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Author Topic: Australia by Tibrogargan January 2007 - present and 155216+ views later!  (Read 657710 times)
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Tibrogargan
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« Reply #560 on: June 15, 2007, 05:53:36 AM »

MORE MAILBOX CURIOSITIES



























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« Reply #561 on: June 16, 2007, 02:04:19 AM »

HANGING ROCK, VICTORIA

Hanging Rock has been a favourite backdrop for social gatherings since the early days of European settlement, and was reputedly a hideout for bushrangers like ‘Mad Dog’ Morgan during the heady gold rush days. However, since Peter Weir’s film (1975) of Joan Lindsay’s novel (1967) Picnic at Hanging Rock, the mystery and intrigue surrounding the rock have been a drawcard.



The rock itself rises 105 metres from the plain and is a small steep-sided volcano known as a mamelon that was formed six million years ago over a vent in the earth. The lava in Hanging Rock has a particularly high soda content and over time rainwater has created unusual rock formations such as the Black Hole of Calcutta and the Cathedral.



Visitors can explore the history, mystery and geology of the rock and surrounding area through interpretive displays at the Hanging Rock interpretative centre. Enjoy a stroll around and up the rock or join a guided tour. There are also night tours during the summer months. The reserve is host to nearly 100 indigenous plants, and comes alive with colour in spring. There are many resident fauna, including 40 species of birds and nine mammal species, including koala, kangaroo, sugar gliders, echidna and wallabies.  Picnic races are hosted annually on Australia Day (January 26), New Years Day and Labour Day (March), a tradition lasting more than 80 years. In late February, enjoy a celebration of local food and wine at the annual Harvest Picnic.



This is the actual formation called the Hanging Rock

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« Reply #562 on: June 16, 2007, 02:17:33 AM »

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

© 1975 Picnic Productions Pty Ltd.
Starring Rachel Roberts Dominic Guard with Helen Morse and Jackie Weaver A McElroy & McElroy Production produced in association with Patricia Lovell....A film by Peter Weir....Screenplay by Cliff Green based on a novel by Joan Lindsay....Filmed with the South Australian Film Corporation & B.E.F. Distributors.



On Saturday 14th February 1900 a party of schoolgirls from Appleyard College picknicked at Hanging Rock, near Mt. Macedon in the State of Victoria. During the afternoon several members of the party disappeared without a trace ….........


Joan Lindsay's mysterious story was first published by F. W. Cheshire in 1967. While successful at the time, it was not until the adaptation of the story as a feature film by Producers Patricia Lovell, Hal & Jim McElroy, and Director Peter Weir in 1975 that the narrative became more widely known and acclaimed. Precise and evocative, Lindsay's narrative captures all too well the unique feeling at the Rock on a hot summers day - and this atmosphere, as well as the environment of a strict boarding school in 1900 were powerfully translated by director Peter Weir in a film that is now regarded as an Australian Classic.



The stunning visuals of the film won Director of Photography Russell Boyd a BAFTA for his Cinematography and were well combined with an impressively adapted screenplay, and unique blend of score. The film is also remembered for its iconic costumes, art direction and editing. A critical and box office success in Australia and Europe upon its release, the film was part of a renaissance of Australian Cinema – and became a foundational work in the careers of many prominent Australian cast and crew. The film was re-released in 1998 with a slightly shorter running time. It is screened after twilight in the Picnic Grounds at the Rock each Valentine's day.


PRODUCTION NOTES

Shooting began on location at Hanging Rock 50 km. north west of Melbourne on February 4th, 1975. The weather was fine and shooting proceeded on schedule with Director Peter Weir extremely pleased with the way both the cast and crew settled down. There was, however, one eerie note. The watches and clocks of the cast and crew behaved in an erratic manner as Executive Producer, Patricia Lovell reported at the time - "We are having trouble with time here. All our watches seem to be playing up. Mine stopped at 6.00 p.m. on the Rock, and a brand new alarm clock is either early or slow, but never correct, no matter what time we set it. Everyone seems to be having the same trouble and to ask the time has become quite a joke". This note will have a rather chilling overtone to those familiar with the story of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK. In both the book and the film the watches of the schoolgirls stopped at noon when they were on the rock and this was the cue for the strange and terrifying events that followed.



The cast and crew travelled to Adelaide and arrived co-incidentally on February 14th - St. Valentine's Day, the day on which the action starts in both the book and film in the year 1900. The first location in South Australia was at Strathalbyn where the Art Director David Copping and his assistants transferred Albyn Terrace into a street of the turn of the century Australian country town complete with 400 tonnes of earth spread over the asphalt road surface to give authenticity.  In the film Strathalbyn is "Woodend" a small country town not far from Hanging Rock. Unfortunately, the real Woodend has become too modernized to appear in a film set in the 1900's. However, Woodend's misfortune was Strathalbyn's good-fortune and many of the Strathalbyn residents appeared in the film as extras in period costume.



The next location in South Australia was Marbury School in Stirling in the Adelaide Hills. The fine main building of Marbury appears as the home of Col. and Mrs. Fitzhubert in the film. This time it was the school children who became deeply interested in the production of the film and the crew were kept busy answering their questions. 'Hamish", the School's pet labrador had a "bit" role in the film and we are sure everybody at Marbury will be looking out for him.

The most important location in the film, next to Hanging Rock itself, was Martindale Hall at Clare, South Australia. This magnificent two storey mansion was built for the Bowman family in 1877/79 and was the home of one of Australia's leading grazier families for many years. In the film Martindale Hall becomes Appleyard College presided over by the dominating presence of Mrs. Appleyard played by Rachel Roberts who took over the role at a few days notice when Vivian Merchant who was travelling to Australia became ill in Hong Kong.



Most of the interiors were shot at Martindale Hall, however, it was necessary that a complete duplicate of Mrs. Appleyard's study be constructed in the South Australian Film Corporation's Studio at Norwood. This study is a precise replica of one of the main rooms in Martindale Hall. The duplication was complete in every detail - down to the carved mouldings around the windows and was yet another achievement of David Copping and his assistant Chris Webster. Of the schoolgirls' cast, 12 were budding young talent from South Australia most of whom had never acted before and 2/3rds of the sizable crew were also South Australian technicians.
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« Reply #563 on: June 16, 2007, 02:20:40 AM »

MARTINDALE HALL

Martindale Hall is one of South Australia's best known historic houses and notable pastoral homesteads. Built on gently rising ground it commands a wide view across the countryside. The entrance hall, with black and white marble floor, leads into the main hall which gives access via a carved staircase to the first floor. This Georgian style mansion, about three kilometres from Mintaro, was designed by London architect, Ebenezer Gregg, and completed in 1879 for the princely sum of $72,000. The building project was supervised by Adelaide architect E. Woods. Almost all tradesmen who worked on Martindale came from England and returned when the job was finished. The ornately moulded and carved stonework is a tribute to the skill and care of those craftsmen.




The nearby Coach House and Stables, like the mansion itself, are all constructed of local Manoora sandstone and quartzite and have six stalls, two coach stores, a forage room and a groom's room. Most of the mansion walls are about a metre thick and the ceilings are nearly five metres high to combat the heat of the Australian summers. All the furniture, and whatever else was needed in and around the house, was bought in England and arrived on the ship India at Port Adelaide on 6 April 1880.
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« Reply #564 on: June 16, 2007, 02:27:04 AM »

NO PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

Presented by Justin Murphy….Researcher: Lesley Holden….Broadcast 8 August 2004

Truth or Fiction? Justin Murphy investigates the fascinating characters in Peter Weir's masterpiece 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'.

Everyone agrees Hanging Rock, near Mt Macedon, exists. It is an eerie place and an extraordinary geological formation. But did events on Valentine's Day 1900, described in the book and the subsequent film by Peter Weir, really happen or did 'The Rock', in part, inspire the works that have become embedded in our cultural imagination.

MICHAEL CATHCART: Now, history and legend are very close relatives, and sometimes telling them apart is pretty much impossible. But Justin Murphy's been trying to disentangle fact from fiction in a great Aussie mystery - a mystery that's become part of our collective memory thanks to that beautiful and iconic Aussie film made by Peter Weir back in 1975 - 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'.

JUSTIN MURPHY, REPORTER: Since Joan Lindsay wrote the book and Peter Weir made the movie and Miranda turned that last corner, the question at Hanging Rock has been asked every day for over 30 years - what happened here? Where did those girls go? Why is this place so mysterious? The tourists flock, all wanting to see for themselves. And almost all of them believe the story.

MAN: I wanna know what rock they were under. And...

JUSTIN MURPHY: You believe the story?

MAN: I believe the story, yes.

GUIDO BIGOLIN, RANGER, HANGING ROCK: What they do, they all ask me where these girls had gone missing, but really, you know, it's a big area. They could have gone missing anywhere.

JUSTIN MURPHY: This is a first edition of Joan Lindsay's book 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', dated 1967. And prominent in the frontispiece is the following paragraph. "Whether 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is fact or fiction "my readers must decide for themselves. "As the fateful picnic took place in the year 1900 "and all the characters who appear in this book are long since dead, "it hardly seems important." Clearly, she's leaving the mystery open.

PATRICIA LOVELL, PRODUCER: We wanted people to know... or to THINK it was a real story, because Joan was very enigmatic about it.

JUSTIN MURPHY: Patricia Lovell, who produced the film, also enhanced the myth.

PATRICIA LOVELL: I went through local newspapers of the time - back to the, um...to 1900, before. And three children were actually, um, found dead, but not on the rock, but close by.

JUSTIN MURPHY: Guido Bigolin has been the National Parks custodian of the rock for 23 years. Parts of the landscape are permanently frightening, he says, even to him.

GUIDO BIGOLIN: I mean, you do feel something's watching you.

JUSTIN MURPHY: Even you?

GUIDO BIGOLIN: Yeah, that's right. That's the truth.

JUSTIN MURPHY: And the rock is honeycombed with deep chimneys down which children might easily have slipped.  Do you believe it?

WOMAN: Yes.

JUSTIN MURPHY: You do?

WOMAN 2: They say it's true story.

WOMAN 3: I don't believe the outcome of the story of what they say, but I believe something happened. Someone killed her and they got rid of her body.

WOMAN 4: I believe maybe the girl...the girl, something happened in her life - maybe she was pregnant or she had another problem - and she killed herself.

WOMAN 5: So tell us the truth about it!

JUSTIN MURPHY: No, I'm not going to now. No.

WOMAN 5: Oh, please! (Laughs) You're not going to spoil our...mystery.

JUSTIN MURPHY: The other thing that fascinates me, that I hadn't heard before, is that...you were saying to me that you've seen almost all of the cast of the film back here from time to time.

GUIDO BIGOLIN: They have been back, yes. They have - in my time, yeah.

JUSTIN MURPHY: Just quietly. Unannounced.

GUIDO BIGOLIN: That's right.

JUSTIN MURPHY: Privately.

GUIDO BIGOLIN: Yeah.

JUSTIN MURPHY: One of those is Ann-Louise Lambert. Her character, the enchanting Miranda, had a surreal presence in the film - ethereal, untouchable, mysterious. One of her experiences on location connects eerily with that character. After one tough filming session where nothing went well, Lambert, in full costume, wandered off into the bush to be alone. She soon realised she was being followed. She turned to find an old woman clambering over the rocks towards her. Instantly, she recognised Joan Lindsay.

ANN-LOUISE LAMBERT, ACTOR: And she came up to me and just threw her arms around me immediately. And she said directly into my ear, um, "Oh, Miranda. It's been so long." And she was very emotional. And, um, and she just hung on to me for what seemed a long time. And finally she let me go and sort of stared at me. And she was, you know...she had tears in her eyes. And she was quite shaky. And it felt very...like a very powerful, very true thing, you know, that she was feeling. She was remembering somebody or something that was true.

JUSTIN MURPHY: So perhaps for Joan Lindsay, it wasn't all fiction. There is some truth after all. It hardly matters to Patricia Lovell. She won't be revisiting.

PATRICIA LOVELL, PRODUCER: My daughter insisted I went back in 1985. And we went up and we stood on a sort of lookout piece that I knew in one of those circles of rock faces. I said to her, "I've got to get off here. Very quickly. Now!" Which is exactly, you know, what we did. We packed up and she said, "What's wrong?" And I said, "I just am...afraid. I want to go. And I don't want to come back."
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« Reply #565 on: June 16, 2007, 02:33:22 AM »

Now thats a great country to visit!! Razz
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« Reply #566 on: June 17, 2007, 03:40:18 AM »

Yes *******. We like to look after our tourists and send them home safely, unless they insist on swimming with crocodiles.
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« Reply #567 on: June 17, 2007, 03:50:25 AM »

QUIRKY PLACE NAMES

Tasmania’s quirky and unusual place names reflect the island’s colourful history and appeal.

BAGDAD  



The small rural community of Bagdad, 40 km north of Hobart, was bombarded by confused web users in 2003, after the Iraqi invasion began. Messages of sympathy and support were sent to the town’s Online Access Centre from around the world.  Whereas the besieged Iraqi city of Baghdad is home to around 5 million people, the population of the Tasmanian town is just 650.

BAY OF FIRES

In the far north-east, the Bay of Fires was named by Captain Tobias Furneaux in 1773 upon seeing the blaze of Aboriginal fires burning along the shore.

BUST-ME-GALL HILL & BREAK-ME-NECK HILL



Situated on the road from Hobart to Orford, the precise derivation of these two names is not known for certain, however, early east coast settlers and travellers, with their bullock drays laden with supplies, had difficulty in negotiating the two steep sections of road. The assent of Bust-Me-Gall was so difficult that travellers often had to dismount from their horses or wagons in order to relieve the animals of some of their burden. The descent on the other side was just as steep and equally difficult to negotiate.

Legend has it that Break-Me-Neck was named after an exclamation uttered by a wagoner during his first experience of the hill. It is not surprising that after negotiating these two hills and the Gatehouse Marshes, the trip down the Prosser River Valley with its convict-built road was seen as, and accordingly named, Paradise Gorge.

D'ENTRECASTREAU CHANNEL

This area was named after French Rear Admiral Bruni d’Entrecasteaux, surveyor of much of south-eastern Tasmania in 1792.

DISMAL SWAMP

Named by early explorers for the ‘dismal’ (wet) experience they had surveying the swamp. Dismal Swamp today is one of Tasmania’s most novel tourist attractions – an exciting mix of fun-park and nature. Dismal Swamp is located on the north-west coast, between Smithton and Marrawah.

DOO TOWN

Just passed Eaglehawk Neck, on the way to Tasman’s Arch, the Blowhole and the Devil’s Kitchen is the holiday village of Doo Town. The homes have all been named in the ‘Doo’ theme: Gunadoo, This-Will-Doo, Doo-All, Doo-Come-In, Just-Doo-It, Doodle Doo, Love Me Doo, Doo Us, Doo Me, Doo Nix, Wee Doo, Xanadu, Rum Doo, Much-a-Doo, Didgeri-Doo, Doo-Drop-In  and, the house which reputedly started the fashion, Doo Little – a suitable name for a holiday home. There is one dissenting house in the town, daringly named Medhurst.

ELEPHANT PASS



Named after Mount Elephant, which is said to look like the silhouette of this animal.

HELL'S GATES

Popular belief has it that this name refers to the fact that the entrance to Macquarie Harbour can be treacherous. In fact, it was named Hell’s Gates because of the hellish conditions of the penal colony in the harbour.

PARADISE



Paradise, in north-west Tasmania, was named by its first white settlers, who were devout Calvinists.
The original name was Reuben Austen’s Paradise, after one of the settlers, who remarked upon seeing the sun glistening on the picturesque mountain vista, ‘This is Paradise.’

PENGUIN

This pretty seaside town overlooking Bass Strait was named by the distinguished botanist Robert Campbell Gunn after – unsurprisingly – the fairy penguins that still inhabit the local coastline.

PROMISED LAND



Named by early settlers because of its promise of a better life, the area is today home of Tasmania’s International Rowing Course at Lake Barrington.

SNUG



South along the Channel Highway from Hobart lies the adorably named town of Snug. Proclaimed a town in 1908, the name is believed to have come from sailors who found ‘snug’ anchorage for their ships in the D’Entrecastreauxi Channel. Interestingly, blocks of freestone cut from the quarry nearby were used in the building of the Melbourne General Post Office.

And there are more:

Daisy Bell, Egg and Bacon Bay, Flowerpot, Jetsonville, Milkshake Hills, Nook, Nowhere Else, Needles, Ouse, Squeaking Point, and Tomahawk… and many more to discover.
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« Reply #568 on: June 17, 2007, 03:55:38 AM »

THE MAN IN THE KANGAROO SKIN .....

A line of ferocious dogs and detachment of military guards kept a constant watch along the narrow isthmus at Eaglehawk Neck. They were on the lookout for escaped convicts from Port Arthur. Many convicts attempted escape but only a few ever made it via Eaglehawk Neck.

Some died in the thick bush or drowned whilst attempting a sea crossing on rafts and makeshift canoes. Many were deterred from trying to swim the shallow waters of Eaglehawk Bay as it was believed the waters were shark infested.

Some of the escape attempts were quite ingenious. The convict Billy Hunt disguised himself by draping himself in a kangaroo skin. He then attempted to hop across the 'Neck". He nearly made it except one of the soldiers who decided to shoot the big roo to supplement their supply of meat. Fortunately for Billy the shot went astray and he was forced to reveal himself before a second shot was fired.
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« Reply #569 on: June 17, 2007, 04:01:42 AM »

OUR EARLY AMERICAN VISITORS

1848:
William Smith O'Brien took part in the "Young Ireland" uprising and in consequence was deported to VDL and served time at Port Arthur. Among non-criminal convicts to Tasmania were 143 Canadians and Americans apprehended during the civil uprising in Canada in 1837-8 and five Maori leaders in 1846, after the insurrection in NZ.
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« Reply #570 on: June 18, 2007, 05:29:13 AM »

WHO WERE THE BUSHRANGERS?
 
The meaning of the word "Bushranger" has evolved over the years. In the early years of European settlement it referred to a good bushman with the hunting, horsemanship and survival skills needed to live in the Australian 'bush'.  Nobody can say accurately what the total number of bushrangers was, though there were probably hundreds, many of whom received little attention. Prison records show convictions for offences such as 'Robbery Under Arms' or 'Highway Robbery'.

NED KELLY



Many books written about the Bushrangers identify three groups or 'waves' of bushranging, which helps us understand who they were.  

THE CONVICT BUSHRANGERS

'Better dead than living in hell.'
As the dumping ground for the worst of England's criminal system during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Australia became a society outside of the law. The majority of early immigrants were convicts or their keepers, resentful of authority and the harsh conditions of life in the hulks and penal settlements of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania). 'Between 1788 and 1868, 140 000 males and 25 000 females were transported to Australia as convicts." (Disher 1981, p1) Most of them were thieves, though many had committed more serious crimes. All of them were poor, and lived a mean existence in crowded prisons or hulks (prison ships), with poor food, hard labour and brutal punishment for wrongs. They worked for the wealthy landowners and free settlers, as well as constructing the roads, bridges and buildings for the new colony. The usual sentence was seven years transportation, but many could not bear it and became 'bolters', preferring to take their chances escaping into the bush.

CAPTURE OF FRANK GARDINER (etching)



Alone in rough country without possessions they 'bailed up' travellers and robbed farms for money, horses, food, guns and clothing, and became the first bushrangers. 'The years of brutal treatment in prison, lack of food, and the need always to stay ahead of the police and settlers' guns, meant that normal standards of behaviour no longer applied for them' (Disher 1981, p4). They had no respect for the rights of others, had nothing to lose for their robbery and murder and were greatly feared. Stories of their depravity take in murder and cannibalism, though this latter abomination was the vice of a minority who had no qualms using their fellow absconders as a mobile food supply.

Many escapees had little chance of surviving in the bush of their new country. Few lived long in freedom. Some died of starvation, sickness or exposure, or were killed by the police and landowners. Those who were captured alive were hanged or flogged and those that survived died in prison or exile.  

GOLD FEVER

The second factor that led to bushranging was the gold rush of the 1850's and 1860's which saw a mass exodus from the coastal cities to the ranges. Traffic on the roads to the early goldfields at Orange and Turon in New South Wales and Ballarat in Victoria was heavy. There were no banks on the gold fields, you carried your gold on you. Those who struck it rich became an easy target for those who preferred stealing to working. Many diggers were robbed or killed. 'On the Kiandra diggings in New South Wales in the 1860s, diggers formed the Miners' Protection Committee to protect their gold from the raids of Frank Gardiner's gang..' (Disher 1981 p19).

FRED WARD (CAPT. THUNDERBOLT)



In Boldrewood's 'Robbery Under Arms' Dick Marston describes how he, like many bushrangers, examined the gold escort before it left the diggings: We used to go up sometimes to see the gold escort start...The gold was taken down to Sydney once a week in a strong express wagon- something like a Yankee coach, with leather springs and a high driving seat; so that four horses could be harnessed. One of the police sergeants generally drove, a trooper fully armed with rifle and revolver on the box beside him. In the back seat two more troopers with their Sniders ready for action; two more a hundred yards ahead, and another couple about the same distance behind.

Bushrangers held people up on the lonely roads near the gold fields and raided wealthy squatters with properties near the gold towns. The police of the time had little hope of keeping things under control and had a very poor image. Many of them had resigned the force to go after gold and the quality of new recruits was often dubious leading to the many newspaper cartoons of the time which portrayed them as bumbling, incompetent or corrupt. One sarcastic comment from the Argus , 13 December 1856 reads, The police reward fund has now accumulated to a very large amount, and cannot be better laid out than by handsomely rewarding those who so readily risked their lives in ridding society of its greatest curse...

DEATH OF BEN HALL (etching)



THE WILD COLONIAL BOYS

Unlike the convicts who chose to take their risks in the bush to escape the harsh conditions of captivity, the next wave of bushrangers were native born, bush bred youths and young men, the sons in most cases of free poor settlers, who combined contempt for authority with a spirit of reckless adventure. They were stronger, healthier and better horsemen than their forebears, and some such as Captain Starlight, were eagre to acquire notoriety. Some like 'Mad' Dan Morgan were ruthless and vicious murderers, but others were almost admired for their daring, flashness and treatment of women. Four of the most notorious were Frank Gardiner, Ben Hall and Fred Ward and Ned Kelly.
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« Reply #571 on: June 18, 2007, 11:34:58 AM »

Thanks so much for all the information on Hanging Rock. I would love to visit there one day!
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« Reply #572 on: June 19, 2007, 02:48:26 AM »

I found it interesting also, BT!  I have seen the movie a few times and it is eerie but not in a frightening way.  I think the setting around 1900 and the period costumes added to the air of mystery, along with the soundtrack. Then when I started to investigate some of the background to the book wondering if there was any basis to the original story or whether the author just had a vivid imagination, I found a few things that make you go hmmmm...
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« Reply #573 on: June 19, 2007, 03:15:09 AM »

BACK TO THE SIXTIES

NIMBIN --  Australia's most famous hippie destination



There was a time there was a sleepy little dairy village hidden in the hills behind Lismore and Murwillumbah. Being 785 km north of Sydney via the Pacific Highway and Lismore (it is 25 km north of Lismore), and being on the edge of the Nightcap National Park, it was an isolated settlement where things had barely changed since the arrival of Europeans in the 1840s. Then in 1973 the Australian Union of Students (AUS) chose the Nimbin Valley as the venue for an experimental Aquarius Festival. The festival was to be 'a total, cultural experience through the lifestyle of participation' and attracted students, alternative lifestylers and hippies from all over Australia. It was an extraordinary period when people put up tents and camped and talked and dreamed. Most of the weekend visitors returned to the cities and their regular jobs but a small number of idealists and visionaries stayed on and formed the basis of a lifestyle experiment which has attracted attention over the years.



Before European settlement the area was inhabited by the Bundjalung, Nimbinjee and Whiyabul Aborigines. It has been suggested that the town's name comes from the Nimbinjee people. The early settlers in the area were timber cutters and farmers. The timber cutters moved through the area in the 1840s searching for cedar and other hardwoods. The town was subdivided in 1903 and gazetted in 1906. By 1908 the district was producing enough dairy products to justify the establishment of a local Dairy Co-operative. The town's dairy industry was in decline by the 1960s and in many ways, although the locals were initially resistant to change, the arrival of the alternative lifestyle community sustained the entire region.




After the Aquarius Festival the Tuntable Falls Co-ordination Co-operative was established. It purchased 486 hectares for $100,000 and sold 500 shares in the co-operative for $200 each. This was the beginning of the radicalisation of the valley and it led to the establishment of other co-operatives including Paradise Valley Pastoral Company and Nmbngee. The 'alternative society' has been able to prosper because this is impossibly rich land with a rainfall which ranges from 1500-2000 mm per year and which is ideal, particularly in the pockets of rich rainforest, for the growing of bananas, paw paws, mangoes and kiwi fruit. Some of these fruit are grown commercially and sent to the markets in Sydney and Brisbane.



It is equally true that many of the people who settled in the area were deeply committed to alternative forms of agriculture. Today, local practitioners of permaculture, organic food growing and energy efficiency are at the cutting edge of world developments.
 
In NSW, the cultivation, selling and possession of cannabis is illegal. In Nimbin, however, all three activities continue unabated. It has a high tolerance for cannabis plant (marijuana), with the open buying, selling & consumption of locally grown cannabis on the streets and laneways.



.

NIMBIN ROCKS



The remains of ancient, eroded volcanic dyke the Nimbin Rocks are located on the Lismore Road 3 km south of the town. It has been estimated that they are 20 million years old. It is claimed that the rocks have special significance to the local Aborigines who regard them as a sacred burial site. They can be seen on the west side of the road.

CULLEN STREET



For most visitors Nimbin is a different world. A timewarp where bright psychedelic colours, people with their eyes firmly on the idealism of the 1960s, vegetarianism, alternative health therapies are all part of daily life. To wander along the main street of Nimbin is to experience this timewarp. The cafes are full of wholesome food. The shops are full of crafts. This is the heart of the Nimbin experience. Walk along the street and absorb the atmosphere. The Rainbow Cafe is probably the most famous of all the venues on the main street. The Nimbin Museum is a record of the town's hippie history.

MOUNT WARNING



Mt Warning (known as Wollumbin to the Bundjalung people) is close by, the summit of which is the first point of mainland Australia to see the sunrise and can be climbed following an 8km track through forested slopes. Mount Warning is the solid plug at the centre of a caldera containing the Tweed River, where, millions of years ago, a volcano had stood instead. Nimbin is on the outside edge of that ancient volcano.
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« Reply #574 on: June 20, 2007, 02:39:51 AM »

NORFOLK ISLAND

Norfolk Island is a self governing Australian Territory situated in the South Pacific approximately 1,600km north-east of Sydney, 900 km north-east of Lord Howe Island and 1,100km north-west of Auckland. It is about 8 klong and 5 km wide with an area of 3,455 hectares. It is one of Australia's oldest Territories, with a history of European occupation as old as that of mainland Australia.

The Island was uninhabited when discovered by Captain Cook in 1774. However, there is archaeological evidence of Polynesian or Melanesian presence on Norfolk long before its settlement by Europeans, perhaps as long ago as the twelfth century. The Island was first occupied and settled by the British in 1788, by a party from the settlement at Sydney then itself only 5 weeks old. The settlement on Norfolk Island played an important role in supplying Sydney until it became self-supporting. Norfolk's first settlement lasted until 1814 when the community were resettled in Tasmania, or Van Dieman's Land. Norfolk was reoccupied by the British in 1825 and used as a penal station to house convicts sent from NSW and Tasmania. The penal station was closed in 1855 and its remains are today a major tourist attraction.



Norfolk Island formed part of NSW until 1844 and then part of Tasmania from 1844 to 1856. In 1856, the British Government agreed to relocate the 193 descendants of the Bounty Mutineers from Pitcairn Island to Norfolk Island. To this end, Norfolk Island was severed from Tasmania and established as a separate and distinct settlement. From then until the end of the nineteenth century, Norfolk Island became the responsibility of the Governor of New South Wales acting as the agent of British colonial authorities in London. In practice, the Islanders looked after most of their own affairs and lived a self sufficient and largely subsistence existence.
In 1897, the British Government placed the Island under the direct administration of the colony of New South Wales with provision for its annexation to any federal body of which NSW might subsequently form part. This arrangement continued when New South Wales became an Australian State on Federation in 1900. In 1914, by a combination of the Australian Parliament's passage of the Norfolk Island Act 1913 and an Order in Council signed by King George the Fifth, Norfolk Island became an Australia Territory under the authority of the Australian Commonwealth.



From 1914 until 1979 the local affairs of the Island were governed by an Administrator appointed by the Federal Government, supported by a locally appointed or elected advisory council. In 1979 the Federal Government granted a significant degree of self-government to the Island's 2,000 residents which continues today. Descendants of the original Pitcairn Islanders now make up about 48 percent of the permanent resident population of Norfolk Island.

MUTINY

Captain William Bligh set sail from England on H.M.S Bounty on 23 December 1787. Bligh had been given instructions to collect breadfruit and other plants from Tahiti, and transport the plants to the West Indies, where the English had intended to use the breadfruit as a cheap source of food for slaves.

Bligh was an inflexible disciplinarian, who regularly used his hostile tongue to unmercifully attack his shipmates. Despite his enormous intelligence, Bligh's people skills were virtually non-existent. Of the crew on board H.M.S Bounty, Master's Mate Fletcher Christian, a product of a wealthy and highly respected English family, was Bligh's closest companion. After 10 months at sea, the Bounty had reached Tahiti, where its crew received an overwhelming friendly welcome from the natives. The delights of Tahiti, such as its sandy beaches, exotic food, and enticing women, captivated the crew; so much so that the crew stayed for twenty weeks when it took just three to collect the breadfruit plants. Bligh had let discipline crumble during their stay in Tahiti.



When the time came to resume their journey, Bligh immediately converted back to being a strict disciplinarian; continuing to use humiliating insults to scorn officers, including Fletcher Christian, in front of their ship mates. Christian, who had fallen in love and married a Tahitian woman named Mi'Mitti during his stay on Tahiti, took particular offence to Bligh's ongoing abuse. On 28 April 1789, Christian leads some of his fellow officers to mutineer. Bligh, and 18 of his loyal shipmates, were set adrift in a long boat near one of the Tongan islands. Some seven weeks later, having battled starvation and inclement weather, Bligh arrived at Timor.

Christian returned to Tahiti to collect the 'wives' of his remaining crew, and then proceeded to sail to Toobouai. Having withstood an attack by natives, they decided to return to Tahiti. Sixteen people remained on Tahiti, while nine of the original crew, including Christian, and their wives, six Polynesian men and a baby stayed on the Bounty is search of a sanctuary. They were to find tiny Pitcairn Island, where they settled. (Source: The Essential Guide to Norfolk Island, Peter Clarke)
 
ISLANDERS

The arrival of the Pitcairn people provided a fresh dimension to Norfolk Island. They have maintained and cultivated their distinctive culture and language, and preserved the rich history and natural magnificence of the Island. The Third period of occupation on Norfolk Island began when the descendants of the Bounty mutineers sailed from Pitcairn Island to settle on Norfolk Island. 194 people (40 men and 47 women, 54 boys and 53 girls) made this 3700 mile, five week journey to Norfolk Island; arriving on 8 June 1856. Almost all these new settlers were descendants of the most famous naval mutiny in modern history - HMS Bounty. Given this, most of the new settlers carried names such as Adams, Buffett, Christian, Evans, McCoy, Nobbs, Quintal, and Young.



June 8 remains the most significant date on Norfolk Island calendar each year. Bounty Day, or Anniversary Day as it is more formerly called is a public holiday where the people of Norfolk Island celebrate the arrival of their forebears. Bounty Day has not altered over generations and even today the food, friendship and style of clothing still portray the traditions of yesteryear. One of the features of the day is the re-enactment of the landing of the Pitcairn people on Norfolk Island, and the procession march through the historic ruins at Kingston. Two small groups subsequently returned to Pitcairn Island, while the remainder made Norfolk their home.

For many years agriculture formed the basis of the Island's economy. The majority of the Islanders lived a subsistence lifestyle, growing their own food. In later years their incomes were supplemented by exporting produce and by whaling. They have a special connection with the Island, and a unique culture and heritage that has been preserved for future generations. The descendants of the Bounty and their Tahitian wives brought their own language with them when they migrated to Norfolk Island. Norfolk is a unique mixture of 18th Century English and Polynesian. English is the most commonly used language on the Island, however you will hear the Islanders talk to one another in Norfolk.



Island dancing, music, singing, basket weaving, and arts and crafts also remain very important elements of the Norfolk Island culture. Norfolk Islanders also have their own unique cuisine. Visitors can sample many tasty local dishes such as Pilhai (baked kumera), Mudda (banana dumplings), and Hihi Pie (made with periwinkles). Due to there being so many shared surnames, many of the descendents are listed in the local telephone book by their nicknames for identification purposes - Lettuce Leaf, Spuddy, Bubby, Diddles, Loppy to name just a few.

During the Second World War and airstrip was built on the Island. This proved a catalyst for change. With easier access to Norfolk, tourism developed to the point where it became the mainstay of the economy. Tourism remains Norfolk's main industry, although farming and fishing are still important aspects of Island life.




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« Reply #575 on: June 21, 2007, 03:52:51 AM »

NORFOLK ISLAND (continued)

PARADISE

Captain James Cook, on his second voyage around the world, discovered the uninhabited Island on 10 October 1774, some thirty thousand centuries after Norfolk Island propelled itself above the ocean's surface.  Norfolk Island was essentially uninhabited up until Cook discovered the Island in 1774. Upon discovery, Cook named the Island in honour of the Duchess of Norfolk - a wife of the noblest peer of England. While the Island was uninhabited at the time of discovery, evidence of previous occupation by Polynesians has since been found.



Given the minute size and isolation of Norfolk Island, it's hard to imagine just how Cook managed to stumble across this Island Paradise. Cook was impressed by the native pine trees and flax on the Island. He judged (mistakenly) that the pines would be suitable for masts of large ships and that sail-cloth and cordage could be made from the flax. These resources were important factors in Cook's recommendation that Norfolk Island be secured for the British Crown. A monument to Cook's discovery stands at Duncombe Bay, where Cook first landed on Norfolk Island.

CONVICTS

First Settlement (1788-1814)

Norfolk Island is the site of one of the earliest European settlements in the Southwest Pacific. It is arguably the most famous place of secondary punishment for nineteenth century British Convicts. On 6 March 1788, less than two months after the establishment of the colony of New South Wales, Lieutenant Philip Gidley King and 22 settlers (including 9 male and 6 female convicts) landed at what is now Kingston, Norfolk Island. The produce from this settlement probably saved the Sydney inhabitants from starvation, but by 1804 it was no longer needed. However, the settlement met with mixed success. The soil was fertile, but clearing the rainforest proved difficult and early crops were attacked by rats and parrots. On 19 March 1790 HMS Sirius the flagship of the First Fleet, was wrecked on the reef at Kingston. Although there was no loss of life, the incident highlighted the settlement's vulnerability.



Despite these difficulties, the settlement continued to grow, reaching a population of over 1100. However, the settlement failed to become self-supporting and proved to be both difficult and expensive to maintain. From 1806 onwards the inhabitants were gradually transferred to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). In 1814 the settlement was abandoned, following destruction of all buildings to discourage unauthorised occupation of the Island. Norfolk Island was to remain uninhabited for another 11 years.

Second Settlement (1825-1855)

In 1825 when a second penal settlement was established, without free settlers, for the worst convicts from New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. It was officially described as a place of the extremist punishment, short of death.



Conditions were harsh and inhumane; often triggering murders, mutinies and escape attempts by the convicts. The only exception was the period from 1840 to 1844 when the treatment of prisoners improved dramatically under Captain Alexander Maconochie, an enlightened prison reformer.
The following statements were written during the Second Settlement and they provide us with an insight into the horrendous treatment inflicted upon the convicts during this period:
Their sunken glazed eyes, deadly pale faces, hollow fleshless cheeks and once manly limbs shriveled and withered up as if by premature old age, created horror among those in court. There was not one of the six who had not undergone from time to time, a thousand lashes each and more. They looked less like human beings than the shadows of gnomes who had risen from their sepulchral abode. What man was or ever could be reclaimed under such a system as this?
Judge Sir Roger Therry - Source: The Essential Guide to Norfolk Island; Peter Clarke)
I have to record the most heart-rending scene that I ever witnessed. The turnkey unlocked the cell door and Ù. Then came fourth a yellow exhalation, the produce of the bodies of the men confined therein. I announced to them who were reprieved from death and which of them were to die. It is a literal fact that each man who heard of his reprieve wept bitterly, and each man who heard his condemnation of death went down on his knees, and with dry eyes, thanked God they were to be delivered from this horrid place. The morning came, they received on their knees the sentence as the will of God. Loosened from their chains, they fell down in the dust, and, in the warmth of their gratitude, kissed the very feet that had brought them peace.
Bishop Ullathorne - Source: The Essential Guide to Norfolk Island; Peter Clarke



During the Second Settlement the convict population of the Island reached a maximum of about 2,000. The fine buildings at Kingston were built by convicts during this period. However, by 1855 public pressure finally led to the abandonment of the Island as a penal colony. Many of the convicts were transported to Port Arthur and New Norfolk in Van Diemens' Land (Tasmania).



Over the past 35 years, the Australian and Norfolk Island governments have undertaken a comprehensive program to conserve the early buildings and ruins in the Kingston and Arthur's Vale Area. The Area is on the Register of the National Estate and is of international heritage significance. Visitors can wander around or take a guided tour through the many historic ruins and buildings, including the 'New Goal', with its solitary confinement apartments and cells designed to prevent the transmission of light or sound. Evidence indicates that such cells drove the occupant insane. Barracks, stores, offices and homes from this era can be visited, while four public museums and numerous private museums help give a perspective of Norfolk Island's fascinating history.

TODAY

Some things on Norfolk Island have changed little over the years. Many of the Islanders preserve their Pitcairn heritage and speak the distinctive traditional language passed down from the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives. Cows still graze under the commonage system and goods from ships are still brought ashore in lighters, as the Island has no natural harbour. However, meeting the demands of the tourism industry has meant that a wide range of services and most modern comforts are now available.

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« Reply #576 on: June 22, 2007, 02:42:13 AM »

COLLEEN McCULLOUGH

Colleen McCullough was born in western New South Wales in 1937. A neuroscientist by training, she worked in various Sydney and English hospitals before settling into 10 years of research and teaching in the Department of Neurology at the Yale Medical School in the USA. In 1974 her first novel, Tim, was published in New York, followed by the bestselling The Thorn Birds in 1977 and a string of successful novels.  In 1980 she settled in Norfolk Island, where she lives with her husband, Ric Robinson.

Colleen McCullough will battle blindness as she has battled any other obstacle - with vigour. She is calm, matter-of-fact. "I cross my bridges when I come to them," she says. "I haven't worked out how I'm going to write when I'm completely blind." At the age of 69, the best-selling author, creator of that monster hit The Thorn Birds and one of Australia's national treasures, has lost sight in her left eye. Her vision is "still hanging in there".



"I have all sorts of weird symptoms. I've lost depth of field, so I can't tell the height of steps or drops in the floor. It's very difficult to walk." She has a terror of falling and injuring herself. "But I can still see to type, thank God." About two years ago, McCullough was diagnosed with macular degeneration, a disease that atrophies the retina. Though it can be treated, she expects to lose all her central vision in both eyes.

But despite her difficulties, nothing can keep McCullough from an author tour. This week she's in Melbourne to promote her latest novel, Angel Puss. With the help of her "seeing-eye humans", particularly her husband, Norfolk Islander Ric Ion-Robinson, and her assistant Angie, she can still be guided into literary lunches and interviews. And when I talk to her on the phone at her home in Norfolk Island, she sounds as indomitable as ever: full of strong opinions on everything from the recent Pitcairn Island rape trials - "the flipping Brits have set them up, they're supposed to be able to follow their own customs, it's Polynesian to break in your girls at 12" - to computers: "I don't like them, I don't want to be told by some inanimate piece of junk that it's right and I'm wrong. Hur-hur-hur."



It's as if there are two women inside McCullough. One is the recluse and workaholic who reads and writes through the night. She first built up a career in three continents as a neurophysiologist, in the days when few women had careers in science or medicine, and went on to write 15 very different books, some of which required vast amounts of research: she's very proud of her encyclopaedic knowledge of ancient Rome.
To be quite honest, I found (men) a terrible waste of time.

The other woman is more gregarious: a forceful personality, a patron of causes with an infectious joie de vivre and an earthy sense of humour. She doesn't know where any of this comes from. All her family were dour bushies who loved sport. McCullough had always written for pleasure, but she started to write fiction for publication when she realised that she was heading for an impecunious old age. She wanted enough money to be able to pay for repairs if she broke the toilet bowl. So she was delighted, in 1974, when her first novel, Tim, made her $US50,000. Then, in 1977, came the totally unexpected phenomenon of The Thorn Birds, and McCullough, now a millionaire, had to quit her job because she had become a tourist attraction.



McCullough does quite a bit of hur-hur-hur down the phone. "I'm feisty, too. I think there are a lot of us around," she says. "Thank God the world is not full of wimpish women." Big women all have great laughs, she says: "There's a bit of flesh there to make the laugh resonate." Angel Puss is based on the four years McCullough spent in King's Cross in the early 1960s. She had just left home and was delighted to have her own flat, although she had to share a toilet and bathroom and squash a lot of cockroaches. The rigid hierarchy of the hospital in which she worked, where nobody could even put up a funny poster on the wall without the dragonish matron's permission, contrasted with the "magic" of the Cross.  In those days, McCullough says, it wasn't the "sleazy, tawdry horrible place" it is now. "Up at the Cross, there were devil worshippers and all sorts, and everybody got on. It was the only place where lesbians could just bowl up to the bar at the Rex Hotel and have a schooner and nobody would bat an eyelid."

Her heroine Harriet gets into sex and has quite a few boyfriends. But McCullough says she wasn't like that herself: "I was such a bluestocking. Where Harriet was out doing things, I was there with my head buried in a book. I was one of those people who rather despised men, without being a lesbian. To be quite honest, I found them a terrible waste of time. If I did have a boyfriend, I used to boot him out ruthlessly before midnight, because I wanted to work - and they did get under your feet." One of her aims in writing the book was to show what "an awful world" Australia was for single women at that time: they earned half as much as men, couldn't get the pill, abortion was illegal, and if they had a child, they had to give it up for adoption. And if they married, they often had to give up their jobs. "I thought the world belonged to men, and that was a terrible thing. You were forced to make a choice between a career and a husband. I never had any doubts: I never intended to choose a husband."



Father Ralph de Bricassart ..............Richard Chamberlain
Meggie Cleary (adult)................................. Rachel Ward


Indeed, McCullough didn't change her mind about marriage until she met Ion-Robinson on Norfolk Island when she was 46. They have been married for over 20 years: "It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. We're still very happy - much to the chagrin of a lot of people who thought we'd last five minutes." There's a whodunit on the way, a seventh book in the Masters of Rome series, and an opera about Cleopatra she is working on with a German composer. Clearly, McCullough is not going to let impending blindness get in her way. "I'm firmly convinced I can train my peripheral vision to do a lot of what my central vision does," she says. "I'm going to get there. I'm determined."

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« Reply #577 on: June 22, 2007, 03:31:49 AM »

RARE DOLPHIN BABY BOOM

Article from: AAP….June 22, 2007 12:00am

A DOLPHIN has become a grandmother just weeks after giving birth herself in a rare event at SeaWorld on the Gold Coast. The 25-year-old bottlenose dolphin called Salty gave birth to a male calf, named Sunrise, nine weeks ago at Sea World, on the Gold Coast.

Two weeks ago, Salty's daughter Hallie gave birth to a yet-to-be-named female. Sunrise was Salty's second calf after she gave birth to Hallie in 1990. Sea World's marine sciences director Trevor Long said the arrival of a third-generation calf was extremely rare. "This third-generation breeding is a testament to Sea World's animal husbandry expertise," he said.

Bottlenose dolphins have a life span of about 30 years in the wild but can live to 50 in captivity. Both baby dolphins are currently on display in the park's dolphin nursery. It is hoped they will be reared at Sea World and take part in its interactive educational programs.



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« Reply #578 on: June 23, 2007, 03:20:26 AM »

A MOTHER WAITS

Transcript of ABC Radio Broadcast: 05/12/2003
Reporter: Judy Tierney

JUDY TIERNEY: One of the most baffling cases of a missing person in Tasmania continues to interest police 34 years after it happened.

20-year-old Lucille Butterworth disappeared from a bus stop in 1969.

She was close to her family, about to become engaged and had everything to live for.

The cop who took over the case eight years ago is confident someone will be brought to justice and bring to an end the agony suffered by Lucille's Butterworth's ageing mother.

WIN BUTTERWORTH: She said goodbye normal and she used to set my hair and she just said “Wash your hair tomorrow “and when I come home I'll set it.”

Practically, that would be the last.

JUDY TIERNEY: That was the last time Win Butterworth would see her 20-year-old daughter Lucille.

It was 25 August 1969.

WIN BUTTERWORTH: Bubbly, she was full of life, loved.

WIN BUTTERWORTH, 1969: And I said, “Well have a nice time tonight, pet, ring me in the morning and let me know.”

And she said, “Yes I will do that Mum, don't worry about me.”

JUDY TIERNEY: After a day working at the local radio station, this vivacious and popular young woman accepted a lift from a colleague to a bus stop.

Lucille Butterworth was on her way to a Miss Tasmania fundraising meeting in New Norfolk.

REPORTER, 1969: This is where the trail of Lucille known movements ends.

What happened from here on no-one knows.

JUDY TIERNEY: For Win Butterworth, that dreadful day is as vivid now as it was all those years ago.

WIN BUTTERWORTH, 1969: Nearly out of my mind.

No-one knows, I feels as though I have had a limb torn away from me.

It is a terrible feeling.

Dreadful.

We were so close.

She was just our world.

WIN BUTTERWORTH : She had an orangey-coloured uniform that was the office uniform and the coat, that black coat with the white.

She used to model, she loved modelling.

And she modelled that coat and she walked around and then she came over to where I was sitting and she said, “I love this Mum -- can I have it?”

And I said, “Yes, you can have it.”

JUDY TIERNEY: It's a case that has never closed and eight years ago was passed on to policeman John Ward.

He's taken a particular interest because he wants it solved for Win Butterworth.

SERGEANT JOHN WARD, TASMANIA POLICE: Obviously Mrs Butterworth isn't getting any younger and I'd like to have a result for her.

The thing that she said that really left an impression in my mind when I first met her, she said she goes to bed every night thinking about her daughter Lucille and she wakes up thinking about it.

And she has done that for the past 34 years.

JUDY TIERNEY: The last 34 years have been hard on the whole Butterworth family.

Support for Win Butterworth now comes from her two sons Jim and John.

Her husband died in 1984.

JOHN BUTTERWORTH, BROTHER: We hope before my mother passes away that we do get an answer for her peace of mind.

Sure Jimmy and I will probably at some stage or another find out.

It's had an adverse affect on my father, it killed him in the end and we just hope that Mum can persevere and stick with it until we find an answer -- and we will, definitely.

JIM BUTTERWORTH, BROTHER: I suppose really she's lost a daughter and knows she's lost a daughter but she would like to know where she's lost her and who took her.

And after that I would imagine she'd have some feeling of relief that the person, if they're caught, is going to suffer like she's had to suffer all those years.

How she's stood up to it, I don't know.

There were a couple of times she lost it a little bit but she's been absolutely a rock.

JOHN FITZGERALD, FORMER BOYFRIEND: We had the world at our feet and that was just taken away from us.

JUDY TIERNEY: Lucille Butterworth's disappearance has also tormented her former boyfriend John Fitzgerald.

He lived in New Norfolk and on the evening of Lucille's disappearance he was waiting for her to arrive on the bus.

JOHN FITZGERALD: Sometimes if Lucille didn't turn up it didn't worry me and I used to just go and get ready and go to the meeting and then phone the next day and see what had happened -- whether she'd been sick or whatever.

So it's just one of those things.

To this day that really concerns me that I just went off to the meeting and if I had only phoned I would have known what had happened.

JUDY TIERNEY: The Butterworth family didn't realise Lucille was missing until the next morning until John Fitzgerald phoned to speak to his girlfriend.

The couple had planned their engagement, had identical rings crafted and were about to make the announcement.

JOHN FITZGERALD: As far as I know, that night she would have been wearing that ring -- as far as I know.

We were trying to keep it a bit of a secret about the engagement and it was very hard trying to keep a secret and yet be so excited about the whole thing.

JUDY TIERNEY: Still struggling to understand why his girlfriend could be seen one minute at a bus stop and gone the next has taken a toll on John Fitzgerald's health.

JOHN FITZGERALD: There was nothing, it was just as if she'd just disappeared, just zapped off the earth.

It's just like someone saying to you, “I know a secret and I'm not going to tell you what that secret is" and I think if we could find an answer to what happened to Lucille we would be able to settle a lot better.

JUDY TIERNEY: Finding the answer rests with Sergeant John Ward, who's running out of time.

But he has established suspects.

So you have got more than one?

JOHN WARD: Yes Three, possibly four?

JOHN WARD: Yes.

So you can't tell us how many suspects you might have?

JOHN WARD: No, I can't.

JUDY TIERNEY: The answer, John Ward believes, will come from a member of the public.

JOHN WARD: What you need to consider is that the people who may have been involved could be in their 60s and 70s now.

There's an enormous amount of evidence available within the file as you can see.

There's a lot of paperwork there and, again, I believe there is a member of the public out there who knows the answer.

And someone with some information if they can come to me and I can investigate it and I can certainly protect them people.

JUDY TIERNEY: What John Ward is banking on is information from the now-separated wives or partners of suspects.

It may be a long shot, but the Butterworth family too believes it could be their last hope.

WIN BUTTERWORTH: I'd plead to them as a mother to think about another mother that's suffered all those years and lost their child for all those years.

Just maybe they'd be good enough to give us some sort of hope, some sort of lead.

JOHN BUTTERWORTH: They may think of something and they may think it's about time they suggested their thoughts to the police which may help us.

JOHN FITZGERALD: Please, if anyone has the slightest bit of information that can put this to rest, I beg of them please do something about it now, particularly for mum Butterworth.

She's an old lady now and I feel it's a very cruel thing for her not to have an answer.

JUDY TIERNEY: Opposite the bus stop where Lucille Butterworth went missing there's now a rose garden.

A plaque on a seat is a sad reminder of that day in 1969.

JOHN BUTTERWORTH: When my dad died one of his wishes was to have his ashes spread out here in the rose garden.

JUDY TIERNEY: Win Butterworth's wish is the same, her ashes will be spread here, but not before, she pleads, she settles the years of anguish.

WIN BUTTERWORTH: Someone may talk and we'll have something to put it to rest that little piece of peace of mind, instead of the wondering, wondering.

.
My note :  New Norfolk is a small semi-rural town with a population about 5000 and is up river about 20 miles from Claremont, which is a northern suburb of Hobart.
I lived in Hobart at the time of Lucille's disappearance and it was a big story at the time and a most unusual event for sleepy Tasmania.
If I remember correctly (it is 38 years ago) the bus she expected to catch was late or may have been cancelled.  The local Police Force believed at the time that a taxi driver could have picked her up from the bus stop and they had their suspicions as to who the driver was, but could not prove anything.
Last month a skeleton was found in undergrowth near a Claremont bay and revived Lucille's story but it was identified as a missing male.

I hope the people who expect Beth to let go of her quest for answers and move on gain some small understanding from this story that a mother never forgets and never gives up hoping their prayers will be answered.  God bless Beth and Mrs Butterworth and all other families with missing loved ones.
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« Reply #579 on: June 23, 2007, 03:30:27 AM »

WHEN THE CHILDREN COME HOME

Henry Lawson
      
On a lonely selection far out in the West
An old woman works all the day without rest,
And she croons, as she toils 'neath the sky's glassy dome,
`Sure I'll keep the ould place till the childer come home.'

She mends all the fences, she grubs, and she ploughs,
She drives the old horse and she milks all the cows,
And she sings to herself as she thatches the stack,
`Sure I'll keep the ould place till the childer come back.'

It is five weary years since her old husband died;
And oft as he lay on his deathbed he sighed
`Sure one man can bring up ten children, he can,
An' it's strange that ten sons cannot keep one old man.'

Whenever the scowling old sundowners come,
And cunningly ask if the master's at home,
`Be off,' she replies, `with your blarney and cant,
Or I'll call my son Andy; he's workin' beyant.'

`Git out,' she replies, though she trembles with fear,
For she lives all alone and no neighbours are near;
But she says to herself, when she's like to despond,
That the boys are at work in the paddock beyond.

Ah, none of her children need follow the plough,
And some have grown rich in the city ere now;
Yet she says: `They might come when the shearing is done,
And I'll keep the ould place if it's only for one.'
Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
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