ABC Discussion deader than the Murray Darling

I didn't think it possible, but tonight we found something closer to death than the Murray- Darling River system. And that is the intellectual prowess and broadcasting technique of the ABC's "Australia Talks" host Paul Barclay.

The Program started with Rob Freeman, Chairman of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Paul kept referring to this body as a new and first-ever single Authority for the Murray-Darling. Had Paul never heard of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission? It was designed to do the same job as the mob Rob Freeman is heading, except that the previous group was headed by former National Farmer's Federation leader Dr. Wendy Craik. See, its all about politics, isn't it?
But how could Paul Barclay be so poorly briefed?

Paul, a personable chappie, had a nice chat with Professor Mike Young, a member of the now-discredited "Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists". Mike is a South Australian. Mike is an economist. And as such, his main argument to save the Murray-Darling Basin is to let the Free Market apply true value to the resource***. Bit of a problem, that, seeing as the very thing which keeps the River alive, the wetlands and riparian zones along the river, are getting drained of water, by the people with the Money to determine its "true value" - city people (and State Governments on their behalf) and multi-national Agribusinesses. How can the swamps and River Red Gums of the Murray-Darling Basin set the "true value" of the resource, Mike? He kept saying "we have to get the balance right" - referring to the task confronting Rob Freeman and his people at the MDBA. Look into Freeman's history, Mike, and wake up!

Immediately prior to Paul introducing Mike Young, Bernard Eddy rang in and outlined the nature of the problem along the Queensland Border, where the water from the Upper Basin fails to flow across the NSW Border, because foreign-owned Agribusinesses are refusing to release it until such time as Adelaide is about "one week short of running out of water". Paul threw the question to Mike Young, who said that in view of the drought, the basin is really dry, and most of "all that water which fell in Queensland" and which is flowing over the weir at St George will dry up in the parched soils of southern Queensland and northern NSW. Hardly any of it will even make it to the Menindee Weir". Paul kept cutting in and saying how dry those soils were. (Paul is not qualified to comment, and as Moderator, ought behave more professionally and not seek to answer the question himself, when clearly he knows little about the subject. His job as Moderator is surely to ask his guest to answer the question put to him, is it not?)

So it was that Mike Young tap danced his way through the Program, ably assisted by Paul Barclay's timely intervention whenever a question seemed likely to be in any way "difficult" for his guests.

For example, when one woman specifically asked about foreign investors holding large amounts of water in the Upper Basin, Paul cut her off with a facile comment about "not wanting to get bogged down in details". Pathetic. The Devil is in that detail, Paul - and you cut the caller off.

Let me lay this on the line to Paul Barclay - the problem in the Murray Darling Basin is not caused by drought - it is caused by over-allocation of the precious resources we have there. Sure, there is a drought. Yes, one of the recent years did have "the lowest inflow in the system on record". But who is reporting the Usage? It is the imbalance between inflows and usage which is the real problem.

Basically water usage rates (allocation) far exceed inflows. Usage simply has not been moderated to match the inflows. That is why the Eildon Weir on the Goulburn River, for example is sitting at 12% of capacity. And yet the Victorian Government is proposing to drain from it to supplement Melbourne's water.

When Mike was asked about that, his answer was that he had done the modelling, and if Melbourne did not take the water from the Goulburn River, the net result would be the transfer of jobs from Melbourne to South Australia (Adelaide and the Iron Triangle).

Quite an extraordinary answer, which reveals Mike Young's true "angle" on the whole Murray-Darling problem. Apparently the problem is not about water, but about jobs and about politics.

God help the Murray-Darling Basin if it is influenced by the dry-as-dust-economist's brain of Mike Young.

And what about the dead hand of the Moderator of this talk-back program? His interjections were ill-informed (its all about the drought, according to him). And he did not do his job as Moderator of the discussion:

• Bernard Eddy pointed out at the very beginning of the program that the answers we (Australians) need about the water reserves in the MDB had been prepared by the Land and Water Australia, but that body was being abolished (tomorrow, as it happens), and the results of their study are being suppressed by the Government. And that is happening, most likely on the basis of advice from Rob Freeman and Mike Young.
• What did Paul Barclay do to ensure that issue was followed up? Nothing!

For the record, Rob Freeman came to his present job, from South Australia. But he got his start in Queensland. Need one say any more? It is Queensland where the MDB problems start with over-allocation of water. The Queenslanders have written the book on favouritism, croneyism and sheer incompetence in administration of water. So, it is ironic that the one of the people Mike Young look to as potential saviours of the MDB is a former senior bureaucrat - out of Queensland.

• Before this appointment, Rob (Freeman) was Chief Executive of the South Australian Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation from September 2002. This role involved participation in many national and inter-jurisdictional committees.
• Formerly South Australian Commissioner and Deputy President of the Murray–Darling Basin Commission, Rob also chaired the national Natural Resources Policy and Programs Committee.
• From 1998 to 2002 Rob was Deputy Director General of the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
• Source: MDBA - Governance - Chief Executive
  

*** I refer you to Mike Young and Jim McColl's Water Droplet article #10

Pricing your water: Is there a smart way to do it?

• "Economic efficiency when water is scarce

  "When it unexpectedly gets or stays dry, water supplies have to be rationed. There are two ways to ration water use. One way is to introduce water restrictions which impose indirect costs on many people. The other way is to increase the price."
  
• Source: "Water Droplet" - No. 10
  

Protea flower parts - in detail.

Several weeks ago, I showed some lovely flowers of a popular hybrid Protea "Pink Ice". Here is the primary parent plant of that hybrid.

According to the Planzafrica.com website, Protea neriifolia was the first protea ever to be mentioned in botanical literature. It is a South African plant (of course). It was first discovered in 1597, and was apparently was first illustrated in 1605. It was described and named in 1810. The name refers to the similarity of the leaves to that of the European plant - the Oleander (Nerium sp)Today it is my intention to examine the details of these spectacular flowers. Of course, in Australia, we have many plants (Waratahs and Banksias and Grevilleas to name the most familiar) which the botanists recognised easily as related to the Proteas - hence they are referred to as members of the Proteaceae family. However, to the untrained eye, the differences are more apparent than the similarities. I wish to concentrate tonight on the similarity of flower structure (with some of our flowers).

When I started this investigation, the first thing I felt was "odd" was the tuft of little "feathered tips" in the centre of the Protea flower. Then I decided to pull out several of these flowers to examine them in detail. Two things happened. The flowers broke off half-way down, with a long thin tube still protruding down to the base of the "flower" (the entire head, I mean). Clearly that would have been the tube through which the pollen grains grow down to the ovary at the base of the flower. The second thing was that my fingers were suddenly covered with pollen, which surprised me, for I had been looking to see where the pollen grains originated, but had not seen them. At least I knew they were there somewhere. Time to look more closely.
Firstly you need to understand that what we see as a flower in in fact a composite flower structure - which is composed of many flowers grouped together inside a set of surrounding bracts. It is the bracts which we see as the main part of the flower - but in botanical terms, the bracts are mere "window dressing". They simply serve to protect the true flowers as they develop.

A Protea flower - an individual "true" flower I mean - does not have separate sepals and petals. Instead, there is one set of four perianth segments (called tepals). Initially these parts are fused. As the flower matures, it ruptures open.

Following up from my first experiment to pluck out a flower (which did not work), I realised I had to break open an entire flower head (removing some of the external bracts), to approach the many flowers from the side. That worked, and in the next image, you can see the "feathered tips" of the tepals, close up.

You can also see the lipstick pink tips of what are similar to our Australian proteaceae flowers - the "pollen presenters". Technically, this is the tip of the style. It is the female organ of the flower, but it acts as the male part of the flower temporarily. That will be familiar to readers of this blog - for it is the secret to their pollination.
This is one of the things which the Proteas have in common with our own Proteaceae flowers, although our plants tend to have a curved flower, and a style "pops out" to the side, under pressure.
This Protea style does not to have that curved shape - just a slight bend near the tip, visible here, just below the red coloured section.
The four tepals are fused into a long narrow tube with a closed cup at the top. (That is the bit which has that feathered external appearance). Inside the perianth, the four stamens are fused to the tepals, in such a way that the anthers are enclosed within the cup. The pistil initially passes along the inside of the perianth tube, so that the stigma too is enclosed within the cup. As the flower develops, the pistil grows rapidly. Since the stigma is trapped, the style must bend in order to elongate, and eventually it bends so far that it splits the perianth along one seam. The style continues to grow until anthesis, when the nectaries begin to produce nectar. Just before anthesis, the anthers release their pollen, depositing it onto the stigma. At this time, the perianth splits apart, and the pistil is released to spring more or less upright. Then the tip of the pistil (the "stigma") functions (for several days usually) as the "pollen presenter". Hopefully a suitable pollinator will visit the flower to get the nectar, and will be dusted with pollen. Once the pollen dries, it falls off the tip of the stigma, which then assumes its true female (receptive) function.

You can see the pollen on the Stigma in this image.
(Click to enlarge)

The male organs (anthers) of Proteas are also distinctive. The anthers do not have long stalks (filaments), but are joined directly to near the top of the tepals. Unlike most other plants, the anthers shed their pollen onto the topmost portion of the style just before the flowers open. Because the style presents the pollen in a position suitable for placing onto any visitor, the top-most portion of the style is called the pollen-presenter. The presence of a pollen-presenter is another diagnostic feature for Proteas. It allows the pollen to be "dusted" onto the natural pollinating vector, be it an insect, a bird or a South African mouse (or Honey Possum for Australian members of the Proteaceae).
Note the split in the perianth. That is where the pollen came from. In this regard it is functionally similar to the Waratah and Grevillea flowers. Click to enlarge the image above to see what I mean.

Four nectaries are apparently situated at the base of the ovary, between the ovary and the tepal bases. These secrete nectar to attract pollinators. Source: Protea Atlas Project

One thing which I have not managed to understand yet is why our Proteaceae flowers split into 4 separate perianth segments, but this Protea seems to keep its anthers closed within a single tube - even after the style has split out. From this reference document, it is obvious that many South African Proteaceae do behave in ways more similar to our Waratahs and Grevilleas (than this Protea does).
.

Fungi of Nowra

I have not had a chance to review these fungi yet - but I have decided to publish them - just to share with you the beauty of these creatures.

DJW Note: I have edited in comments from other Nature Bloggers - from JL, who publishes "Fungi of Great Western" and Gaye from the Hunter, who publishes "Australian Fungi - a Blog". These valuable contributions are shown in green.

It was a damp day on Sunday, at Nowra, and the fungi were at peak form. Some are unusual. Their colours were totally vibrant.
This is the same species, I believe as the silver one above. These fungi had coarse, fawn-coloured gills.
Gaye advises: "Cortinarius (I am not sure of the species - there a few bluish Cortinarius)"

This is a tiny Mycena type of fungus.
I love these miniature Umbrellas.

This is a small, coarse-gilled fungus, which is growing on wood.
JL advised: I've also photographed the 4th one (growing on wood)
but it remains unidentified.
This one is also growing on wood,
but the stem grows out horizontally.
This is a ground-living fungus, with a most unusual olive tone.
The cap is raised in the middle,
whereas many of the others have recessed centres.
Ah, the joys of co-operative Nature Blogging.
JL and Gaye agree that this
beautiful fungus is Dermocybe austroveneta.
Not keen on the colloquial name Gaye offered - Green Skinhead.
By contrast, this luscious pink one is recessed.
This small fungus grows on very fine dead twigs of Grey Myrtle.
There is no stem, but the caps are pendant,
suspended from a centre point above the middle of the fungus.
I have seen these illustrated in books,
but I have not yet had the chance to look them up.
Gaye came up trumps here.
Not only a name, but a link to one of her posts.
Anthracophyllum archeri (Orange Fan)
As soon as I saw this little thing out in the bush,
I knew I had read about it it somewhere. Now I know where.
I believe this to be a form of Slime Mould,
but it is possible that it is simply a miniature fungus
growing on something like some animal dung.
My money is on the Slime Mould.
Other money is on a tiny fungus attacking another fungus.
Gaye suggested: a parasitic fungus that attacks mainly gilled fungi - probably a Spinellus species of the family Zygomycete.
Finally, the most unusual of all.
These are tiny little salmon pink "fingers" about a 35 mm high,
growing out of the ground.
They were in a very wet gully in a sandstone creek
with rainforest surrounding it.
There was a suggestion that these are a form of "coral fungi"
I reserve my judgement.
Well, the experts all agree - thanks ladies.
It is a "coral fungus".
Clavaria species, possibly C. corallinorosacea (or C. miniata).
Bizarre shapes and forms.

South Coast Orchids - at Winter Solstice

On Sunday I went with Alan Stephenson and a small group of members of the Australasian Native Orchid Society to search for Orchids in the Nowra area. Alan had already been out to locate plants worth while showing to us, but these things are so small, that one has to "find them" every time - even if you know they are within 5 metres of you.

I was very pleased to find this particular plant of Acianthus fornicatus.
The dorsal sepal is quite broad, and hooded. The flowers are nearly transparent, which as you can see makes them hard to photograph, for all the reflections the flower surface generates.

Here is the closely related plant - Acianthus exsertus. Its stem is purplish, and the flowers have more red than the previous species. More significantly, the flower has a narrower shape. The dorsal sepal is held more upright
(though this does vary with the stage of development of the flower).
The column on this species is much more exposed
(As you can see above, A. fornicatus has the column nearly covered by the hooded dorsal sepal).Here is a familiar Greenhood - the Cobra Greenhood
Diplodium grandiflorum.
This is a lovely flower which I always enjoy seeing.In contrast with the Greenhood above, which is relatively tall, these next group are "Helmet Orchids" - tiny ground-hugging plants.
Corybas aconitiflorus.
The flowers are completely "hooded" over, with their opening approachable only from the underside. These plants are pollinated by fungus gnats (tiny flies), which tend to hang out low down (where the fungi grow).Here is a colony of these plants.
There is great variation in the amount of red amongst these flowers.
Here is a related plant - another "Helmet Orchid".
This species holds its flower much more open to the air.
It also has a fringe around the opening in the flower.
It is these differences which separate the Corysanthes from the Corybas genus (under the new classifications).
This plant is now called Corysanthes pruinosa

Flowers of the Winter Solstice

In Robertson, we have a pretty mild winter. Certainly much more mild than I grew up with in Canberra. However, it is cold enough for our plants to mark the change of seasons.

One difference though is with Camellias.

In Canberra, Camellias were spring flowers - with the exception of the Sasanquas, which flowered in late autumn, and in winter and then through into Spring. But the larger flowered Camellias were definitely spring flowers (in Canberra).

Here in Robertson, most of my Camellias are now in flower - on Mid-winter's Day (the Winter Solstice). (I apologise that this posting is two days late - but the photos were taken on the right day.)

I love this old fashioned large Camellia. In the books it is referred to as red,. but it is a Camellia which is affected by the soil. On our rich red basalt soils, its red pigment is tinted with blue, and as the flower ages, it goes almost purple. Obviously you can see the blue venation in the flower. Blue on red gives purple. It is not a pure colour, I agree, but I really like this effect anyway. The variety name is "Dona Herzilia de Freitas Magalhaes" (and this is taken from a Camellia catelogue, which acknowledges several variant spelling exist, but it insists this is the correct spelling).

Camellia japonica "Dona Herzilia de Freitas Magalhaes"
Click on the flower to see it in detail.

This is Camellia "Brian" a cross between a large-flowered Reticulata Camellia and C. saluensis variety. Thus, according to traditional naming patterns, it is known as a "Williamsii hybrid" (after the first British nurseryman to popularise the saluensis varieties). The pink in these Williamsii hybrids is generally tinged with blue (or "fuchsine" as the books say). It is a colour I love, and many of my Camellias have this colour. I tend to pass over "baby pink" Camellias, but I keep coming back to flowers which carry this particular tone.

This is "Chansonette", which is a rosette shaped flower in the Sasanqua group, (or is it C. vernalis?). You tell me.
Unfortunately, I appear to have lost the name of this variety. I like its poached egg appearance, and the purity of the white.
For contrast, here is a flower which I recall fondly from my father's garden - a dark striped form of the common Stylosa Iris. This flower has been nibbled already (on its second night) for snails "will crawl over broken glass" to eat these flowers when fresh. Snails have no legs, obviously, with which to crawl. However, I do like that old fashioned expression. Damaged flower or not, I love the colour combination in these classic winter flowers.

Public awareness of water conservation targets

The people of Canberra have been well used to water restrictions, for many years now.

Unlike the Governments of NSW and Victoria, the ACT Government took the people into their confidence, and allowed them to share a sense of pride of achieving low water usage targets. That worked much better than NSW, where the Government panicked prior to the 2007 election, and signed up for a totally un-necessary Desalination Plant, costing us more than 2 billion dollars (and that is just the "published, quoted" price. Who knows what the real cost will turn out to be before it is finished.

I was in Canberra just after the January 2003 fires, which was the peak of their drought. People took it as a matter of civic pride to have a dead lawn. Some went overboard and "dobbed in" their neighbours for so-called illegal watering. These people were quickly dubbed the "Water Nazis". However, six years on the mobile signs are still flashing their message to commuters on the main arterial roads around Canberra. Meanwhile water recycling (draining bath-water onto the front lawn, etc) is still commonplace in Canberra. People feel proud of their kids learning how to conserve water, and more importantly, how to not waste it.

What's wrong with that?

Incidentally, Canberra is a much drier city than Melbourne (normally) but they have a target of 105ML per person per day. Melbourne's target is 155 ML. What's the problem with Melbourne people? Are they 50% dirtier than Canberrans that they need so much more water?

In reality, the actual levels, (in winter admittedly) are well under the target. This was taken on 11 June, so it reports the per person water consumption for 10 June 2009.

Dam levels are published daily, on the main roads - for all the world to see.

Note that with the dam levels holding at 43 per cent, the Canberrans are still being held at Level 3 restrictions - instead of retuning to the traditional wasteful levels of previous years.
Good on them.

This is something which I believe the ACT has managed well.

There are many other things they do with which I do not agree.

Let's give credit where credit is due.

****** ****** ******
The ABC Radio local news service and the Sydney Daily Telegraph report that Sydney Water Restrictions have been eased.

The new rules will also take effect from midnight.

"The community has responded tremendously during the drought to save every drop," Mr Costa said.

"These few simple rules reinforce the importance of using water responsibly and minimising waste. It gives people more flexibility to maintain their gardens and manage water around the home," he said.

Under the old regime, various levels of restrictions were introduced to cut back water usage as dam levels fell.

Over the past five years, Sydney, Illawarra and Blue Mountains residents were forced to live with increasingly tougher restrictions.

Under the existing Level 3 restrictions, hand-held watering could only be done on Wednesdays and Sundays before 10am and after 4pm.

Watering systems and sprinklers were banned entirely.

The new rules allow for the hand-held hoses, sprinklers and watering systems to be used on gardens daily, but in the same time periods.

Children will also be allowed to play under sprinklers on hot days.

Under the old restrictions, businesses such as nurseries and landscape gardeners were required to obtain exemptions for water use. They no longer have to seek them.

Automatic exemptions will also apply to market gardeners, bowling greens, cricket wickets, golf tees and croquet, hockey, tennis and horse-racing surfaces.

*****

Sydney Water's website does not carry this information.

Typical for them to have outdated information on their website.

*****

Current restrictions are now:

• Hand-held hosing of lawns and gardens and drip irrigation is allowed only on Wednesdays and Sundays before 10 am and after 4 pm
• Hosing of vehicles at residential premises is permitted only with a trigger nozzle or high-pressure water cleaning equipment (to a maximum of 10L/minute)
• Hosing residential building structures including windows, walls and gutters is allowed using a hose with a trigger nozzle or high-pressure water cleaning equipment (to a maximum of 10L/minute)
• No hosing of hard surfaces such as paths or driveways at any time
• No other watering systems or sprinklers are to be used at any time
• A permit from Sydney Water is required to fill new or renovated pools bigger than 10,000 litres
• No hoses or taps to be left running unattended, except when filling pools or containers

Source: Sydney Water - as at 21 June 2009, 8:00am.

It is madness - un-necessary madness - to reduce the restrictions.
It simply promotes wastefulness, of a precious resource.

Wombats suffer with Mange

Warning: This is a post about an unpleasant subject - a Wombat with severe Sarcoptic Mange.

It is published in the interests of public information. Difficult issues are discussed, and unpleasant images shown. If you are sensitive - kindly do not proceed to read any further. I will welcome you back tomorrow.

****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ******

Shortly after I moved to Robertson I saw a Wombat out and about in daylight. It was near a road (itself a dangerous thing for all concerned). On closer examination, it was obviously nearly bald. I made some inquiries and was told two things - Wombats get Mange (supposedly from Foxes); and that the mange causes them to get ill, go blind and eventually die.

Today there was a Wombat wandering around on my neighbour's property, in the late afternoon. It was feeding actively, but its behaviour was sufficiently unusual it had not only attracted my attention, but that of another neighbour, Matt. We both grabbed our cameras, and we walked out to look at it.We ended up standing right beside the poor animal, which was obviously severely infested with the mites which cause "Sarcoptic Mange". You can see the sunken eyes, and the very heavily crusted nose.
If you Google "Wombat + Mange" you will get a number of links. Some will tell you that mange in Wombats is treatable, but in reality, that advice is probably only applicable to people able to care more-or-less full time for wombats. Many Wombats are raised by licensed Carers (with WIRES and other such animal rescue organisations).

After I returned home, I found that Matt had quickly sent me another (more realistic) viewpoint - from this site:
"Wombats that I won't treat -
1. Any adult wombat that is in the last stages of mange i.e. has huge crusts on most of its body and head, crusting over its eyes and ears, open wounds often fly-blown and the wombat is thin and often with nasal discharge. The animal will be seen grazing during the day probably to get warm in the sun, or is nearly blind so can't see the danger. It will be relatively easy to catch. This wombat is very ill and if left will die in a few weeks from starvation and pneumonia. If treated the wombat will be subjected to long and cruel handling and will probably not survive anyway. If he does he will most certainly get the mange again in 3-6 months. The immune system is completely failing and I feel it is irresponsible to put an animal through so much pain and fear for it not to be successful and have a good outlook for a full recovery."

Clearly there are different "protocols" recommended by different experts.I left this Wombat to its own resources - for as far as I was concerned it was untreatable - but it was still feeding actively. However, for the record, I report that it was pretty obviously blind, or very nearly so (and pretty obviously nearly deaf too). The ears were totally "clumped" and the eyes were not only white (as if with cataracts), but also weeping with puss. Its skin was very badly caked on one of its flanks, and its nose was thickly crusted with scabs. I can also say that it really stank, (up close).A few minutes after I left the Wombat, I heard a shot ring out from up the road. I can only assume that one of the other locals (a farmer, no doubt) had assessed the situation was hopeless, and had put the Wombat down. I can say that I do not know exactly who did what, (I know it was certainly not Matt) but I know why the obvious action would have been taken - as a compassionate act - by a person unknown to me.

Such is life.

****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ******

One of the websites I looked at tonight (Sorry, I cannot find the comment again) addressed the issue well - by expressing the following conundrum:

It is illegal to kill a wombat (even a sick one),
but if a farmer or a pet-owner left a domestic animal
or a farm animal alive - in such a condition,
that person could be prosecuted for cruelty to an animal.

Roy Freere "filled the house".

In theatrical terms it was a "sell-out" - standing room only. I mean no disrespect by those references - but the hall at the St John's parish was full today, for the funeral of Roy Freere.

That is a great tribute to the life of Roy Freere and the contribution which he and his family, have made to the local community, and to the wider society - for people came from near and far today to commemorate Roy's life and to honour his memory.Tribute was first paid to Roy by one of his colleagues from the Microscopical Society of Australia - Dr. Peter Rickwood, a Geologist from the University of New South Wales. It appears that Peter was Roy's oldest friend (outside his imediate family), having met Roy when both were at University in England. They met again years later, in Australia, when Roy turned up as a Company Rep for a Microscope manufacturer, and Peter was in charge of purchases for his University laboratory. Their friendship was re-kindled, and subsequently they collaborated on a professional level, jointly founding the Microscopical Society of Australia, and also publishing several technical papers together. Above all, they remained good friends, with profound respect shown by Peter for Roy's memory today.

Professor Ray Kearney spoke lovingly of Roy, from the perspective of a fellow member of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group, and as a friend. A number of members of the SFSG (as well as myself) were present to honour Roy and to comfort Joan. Ray spoke beautifully of Roy's frienship, and his love of the environment, especially "his beloved Robertson Nature Reserve".

Ray and Elma Kearney
listen as Rev Barry Lee reads the funeral prayers.

Dr Peter Freere (Roy's eldest son) then read from notes he had prepared about his Dad. Peter was very emotional, but we all understood that. His brother Ian came up to support Peter as he finished his speech, then very gently made his own comments, ending up with "Sleep well, Dad". A nice personal touch.

Their brother in law, Mark then spoke nicely of his father-in-law, including several amusing anecdotes. Mark's wife Susan, (Roy and Joan's second child) then spoke briefly about her father and then read a very moving letter which a local lady had written to Roy. She commented how it had pleased her Dad to have that letter read to him, as he asked her to read it several times over.

The Service was conducted by the Rev. Barry Lee according to the Anglican Church rites, as per the prevailing "Low Church" interpretation as approved within the Sydney Archdiocese. However "low key" the tone of the service might have been, the personal touches added by the family and friends were very satisfying.

Committing the coffin to the earth.
The Pall Bearers gently lower the coffin on heavy tapes.
Rev. Barry Lee then read the final interment prayer.
Peter (in maroon jacket) looks on.

I did not take any photos in the church, in the interest of not disturbing the Memorial Service. I felt able to discretely take these images at the Graveyard.

Mourners at the graveyard - A

Mourners at the graveyard - B

Flowers were provided by a number of local people, including myself, so that all persons who wished to place a flower on Roy's coffin were able to do so. A nice touch.

Incidentally, Barry Lee commented that Roy had insisted on choosing the readings and hymns of the Service himself. Typical of Roy, wanting to "get it right" - to the end. Personally I think that reveals how well adjusted Roy was to the looming end of his own life.

Roy was a person of deep religious faith.
No fear. No regrets.

***** ***** *****

As an old Catholic myself, let me just add the phrase "Requescat in Pace".

Rest in Peace, good friend.

Lake Cowal - fundraising event in Canberra

Lake Cowal, is in central western NSW.It is the site of a large gold mine, owned by Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining company (based in Canada).Caroline Graham, Ted Smith and I, from the Rivers SOS group attended the fundraising event on behalf of the traditional owners at Lake Cowal, hosted by Neville (Chappy) Williams.
The Save Lake Cowal website, (hosted by the Rainforest Information Centre) says:
"Barrick’s gold mine at Lake Cowal encompasses approximately 26.50 square kilometres. One hundred and eight million tons of low to medium grade ore will be excavated from an open cut pit 1km wide and 325 meters deep on the lake shore and partly within the high water level of Lake Cowal. Cyanide will be usedIt is estimated that the pit Barrick will blast to retreive approximately 2.7 million ounces of gold will be comparable to the size of Uluru in the Northern Territory. The mine runs 24 hours a day all year and has a life of about 13 years.

Aerial photo taken 20 March 2008.
The pit is over 1 km wide and 300 metres deep, apparently.
It is huge. The giant trucks look like ants in the pit.
A massive earth slippage is visible on the right of the pit.

"On 27 March 2006 the mine became fully operational despite opposition from Traditional Owners within the Wiradjuri Nation, the Coalition to Protect Lake Cowal and concerned citizens around Australia. The first gold was poured at the mine in April 2006 and NSW Premier, Morris Iemma officially opened it on 29 September.

"Barrick owns eight mines in Australia.

"The company has been accused of a number of environmentally unsound practices, as well as illegal trading activities."

Here is a model of the Lake Cowal Gold Mine,
showing the huge pit, and the sludge ponds.Neville (Chappy) Williams
addressing the fundraiser event in Canberra

Ellie Gilbert, film maker, addressing the group.

There is an amazing legal battle which has been going on for years, involving the Traditional Owners (represented by Chappy Williams) and Barrick Gold, and various Federal and State instrumentalities, from the Mines Department,. and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Federal Minister for Environment, Peter Garrett.

The point of this fundraiser was two-fold: to raise funds (obviously) and to raise awareness of the parlous state of this legal battle.

Sunset and moths

Yesterday afternoon, while I was working on the computer, a friend rang me to say there was a terrific sunset outside.Normally I see the glow of such events in the late afternoon sky. But with the sun moving well around to the west (not south-west) and my study window facing east, I had not noticed the glow.I rushed out, and knowing how quickly sunsets fade, I grabbed the camera and took 3 quick shots. Thanks to Peter for letting me know.
Later on, there were several species of Moths around - just quietly sitting on the wall of my front porch. None of that crazy buzzing around, as other moths tend to do, in autumn. This is a mid-sized moth, (about an inch long), with shallow "tent" habit of folding its wings. The wings themselves are grey, camouflaged, and very finely fringed at the lower edge. It is not a heavy bodied moth, as, for example, "bogong moths" are. The legs are not hairy, and have some of those very long spikes along them. Contrast that with the very hairy Swift Moth below,

See the fine fringes on the lower edges of the wings.
This one looks to me to bew very similar to Donald Hobern's image of Heteromicta pachytera.
I have no information on this moth, other than that they are in the Pyralidae (or Crambidae) which group are said to be "concealed feeders" - i.e, they hide inside the substance on which they are feeding. As a group, they are referred to as "Webworms, Meal, Flour, & Frass Moths".
I have not seen Swift Moths for more than two weeks. I was starting to believe they only came out in the rain, but last night, there was no rain. There were three of these moths. Two different individuals here. Note the very finely haired legs, and the large antennae, and the thick coating of "fur" over the body (behind the head).

See from the side, you can recognise this moth as one of the Swift Moths which were around several weeks ago. Those Swift Moths were identified by Donald Hobern as Oxycanus dirempta. By local standards, these are very large moths. They sit with their wings in a very steep "tent" formation.

As one of the dominant local plants is the Blackwood Wattle, these moths would appear to have plenty of food for their caterpillars, which burrow into the ground, to feed on the roots of Acacia plants (trees). They are also likely to be the "host" species of caterpillar which gets invaded by Fungus spores, which develop in the "Cordyceps" fungus, which is quite common in this area. If you go to that linked post, you will see "mummified" caterpillars which have large fungi growing out of their now mummified bodies - once the caterpillar has been "consumed" by the invasive hyphae (roots) of the fungus. The caterpillars are typically longer than my fingers. The fungus then is about the size and shape of a cigar.
Another of the weird and wonderful aspects of the Nature of Robertson.

Life and Death - a solemn posting.

Yesterday I went to Canberra to help my father, my brothers and their wives celebrate my father's 97th birthday. We were all together, and it was a pleasant occasion.My daughter, Zoe had come along earlier to congratulate Dad, and to give him a hug. Here he is - blowing out the candles on the cake made for him by one of his grand-children.What nobody wishes to discuss on such occasions is the dark thought that every time we see Dad could be the last. So, lets all make the most of it, eh?

*****

To confirm that last point, I was rung this morning with the news that Roy Freere, a wonderful, gentle and knowledgeable Robertson resident, had died.

I like to think of Roy as generous person, someone who was particularly generous with his knowledge. Roy shared his knowledge with others very willingly, unlike some people who keep knowledge as their private source of power and influence. Roy willingly gave lectures and illustrated talks to local groups about Fungi, about which he was very knowledgeable. He also hosted the annual visits to the Robertson Rainforest by the members of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group. He was also an artist, and print-maker, whose works are available in local galleries.
This image of Roy was taken several years ago when we did a joint visit to a property at Canyonleigh on behalf of the National Parks Association, to check out the potential of a private property for possible inclusion in the near-by Bangadilly National Park.

I understand Roy's funeral will be held in Robertson next Tuesday.

I have already spoken with Joan, to wish her all the best. She has been an absolute model of the loving wife to Roy and a wonderfully caring nurse - over the recent months of his illness. But above all, I think of Joan as Roy's life partner. They were a beautifully matched couple.

Let us remember Roy Freere for the gentle and generous soul he was.
.
.

Wind Farm at Crookwell, NSW

Just south from Crookwell (approx. 50Kms north of Goulburn) there is a wind farm.
It is located right on top of the Great Dividing Range, and as the sign politely says, it is located here because Crookwell has clean air. I think they mean that this place is as "windy as hell".
These devices are very large, and they looked like they were just a few hundred metres away, but, without anything else to give them a scale, it is hard to tell. They might have been 500 metres away, or more.The point about the distance away is that I could hear absolutely no noise from these wind turbines. I have seen these devices previously, in Germany, and one could hear a quiet "whoosh" as the turbines rotated. But it does not seem to me to be too noisy, or intrusive.

No doubt the sign is a PR statement for wind energy (and Eraring), but I feel this form of energy is less intrusive on the Environment than the coal powered Power Stations run by Eraring Energy. It surely will help minimise Global Warming is we have more of these Wind Power generators.

If you buy "Green Energy" this where it comes from.

Here is a chart about how much energy is produced, depending upon the strength of the wind (obviously). There is a cut-out mechanism to prevent damage to the turbines in ultra high wind conditions (as it would be there tonight).

Farmers hopes dashed by acts of political spite

Farmers from across New South Wales today gathered outside what passes in this State for a Parliament.
They came in their hundreds believing that their representatives might consider their stories, their experiences and their views (if not their votes).No-one thought it would be easy. These people know that - they are farmers. "Easy" is not what farmers ever expect from their lot in life.
They assembled outside the Parliament building at 10:30 am, having left the Liverpool Plains at 3:30am. Many of them are in their seventies - life-long farming families. They take the threat to their livelihoods, and to their lifestyle, seriously.For them this is a battle for preserving family heritage. In many cases we are talking about three generations of family farming, sometimes more. Why would they not take that threat seriously?And then there is the economic issue - based around short term profits for foreign multinational companies (including the once great "Big Australian" - BHP Billiton, now primarily a South African controlled and administered mining conglomerate (their "Headquarters" in Melbourne is managed primarily by South African executives) - and the Chinese Mining company Shenhua and its proposed "Watermark" mine. The people from the Gloucester-Stroud area were also well represented, as well as people from the Mudgee district, the Central Coast, Illawarra and the Southern Highlands.All these groups of affected farmers posed the same economic question - Coal versus Food?
It is a short term versus long-term issue - short term profits (and short-term royalties for Government) versus rural communities providing sustainable income - in perpetuity.
Ultimately the farmers can grow food and rural produce worth infinitely more than the coal.
But not if their land is destroyed, either by the truly disastrous Open Cut mining (as proposed by Shenhua and Gloucester Coal) or by longwall mining, as proposed by BHP, which will drain the aquifers upon which the farmers depend. Either way they will be "stuffed".
IMAGE: The Hunter Region's Lemington coalmine - thanks to Hunter Valley Gliding Instructor Morgan Sandercock of www.sandercock.com (Image found at Project SafeCom website)

The rally was quite good natured, and there were even a few light-hearted moments, such as when Kim and Bernie from the Australian Water Network were "arrested" by Constable Mal from the Wilderness Society (in fancy dress).Here is the "Wanted" poster for Minister Ian Macdonald, Minister for Mineral Resources.Well, with the rally over, we went into the Parliament, to find that our presence, outside and inside the building was treated with suspicion (initially) and then disdain, and ultimately, with disrespect.

Firstly, prior to the resumption of the debate on the Bill, as scheduled as per the Orders of the Day, the Government attempted to introduce a condolence motion for a soldier killed in Afghanistan. This was clearly a stalling tactic, for the Condolence Motion had been on the Notice Paper for some 13 days. Suddenly it was brought forward as a matter of urgency. One Member, quite rightly berated the Government for attempting to use the death of a soldier as a stalling tactic to prevent the debate on another matter (the coal mining bill). As he said, he is the only Vietnam Veteran in any Parliament in Australia, and he felt sure all Vietnam Veterans and serving Soldiers would feel disgust that a soldier's death could be abused in such a callous and politically expedient manner. Duncan Gay, Deputy Leader of the National Party has put out a Press Release along these lines.

The bid to bring forward the debate on the Condolence Motion was withdrawn, but not before some precious time had been lost. The Government had simply wanted to avoid the substantive debate being brought on in front of an audience of farmers and environmental campaigners. The debate eventually started, with just one speaker, and was then adjourned when Question Time was called at 12:00 noon. Round one to the Government's delaying tactic.

During Question Time, Minister Macdonald answered a "Dorothy Dixer" (a friendly question on the subject from one of his own back-benchers). He spoke lovingly of being both the Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Mining - ignoring the obvious conflict of interest, as portrayed in the aerial picture above of a Hunter Valley Coal mine. Round two to the Government.
Mining wins over Agriculture, every time, when the miners do that to the earth.

We went to lunch at this point.

Tonight, when we came home to the Southern Highlands we heard on the radio that the bill had been defeated by a single vote.

Reverend the Hon Fred Nile, MLC, Assistant President of the Legislative Council of New South Wales voted against the Bill, because, as he is reported (by the ABC) to have said (Hansard reports are not yet available as I write this): "I can not support this bill. It's not because of the content, it is because if the bill is allowed (it) will give a great ability for the Green party to blow their trumpets," he said.

Did you get that, folks? The Reverend Fred Nile voted the Bill down, not because of the content of the Bill, but out of spite - because he cannot bear the thought of the Greens having a win.

I would dearly love to ask the Reverend Fred (a member of the "Christan Democrats Party") upon which Christian or Democratic principles he made that decision? The majority of the persons affected by the Bill which he voted down are old-fashioned "God Fearing Folks", from the country - some even as old as himself. Do they not have the right to some consideration? What about the future livelihoods of their families, about whom his Party would surely profess concern?

No doubt the vote by the Reverend Gentleman is based upon other issues, such as the Right to Life debate, and his well-known views against homosexuality. Neither of those issues bears any relevance to the debate. His vote would appear to be based not upon the arguments themselves (he said as much himself) as upon hatred of certain views of the proponents of the Bill. I conclude that, in all probability, he voted it down out of pure spite.

The words "Old Bastard" and "Hypocrite" spring to my mind, but I could not possibly use them to refer to the Reverend Gentleman, and Honourable Member of the NSW Legislative Council.

Fred Nile was joined in opposing the Bill by the two members of the Shooters Party (in the NSW Upper House). It is well known that the Greens party opposed the contruction of a large Rifle Range and Shooting Complex at Hill Top (near Mittagong), in the Southern Highlands. So their opposition to this Bill is presumably a "pay back" against the Greens for that issue - even though they won their case for the Shooting Range, with the support of the Gopvernment.

Ironic that - for the Shooters Party people claim to have many members who are farmers. Certainly many farmers are shooters. Yet they voted down a bill which would have advantaged their own class of constituents. Yet another example of voting according to spite, not principle, nor on the arguments of the case, nor on the economics of the case, nor even according to natural political sympathies nor presumed shared interests.

***** ***** *****

There is a salutary lesson to be learnt here.
Be careful who you choose as your friends, in Politics.

The farmers of NSW who were threatened by coal mining had little choice in going with the Greens - even though they might not be regarded as natural Greens constituents. Many would surely be more naturally regarded as either "old-money Liberals" or Nationals supporters (remember when they were the Country Party?). However, only Lee Rhiannon (the sponsor of this Bill) and the other Greens had shown much interest at all in opposing coal mining under prime agricultural land. When the Greens proposed this Bill, it seemed the farmers' only hope of gaining Legislative support. So, naturally they supported the Bill.

But the Bill was defeated precisely because it was sponsored by The Greens.

UPDATE: Hansard Extract - part of Speech by Rev'd the Hon Fred Nile, MLC:
"That is why I cannot support this bill. It is not because of the content; it is because the bill will give the Greens greater ability to blow their trumpets and claim a great victory in this State, and give them further political oxygen. During my time in this Parliament I have been working hard to deny political oxygen to the Greens." Fred Nile - 4 May 2009.
You may go to the Hansard link above to read the full debate.

***** ***** *****

The National Party member for the Upper Hunter, Mr George Souris has a track record of promoting coal mining, although he spoke to the crowd today of his support for this Bill. That speech brought tears to the eyes of the well-loved and well-respected member of the Liverpool Plains community, Mrs Duddy who said: "I have waited three long years for George Souris to say what he has said, here, today".

Front and Centre - Mrs Duddy
Photo: (AAP: Dean Lewins)
From the ABC report of the defeat of the Bill.

The decent farming folk of New South Wales do not deserve to be treated in the disgraceful manner in which they were treated today. In fact - nobody does.

At the very least we expect in a Parliamentary Democracy for debates to be treated upon the merits of the argument. We hope for nothing more. We got much, much less than that today. As a debate, it was a disgrace.

***** ***** *****

There is an up-side to this, however, for if I know these people, as I believe I do, they will not take it lying down. In fact, in all likelihood they will be stirred to a spirit akin the famous uprising at the Eureka Stockade:

• "The Eureka rebellion, which is often referred to as the 'Eureka Stockade' is a key event in the development of Australian democracy and Australian identity, with some people arguing that ‘Australian democracy was born at Eureka’.
• In my opinion, what passes for Democracy in NSW, died today in Macquarie Street, Sydney.
  
• Let us hope that it arises afresh, in the spirits of the people who were so disrespectfully treated today - people from Caroona, Liverpool Plains, the Upper Hunter and the Mudgee region, the Lower Hunter, the Gloucester, Stroud and Barrington Tops region, the central Coast, the Illawarra and the Southern Highlands.

Authorised by Denis Wilson, Robertson, NSW.

Protea "Pink Ice" flowering in my garden

When I moved to Robertson I was aware that the rich red basalt soils here are good for growing Protea plants and their relatives, such as the native Waratahs. The reason I knew this is that the plants I was intending to grow here, Peonies, grow really well in Monbulk, in the Dandenong Ranges (Victoria). Monbulk is famous for its rich red basalt soil - just as is Robertson (in NSW). Monbulk is home to Australia's largest specialist Protea propagation nursery "Proteaflora".

So, naturally, as I was establishing my garden here, I planted some of the members of the Protea tribe - Leucadendrons, Proteas, Banksias and Waratahs, and Grevilleas. This was largely an experiment, to see how they would grow, for some, especially the Grevilleas, are said to be very fussy about soil, preferring poor, low-nutrient soils. But most have done very well indeed. Some have exceeded all expectations, notably the Banksia "Giant Candles" which has had to be beheaded several times already to prevent it outgrowing its roots, and suffering wind damage.

The reason for the "caveat" about the soil is that very few members of the Proteaceae tribe grow here naturally - but members of this tribe of plants are very common just a few kilometres from here on the sandstone plateau below the Robertson range. It seems the reason is that the local rainforest plants survived so well, prior to European settlement and clearing of the land that the native Proteaceae never got a chance to "invade" the basalt. There are only two exceptions to this principle that I know of - a Helicia (of which there is but a single specimen left, apparently), and the tall rainforest tree Stenocarpus salignus.

One of these plants which has done particularly nicely, and grows only at a moderate rate, has turned out to be the popular hybrid Protea "Pink Ice". I bought my specimen Protea "Pink Ice" from Wariapendi Nursery at Colo Vale, NSW (near Mittagong), one of many nursery outlets for"Proteaflora" plants in NSW.

Here are the results:

A bud just starting to develop.
The black marks on the outer sheathing bracts are distinctive
from a related plant, Protea neriifolia, whjich is one of the parent plants to "Pink Ice".Here is the next stage of development of the bud.
It is very elongated overall, and narrow in the tip.
There are many black fibres in the tip of the bud, at this stage.
As the flower opens, the top broadens out.
Suddenly the profile of the flower changes, just as it opens.
It is almost "square cut" at the top, with masses of silvery fibres.
Here is a top view of the flower.
You can see what I mean about the silvery fibres.
This flower has not yet opened fully, but I would have to say that
this is my personal favourite stage of development of the flower.

There is one further stage of development, which is yet to occur. So I will show the fully opened flower shortly (when it opens). The flower becomes chalice-shaped.

IMAGES OF MOUNT RAE FOREST

Mark Selmes from Mount Rae, near Taralga and Crookwell (north of Goulburn, NSW) convened a fund-raising exhibition today in Crookwell. It was really well attended, with people from as far away as Sydney, and Nowra and Canberra and central western NSW.
I have previously written about visiting Mark's property at Mt Rae, and of course, I wrote about the Orchids I saw there. That is relevant to today's event, because Alan Stephenson, the Conservation Officer of the Australasian Native Orchid Society had some of his photos on exhibition - of rare Orchids found at Mark's property.

Mark sent me the following comments:
IMAGES OF MOUNT RAE FOREST

• "This exhibition of photos and artworks was inspired by the forest and its unique plants and animals. It will be on public display at Catherine's Cafe, Crookwell, from the 1st June until the 31st of July.
• "All artworks are for sale, with proceeds going towards Roslyn Landcare Group's proposal for land purchase or threatened species projects within this forest. Roslyn Landcare has just been announced as the recipient of the 2009 Regional landcare community group award for the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment area."
• "Internationally renown wildlife artist Humphrey Price-Jones has donated an original painting - Gang Gang Cockatoos. Another Price-Jones work-a print of the forests Powerful Owl is also for sale."
• Mr Price-Jones states "in depicting 2 of the threatened bird species of this forest I hope to raise awareness of their plight and raise funds for their protection. The significance of Mount Rae forest cannot be overestimated, as it is a reservoir of great importance for this areas biodiversity"
• "Professional photographer Andy Stavert, has donated 4 panoramic photos, reproduced on canvas by Arthead of Goulburn, of this forest, taken in winter 2008."
• "Donations have already been received in support of this landcare effort. The Goulburn Field Naturalist Society, the Wilderness Society and the Goulburn branch of the Society for growing Australian plants have already made generous contributions. Combined with individual and landcare member contributions the total already raised stands at over $44,000."
  

***** ***** *****

The event was held at Catherine's Cafe, Bakery and Deli, in the main street of Crookwell (not in the back lane as Google Maps shows it to be.)

Here are two images of the crowd assembled to support the bid to protect the forests at Mt Rae.

Rodney Falconer of the Goulburn Field Naturalists Society
The artist Humphrey Price-Jones speaking passionately about the Mt Rae forests.His original painting of the Gang Gang Cockatoos.

The print of the Powerful Owl - by Humphrey Price-Jones.
Framed photo of a stem of Stegostylis Orchids, by Alan Stephenson.
Panoramic photos by Andy Stavert
I have bought one of these photographic prints.
A junior supporter of the Mt Rae forest
dressed in the iconic "Koala suit"
made famous by the Wilderness Society fundraisers.