Building a seed bank for iconic forests: FCNSW
Forestry Corporation has embarked on a seed collection program to safeguard some of the most iconic forests in New South Wales. The giant eucalypt forests of the NSW high country dominated by Alpine Ash were severely impacted by the Black Summer bushfires.
Publican’s beer dream of a microbrewery for Woodburn close to coming true
For 20 years publican Daniel Simpson has wanted to brew his own beer at the Rod n Reel Hotel in Woodburn. That dream is close to becoming a reality. After the floods, Daniel bought the pub building and has put in a Development Application for a microbrewery.
Spreading illness down generations
Ted Sterle and Don Fuller. The explosion of type two diabetes, obesity, kidney disease and renal failure among remote and closed NT Aboriginal communities – at least 10 times the incidence among non-Aboriginal people – can be tracked to poor lifestyle choices not only within individuals: Such acquired changes can be passed on to the offspring down generations.
Australia’s winter crop planting up, but production to hang on La Niña – Rabobank
Australia’s farmers are expected to plant 23.55 million hectares to winter crops this year – up more than three per cent on 2023 – despite a mixed start to the season across the country, Rabobank says in its 2024/25 Australian Winter Crop Outlook ... This year’s winter crop planting – representing a 3.6 per cent increase on 2023/24 though down 1.8 per cent on the five-year average...
Wheels turn for Charlton Motor Club
Jenny Pollard. Like-minded motoring enthusiasts showed their support as the Charlton “Wheels on A79 Car, Truck and Tractor Club” was launched at the Traveller’s Rest last Sunday morning. The multi-vehicle and highway-defined title has been a deliberate attempt to embrace as wide a range of participants as possible – not just from the local areas, but also to include locations from along the Calder Highway route, with Charlton providing the nucleus of the operation.
Statement on Perth farmer protests: NFF
David Jochinke. The Prime Minister, Ag Minister and all parliamentarians need to take a good look at what’s unfolding in Perth this morning. This is a grassroots farmer demonstration of historic proportions ... This latest call on live sheep exports has lit a fire under the industry and brought people together like you wouldn’t believe.
Cattle monitoring goes next level with artificial intelligence: Furner
Moove over ChatGPT – we’ll soon be using artificial intelligence to monitor cattle. The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Goondiwindi-based company Infarm have collaborated to create a prototype automated camera system to detect cattle and monitor their condition using advances in machine vision and AI.
James Lister speaks out: wind farms blow the seeds of community division
James Lister MP. Recent talk of more wind farm developments in our electorate of Southern Downs has stirred up all kinds of anger and ill feeling in the community. The fundamental problem is the exclusion of local input from state government level decisions over where wind and solar farms should be.
Maldon’s B-double blues
With a friendly community and picture postcard appeal, Maldon may be one of the most liveable towns in Australia. Nothing’s perfect, however, and in Maldon’s case one of the irritants is the constant stream of trucks through the town centre.
Timber’s role in the rise of Australian butter: Robert Onfray
Robert Onfray. While researching for my three-part series on the truth behind the rainforest wars in New South Wales, there was a constant theme in the historical account of utilising one species of rainforest timber. While the cutting of hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) was undoubtedly very extensive in New South Wales, the scale of utilisation in Queensland was even more significant, and one of its primary uses was for butter boxes.
New signage to track Nornalup rail history
Serena Kirby. The Denmark Historical Society is in the process of erecting information signage along the Denmark - Nornalup Rail Trail. The 38 signs provide historical background about the origins, significance and role that the old Elleker-Denmark-Nornalup railway line played in opening up the surrounding areas for grazing and settlement.
We need more cops
Local Member for Condamine Pat Weir believes more staff are needed at the Cambooya and Drayton police stations, an issue that has not been made any easier by the wider staff retention crisis facing the Queensland Police Service.
New barber hunts the good life
While the fishing and hunting opportunities in the region have brought Stuart Gallus to Corryong, his profession as a master barber has also filled a niche on the local business front.
Fire officer pulls pin over loss of vehicle
The Group Captain for the Southern Border region of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has resigned after being asked to return his official vehicle. Lankeys Creek volunteer brigade member, John Hawkins, claims that on May 17th he had been told by his RFS manager that his Group vehicle - a 2005 Toyota Landcruiser with 600lts of water (classed as a Cat 9) - was to be taken off him, with no replacement available ... In his resignation letter, Mr Hawkins also took the RFS to task over a number of other issues.
Banking’s big business
I had a quiet moment of reflection after watching Bendigo Bank’s new commercial featuring Wakool farmer and butcher extraordinaire Hayley Patterson. The ad campaign titled Bigger for You points the finger at the ‘big four’, citing the Bendigo Bank is “Bigger for the community I care about”. It's a great line ...
‘Forest of the Fallen’ visits Kerang
600 bamboo stakes stood amongst the crowd at the Kerang Community Market on Saturday. Each stake held the story of an Australian who had an adverse reaction to the mandated Covid-19 therapeutic.
The road to Nhill in the Kaniva School Bus
John Williams. Being a Nhill townie, getting to and from High School was a quick bike ride for most of us. Some put boiling water in the handlebars for the chilly Winter ride to the cattle pit gates ... A few took the George Merrett blue and silver town bus, either the GMC or Chevrolet.
News from the Nhill Book Fair – antique, vintage and classic books.
This month, book fair volunteers have started sorting through the collection of Vintage, Antique and Classic Books. Sorting vintage and antique are easy. Any hardcover book printed between 1918 and 1978 can be called vintage and any book printed before 1918 can be called antique.
Kaniva District Hospital Ladies Auxiliary celebrates centenary
The Kaniva District Hospital Ladies Auxiliary marked their 100th Anniversary on Wednesday, 22nd May ... Chair Katherine Colbert expressed gratitude for the Auxiliary’s century-long support and highlighted its importance to the Kaniva community.
Volunteers track local success with tourist trains
As they stood in the shadow of the heritage 1960s 621/721 class rail motor at Grafton City Station, volunteers from the Rail Motor Society reflected with heartfelt pride and passion on the unequivocal diligence and resoluteness of their ongoing work which enabled local railway enthusiasts to experience the sensation of travelling in historic style over the weekend.
Are we uninsurable?
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite insurance costs have risen, resulting in home and contents insurance being cost prohibitive for some Clarence Valley homeowners with prices ranging from $35.51 to $252.36 per week, while in some parts of the valley some companies refuse to insure homes ... To determine home and contents insurance costs across the region and if we are insurable, the Clarence Valley Independent sought quotes for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, single storey home...
NT in top 3 regions worldwide for critical minerals potential: Lawler, Monaghan
The Northern Territory has 17 of the world’s most in demand critical minerals, including lithium, rare earths, graphite and copper and in independent report ranks the Territory in the top 10 globally for investment attractiveness, and 3rd globally for Mineral Potential behind WA and Nevada in the US ... An outcome evaluation report by Deloitte has shown that the first four years of the Resourcing the Territory initiative – introduced by the Territory Labor Government in 2018 – has helped significantly boost investment in resources exploration in the NT.
