Campfires and Crows by Rex Ellis | Community
Campfires and Crows by Rex Ellis
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25.01.2022 IN AND OUT OF LAZY RIVER Nearly three years ago I began a Darling River journey on my paddlewheeler, the ‘Dromedary’. It was my intention to try and reach Bourke at the top end of the river. There hadn’t been a large boat past the sixty odd kilometres mark up river from Wentworth where the Murray River water runs out, since 1956, when the Renmark took out the last load of wool by paddlesteamer. There hadn’t been a boat up the river from Pooncarie bridge for nearly eighty year...Continue reading
23.01.2022 AN ISLAND ON FIRE Kangaroo Island has arguably suffered its worst disaster since European settlement a bushfire , which, most of the time was impossible to fight. The fire that did the most damage by far, was that which was started by lightning in the larrikin lagoon region of Flinders Chase National park. Any enquiry will establish what happened, but it would appear that the fire was stoppable in its early stages. The lightning strike was reported early that morni...ng, and the dozers and Grader were ready to go in and contain it. Permissiom was denied from the powers that be, for three hours. When permission was finally given, it was too late. The fire jumped the breaks, and was away. The rest is history. I lived on KI for ten years, and was almost burnt out just before we left. I was sitting in my upstairs office at The Ravine, when I saw smoke about five kilometres away in The Chase after overnight lightning. I rang National Parks headquarters, and offered to go out with my camels, and put it out with a knapsack. I was told that it was being monitered, and not to worry. Well, several days later it ‘came out’, and burnt out a large area. These are not isolated incidents, where people on the ground are ignored, and decisions made by people in offices, often far removed from the scene. Surely, if several knowledgeable locals in each district had the power to act early, these ongoing ‘stuffups’ could be avoided. Maybe after this event, things will change. The other big lesson staring us in the face, is the fact that Fire Bunkers have rarely been mentioned during these fires. Staff from the Wilderness Lodge on the south coast went into a Bunker there, and were saved. There are other isolated examples around the country, where well constructed Bunkers have allowed residents to stay with their properties and save houses etc, after the fire front has passed. This cannot be ignored. It seems that gutless Governments will not sanction them due to fear of litigation if people are killed in these situations. Well, they had better have a rethink. Surely for future dwellings to be approved by Councils, apart from fireproof materials being mandatory (including Hempcrete), Fire Bunkers should also be mandatory. Instead of that extra spare bedroom, that hardly ever gets used, install a Bunker, and stick a bed in it. We will watch with interest. Check Rex Ellis’s Outback books
22.01.2022 LIVING WITH JACK RUSSELLS (PART 2) Our next dog was called Stubbie, and from the start he demonstrated two interesting talents. He had a capacity for climbing any trees that had trunks that were sloping sufficiently for him to make his way up them. After the initial amusement, this became a bit of a worry, because dogs are not cats, and if they fall, continued good health is not necessarily a result. His other talent was to throw himself into a howling frenzy if...Continue reading
22.01.2022 HOUSES DON’T HAVE TO BURN Every caring citizen will be appalled at the number of houses that have been destroyed in this disastrous bushfire season--- and no doubt will continue to be destroyed as the season progresses. I am amazed that in all the ongoing publicity, one important factor hasn’t been mentioned BUNKERS.. fire bunkers. After the previous Victorian bushfires that took such a huge toll of human life, Bunkers were very much in the news. In fact, it was a grow...Continue reading
18.01.2022 Living with Jack Russells Part One I have owned Jack Russell Terriers for the last twenty seven years, and from the start have to say that they own you as much as you own them as any owner would agree. Our first one was a dog called ‘Trouble’. He only lived for two years before he and a brown snake killed each other, but he truly lived up to his name. When he went down a rabbit burrow, he came out when HE was ready, and I had to look at the ...Continue reading
18.01.2022 PARADISE LOST Australia day has come and gone. Celebrations took place, awards were given out, flags were flown, and an atmosphere of festivity took place across this wide brown land. Australians have a lot to celebrate and be thankful about. During our short history(European), this country has achieved many things. We punch above our weight in a lot of things, Sport, War, the Arts, and the list goes on. But to be truly great, mistakes and weaknesses need to be acknowledge...Continue reading
17.01.2022 STONEY’S FORTIETH A mate of mine, Stoney, used to live at the little Eyre Peninsular town of Darke Peake. Thirty odd years ago he had a 40th Birthday coming up and I had an invitation. I told him I couldn’t go, but I fully intended to. Like myself, he had been involved in a lot of practical jokes over the years and I thought this was a big opportunity. I contacted a mutual friend called Bill Oliver, who lived in Tennant Creek at the time, and told him what I had in mind. I th...Continue reading
17.01.2022 IN THE DEEP END Early in January I was taking my paddlewheeler down to Mannum to be slipped. A mate of mine, Matt Reilly from Burra, and a friend, were travelling with us in their houseboat. A friend of mine Claire Barry was travelling with me. We had camped just upstream from Blanchetown. Next morning there was a strong cool change with a south westerly blowing, making travel on the river unpleasant. My Jack Russell, Billy, was also on board, and travelling where h...Continue reading
17.01.2022 PHYSICAL BOOK LAUNCHES Most book launches are fairly formal affairs. The author or publisher invites a group of people to a venue. Book signing and sales occur at the start or finish of proceedings. Speeches are made extolling the virtues of the book, the crowd applauds before getting stuck into the ‘grog’ , the amount varying depending on the generosity of the ‘scribe’ or publisher. Fair enough. My first two books didn’t get any sort of launch. Probably because I was so sur...Continue reading
15.01.2022 OUT OF THE DARLING AND BACK TO THE MURRAY My Paddlewheeler, the Dromedary, has spent nearly three years on the Darling river. After an earlier ‘testing the water trip’up to the Pooncarie Bridge and back, we finally left Wentworth on June 11th 2012. With three different moorings, waiting for enough water, we were lifted around the Menindee weir on Anzac day 2013, and three days later arrived at Nelia Gaari station. This property is half way between Menindee and Wilcannia, an...Continue reading
15.01.2022 SPREADING THE ASHES For all of those that have had their family members cremated, most would have been involved in ‘spreading the ashes’. Some do it soon after the death, years later, or maybe some never do. My late wife Patti, was cremated.Several weeks after the funeral, my two daughters and one of my grandsons stood at the rear of my paddlewheeler with her ashes. We watched as the Murray very slowly take some downriver. I wondered at the time where ...Continue reading
14.01.2022 AUSTRALIA THE SMART COUNTRY? You’ve Got To Be Joking! At the risk of flogging a heavily flogged ‘hobby horse’ to death, you wobbly, hard up for something to read wobbly readers, are going to cop another dose. The subject being INDUSTRIAL HEMP. A few facts....Continue reading
10.01.2022 GELIGNITE JACK A Couple of months ago, a good old mate of mine passed away. His name was Jack Bailey, and he lived in Morgan. His family owned Paddlewheelers and Jack had a very adventurous childhood in Morgan. He was part of the first Australian Special Airservice Regiment [SAS], and saw action in the Korean war. I first came into contact with Jack on the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia, on Rawlinna Station. This was newly developed pastoral country, taken up by B.H....Continue reading
09.01.2022 THE BIG BROWN In 2005, my eldest daughter Georgi, was married on the beach at Ocean Shores in NSW. The beach was totally deserted ( early morning ), except for a bloke walking a dog half a kilometre away, and a couple of Pied Oystercatchers nearby, acting as witnesses. The event stretched over a couple of days . There was a Wedding breakfast, followed by a day long bush picnic behind the beach near the mouth of the Brunswick River. There was swimming, yarning, and lying aro...und on blankets, generally relaxing. Around midday, I excercised my right as Georgi’s Father to say a few words. I propped myself up in the fork of a tree, and called for order. I started off on a bit of a spiel, and wasn’t long into it , when I noticed heads swivelling, and movement down one end of the assembled. The disturbance resembled a Mexican wave moving closer to me.. and then I observed the cause of the excitement. One of the biggest Brown snakes I have ever laid eyes on, and I’ve seen a few. It was cruising steadily through the middle of the mob, and I noticed a large Pavlova flattened as it’s owner threw himself out of the reptile’s way. Not many others moved, as it was happening so Quickly. Many probably wanted to , but were frozen with fear. There was little said, except for a couple of ‘shits’, and other exclamations of alarm. The big brown was on a mission, and didn’t deviate as it disappeared out of sight. It had travelled about twenty metres through the party. I cleared my throat to regain attention, but it was hard going after that. Someone floated the suggestion that I had organized the snake to be released, but they would have to be joking. However, it is a pity the snake doesn’t appear in the wedding photographs See more
08.01.2022 AWARDS Awards are part and parcel of contempory society. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with recognition by your peers. In your chosen fields you put in the hard yards to provide a service that is judged superior to others, and you get an award. Its good for your ego and no doubt for your business. Shouldn’t be any hidden agendas you would think. Well, read this, and you can be the judge of whether I was hard done by, or suffering from a dose of ‘sour grapes’. At...Continue reading
06.01.2022 THE MAN ON THE SILO Garry Duncan is the bloke currently having a very close and meaningfull relationship with one of the Waikerie wheat silos. Transforming it with his unique and famous brand of Art, from just another country town landmark, to an object of ongoing interest for locals and tourists alike. His art is well known locally, nationally and Internationally, from places as diverse as the Berri bridge and Gluepot reserve, to the Darwin airport, and locat...Continue reading
05.01.2022 THE SCREW IN THE LETTUCE When I was away jackerooing on the stations up north, I periodically returned home for a break. If it was winter I would often go to the footy in Adelaide with a few mates, usually having a meal at some restaurant before the game. On one occasion, I rang one of the boys to see what was on. He kept going on about how they had been ripped off by a restaurant in Grenfell street. They appeared to have a legitimate complaint, so I cut him off and sugges...ted we do something about it. Over a beer later that week I put a plan to the boys whereby they could right a wrong. I stressed that success could only occur if every one of them kept a straight face during the proceedings. A week later, five of us went to the restaurant in question, and all ordered chicken and salad. Before beginning my meal, I surreptitiously slipped an inch and a half nickel plated round headed screw under my lettuce..I warned them again about the need for discipline as we began eating. I made sure everyone had almost finished their meal, before I pinned the screw with my fork, placing it and a piece of lettuce in my mouth. I gave a loud roar, dropped my cutlery, and placed my hand over my mouth. With everyone staring at us, I extracted the screw from my mouth, carefully avoiding eye contact with my mates. A young waiter came up looking concerned. In my peripheral vision I could see Fred starting to lose it, and knew I was on borrowed time. What is the matter Sir ?, asked the waiter. ‘This’, I replied, holding up the screw. The poor bugger fled in confusion, to be replaced by the Manager, who also asked, ‘What seems to be the trouble sir?’ ‘Mate’, I said,’ I came here for a decent feed, and look what I’ve copped a bloody screw in my salad!... I could have swallowed it! ‘Sir, I will discuss this with the chef’, he said, and quickly disappeared. I told Fred to get hold of himself or we were history. Everyone was trying to hold it together when the Manager returned. What he said brought us completely undone. With a serious look on his face he said,’ Sir, I have spoken to the chef, and he can only suggest that the chicken must have swallowed the screw.’ That was too much! A couple of the boys completely broke down, and as one, we ran out of the restaurant, not having paid. We regrouped at a pub to discuss the event, everyone feeling that justice had been done. Some readers may judge us harshly, but there you are. At the time, it seemed a simple solution to a simple problem. See more
05.01.2022 COTTON IN SA NO WAY! A recent news item mooted the idea, that with the climate warming, and SA about to cancel its ‘no GM status (except for KI ). That cotton could be grown along the Murray River in Victoria, and SA’s Riverland. The item pointed out that extra water would not be required, as irrigators would only use their entitlements anyway, having the option of choosing what to grow for best returns. Be that as it may, you wonder why industrial hemp is rar...ely getting a mention in the media, since SA became the last state to legalize the growing of the crop for food and fibre. It is well known that the powerful cotton and insecticide lobbies have, for years; successfully prevented the growing of this ‘wonder fibre’ in Australia. I have written about this many times in the past. The crop has over two thousand uses, and has the potential to contribute hugely to the revitalisation of the rural sector, and the country towns, by its great value adding opportunities. The countries economy would massively benefit, not to forget what is often mentioned as an afterthought the environment, the ‘goose that lays the golden eggs’, if that ‘goose’ is sick or dead, then everything else is academic anyway. Literally everything relating to industrial hemp is positive for the environment, unlike the growing of cotton. Another big positive is that most years a hemp crop would be possible, whereas the same doesn’t apply to cotton in drier times. Hemp requires little water and no insecticides. For years, the Australian public have been kept in the dark by our media generally, about the enormous positives relating to this sustainable crop, both as health products in its seeds and oil, and as a cheap extraordinary building material. Those are just the tip of the iceberg. Now, I am not an expert on anything, and have too much in a head designed not to have a lot in it! So I will leave it to the real experts in this field by giving readers the ‘go to’ website where the differences between growing industrial hemp and cotton in Australia, are simply listed and easily verified. For the sake of our future generations in particular, I urge you to have a look. Australians have been kept ignorant for too long. The evidence is indisputable, and stands up to the most vigorous scrutiny. The website is.. www.hempalliance.org.au
04.01.2022 GROGLESS Back in the 1990’s, we were finishing a camel trek from Birdsville, crosscountry over to the Coongie Lakes, a freshwater lake complex on the North west channel of Cooper creek, in the Innamincka area. From there, a ‘service run’ would meet us with the party for the next trip, and those vehicles would take our party south. Because of weight and space restrictions, alcohol is rationed on the camel trip, but a good supply is bought in with the service vehicles, ...Continue reading
04.01.2022 THE FEAST In the mid 1990’s I was driving over to Steep point in W.A.to begin a 30 day 4wd ‘Transcontinental safari’. On the way, I had to stop off at the Kumarina roadhouse, to meet an Ornithological party, that was finishing one of my camel expeditions in the Gibson desert. These were old clients, and I had promised them a complimentary dinner. Several weeks earlier I had been talking to the Manager to arrange this. He was new there, and said he could use it as a ‘Dummy r...Continue reading
03.01.2022 LETTER WINGED KITES Letter to the Editor Dear Sir,... I enjoyed the article on Letter Winged Kites. I have had an association with these birds, periodically, for fifty years, during the good inland seasons. Biggest numbers, and numbers of nesting colonies was in 1975, following the massive 1974 floods when we followed the Warburton river down in boats, and crossed Lake Eyre. Later, the Long haired rats were thick throughout the country, with Eastern Brown snakes and Barn Owls also in ‘Plague proportion’. The biggest concentration of nesting colonies I saw were on the western flood flats, a number of dunes back from Eyre Creek, in the Simpson Desert. We were out there on camels, and on a number of occasions in the evenings , watched them hunting with spotlights. Fascinating to see, with the birds taking no notice of us, sometimes dropping on rats almost at our feet. The colonies were of a good size, but probably not as large as the colony at North Bore, that I was also aware of. I had many good observations down the Strzelecki creek, often from camel back. Much more feral cat predation since, and kite numbers have dropped alarmingly. From the boats, I have shot feral cats in nests [fat cats] that have been surrounded by floodwaters for months. Iam sure they have no trouble mesmerizing their prey. Very low numbers in the flood years of 2009/11, when I was running my boat trips on the inland rivers, particularly the Warburton and Cooper. However, there was an abundance of Black Shouldered Kites, and I have never seen so many in these areas. I have particularly noticed a seeming decline in ‘ normal’ numbers of barn Owls in inland areas in the past twenty years or so. I rarely hear their calls when camped out at night like I used to.
02.01.2022 PRACTICAL JOKES Similar to various Freedoms that don’t exist these days, it seems that practical joking is a dying art. When I was a young bloke it was alive and well; probably for a couple of reasons. There were very few of today’s distractionslike mobile phones and the internet. Also there were far less rules and regulations imposed on society. The Nanny State was yet to arrive. I was involved in these a lot when I was a kid and later, particularly on the Station...Continue reading
