Date: July 1st 2011

 Westprint Friday Five July 1st 2011  

Included this week:

·                     Vale Tom Kruse

·                     Warrambool

·                     Milparinka Gymkhana

 

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Friday Five  

1.            Field Guide to Australian Wildflowers. Field Guide to Australian Wildflowers describes more than 1000 of the most common species found in Australia, each listed alphabetically within their family group. Colour photography illustrates each species and, where helpful for identification purposes, line drawings of the leaf or fruit are also included. The comprehensive introduction contains information on: - How to identify wildflowers in the field, including structure, form and function - Flower family groups - Classification and terminology - Vegetation zones. $45.95 plus post. Add to Cart

2.            Native Trees And Shrubs South East Australia. New Edition. Leon Costermans. A comprehensive coverage of 900 species stretching from the Flinders and Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia, across Victoria and southern New South Wales to the NSW South Coast. It records the land and its vegetation in a scientifically accurate, but accessible, style. In a systematic sequence, every species is illustrated and accompanied by a distribution map. Descriptive information is concise, and carefully researched. There are more than 300 colour plates and over 160 black and white photographs. $44.95 plus post. Add to Cart  

3.            Wildflowers & Plants of Inland Australia. This popular wildflower book is one of the best publications covering much of Central Australia. $24.95 plus post. Add to Cart  

4.          Wollemi Pine (The). James Woodford. The incredible discovery of a living fossil from the age of the dinosaurs. $24.95 plus post. Add to Cart  

5.            Native Plants of Northern Australia. "Native Plants of Northern Australia presents a comprehensive coverage of the trees and shrubs of the region - 450 species are described, with 700 colour photographs and 26 line drawings. Each species is individually presented with photos, extensive descriptive information and distribution maps. Aboriginal plant usage is also recorded, including food, craft and medicinal uses. This book will prove a valuable reference for native plant enthusiasts, botany students and naturalists." $48.00 plus post. Add to Cart

 

Products are allocated on a first-come first serve basis. To reserve your copy of any of the following books please email info@westprint.com.au with the title you are interested in. All emails will be answered during the following week, either with details of how to pay, or a ‘sorry, the item has already sold’ email. Where possible, postage on multiple items will be recalculated to offer you the best price.  

Postage Rates. These items will usually not be found on our website. Orders will be supplied on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis. Westprint normal postage rates are now $8.50 for one book, $11.00 for two books, $13.00 for 3 or more books. Free post applies to orders of more than $150.00. Postage rates apply to Australia only. Airmail postage rates apply to overseas orders.

 

Friday Forum

Jo’s comments are in green.  

Disclaimer.

Please note that the opinions and articles included in the Friday Five are not necessarily those of the Westprint mob. Nor do we endorse any products (other than our own), or tours listed in contributed articles.  

Notes from the office:  

Today is the first day of the new financial year (oh yay!). No orders will be processed today but we should be back in business on Monday when stocktaking is finished. Many thanks to Graeme who has been doing the stock count by himself.  

Vale Tom Kruse  

Some sad news for the Friday Five. Mr. Tom Kruse MBE passed away peacefully yesterday morning at 7.40 at the Fullarton Lutheran Home. The Kruse family was at his side. There will be a public funeral in Adelaide later next week – below is a current biography. I’m sure most of your readers would want to know of his passing – a good man just left the room. Ian Doyle. Executive Producer. The Back of Beyond Collection. 0417 819 189  

Biography. E.G. (Tom) Kruse MBE

Esmond Gerald (Tom) Kruse was born on August 28th 1914. He is the tenth of Ida and ‘Harry’ (Henry) Kruse’s twelve children. His father was a blacksmith at Waterloo north of Adelaide. Tom left school in 1927 and did various labouring jobs in the district including working in his father’s blacksmith shop where he lost a finger as a result of an accident. After a few years he moved to Yunta in the pastoral northeast to work in a small garage owned by his older brother Snow. Tom’s truck driving career started in 1932 working for Yunta storekeeper and postmaster John Penna. Tom was eighteen years old. In 1934, pioneering outback transport operator and mail contractor Harry Ding’s moved his operation from Olary to Yunta. He bought out Snow’s garage and John Penna’s business and offered Tom a job.

The expanding Ding enterprise won the tough and potentially lucrative Birdsville Track mail contract. On January 1st 1936, in searing 45-degree heat, Tom drove his first Marree to Birdsville mail run. Mail, fuel, supplies and the occasional passenger had to get through and Tom did battle with sand hills, dust storms, flies and floods, swollen rivers and creeks along the Birdsville Track every fortnight. Round trips between Marree and Birdsville normally took seven days but when the Cooper flooded across the track, it could take as long as six weeks.

Some other well-known Birdsville Track mailmen include Monty Scobie, Ken Crombie, Fred Teague, Tom Robinson and Max Bowden. In 1939 Tom helped transporting supplies for Dr. Cecil Madigan, the second European to cross the Simpson Desert by camel.

After his marriage to Valma Fuller in 1942, the newlyweds settled at Marree and became more or less branch managers for Harry Ding at Marree and Lyndhurst.

In late 1947 Tom bought the Marree based part of the Ding operation. Harry had moved to Wilcannia in western NSW in 1944. On January 1st 1948, twelve years to the day after he drove his first Marree to Birdsville mail run, Tom took over the Birdsville mail contract for 396 pounds a year. Tom held it for 15 years and sold it in 1963.

In early 1951 Tom stopped doing regular trips along the track. He had started an earthmoving and tank sinking business in the pastoral north.

 

Byron Bay to Steep Point Query

·                     This site http://outbacktagalong.com.au/trans_van.html will give you some ideas. Great Desert Tracks maps would be a good start plus of course the Westprint maps. Rod  

·                     In 2006 Steve Sheers (LROCV) produced a DVD. It is available as a 2 DVD set which includes the original movie the Leyland’s made of the 1966 crossing. Wheels Across a Wilderness revisited. The DVD also includes film of the talk that Mike Leyland gave at a meeting. There may be a copy in the club library - otherwise a search of the internet will give some outlets. There were printed club trip reports at the time. Also of interest is the book - Where Dead Men Lie written by Mike and Mal about their trip - available from second hand outlets. Pete  

Where Dead Men Lie is out of print. Wheels Across a Wilderness 2DVD set is available from Westprint.  

Birdsville Track Query  

We are thinking of going to Birdsville in July. Does anyone have any info on the tracks going up the Birdsville track or up though Broken Hill? We have 4x4 and off road camper. Stephen  

Diamantina Lakes

We were through that area last week and officially the roads were still closed while restoration work from the floods was continued, and to be reassessed before the end of June. Local knowledge from Boulia clearly indicated that they should really be open now as there are no problems with them. Jim

What’s a Warrambool?  

·                     Definitions comments and updates are at the address below. David. http://www.paradisec.org.au/blog/2011/06/what’s-a-warrambool  

·                     My son is an Information Management Officer for a Catchment Management Authority in Northern New South Wales tells me that a “warrambool” is a large depression in the ground much like a gilgai (there are also smaller versions called melon holes). It is much larger than a gilgai and would normally be the size of 3 to 4 football fields. Some are like a small lake and are large enough to water ski on. They fill in a good season but eventually dry up again as would a gilgai. They occur in the black soil country of northern New South Wales along catchments of the Darling River System (and possibly other places as well). Hope this might shed some light on the subject. Phill. KELSO.  

·                     Perhaps the following might enlighten us further, concerning "Warrambool". Here's the close-up interactive map. Noel. http://maps.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=204055&cmd=sp#map

·                     Took a little bit of effort but I found an answer to the question. I also found that there are 25 place names containing "warrambool" in NSW & Vic. Wash  

The Surveyor: Volumes 21-22 Institution of Surveyors, Australia - 1908 At intervals they are intersected by low ground, usually a warrambool, or flood channel, towards which they slope somewhat rapidly. These two features, the ridgy area on the one side and the low-lying or warrambool country on the other,

The Euahlayi Tribe A Study Of Aboriginal Life In Australia - Page 93 Langloh Parker - 2004 - 140 pages The Milky Way is a warrambool, or water overflow; the stars are the fires, and the dusky haze the smoke from them, which spirits of the dead ... To get to the Warrambool, the Wurrawilberoo, two dark spots in Scorpio, have to be passed

 

Corner Country – Milparinka Gymkhana  

“On Saturday July 9^th the annual Milparinka Gymkhana will be run on the Milparinka Sports’ Grounds. The day’s activities include children’s and adults gymkhana events, are fully catered and will have a band and dancing in the evening. It’s always a good day out for the family.

The week following the gymkhana will be a school holiday heritage discovery program at the Milparinka Heritage Precinct. Each day of that week there will be activities based around discovering Aboriginal heritage (looking at tools, plants, names of animals and so on) as well as activities along that theme. There will also be opportunities to learn about things that grow and move along our creeks, and on our station properties.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we will be joined by a geologist from Broken Hill who will guide visitors through the heritage of Charles Sturt’s expedition, as well life on the Albert Goldfields in the 1880s. There will be tag along tours to Mt Poole and Mt Browne for anyone who wants to join in. We will also have a “sausage sizzle” available for hungry people because, as you know, the hotel, is still closed in Milparinka.

The activities are sponsored by the Western Catchment Management Authority, but a donation toward extra costs, especially the BBQ, will be appreciated.” Ruth. www.outbacknsw.com.au, and email visitcornercountry@bigpond.com  

New Caravan Park  

Greetings, whilst in Charleville a couple of weeks ago, after you mentioned the Charleville Bush camp, we checked it out, pleasant lady, well laid out, spacious sites. Everything is very new but it sure looks like it has a future, if you fit the criteria, we do we will try it next time. We often stay at Evening Star; it is a fair bit of fun with the camp fire and the adjacent barbecues. Good spot for a spell for a day or two. Cam’nMarg  

Fitzgerald River National Park  

Trigelow Beach access (North) 4WD access CLOSED due to erosion caused by heavy seas. Fitzgerald Inlet Track 4WD access CLOSED due to wet soil conditions.

Quaalup South Road 4WD access OPEN. Road is very corrugated – use caution.

Quoin Head Track 4WD access CLOSED due to wet soil conditions.

Pitchie Ritchie Track 4WD access OPEN.

Moir Track 4WD access CLOSED due to wet soil conditions.

4 Mile Campsite CLOSED due to wildfire damage.

Googs Track Information

I returned last Thursday 23rd June, 2011 from a 10 day Survey Trek centred mostly around SA. One of the many Tracks we surveyed was Googs Track. Driving the Track from South to North is at present in poor condition, however driving South to North is the recommended direction and not just a suggestion, this information is what you will receive should you make enquiries at any of the Information Centres and/or the Towns located around and near the track. Driving North to South is hazardous and DANGEROUS especially to those travelling on the Track in the correct manner. (Name supplied)

Kingoonya

In 1982 Kingoonya was shut down and moved across to the newly built Glendambo, until 5 years ago when my husband and I came to Kingoonya and re-opened the Kingoonya Hotel. In that 5 years we have renovated and built up a reputation based on good service, good food and cold beer and through winter a hot fire. We are opened 7 days a week and provide meals and budget accommodation along with free camping by the public toilets and showers in the old caravan park, that in time we hope to have back up and running again. 2 years ago Maralinga Tjarutja put Fuel pumps in which is now in negotiations for new buyers, we will update you when we have more information on this. All you need is a card (Debit/Credit card) with a pin number, if you get stuck we can show you how to use the system but that’s all the control we have. We can also help to the best of our ability with repairs for your car. We hold a small amount of gear and if we don’t have it or can’t help you we will endeavour to get you what you need or get you the help we can’t provide.
We are a small business in the outback that does what we can to help the people on the road, please help us stay open! If it wasn’t for places like Kingoonya you would travel further and further to get the services that we provide, and remember if you don’t ask we can’t help.  Maria Perry. Publican of Kingoonya Waterhole. We can be contacted on (08) 8672 1002, or email perry_byrne@bigpond.com The Progress Association also has a website @ www.kingoonya.org.au  

• This is being sent from Kingoonya, where 9 Trakmaster Caravans and their 18 occupants spent a pleasant evening last night free camping across the road from the hotel. A fantastic meal provided by the hotel the previous evening. Clean toilets at the free camp site and freshly raked sites were very welcoming. There is no fuel available to Kingoonya you have to drive to Glendambo approx. 40 kms to the East on the Stuart Highway for fuel. We have just come off the Googs track...great fun and caught up again with our C'vans which were left behind on a private sheep station close by. No issues but was somewhat rough as your contributor last week pointed out. David on behalf of the group of owners with the Trakmaster Offroad Caravan Club 

• I was heartened to find Kingoonya & the Waterhole Pub to be just as their website depicts http://www.kingoonya.org.au There are meals, accommodation, fuel (both Diesel & Unleaded) available and when I downloaded the stories from FF over the past weeks I must admit the Residents of Kingoonya and surrounds were disappointed to say the least. Kingoonya now also has full Mobile Phone Service and Internet as well! Am looking forward to seeing them again when I go back thru late this year or early next on Survey. (Name supplied)

• We did the Googs Track in May 2011 and when we got to Kingoonya (9 May) the Hotel was open; we called in and had a drink. We spoke to another party the next day and they stayed overnight at the hotel, had a meal etc. We purchased fuel there from the self serve pumps (up the side street of the hotel) @ $1.60pl only credit cards (probably accept debit cards). Greg

Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park

Abseiling anchor points Wilyabrup sea cliffs. The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) advises that three of the abseiling anchor points at Wilyabrup sea cliffs in Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park have been tied off with danger tape and are not to be used until the testing of these points have been completed.  

Friday Funnies  

What do you get when you cross a Bumble Bee with a doorbell? A: A Real Hum-dinger.

Q: What do you call two spiders who just got married? A: Newlywebs.

Larry's proverbs...

1. A day without sunshine is like night.

2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

 

My apologies to all the blokes out there ‘cos this is really a girl’s joke. Brings tears to my eyes every time I read it!

When you have to visit a public toilet, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it’s your turn, you check for feet under the cubicle doors. Every cubicle is occupied. Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn’t matter, the wait has been so long you’re desperate.

The dispenser for the modern ‘seat covers’ (invented by some Mum, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your bag on the door hook, if there was one, so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mum would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!) down with your pants and assume ‘The Stance’. In this position, your aging, toneless, thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but having not taken time to wipe the seat or to lay toilet paper on it, you hold ‘The Stance’. To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser.

In your mind, you can hear your mother’s voice saying, ‘Dear, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper.’ Your thighs quiver. You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your bag (the bag around your neck, that now you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do, so you crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail.

Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn’t work. The door hits your bag, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest and you and your bag topple backward against the tank of the toilet. ‘In Here’ you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, while losing your footing altogether and sliding down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it’s too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, ‘You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get’

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl and spraying a fine mist of water that covers your rear and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force and you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a sweet wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the handbasins.

You can't figure out how to operate the taps with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting. You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it?) You yank the paper from your shoe, plonk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, ‘Here, you just might need this’. As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used and left the men's toilet. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long and why is your bag hanging around your neck?

This is dedicated to women everywhere. It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers that other commonly asked question about why women go to the toilets in pairs. It's so the other girl can hold the door, hang onto your bag and hand you Kleenex under the door.

To all of our Faithful Friday Five readers.

Westprint contact details:

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Fax: - 03 5391 1473

Snail Mail: - 6 Park St. Nhill, Vic 3418  

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Cheers for now,

 

Jo

 

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