Australia Day on Lord Howe Island
The Australia Day celebration started with a big turnout at the sandcastle competition. This was followed by a flag-raising ceremony and keynote speech delivered by retired High Court Judge, His Honour, Justice Murray Gleeson.
Woodhen survey
Suzie Christensen, LHIB. The woodhen survey has seen another increase in woodhen number with more than 1,000 woodhens counted. This is a record number of woodhens for the Island, surpassing the 778 individuals counted last March.
Mobile phone microcell consultation summary
Suzie Christensen, LHIB. The Lord Howe Island Board has received a proposal from Telstra to install a mobile phone microcell, funded through the blackspot program. The tower is to be built on crown land, and as such, the Board’s role is to determine whether or not to grant Owner’s Consent ... 90 of the 131 responses (68%) were not in favour.
What’s in a name?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s now famous poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ embodies the seaman’s superstition ... somewhat bizarrely, whilst researching the story of the Lord Howe Sylph through various newspaper reports in the 1850s, 60s and 70s, I was somewhat (superstitiously?) struck by the proportionately high number of Sylphs that sailed into deeply troubled waters in those decades.
MV Fearless
As a consequence of a powerful storm on Melbourne Cup Day (Tuesday 1st November), the marine rescue vessel, MV Fearless, broke its mooring and was beached on east side of Blackburn Island.
The debacle of Ansett flying boat, Pacific Chieftain
On the evening of 2nd of July 1963, Pacific Chieftain was moored overnight - just south of Blackburn Island - when a gale snapped its mooring and the aircraft was washed up near Windy Point.
Where Lies The Heart
Where Lies The Heart is a rollicking tale set in the 1800's about whaling in the South Pacific, the cedar getters of the 'Big Scrub' in the far North Coast of New South Wales and the convicts of Norfolk Island.
