal. But it's the rock formations and the wildness of the place that is so impressive.

Next stop was the Lilly Pilly Gully walk.This 6km round trip on a well formed track provides a glimpse into the Prom’s forested interior, traversing heathland, eucalypt forest ending up at boardwalk loop through warm temperate rain forest.

It was here we came across a small bronze plaque commemorating the life of an obviously young boy.
Later investigation established that Paddy Hildebrand was with his family on this walk back in 1987, ran ahead around a bend and was never seen again. Hundreds of people searched for 5 days and found nothing. One of Australia's missing persons mysteries. The whole story is here.

Then it was onto Tidal River the park's only settlement. This is where the holidays makers are and it was crowded. I used to come here as a child camping with my parents for holidays and then it was a remote destination. Not any more.
And this is about as far south on the Australian mainland you can go by road. It is a 3 day return walk to the tip of the Prom and the lighthouse from here.
 Heading back towards Yanakie we came across a pizza shack in a tiny settlement which was pretty new judging by the furniture and had a nice late lunch with many other hungry travellers.

Then it was chill out time on the veranda of the cabin looking over the rolling hills and gearing ourselves up for the long trip home.
Next day was an 8 hour drive to the fishing port of Eden with stops in Sale (coffee), Bairnsdale (quilt shop) and Orbost (lunch and quilt shop).  Much of the coastal highway, Route 1, is two lane, hilly and winding with just a few overtaking lanes. Big Double B trucks, petrol tankers and timber jinkers can hold you up doing 40km/hr up hills and 120km/hr down with no chance to get past. It makes for a slow trip. Little wonder there are so many accidents due to the frustration factor.
There are a lot of roadworks going on however and things will improve over the next years. This is the second major road between Sydney and Melbourne so it definitely needs upgrading.
An early dinner at the local pub and on the road at 7:30am next morning for the 3 hour trip home with a couple of stops for breakfast and a coffee.
It was a great trip but it was good to be back.