COMMUNITY HEALTH DATES TO REMEMBER ... - Platypus Country
COMMUNITY HEALTH DATES TO REMEMBER ... - Platypus Country COMMUNITY HEALTH DATES TO REMEMBER ... - Platypus Country
Soon after their return from World War 1, Colin Hume ofWulgulmerang and Keith Rogers of Black Mountainwere given the job of delivering a boat to DuncanMcKellar on the Snowy.The Shires of Tambo and Orbost paid McKellar to live onthe Snowy, about one kilometre upstream from wherethe bridge is now situated, on the eastern side. His jobwas to ferry people, travelling the old Gippsland track,across the river in his boat. People travelling from westto east, when nearing the river, would yell out and cracktheir whips to attract his attention whereupon he wouldrow across to pick them up. He would them row themover the river with their horses swimming behind theboat.However, a flash flood in the Snowy took his boat, hencethe need for a new one. The new boat was brought toWulgulmerang by bullock wagon. It was then Colin andKeith’s job to take it from there onto the Snowy.The boat was loaded onto a spring cart pulled by horseswhich was driven to Wheeler’s Saddle. At that time,there was a road suitable for horse drawn vehicles downto Royal’s Camp. At Wheeler’s Saddle, they unloadedthe boat from the cart and put it on a sledge, which Ibelieve must have been made on the spot out of aforked tree. After securing the boat to the sledge andyoking the horses to it, they snigged it along the ridgefrom Wheeler’s Saddle then down the very steep, rockyspur to the river.How they got it down in one piece without it tippingover and rolling down the side, taking the horses with it,I don’t know!I presume they then took the horses back up toWheeler’s Saddle, harnessed up the cart and drovehome. “Job completed.”Spirit of the SnowyDelivering a boat—Buff RogersCrossing sheep over theSnowy—Buff RogersDuncan McKellar had his punt and the water was quieterand slower. There they would build rough wings in the formof a “V” going into the river. The wings would be built out offallen trees, limbs, scrub etc. Occasionally hessian was usedas some sheep drovers carried hessian on their packhorsesfor holding their sheep at night. The sheep would then beforced into this “V”. Whoever was a good strong swimmerwould strip off, grab a sheep, tie a dog chain around its neckand pull it into the river. The strong swimmer would thentow this animal across the river. Hopefully, with muchpushing and urging from both men and dogs, the rest of themob would plunge in and follow. However, thois processhad to be repeated many times as sheep are notorious forringing in the middle of the river and coming back on thewrong side! The sheep that did cross, of course, had to beheld on the western side by somebody until the whole mobcrossed over.Crossing mobs of sheep was a long difficult job that requiredmany hands. A large mob would take a couple of days tocross. When this task was completed, the sheep would thenbe driven up the long , steep spur to Wheeler’s Saddle andthen onto Wulgulmerang.Occasionally a mob of sheep that had been walked downfrom Bombala or Delegate would arrive at the Snowy only tofind it was too high to cross. In this situation, the sheepwould have to be shepherded about for a few days or up toa week until the water level dropped to allow safe crossing.What a blessing the new bridge must have been!These stories are taken from Spirit of the Snowy, a shortstory collection to mark a Snowy River Journey, 1st to 3rdNovember 2002. A copy of this publication, edited by G.Enders and published by the NSW Premier’s Department onbehalf of the organisers of the inaugural Snowy RiverJourney, November 2002.During the years after the first world war until the secondbridge was built across the Snowy River at McKillopsCrossing in the 1930s, my family was involved in crossingmobs of sheep over the river. These sheep were bought onthe southern Monaro and w3alked to the family propertiesat Wulgulmerang and Black Mountain, or continued downto be resold in Gippsland.I believe there is a photo of my father, who was a verymodest man, standing on the bank of the Snowy, starknaked except for a dog chain hanging around his neck.What has this got to do with crossing sheep you may ask?This is how it worked: the sheep, which would be in mobsof between two to four thousand, would be crossed overthe Deddick River and taken up the Snowy to whereBuilding the Snowy River Bridge—1932. From Sandy Cameron’sphotograph collection.
Bits and PiecesEl Nino to returnLyndal Reading | July 3, 2012THE two words many farmers dread are back on thelips of meteorologists - El Nino.The Weather Channel is predicting a move to the dry ElNino pattern after two years of record rainfall.Senior meteorologist Tom Saunders said climatemodels were indicating an El Nino weather pattern wason its way.He said sea surface temperatures through the centraltropical Pacific Ocean had gradually warmed during thepast few months and were now more than 0.5C aboveaverage, passing the threshold for El Nino conditions."Extensive warming through the Pacific Ocean causesa major shift in weather patterns throughout the worldand for Australia, causes below average rain anddrought like conditions,'' Mr Saunders said.He said El Nino conditions typically brought belowaverage rain and above average temperatures to theeastern half of Australia during winter and spring.Bureau of Meteorology climate meteorologist Dr HarveyStern said while climate models were currently neutral,there could be a move towards an El Nino later in theyear.————————————————————————--There is no doubt that wild dogs are a real problem tofarmers in our area and that many are at their wit’s end,wondering how to protect their sheep. The following article isincluded in the interest of having all the information includedin the discussion.DebCamera doesnʼt lie: farmersays dog bait is a failureBy MARK MULCAHY July 7, 2012, Border MailBURROWYE farmer Noel Cheshire was sceptical aboutthe success of baiting for wild dogs and wanted firsthandconfirmation about their eating habits.He knew the best way to have such proof was to set upcameras in the bush.Mr Cheshire, a previous member of the North East wilddog advisory committee for nine years, receivedfunding from Meat and Livestock Australia and aVictorian government department.He enlisted the expertise of his son, Wayne, and threemotion sensors for a camera were set up in the bush.Two remote infra-red sensors were set up about 20metres from the camera and another at its base.The cameras operated for almost two years with plentyof footage obtained.Baits used by departmental dogmen without any poisonwere buried and none of the wild dogs showed interest.The baits were then put on top of the ground and thefootage revealed foxes and pigs would take them butwild dogs walked straight past.Mr Cheshire and his son found a road-killedkangaroo and took it to the camera site.They put some bark over it and three dogs sniffedaround it before walking away.The footage showed one dog tentatively walkingtowards the kangaroo and then backing away.A second dog circled around the kangaroo and thethird went around in a half circle.Both Mr Cheshire and his son believe the dogsstayed away because of human scent or theyrealised there was something different to when theypreviously passed that area.“They are extremely cunning and wary,” WayneCheshire said.“If they will not touch a kangaroo, there is absolutelyno hope of them taking manufactured baits.”The Cheshires also have footage of four dogs goingpast a bait station set up by one of the dogmen neara tree.One dog went to the tree, smelt it and stood straightover the bait, but walked off.Pigs arrived at the same bait station and a boar dugup both baits with his snout and ate them.The footage was shown to politicians at Bill Tilleyʼsoffice some time in 2007.Attempts from within government departments havebeen made to discredit it, but the Cheshires andother farmers say the footage speaks for itself.Community feedback showed overwhelming supportfor the innovative camera project._________________________________________Firewood or regen burn?The torching of hundreds of tonnes of wood byVicForests upset farmers near Wallagaraugh whowere negotiating to collect the wood as firewood.Locals say logs good enough for timber products –known as sawlogs – were not removed from thesite, instead being pushed into piles and burned.And a local firewood business is fuming - it saysbetween 400 and 600 tonnes of logs it wasnegotiating to buy have been reduced to ash.Locals say logs good enough for timber products –known as sawlogs – were not removed from thesite, instead being pushed into piles and burned.http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2012/06/22/499661_latest-news.htmlElsewhere in the Tattler is a media release from DSEregarding the illegal removal of firewood from stateforests. Logic would suggest that this article and the DSEconcerns are two sides of the same issue—perhaps adialogue between VicForests and DSE is in order.Deb
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Bits and PiecesEl Nino to returnLyndal Reading | July 3, 2012THE two words many farmers dread are back on thelips of meteorologists - El Nino.The Weather Channel is predicting a move to the dry ElNino pattern after two years of record rainfall.Senior meteorologist Tom Saunders said climatemodels were indicating an El Nino weather pattern wason its way.He said sea surface temperatures through the centraltropical Pacific Ocean had gradually warmed during thepast few months and were now more than 0.5C aboveaverage, passing the threshold for El Nino conditions."Extensive warming through the Pacific Ocean causesa major shift in weather patterns throughout the worldand for Australia, causes below average rain anddrought like conditions,'' Mr Saunders said.He said El Nino conditions typically brought belowaverage rain and above average temperatures to theeastern half of Australia during winter and spring.Bureau of Meteorology climate meteorologist Dr HarveyStern said while climate models were currently neutral,there could be a move towards an El Nino later in theyear.————————————————————————--There is no doubt that wild dogs are a real problem tofarmers in our area and that many are at their wit’s end,wondering how to protect their sheep. The following article isincluded in the interest of having all the information includedin the discussion.DebCamera doesnʼt lie: farmersays dog bait is a failureBy MARK MULCAHY July 7, 2012, Border MailBURROWYE farmer Noel Cheshire was sceptical aboutthe success of baiting for wild dogs and wanted firsthandconfirmation about their eating habits.He knew the best way to have such proof was to set upcameras in the bush.Mr Cheshire, a previous member of the North East wilddog advisory committee for nine years, receivedfunding from Meat and Livestock Australia and aVictorian government department.He enlisted the expertise of his son, Wayne, and threemotion sensors for a camera were set up in the bush.Two remote infra-red sensors were set up about 20metres from the camera and another at its base.The cameras operated for almost two years with plentyof footage obtained.Baits used by departmental dogmen without any poisonwere buried and none of the wild dogs showed interest.The baits were then put on top of the ground and thefootage revealed foxes and pigs would take them butwild dogs walked straight past.Mr Cheshire and his son found a road-killedkangaroo and took it to the camera site.They put some bark over it and three dogs sniffedaround it before walking away.The footage showed one dog tentatively walkingtowards the kangaroo and then backing away.A second dog circled around the kangaroo and thethird went around in a half circle.Both Mr Cheshire and his son believe the dogsstayed away because of human scent or theyrealised there was something different to when theypreviously passed that area.“They are extremely cunning and wary,” WayneCheshire said.“If they will not touch a kangaroo, there is absolutelyno hope of them taking manufactured baits.”The Cheshires also have footage of four dogs goingpast a bait station set up by one of the dogmen neara tree.One dog went to the tree, smelt it and stood straightover the bait, but walked off.Pigs arrived at the same bait station and a boar dugup both baits with his snout and ate them.The footage was shown to politicians at Bill Tilleyʼsoffice some time in 2007.Attempts from within government departments havebeen made to discredit it, but the Cheshires andother farmers say the footage speaks for itself.Community feedback showed overwhelming supportfor the innovative camera project._________________________________________Firewood or regen burn?The torching of hundreds of tonnes of wood byVicForests upset farmers near Wallagaraugh whowere negotiating to collect the wood as firewood.Locals say logs good enough for timber products –known as sawlogs – were not removed from thesite, instead being pushed into piles and burned.And a local firewood business is fuming - it saysbetween 400 and 600 tonnes of logs it wasnegotiating to buy have been reduced to ash.Locals say logs good enough for timber products –known as sawlogs – were not removed from thesite, instead being pushed into piles and burned.http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2012/06/22/499661_latest-news.htmlElsewhere in the Tattler is a media release from DSEregarding the illegal removal of firewood from stateforests. Logic would suggest that this article and the DSEconcerns are two sides of the same issue—perhaps adialogue between VicForests and DSE is in order.Deb
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