Innholdsfortegnelse for January - Februrary 2024 i Australian Geographic

MANY OF YOU will be picking up this issue to pore over it while relaxing during the annual festive season. So we’ve made sure that most of the content you’ll find to explore in these pages is celebratory. There’s our feature on Big Things (page 50) that, this side of the pandemic, is very much about the return of the great Aussie road trip. For many of us, that ritual journey means keeping our eyes peeled for those peculiarly Australian big roadside features as we head up or down the coast on our annual summer break. Our regular commentator on all things strange and bizarre in modern Australian culture, Tim the Yowie Man, and photographer Trent Mitchell have teamed up to take you on a larrikin’s journey of some of…

AUSTRALIA’S BIG THINGS aren’t only quirky froth and bubble. They’ve been a fixture of family road trips for generations of Aussies. Tim the Yowie Man, who’s written on these phenomena for this issue (see page 50), recalls, “Like many kids who lived away from the beach, my most vivid summer holiday memories are of the annual pilgrimage to the coast – those excruciatingly long road trips, hanging wet tea towels over the windows as pseudo air conditioning in our clapped-out station wagon – and those roadside stops at Big Things. For me, the stop was more about the opportunity to temporarily separate my bum cheeks from hot vinyl seats and get some respite from my nagging sister, rather than to gawk at an oversized something. Coffs Harbour’s Big Banana was…

IN EARLY JANUARY 2020, photojournalist Tracey Nearmy arrived in Nowra, on the New South Wales South Coast, to photograph the pyrocumulonimbus firestorm that was developing outside the town. The blaze stretched deep into the atmosphere and produced its own weather, generating pyrogenic lightning that sparked new ground fires (see A black summer, AG 155). When the fire season that became known as Black Summer began early in the spring of 2019, language quickly evolved to capture the ferocity and scale of the disaster, with “megafires” and “gigafires” describing the blazes that merged and burned for weeks in places such as the Snowy Mountains and Blue Mountains. By 20 December 2019, the Gospers Mountain megafire in the Blue Mountains had destroyed an area seven times the size of Singapore. On New…

SIX-YEAR-OLD MATTHEW BAILES waits on the edge of Adelaide’s Glynburn Road for a gap in the busy traffic. He sees an oncoming car and wonders why he can see it. Later he asks his parents, “Why can we see cars? Why can we see anything?” – deceptively simple questions that his parents’ high-school education hadn’t equipped them to answer. “It just made me wonder how the universe worked,” he now explains simply. About a billion years before that suburban Adelaide scene, in a galaxy far, far away, a cataclysmic event occurs, releasing an unimaginably powerful burst of energy. It’s gone in the blink of an eye, but sends a blast of radiation that ripples out through the vast, cold vacuum of space. At some point in its billions-of-light-years journey, this…

AFTER SPREADING THROUGH most of Earth’s honeybee populations, the parasite known as the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) has landed in Australia and has begun devastating our own bees. It’s tiny, about the size of a sesame seed, and it feeds on a bee’s fatty tissues. An infected bee would be similar to a human carrying a parasite sized between a bagel and a frisbee. A Varroa-infested bee has a reduced ability to fly, pollinate crops and carry food. When enough of its bees are infested, a hive dies. The first Varroa mites of consequence in Australia (previous minor infestations were eradicated) were found in New South Wales, near Newcastle, in June 2022. They have since been detected south near the Victorian border, and north around Coffs Harbour. The official policy…

WHEN SOMEONE MENTIONS a galaxy, odds are you’ll imagine a disc-like whirlpool of stars rotating majestically in space. If you grew up in Britain, you’d probably imagine a chocolate bar, but that’s a different story. Like chocolate bars, however, galaxies come in different shapes and sizes, and not all have a spiral structure. Some are featureless blobs shaped like rugby balls; others are ragtag objects, fittingly known as irregulars. But spirals constitute some 60 per cent of the universe’s estimated 2 trillion galaxies, so what you’ve pictured is fairly accurate. Astronomers think they understand why galaxies have spiral arms. That’s because computer simulations of the gravitational processes that shape them in the early universe also produce spirals. But once in a while they come across a galaxy with features that…

WHILE DEVOTEES OF the iconic Big Banana at Coffs Harbour will try and convince you otherwise, Dr Amy Clarke believes Scotty, the Big Scotsman – who’s loomed large outside a hotel in the leafy Adelaide suburb of Medindie since 1963 – is Australia’s longest standing Big Thing. “Look, there simply shouldn’t be a debate about it – the Big Banana was beaten by a good 18 months,” Amy says. “Scotty was designed by artist Paul Kelly in 1962 and erected in 1963, whereas that banana wasn’t unveiled until 1964.” Paul had never attempted a sculpture the scale of the 7m-tall Scotsman, but he read books on the subject and was spurred on by those who said it couldn’t be done. Hetty the Hen, an oversized chook that appeared at a…

DUE TO THEIR alfresco location, meaning exposure to the elements, BTs require maintenance. However, unless a local council or community group provides ongoing funding and/or people power, thay can deteriorate over time. Fires and closures of adjacent businesses can also result in their demise. Here are my top three lost BTs: The Big Penfolds Bottle of Port, Wyong, NSW: An oversized bottle of Penfolds Port once stood on a concrete slab, c.1950, making it Australia’s first-ever BT. However, it vanished a decade or so later, seemingly without trace. The Giant Worm, Bass, VIC: At more than 100m long, 5m high and 7m wide, this humungous concrete “slug”, built in 1985 at a wildlife park, was a shrine to the rare giant Gippsland earthworm. It housed a museum, where you could…

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$50 WINNER FEATURED LETTER In the affirmative Thomas Mayo’s article in AG 174 on Barbara Shaw should have been compulsive reading for every referendum voter. I acknowledge from the outset that I was, and still am, a strong supporter of The Voice, and, along with the 39.9 per cent of Yes voters, hoped to give First Nations people the opportunity to have a say in their future. I still have great faith and belief in the proposition, the oversight and approval given by constitutional lawyers and the resilience of First Nations people. The article outlining Barbara’s life history is clear evidence of the continual failures of a system that did not include dialogue with the targeted audience. It is obvious that the result of these ill-informed policies and interventions has…

Sparking new hope New tool could predict fire season severity. A NEW WARNING system, developed by Rick McRae, an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra, might help predict the severity of a fire season months in advance by analysing conditions such as temperature anomalies and river-drying events. The framework is still in its trial phase but is intended to be used alongside the current fire-danger rating system, not replace it. The world-first warning system comes at a crucial time, with fire behaviour changing across south-eastern Australia. Between 1980 and 2003, fewer than 10 pyrocumulonimbus firestorms were reported – but in the past 20 years this number has jumped to more than 120 (see Snapshot, page 18). There’s also been an increase in foehn-driven fires, in which…

IT’S THE DREAM of every child who loves the outdoors – build a secret bush cubby, a retreat from the prying eyes of parents and an opportunity to let the imagination run wild in a make-believe world of fairies, goblins and other magical creatures. Victorian Tom Tregellas fulfilled that dream – only he had to wait until he was an adult. What’s more, his magical creatures were real. An iron founder and labourer by trade, Tom was a self-taught naturalist. He spent every weekend he could exploring the bush surrounding Melbourne, especially in the Dandenong Ranges. In 1918, while birdwatching in Sherbrooke Forest, near Kallista, Tom stumbled upon a giant cylindrical hollow log, 5 x 2.5m, which he wasted no time turning into the ultimate live-in bird hide. According to…

IN 1922 BIRD collector William McLennan was exploring the country outside Coen, on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula, when he stumbled upon a vast grassy flat populated with thousands of termite mounds. Nearly every conical mound showed signs that the golden-shouldered parrot used it as a nesting site. Fast forward 100 years and the number of these stunning parrots has dwindled close to extinction, as have numbers of many of the peninsula’s other grassland bird species, which travelled together in great flocks, filling the sky. Although much of the region might look ‘undeveloped’, pastoralism has significantly changed the ecosystem and caused the unravelling of this once vast bird community. Along with the parrot, that community included the buff-breasted button-quail, which was last sighted in the year William penned his field notes…

Try seeing beyond the wonders of Orion’s stars this evening. The northern Milky Way is not as spectacular as our autumn/winter views, because you’re looking towards the galactic anticentre, opposite the busy galactic hub in Sagittarius and Scorpius. The view is also dimmed by dark gas clouds. Many of the bright stars and clusters are relatively close, perhaps a few hundred light-years away. These include Orion and Taurus stars and the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters. There are also objects thousands of light-years away. The reason is our edge-on view of our galaxy’s spiral structure. The Sun and the closer bodies belong to the local Orion spiral arm, while many of the far objects are dwelling in the more distant Perseus Arm. New Moon Thursday 11 January Full Moon Friday…

AFTER WORLD WAR I, when pressed by a journalist to nominate the bravest person under his command, Australian military commander General Sir John Monash named war photographer George Wilkins and likened him to Lawrence of Arabia. A century later, perhaps one of the most difficult things to understand about the man who came to be Sir Hubert Wilkins, is his place in Australian history. He defies categorisation: he was an outstanding polar explorer, pioneer aviator, war photographer and environmentalist, as well as a mystic – and a champion for the rights of First Australians. As an explorer, Wilkins went to Antarctica nine times and was responsible for revealing more unknown areas of the most southern continent than all the explorers of the Heroic Age combined. To Earth’s north, he was…

Help recover the endangered golden-shouldered parrot by protecting chicks from predators. The Australian Geographic Society is supporting a project being run by not-for-profit group Conservation Partner at Artemis station on the Cape York Peninsula to protect 20 nests from predators during the May–July breeding season. Your donations will be used to buy, install and maintain mini-electric fences around the bases of termite mounds where the parrots nest (see page 26). Monitoring in 2022 showed that nestlings in unprotected nests were killed by predators, while chicks in nests protected with the fences survived. Because the parrots lay five eggs per nest, protecting 20 nests could more than double the golden-shouldered parrot population on Artemis station, where only 50–70 parrots remain. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. PLEASE DONATE TODAY Visit: australiangeographic.com.au/fundraising SCAN THE QR…

HERE’S WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY: Jennifer Coffey How wonderful was it that this lovely man had two famous horses in his life – Phar Lap and Reckless. His bond with these two horses and the devotion he gave them is something we all should appreciate. I love this photo. Nellina Pennisi Sebastian I have had the pleasure of listening to Bruce Postle recalling how he went about taking this photo. Fantastic image. Barbara Lord I remember this photo like yesterday. Just beautiful. Robyn Rinehart I still have this photo in original newsprint from all those years ago. Jan Robarts The horse’s face tells it all. Louisa Huibers Glorious photo taken by a wonderfully humble and kind photojournalist – the extraordinary Bruce Postle. Katherine Alcock A truly iconic man. Was…

WAGGA WAGGA THIS NSW RIVERINA district has a Wiradjuri name, but there’s been discussion through the years over just what it means. That’s because Wiradjuri (just like English) has words with multiple layers of meaning. Whatever it means, we can be certain it is a plural expression, because Wiradjuri – just like the Indonesian language of Bahasa (and many others) – indicates a plural, not by adding an “s”, but by doubling the word. So Wagga Wagga might mean crows, or the cries of crows, or dances, or celebrations. Or it might mean all of the above, because Wiradjuri (again, like English) is a rich, complex and colourful language.…

TIM FLANNERY Professor Tim Flannery (above) is an internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, environmentalist and conservationist, and one of Australia’s leading writers on climate change. In this episode, he shares his views about youth-led climate movements and discusses his experiences challenging multinational fossil-fuel companies. ANNA ROSE Award-winning author, environmentalist and climate activist Anna Rose shares her story and offers ideas and advice about how you can take part in climate action. PADDY MANNING Author Paddy Manning has worked in journalism for more than 15 years. His book Body Count: How Climate Change Is Killing Us investigates the true scale of climate change–related deaths, from heat stroke to mental-health issues related to climate anxiety. Listen Other inspiring podcast guests include adventurer Michelle Lee and mountaineer Brigitte Muir. For a full list and…

FOUR YEARS AGO, I faced the biggest bushfires of my more than 40-year career in emergency management. Over the previous decade I’d increasingly focused my attention on the escalating risks Australia was facing due to climate change. But even then, the Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20 blindsided me. South Australia, where I was director of the Emergency Management Office in the Fire and Emergency Services Commission, faced an unprecedented crisis in November 2019. Since August that year, hundreds of exhausted South Australian firefighters and emergency workers had been supporting other states. As spring came to an end, SA firefighters were faced, on their home ground, with another huge fight that would extend well into summer. Among the many terrible days of the season, I distinctly remember 3 January 2020. Lightning…

ABOUT 1900 PEOPLE were executed in the Australian colonies between 1788 and 1901. Capital punishment declined after Federation, with 114 people executed between 1901 and 1967, when Ronald Ryan was the last. Ryan was born in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton in 1925 to alcoholic, abusive parents. At 11, he was sent to a school for wayward and neglected boys after stealing a watch, but escaped three years later and began working as a labourer in regional New South Wales. He returned to Melbourne when he was 23 and married Dorothy George, with whom he had three daughters. By his mid-30s, Ryan was a gambling addict and leader of a gang that broke into shops and factories. He was arrested in 1960 and sentenced to eight and a half years…

AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC AWARDS FOR NATURE AS WE HEAD into a fresh year, we’re introducing some exciting new programs to the Australian Geographic Society. They’ve been inspired by the changes that will see all profits from the Australian Geographic company being donated to the Society. We’re committed to using all our resources – Society funds generated from your subscriptions and other purchases, public donations, as well as our expert storytelling, to help us achieve our mission. In response to the intensification of environmental threats and our desire to drive more impact, the Society will introduce new funding opportunities and endangered-species campaigns in 2024, kicking off with the new Australian Geographic Awards for Nature. These grants will deliver significant funds directly to innovative conservation changemakers whose work is underpinned by science and engages…

IF YOU EVER find a pickle bottle with gold in it, chances are it once belonged to goldminer JosephYork. Joseph, who died aged 82 in 1898, was rumoured to have hidden his stash while working at the small goldfield named for him, Yorkies, at Long Plain, in what is now Kosciuszko National Park in southern New South Wales. The culturally significant Long Plain is one of the vast, naturally treeless plains in northern Kosciuszko NP. Formed by the frost-hollow effect (see “Frost Hollows”, page 40), the plains are surrounded by timbered hills. Long Plain is the traditional home of the Walgalu people, but many language groups converged there for the summer bogong moth harvests, ceremony, intermarriage, and trade. It also has a rich and varied European history. The diggings at…

MOST BIG THINGS WERE designed to be stationary, but a few began their lives as parade floats. My top three are: The Big Pelican, Noosaville, QLD: Percy – or sometimes Pete – began life as a float in the 1977 Noosaville Festival of Waters Parade, transporting a bevy of beauty queens. Ropes and levers could be pulled to make his wings flap, tail wag and eyes wink. Now bolted to the ground, Percy lures passers-by to a small foreshore park. The Big Cane Toad, Sarina, QLD: Originally crafted as the papier-mâché centrepiece on a float for the 1983 sugar festival, the toad – nicknamed ‘Buffy’ after the pest amphibian’s previous genus, Bufo – was subsequently cast in fibreglass. It now sits by the busy Bruce Highway. The Big Chook, Moonbi,…

IT WAS A hot summer’s day in January 1994 when Pierre Horwitz had his first memorable encounter with a sunset frog. “I was with my research assistant Kim and we were finishing our year-long survey of peatlands in the South West,” he recalls. They were holidaying with their families near Walpole when the pair decided on an impromptu field trip to a site they’d already surveyed three times. “I thought I’d have a final look to make sure I hadn’t missed anything,” Pierre says. “I reached down and put my hand into the peat, which I don’t do often. Under a peat ledge I felt something wet walk onto my hand. Instead of flicking it off, I gently cupped my hand – I don’t really know why – and brought…

PADDLING MY KAYAK from Schouten Island back to mainland Lutruwita/Tasmania, I found myself swallowed by the fog, driving rain splashing into the choppy Tasman Sea. But then, as if on cue, the fog lifted and about 100 dolphins materialised around me, leaping and frolicking – some even jumping across my bow. One moment I was gritting my teeth against the elements, the next I was dumbstruck before a spectacular aquatic ballet. While that encounter stands out in my memory as one of those raw, intimate connections with nature that sea kayaking is so good at delivering, it’s really one of countless such moments I’ve experienced over the years, thanks to the sport. Of course, sea kayaking is so much more than a sport – it’s a way to get up…

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1 Which park is older – Luna Park, Sydney, or Luna Park, Melbourne? 2 Who was Australia’s longest-serving Labor prime minister? 3 What type of animal is a banded humbug? 4 What is Australia’s largest inland city, with a population of more than 450,000? 5 How many Australians were on board the Titanic? 6 Who was the first British royal to visit Australia? 7 What is the common name for the small marsupials in the genus Potorous? 8 Who jointly designed the Australian War Memorial in Canberra? 9 MacKenzie Falls is located in which Victorian national park? 10 In what year was the Castle Hill Rebellion–Australia’s first convict uprising? 11 Which is larger: a squirrel glider or sugar glider? 12 In what year was Medicare introduced? 13 Which Australian scientist invented the black box flight recorder? 14 In which capital city is the Anzac…

CANOWINDRA PROUDLY DESCRIBES itself as the hot-air balloon capital of Australia. A combination of gentle breezes, excellent thermals and beautiful, undulating countryside make it ideal for the pastime of ballooning. Canowindra has an old-world charm, and it’s rich in both human and natural history. The award-winning Age of Fishes Museum, which has remarkable 360-million-year-old fish fossils on display, is one of the town’s major drawcards. Canowindra’s main thoroughfare, Gaskill Street, is a genuine time warp, a curiosity that still follows the winding route of the old bullock track. The street’s commercial precinct, with its ornate verandahs andVictorian-era architecture, is listed by the NationalTrust as a Heritage Conservation Area. The town was built on rich river flats and lies beside the Belubula River. Today, it’s a service centre for the fertile…