Category Archives: General Interest

Bad Eggs, Weirdos, and Heroes: A Story of Families

August 19, 2015biography, Family History, General Interest, Historyconvicts, family cads, family history, family tree, genealogy, m, Pickhills familytimalderman

There is an adage that you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family…and fortunately – or unfortunately – it’s true. And oddly, as distinct from family groups in centuries past where family history and lineage was often passed down through word-of-mouth, these days we seem to know very little about our family history, or who we are, and how we are related to others in our “group”.

I attempted to trace my family roots in the early 80s. I had the basics – mothers parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters and their families. My fathers sisters and their families, but that was about it. Tracing family history back then, in the dark ages, wasn’t as easy as it is now. There was no internet, no Ancestry or Family Search, no apps for tracing BDM, graves or potential record matches for family members. No little leaves popping up against names. I contacted my mother with a list of dates and relationships I required to move forward, only to find she wasn’t interested in family, and could only supply limited family information. With my father deceased, and his family alienated, my chances of getting very far looked grim. I entered up what info I had in a large family bible – the only thing that had family tree pages – and put it all on the backburner.

Fast forward to ten years ago. The internet is in full bloom, and Mr Google is a knight-mine of information. I put Pickhills into a search engine, and suddenly all this information came to light through the newly published sets of census from England. A full, colourful family history, hidden from a blinkered families sight, came into full bloom. My family had no idea what they had missed by cutting themselves off from the curiosity to know what their forebears had done! No one knew of my Great Great Grandmother (Paternal) Elizabeth Pickhills nee Appleyard, who was dragged all over Yorkshire by her husband, Rickinson, gave birth to 12 children and had most of them die in her lifetime, who visited her 2 sons in South Australia, was arrested twice, was shipped back to England (presumably) because she was too much of a handful for her kin), and died of “senile decay” – dementia – in Tooting Bec Mental Asylum in London. Nor of my Great Grand Aunt Clara who married into the prestigious De Bomford family in Tasmania, nor my Great Grand Uncles who captained steamers up and down the Darling, Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers. One of these uncles led such a prolific life that I have a whole arch-folder dedicated to him, and it is suggested that the book “Dreadnought of the Darling” by the famous Australian war correspondent Charles Bean was based on the recollections of Captain George Rickinson Swan Pickhills’ life on the Darling River. Nor would they know that my Great Great Great Geandmother, Clara Pickhills nee Rickinson, was related to the very old and prominent Rickinson family from Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire. What a shame that all this colourful heritage was lost to my family, caught up as they were in the dross of their own lives!

The family tree currently stands at around 8,500 people, related either through blood or marriage. Lineages grow exponentially, so in reality there are no ends, and finding beginnings can be difficult. I am sure the tree is 95% accurate, and I am currently working on sorting out a couple of messy lines. It has proven an interesting experience, and many characters involved have had a hand in world history. We have Cornish miners (my mothers family) who travelled all the way here, hoping for a getter life than that offered in Cornwall and established themselves in South Australia, Broken Hill and Cobar; a Rickinson who was an engineer on Ernest Shackleton’s exprdition to Antartica; many who died in mining accidents; those who fought in WWI and are buried in Villers-Brettoneux; there are several protestant ministers; at least four convicts; bankrupts; relatives in England, Wales, Ireland, the Channel aislands, America, Canada, Germany and New Zealand. We are related to the Henschke – yes, the South Australian wine people – family in South Australia. We have humour, like Happy Victoria Morris marrying Spencer Lemon, thus becoming a Happy Lemon. And, as described below, a host of cads to keep everyone on their toes. Welcome to the world of family!

Errant Family

Elizabeth Pickhills nee Appleyard (my Great Great Grandmother) arrived here after the death of her husband Rickinson. They had 12 children within a short space of time, and of the 12, Edward, Jane, Frederick William 1, Walter and Mary died either in infancy or within a few years of birth. Henry Moorsom joined the Admiralty at 14 and died of Cholera in Bengal when he was about 21. Frederick George, George Rickinson Swan and Clara all moved to Austrlia at a fairly young age, and Charles Edward died while visiting his brothers here. Whether she intended originally to emigrate or just visit is unknown, but her stay was memorable! Anyway, she did ship herself here, and for a while probably lived with George Ruckinson and his wife, Ellen in Goolwa, South Australia. According to the South Austrlian Police Gazette, June 21, 1876 ” .A warrant has been issued at Yankalilla for the apprehension of Elizabeth Pickhills, a widow, and mother of Captain Pickills, of the Goolwa, for larceny of 2lbs. of butter from Messrs. Smith & Swan, sheep farmers, Bullapabaringa. Offender is said to be living at Mr. Luffin’s, Goolwa.” Not quite the thing you can imagine GG Gran doing. We know nothing more about the case except for this note in the South Australian Police Gazette, May 1, 1878 “re – Larceny from Smith and Swan – The warrant for Elizabeth Pickhills has been withdrawn.”. One has to wonder if George hadn’t had a few words to Smith and Swan about his mothers mental condition, and got them to be lenient. It didn’t end there. A writ appears with the Goolwa police dated 2nd May, 1889 against Elizabeth Pickhills . She appeared before a Justice of the Peace, Thomas Goode, charged with that on the 28th April 1889 she did “unlawfully use abusive words in a certain public place, to wit The Parade in North Goolwa, with intent to invoke a breach of the peace”. She had to pay a fine of £2. This incident received a mention in “A Land Abounding – A History of the Port Elliot and Goolwa Region, South Australia” by Rob Linn, chapter 5, page

On the evening of 16 December 1965 at Sylvania, Frederick Lindsay Pickhills – my father – .took his 7-year-old son Kevin out to The Gap at Watsons Bay, and jumped over with him. Frederick survived, but Kevin’s body was found 3 days later by fishermen, floating in Broken Bay.

Colin Edward Campbell...gaoled sheep stealing.

William Thomas Onions went missing whilst supposedly leaving Broken Hill and heading to SA or WA, leaving his wife, Agnes, and 5 children in destitute circumstances.

Above listed as. Cess-pit attendant in the 1895 Wagga Wagga borough expenses.

19 jul 1851 Joseph Onions charged with larceny
25 January 1928 William Joseph Onions (25) indecently assaulted Edna May Hollis (14) and committed for trial at Goulburn Quarter Sessions. On 15 February 1928 was acquitted.

James Greenwood broke into home of Rickenson Pickhills and stole some dresses and a firearm.

John Magg – family convict ancestor. Convicted in Surrey Quarter Sessions in 1822, and sentenced to 7 years in NSW. Arrived here onboard the Surry in 1823.

Richard Blinksell – a wife-basher and thief: Transcription of article from the Queanbeyan Age dated 18 May 1883; “THREATENING LANGUAGE; Richard Blinksell was brought up in custody charged with threatening the life of his wife Sarah Blinksell, of Molonglo. The prisoner had been arrested on this charge by Constable Goodhew, having been given into custody by his wife. After the evidence of the arresting constable, Sarah Blinksell, on oath stated – I am the wife of the defendant now before the court. I gave him into custody of the police on the 11th of the present month for threatening to do me some harm. On Sunday evening, the 6th inst. defendant accused me of stealing his mare, and said to me, If the mare is not brought back to-night I will jump your ____ out. This occurred between one and two o’clock. I said, I never touched your mare. Defendant said, You are a ____ liar; and whatever row we have had before it will be nothing to what there will be to-night. He then went and laid down on the bed. While he was lying there I ran away. I stayed at my father’s house (John Edmonds) for three days. I then came home to my husband again, and brought my daughter and son-in-law with me. As soon as I came in the door the defendant jumped up and asked me why I did not bring his mare back that night. I told him I had never touched her. He told me I was a ____ liar, for he saw me take her. I told him then that I did not want to live with him any longer; I only wanted my three little children. Defendant told me I could take the ____. I called my children together and gathered up their things. As I was going out of the door with them, he called them all back again. I told him he could keep his children, but I did not intend to stop myself. He caught hold of me and was pushing me about to bring me back again. When my daughter found he would not let me go she went for the police. I mean she went to Carwoola and telegraphed to Queanbeyan for the police. I went into the house with my son-in-law; but when the latter went out defendant got up and barred the door against him. I remained with him all night. After staying there some time he told me to take my frock off and go to bed. I did so. After I was in bed some time he asked me if I was asleep. I was not, but did not answer him. He said, You had better enjoy it for it may be the last ____ sleep you’ll ever have. He kept using unbecoming language to me all night. I got up in the morning and prepared his and the children’s breakfast. On leaving to go to my father’s place to do some ploughing defendant walked up to me and spat in my face, making use of some expression which I forget. When he left the house I ran away into the bush and stayed there until the policeman came. I then went with the policeman to my father’s house and gave him in charge. From all that has passed I am afraid to live with him, fearing he might do me some bodily harm. I therefore pray that he may be required to find sureties to keep the peace towards me. To the Bench – I never laid my hands on the mare since the 18th of April last when I rode her home from my daughter’s place. Defendant has often struck me before – both me and my daughter. The last time he struck me was on the 20th of April. To the defendant – I was lying on the bed with my little child when you ordered me to take my frock off. I was trying to get the child to sleep, and did not wish to go to sleep myself. Defendant was then sworn, and stated – I am a farmer and live at Molonglo. On last Sunday week my wife went away from the place and told the children she was going to meet the little boys with the sheep. That led me astray. She had not returned at dark, and when I got my little children asleep I went to look for her, fearing something had happened to her. It was raining hard and I got off and washed my feet in the floods. I heard the next day that she was at her father’s place, and I sent her two messages to come home for an hour or two. She never came home till late on Thursday evening. I asked her how she came to go away in such a clandestine manner without telling me. The daughter then said something; she was there with her husband, Anderson; they came with my wife. I got Anderson and his wife out of the house, and shut them outside, and my wife, my children, and I remained in the house altogether that night. I told my wife she would not be obliged to herself for fetching her son-in-law there. I never that night attempted to raise my hand to her. I did say something to her, but I ‘disremember’ what it was”.

January 19, 1857 at Wheeo. William Apps charged with theft of two cows & 2 heifers.

March 29 1854. Narrawa. William Apps cautions people not to harbour his daughter Ellen, who has abandoned her family home without cause.

William Apps: William was tried at Canterbury on 7th April 1826 on a charge of stealing corn. Found guilty, he was sentenced to seven years transportation to NSW, arriving at Port Jackson on 26th November 1826 on the vessel “Speke”. In 1831 William was granted his Ticket-of-Leave only to have it cancelled on December the same year for receiving a blanket under false pretences from his former master, Mr. William Broughton. For this misdemeanour Apps was sentenced to a week on the treadmill at Hyde Park Barracks. This punishment completed he was re-assigned, but his spirit was unbroken and within days he escaped from his new assignment. His re-capture was notified in the Sydney Gazette on 22nd December 1831. Finally Apps received his Ticket-of-Leave in 1833. From Convict Indents it is known that he was a short man, standing 4 feet, 11 inches tall with a fresh, unmarked complexion, brown eyes and hair. In April 1935 William Apps, aged 32, made application to marry Margery Campbell. Following their marriage, William and Margery Apps continued to live in the vicinity of Sydney and were in Parramatta in 1837 when their oldest daughter, Ellen, was born in that year. By 1849 the family moved to Wheeo, being among the earliest in that district.

Margery Campbell (wife of William Apps), from Sligo, Ireland, was the daughter of William Campbell. When she was 23 she was tried in County Down for receiving stolen goods. For this offence, her first, she was sentenced to seven years transportation. She sailed on the “Palambam” from Cork on 23rd March 1830 arriving in Sydney on 31st July the same year. Margery was 4 feet 11 inches tall with a ruddy, freckled complexion and hazel to grey eyes. On her disembarkment in the colony she was assigned to Mr. James Taylor of Sutton Forest.

Jane Langley – Jane’s story begins on the 14th of September 1785 when she was tried at the Old Bailey with Mary Finn for stealing five guineas from a Robert Robinson, on the 29th of July 1785. Jane’s parentage is unclear but she was possibly the daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Langley, at St George Parish Hanover Sq The birth occurred on the 16th of September 1761 at the Holborn lying in hospital in Endell St. At the time of her trial Jane was a Tambour worker and was described as a tall dark girl with very curly hair, she appeared to be self supporting and doubt exist as to her need to be involved in crime. On the 6th of January 1787 she was boarded on the “Lady Penrhyn” during the Voyage to Australia Jane Langley had the first of her children a daughter Henrietta born on the 23rd of October 1787. There is some speculation regarding Henrietta’s father, Phillip Scriven or Shewring who was a seaman on the The Lady Penrhyn or Thomas Gilbert the ships Master on the Charlotte was also throught to be her father.

Henrietta Shewing (1787—1828) Married to Edward Fletcher 1807 Henrietta, one of twenty little souls born on the convict transports known as the First Fleet, was to be always known as English, and never in England. Henrietta is the only child born on the First Fleet known to have Australian descendants [1]. Henrietta was born on board the Lady Penrhyn at Capetown Harbour, South Africa on 23rd October 1787 [2]. Three of the women convicts on the ship were known to be midwives: Mary Parker, Ann Colpits and Sarah Burdo. The ship’s surgeon Arthur Bowes Symth was definitely not present, and even recorded later Henrietta in the surgeon’s log as male. The ship’s log at least got the sex correct! Rev. Richard Johnson came on board to baptise the baby on the 4th November 1787, an event well liked by the crew because they received an extra ration of grog. The sailors who also had fathered children had the opportunity to buy tea and other little extras at Cape Town for their women [3]. Henrietta arrived on the shores of Port Jackson 6th February 1788, a sultry stormy evening. The next two years were hard and famine was severe in the colony, taking its toll especially of the small children. It was decided to send five of the surviving children and their mothers to Norfolk Island. That in itself was an adventure, as they arrived in high seas and were only at great peril able to be landed at Cascade with the seas breaking into the boat which was very frightening and caused much panic and screaming. That night the Sirus was swept on to rocks and shipwrecked. Henrietta lived on Norfolk Island for the next five years and in that time her mother married the marine Thomas Chipp. A brother Robert was born (and died) and a sister Ann, and a third child is recorded. I think this could have been little Thomas Chipp whose death is recorded early 1795 but most members of the family think the evidence is too flimsy. There were school classes taken by a number of individuals and eventually in 1792 Thomas McQueen was appointed schoolmaster and Susannah Hunter his assistant for seventy five pupils. We could imagine Henrietta would have been one of the pupils. Norfolk Island had passed from its early idyllic days to a wilder rougher life, and Thomas Chipp and his family decided to leave there and return to Sydney Town which had also become a pretty wild and rough place. The Governor’s wife Mrs. King started an Orphan School to house the homeless girls living on the streets of Sydney. This first Orphan School stood on the corner of Bridge and George Street. Not all the girls in the institute were orphans. In two of her letters Henrietta refers to having been in the Orphan School. The family was on record as being “on stores” in 1804. Stores were the equivalent of social security. On the 23rd March 1807 nineteen year old Henrietta was married to the convict Edward Fletcher by the Reverend Henry Fulton at St. John’s Parramatta. Edward had been working for the Knights as a servant, as was her thirteen year old sister Mary Chipp, so we assume they met through mutual acquaintances. This is the period of time Henrietta’s stepfather would have had land at Toongabbie (Seven Hills, later to be known as Bella Vista) and Isaac Knight had the adjoining farm. Henrietta applied for a land grant and a cow on the grounds she had been an inmate of the Orphan School and was granted a thirty acres at Bankstown. Today the land is occupied by Liverpool Hospital. Governor Macquarie revoked all the land grants made by the Rum Corp after the overthrow of Governor Bligh and Henrietta reapplied and was granted the Liverpool land again. The annual rent was to be 2 shillings a year after 5 years. Thomas Moore [4] apparently wanted the grant Henrietta had at Liverpool but probably helped her to obtain the grant at Narellan plus an extra ten acres, which became known as Fletcher’s Farm, and today is the land near Springs Road, Narellan. Henrietta had six children: Edward born 8th March 1808 in Campbelltown, baptised at St. Luke’s Liverpool; John born the 10th May 1810 at Cowpastures and baptised by the Reverend Samuel Marsden at St Luke’s on 15th May 1810. Eliza was born at 12th August 1812 at Campbelltown. Susanna was born on the 12th May 1815 at Fletcher’s Farm, Campbelltown; Blanche was born 17th December 1823 and Elizabeth 26th April 1828. Since 1810 Edward had been employed as a constable in the Cowpastures District. Henrietta’s health had declined over the years and by the time she died at the age of forty-one years, she was blind and crippled. Thirteen year old Susanna was working for the Rev Thomas Hassall as a maidservant on a nearby property, but William Boyle Henrietta’s nephew was living with the family, his father having died. William’s mother Mary was not coping with the change in her circumstances and her sisters took in her children. Edward had a reputation for drinking, but it was said he was always kind and thoughtful to his wife and children, and Henrietta was described as “an exceedingly reputable woman who bestowed great pains in bringing up her children”. In 1828 there was the first outbreak of whooping cough in the colony and two thousand people died as a result of it. One could be excused for wondering if Elizabeth and Henrietta were two of the victims. Henrietta and Edward Fletcher are buried in St. Peter’s churchyard Campbelltown in a well-cared-for grave, which also has a First Fleeter’s plaque for Henrietta. Though Henrietta never lived to see her grand children she had thirty six grand children. There are other family graves St Peters churchyard including Susanna Chapman’s Henrietta and Edward’s daughter. Thomas Chipp always accepted Henrietta as part of his family, and Henrietta was involved in her sisters’ marriages and lives. Thomas was the only grandfather her children knew. NB Surname: Henrietta is variously quoted with the surnames Scriven, Shewring, Skirwin, Chipp and Langley before marriage. Grandson: MH has also written a piece about William Henry Fletcher who was a grandson of Henrietta. Notes [1] A number of children born to marines on the journey, returned with their families to England. (‘Orphans of History —The Forgotten Children of the First Fleet’ by Robert Holden). [2] The baby was born at 1pm so in navy parlance was dated the 23rd as their dates changed at noon. She was also recorded as the child of T..G.. which 198 years later was to cause speculation on who was T..G.. With the passing of sailing ships the navy parlance for calling sailors after their job had been forgotten. Philip Scriven was the foremast man responsible for the Top Gallant sail.[3] As recorded in Jonathan King’s book ‘The First Fleet’.[4] This is the same Thomas Moore who is credited with founding Moore Theological College. He was a land dealer in the early colony.NMargaret Hardwick, 2009

Lynn Shepherd was indicted for robbery in 1838, found guilty and sentenced to life on Norfolk Island

Addison Mitchell was indicted for murdering William Ablett on 8 Nov 1856 at the old Lachlan Road. John Collins testified at the trial before Mr Justice Therry at Bathurst Circuit Court] “John Collins, lives at No. 1 Swamp, near Carcoar, I recollect on 7th of November, 1856, being in company with Ablett, and prisoner; in answer to an inquiry made by prisoner, he said his name was Ablett, and he was a native of Cambridgeshire ; I should say he was about 20 years of age, 5 feet 9 inches in height, fair complexion, without whiskers, light hair, dressed in a light tweed cap, plaid jumper, fustian trousers, and watertight boots ; in prisoner’s presence, he told me that if he could find an old horse he would buy it to carry his swag to the Ovens ; I sold him an old bay horse, saddle, and bridle, for £6 ; he paid me in prisoner’s presence, with two £5-notes ; prisoner drew out the receipt; Ablett had a tent with him, and I noticed a shingling hammer (hammer found near fire shown) ; I believe this is the hammer deceased Ablett had; I noticed the boots he wore, and noticed that nails were out in front of the left boot ; to the best of my belief the boots I now see in Court are those I saw on Ablett ; the bridle now produced (found in prisoner’s bundle) is the one I sold to Ablett; I saw Ablett last at Radburn’s, 1 mile and a half from my house; he started, leading the horse with his swag placed across the saddle ; this was on Saturday ; he went in the direction of the junction of the Wagoola and Grabine roads with the Lachlan road; the horse might travel 20 or 25 miles a day ; after I left deceased, and on my return home, prisoner complained of his hands being sore from blisters ; I said we would spell that day, and commence again on Monday morning ; prisoner afterwards went out in the same direction that Ablett took ; about an hour afterwards; I did not see him again until next day, Sunday, about 2 p.m ; he was then very dirty ; he washed himself, and shortly afterwards I received information that my horse that I sold Ablett was near my house ; I went out and found the horse hobbled close at hand; I said, in prisoner’s presence, that the horse had been brought back ; prisoner said he had strayed back ; in the evening I told prisoner that it was no use in saying he did not bring the horse back, as he had been seen riding him ; he said, “well what of it, you don’t know Ablett as well as I do, he is a bolter, and there are constables after him in all directions ; that he was within a quarter of a mile of the place, but was afraid to come in ;” whilst I was sitting near the fire with prisoner, I saw the remains of a pocket-book in the ashes ; it had a clasp like the one I saw with Ablett ; I was frightened to put it in my pocket as I was alone with the prisoner; after prisoner left my house I searched for it, but could not find it ; I identify the handkerchief now produced, found in prisoner’s bundle, as one I gave to Ablett with flour in it, also the saddle and bridle sold by me to Ablett, and found concealed near my hut; on the Monday morning I discharged prisoner being suspicious of him; as he left I saw him pick up the bridle now produced; I identify it as the one sold by me to Ablett; I gave information to the police. Constable McFadden re-called : In consequence of information given by last witness prisoner was apprehended for horse-stealing: it was in looking for and making enquiries about Ablett that I found the camping ground on the old Lachlan road ; there were appearances of a tent having been pitched, there, and about half a mile distant in the scrub I found the ashes of the fire in which I found the bones, buttons, shingling hammer, hair, and buckles, which have been produced ; I made enquiries in the neighbourhood of the camp, but could find no traces of any person answering to Ablett’s description being seen in that neighbourhood. Thomas Radburn, of Carcoar, recollects Collins coming to his hut on 8th November, to change a 5 pound note ; he was accompanied by a young man; witness’s description tallied with that already given by Corby, Wood, and Collins. James Bradburn, son of last witness, gave the same evidence as to appearance and dress of Ablett ; two and a half hours afterwards saw prisoner following in the direction taken by Ablett ; when Collins told prisoner next day that he had been seen riding the horse, prisoner replied, well, what of it ? Katherine Radburn gives same description to that already given of Ablett, and thinks that the prisoner was the man she saw going in the same direction to that taken by Ablett two hours after. Richard Byrne, knows, the prisoner ; saw him on Sunday morning, 9th of November, between eleven and twelve a.m., at a place on the Lachlan road; about two and a half miles from the junction of the Wagoola and Grabine roads with the old Lachlan road; he was riding on a short brown-tailed horse, it was very thin, he had a bundle before him as full as it could hold ; I saw the horse prisoner was riding afterwards at the Court House ; prisoner was very dirty, like a man after a long journey. William Mulaly lives at Black Hill Creek, on the left of the Lachlan road, about quarter of a mile off the road; on Sunday, the 8th of November, prisoner came to my house between 11 and 12 a.m.; he-had a very poor brown horse with him ; I asked him whom the horse belonged to ; he said it was Collins’s he lent it me so that I could come over to you to get employment ; I asked him if his name was Mitchell; he said, yes ; there was neither saddle nor bridle on the horse when I saw him, prisoner’s appearance was that of a man after a hard day’s work, he was very dirty. Cross examined by Mr. Dalley: No appearance of having been engaged about a fire; his clothes were not burnt; he looked like a man after a hard day’s work. John Radburn identified the saddle as being found by him concealed at the foot of a tree near Collins’s hut. John Meiklejohn, constable in Carcoar police: On Sunday morning, the 9th of November, I was on the Lachlan Road, near the junction of the Wagoola and Grabine roads; I saw a fire in the distance, off the road about half a mile. I afterwards was taken to the place by McFadden, and I then recognised it as the place where I had seen the fire on the 9th November; looked for tracks at the junction, but could not find any. James Grant, the prisoner, was in my employment as a shepherd; he knew the country well in the neighbourhood of the junction of the roads to Wagoola and Grabine with the Lachlan road. On Sunday, 23rd November, McFadden and I found remains of a fire in a scrub, half a mile off the road; we found bones, buttons, a hammer, and portions of hair there; at the junction a tent had been pitched ; this was half a mile from the fire in the scrub. ………………The jury, after a short absence, found the prisoner guilty; and the Judge; in a most impressive manner, passed sentence of death upon the prisoner.This case occupied the whole day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Doris Olive Irene Nunns charged Thomas Henry Roy Jackson of attempted rape on 14 July 1920. He was acquitted.

Richard Cole Seaton charged with stabbing his wife with a knife and inflicting serious wounds, and also assaulting his niece.

John Henry Theodore Merrion was killed when falling from a roof during a demolition in Ngahauranga, NZ.

On 11/5/1903 Ellen Prest was remanded in gaol at Murrumburrah for 8 days due to “unsound mind”

Private Alfred Sydney Polglase deserted the army on July 21, 1916 and there was a warrant out for his arrest

Thomas Henry Roy Jackson charged with the attempted rape of Doris Olive Irene Nunns nee Polglase on 14 July 1920. Acquitted.

Squire Brooks – convict ancestor on my maternal grandmothers side – the Collins family

1924 Horace William Brooks, 9yo, drowned in Eastern Creek along with an 11 yo friend.

Sat 28 Sep 1867 at Braidwood Police Court. Thomas & Eliza Hobbs daughter Esther, 10yo, (born out of wedlock) was being prostituted by her father – a drunkard – and his wife – a drunkard and prostitute. Frederick Stephens, a witness, recollected that on Christmas Day saw Esther and a man named Dean naked together in a waterhole..the details here being too lurid to print. He had heard that it was common for liberties to be taken with the girl. Dean was known as a regular with the girl, and had been arrested for sexually assaulting her, but had been acquitted. Her parents received her earnings. The parents were known to often leave all the children on their own for long periods, to fend for themselves. The object of having the girl in court was to save her from her parents. She was sent to the industrial School. The Hobbs family members were regularly in court for drunkenness and foul language…and never argued the charges. On Friday 18th sep 1874 at Braidwood, the above Dean was admitted to hospital, having been brutally beaten, and died that night. He was found about a mile and a half from the Hobbs house, after having been out drinking. The Coroners Court jury found that death had been caused by person or persons unknown.

1884 Lynn David Nettleton had a warrant for his arrest issued for disobeying an order to financially support his illegitimate child.

Ada Camden was excited to be marrying Harris Horder...so excited, so it seems, that she forgot to divorce Roland Watts. Henry had their marriage dissolved on the basis of bigamy.

In 1885 Richard Camden alias Crib alias Snow was accused of stealing two horses belonging to James Hemsley and Thompson Ross. He was described as being 5’10”-11″, no age given, stout build, sandy complexion, and sporting Dreadweary whiskers. He was thought to have gone to Tambar Springs. No warrant was issued.

In 1919, Horace Horder (17) and a group of boys were charged with breaking and entering the home of William Clement and stealing jewellery etc to the value of £10 (part recovered). The boys were committed for trial, bail allowed.

Baptism Certificate for Sarah Camden in 1852 seems to have some difficulty deciding whether the surname should be Jones, or Camden. The transcriber made a note at the end of the certificate that the minister had added after the mothers name, on the original, that the child was born as the result of adultery. It would appear that the 17yo Richard had a dalliance with the 37yo Elizabeth Hale…with the predictable result. Sarah ended up a Camden.

In 1883, Gertrude Agnes Finke (the future Mrs Catherine Agnes Bottrill), was admitted to the Adelaide Destitute Asylum, along with 6-month old David. David died shortly after.

In 1773, at Helston Cornwall, Robert Barwick Scadden and his wife Anne were excommunicated. No clear reason is given.

24 December 1890, Thomas Ironfield charged with breaking & entering three homes in Leichhardt & Balmain. Jewellery & watches stolen. Later charged with pick-pocketing crowds in The Domain. His wife later charged him with desertion, claiming he had assaulted her for no good reason, then throwing her and her children out of the house. He also had her tossed out of a lodging house. He, in turn, said he had no desire to live with her. He was gaoled in 1898 for the robberies.

Mining Accidents – CLEAVES William

Name: CLEAVES William
Age: 0
Date: 05/02/1845
Year: 1845
Occupation:
Colliery: Hayeswood Coalworks
Owner: S.S.P. Samborne and Co.
Town: Timsbury
County: Somerset
Notes: Adjoining were old workings which had lain unused for many years and were filled with water. About 100 men descended for the day shift at about 5 a.m. Mr Evans, the overseer noticed there was an unusual appearance of damp but initially he did not become too alarmed as he thought it was only “the bleeding of the coal”. William’s body, along with that of George Palmer was not recovered until the following October. Two weeks later John Flower was brought out. Later another body was found and was buried in the name of Joseph Gullick. The mistake was discovered when the body of Joseph Gullick was found. 11 killed. Left a wife and 6 children.

17 Feb 1952 Adolphus Stead reversed over Margarey Ann Gould, aged 4, in his car at Broken Hill. She suffered fatal head injuries.

1903, Elizabeth Stead dies after inadvertently taking strychnine after an afternoon of consuming alcohol.

Daily (Or When The Mood Takes Me) Gripe: When a Pack of Shonks Govern A Country!

August 12, 2015Article, General Interest, Opinion Piece, PoliticalAbbott, branch-stacking, bullying, climate change, government ineptness, plebicite, same sex marriagetimalderman

You have to hand it to the Abbott government – they are the regift that keeps on being gifted! If nothing else, they provide self-opinionated people like me – and the radical media – with plenty of ammunition! They are a constant living reminder of why you NEVER put conservatives in charge – I’m sure our American friends who oppose the GOP will agree with that – and the need for us to press for a secular state. Religion and politics just DO NOT mix, nor should they be allowed to wander through our lives, hand-in-hand!

Yesterday, not for the first time, our government managed to make a total ass of themselves not just locally, but on the world stage. Never in the history of this country have we seen such shonky politics, economics, and misjudgement; a prime minister (small P and small M) and a frojtbench that are so self indulgent, lacking in moral grit, and so divorced from the voices of their constituents governing us to nowhere! One can but pray that this is their death knell!

They are continuing to drag the marriage equality debate on and on, despite the majority of Australians wanting it to happen. Once again yesterday they spent hours at a party room meeting – instigated by Abbott at the last minute, naturally – arguing on whether to have a conscience vote on the issue. This has been going on not for weeks but for years now, and despite the issue not going away – as Abbott hoped it would – he continues to complicate and delay what will, in the end, be inevitable! Yesterdays tactics – which fooled no one – are again an rxample of a pm out of touch with the voters. Having had several members of his frontbench speak out against the party line policy regarding Same Sex Marriage, and with many of the backbench lending their support, he resorted to bully-boy tactics. By inviting the National Party – the most conservative of the conservatives – into the party room meeting to be included in the vote on whether there should be a conscience vote on the issue, he effectively ensured he got his way by the very blatant ploy of branch-stacking – the vote was 60-30 against. On the upside, at least 30 are not going to tow the party line! The fact that Christopher Pyne, Malcolm Turnbull and the Attorney General George Brandis stood up against him are positive moves indeed, and increasingly shows a pm out of touch with not only his own frontbench, but with his government overall! Thefeactures are getting deeper! It seems that we are now, due to all this government indecision, heading to a plebiscite (referendum) on the issue at the next election, which thankfully is not far off. The rediculous thing about this needless expense is that the outcome is inevitable…change will come!

Not being happy with sticking their noses into the bedrooms of all Australians, they then decided to further insult our intelligence by pandering to both their anti-Labor stance, and to climate change deniers with their – excuse me while I laugh hysterically – climate change policy! Fuck me…where do thus mob get off! Can one take a government who eliminated the portfolio of Science Minister seriously when it comes to climate change! I think not! They have always openly accused the opposition – who have a realistic approach to the SCIENCE of climate change – of having climate change policies that will increase the cost of living to the general population by an increase in electricity prices! Meanwhile, they dismantled the last governments Emissions Trading Scheme – despite the fact that it was working, and bringing money into the governments coffers – cut back funding to renewable energy resources, denigrated the benefits of wind farms, openly encouraged the opening of massive coal mines – recently stopped by the High Court after a massive public outcry – which not only threatened environmental vandalism, but endangered our Great Barrier Reef in the name of corporate greed, and at one stage just after their election threatened to decimate protected old growth forests in Tasmania! And what have they replaced this with? Well, renewable energy targets well below those proposed by other countries world-wide, carbon pricing that will be a burden to industry and the climate, and will in quick time do what they accuse the opposition of doing – increase the cost of living as businesses increase costs to cover the losses incurred by their policies. This is not policy with the environment or climate at it’s core, but policy designed to attack the opposition and hooefully gain favour with those who don’t really understand – or care – what it is all about! They have even nanaged ti take into account technologies that have not even come into being yet…if ever! If the government spent half as much time debating the issue of climate change as they did same sex marriage we may – though probably not – have seen some common sense prevail!

So, a week where we have seen our government pander to the climate change deniers, and deny their citizens the right to love whoever the like! Abbott is, beyond doubt, the worst and most destructive prime minister we have ever had in the political history of our country! His place in history will be as an example of stubborness and stupidity that is really unforgivable. His government is divided and seriously fractured by his need to impose his own morality and ideals upon those over which he governs. When his government fails, there will be no one left to blame but himself! And bring it on, I say! Bring it on!

Daily (Or When The Mood Takes Me) Gripe: The Contract Trap!

August 5, 2015Article, General Interest, Opinion Piececontracts, gyms, no-contract, rip-off, rort, Telco's, unfair conditionstimalderman

If consumer law nerds to start tackling a major problem in service delivery, they need to do something about both mobile phone, and gym contracts. No wonder people are over the blatant rip-off, and are opting for the growing number of “no contract” options.

I recently moved from Brisbane to Sydney. In Brisbane, I had already a huge dispute with a gym I first used up there several years ago. I was getting pissed off enough with the lack of care for regular, long-term users as it was, but the crunch dame when I was accepted to do a course at TAFE – my Certificate III in Fitness – and had to start there within a week of being accepted. Perhaps not surprisingly, the couse included free use of the Southbank TAFE gym. So, not only would I no longer be using my regular gym, but would be continuing to pay for something I didn’t use. But I was tied into a contract, wasn’t I, anddespite the contract itself having expired, because I had continued I was still bound by its conditions – apparently we had been notified of this at the time of signing the contract, though neither myself nor my partner had any recollection if it. So, could I just give a couple of days notice to quit the gym? Not on your life – I had to give 30 days notice and,nof course, despite not using the services I would continue to be charged for the 30 days. I was ropable, and tried – futilely – to wreak my revenge by just refusing to pay. Naturally, they threatened kegal action, and being unwilling to get a black mark against my credit history, I eventually caved in.

Now, this is a gym! It is somewhere that I spend about 3 hours per week in! I don’t live there! I don’t work for them! Yet the conditions of the contract treat me as if I am an employee! I am required to give 30 days notice to quit – evidently it takes them 30 days to cancel your direct debit, inlike the two days it takes the non-contract gym. If I want to freeze my membership or quit for health reasons, I amrequired to supply a doctors certificate! To a gym! If I am wuitting to move, or go on a long holiday, I am required to give proof..land get this – they will then ACCESS my eligibility to quit the contract! What an infringement of rights…not to mention unbelievable abuse and manipulation of someone who is doing nothing more than using a service!

Likewise with phones. On moving into the shoebox that us called an apartment, I wanted to get wifi. I don’t use the 3G or 4G networks, as I do everything on my tablet and wifi pretty well covers everything I want to do. I didn’t want to get tied into a contract, as we will be moving to the central coadt after our lease runs out next year, and it is eadier to just cancel the wifi service, and reconnect it at a new address after we move. For the privilege of not having a contract, I pay an exhorbitant monthly amount. They think, evidently, that by overcharging me, I will eventuall fold, and jove to a contract. I have news for them, and it’s all bad! I will continue to allow them to rip me off – the telco is Optus, by the way – because of the convenience itoffers, including unlimited data usage – very handy when using streaming services like Netflix. As for my mobile phone – I have, despite saying I wouldn’t, optrd for a contract again, even though it locks me in for 2 years. I only use it for phone calls and messaging…and a bit of Facebook…so the low charge – and bew phone – I am paying for is still cheaper than a sim-only phone. I tried a mobile wifi modem when first arrived back so as to have access to wifi, and ut cost me a fortune in data charges. The phone companies love to rort everyone for data usage! It is so blatantly dishonest, but evetyone just lets them get away with it. There are a few smaller Telco’s hitting the sim-only market now, with better rates and conditions, but they are still piggy-backing off the bigTelco’s systems, so how they fare in the future remains to be seen.

So I land back in miserable Sydney (I really hate this city now!). I have gad two years of a no-contract gym…Jetts…in Brisbane. Ground level gyms flooded with sun, and natural light, not over-crowded with equipment, and quiet during the day, which is when I like to go. The Jetts gym in Sydney is quite a distance away, so I stipidly – and against my better judgement – opted for the closest gym…an Anytime Fitness, which is a contract gym, and at $69 a month, is not cheap! The gym is underground, so dark and oppressive. It is crammed with 7, offers nothing in the way of space. What they consider a quiet period is not quiet, and one often has someone breathing down their heck, or finding equipment tied up, or in the case of the 12.5 kg dumbbells…just NEVER available. I hate it, and I’m not using it. Infortunstely, all these hassles didn’t present themselves within my 7 day cooling-off period. So now I’m stuck with having to pay my way out of the contract – a cheaper option than the $69 a month I am cyrrently paying. Of course, they were quick eniugh to sign me up, but now I want to quit I can’t get any help at all. 2 requests by email for a final pay-out figure have gone unanswered. The longer they stuff me around, the more money they get out of me.

It really is time for this free-ride by Telco’s and Franchisers to be looked into by an independent body. It is time to give everyone a fair deal. The continuing rise of no-contract gyms and phone companies should be causing the contract budinesses some concern. In particular, the terms and conditions of contracts shiuld be gone over with a magnifying glass, and cleaned up, and made fairer for all. Onvioysly, the more competative these businesses become, the better it will be for everyone concerned. At the very least, if they are going to treat me like an employee – as is the case with contract gyms – they can bloody well pay me a wage!

So, it’s back to the battle of breaking-the-contract! One thing I can now promise you…I will NEVER use a contract gym again. I just hope that, like Foxtel now finding itself in a competative market with Netflix…who are substantially cheaper…they will eventually be forced to reconsider how they do business. If contracts are not going to end – and they should be outlawed – then they have to ge made a lot more reasonable, and fair. I know investigations gave been threatened for a while now, but maybe it is either take action officially, or people need to talk with their feet!

Tim Alderman

Dieting Myths

June 20, 2015Article, General Interest, Health Information, Nutritiondanger foods, dieting myths, fads, weird dietstimalderman

This excellent article appeared today from http://www.shebudgets.com/health/diet-fitness/10-weight-loss-tricks-that-are-complete-myths/55503?utm_source=facebookpage&utm_medium=luan&utm_term=shebudgets&utm_campaign=weightlossmyths&ts_pid=2

If losing weight was easy and simple and becoming thin and gorgeous was easy and simple, we’d all be thin and gorgeous. But it’s not always the case; if you want to lose 10 pounds, you have to lose 10 pounds. You can’t just sit down and hope some magic potion is going to give you a wish and then you’ll be thinner and more gorgeous than you were an hour ago. There is no magic potion or trick for weight loss. If you want to get healthy and fit and look great, you have to make some lifestyle changes. You have to stop eating like a pig, over-indulging, skipping the good stuff and hoping that the bad stuff is going to make you skinny. It’s not. You’re not going to get thin and stay thin eating nothing but milkshakes or drinking pepper water. You have to eat well, exercise and live a healthy lifestyle.
Sorry (not sorry) – this is not what you want to hear. You want to hear that you can take a pill and lose weight and all kinds of good things will happen to you without you actually having to work for those things. And it’s not going to happen. You have to work for what you want and get actual results. It’s called responsibility and dedication. Diet trends and myths don’t work because you have to keep them up forever and ever and it’s not healthy or possible to do so. We have, instead, decided that we’d tell you that all those things you’re hoping will make you look good in time for beach season will not work long term. Skip them; make lifestyle changes for the better. These diets are myths and they will not work.

Goodbye Gluten

If you have celiac disease and you have to eliminate gluten from your diet, do it. But it always makes me laugh to see people who go gluten-free as if they’re doing something good for themselves as a whole. A gluten-free diet is not a weight loss tool. It’s a way for people with a certain illness to eat food without getting sick. So if you’re using this as a way of dieting, you’re just wasting time and money buying things that aren’t doing it for you.

Juice Diets

Why would you drink just juice and hope that you could lose weight? Of course you are going to lose weight just drinking juice. You are eliminating actual food from your diet and you are not going to be able to keep that up forever. Can you go the rest of your life without actual food? No, you cannot, and that’s why these silly diets do not work.

Soup Diets

See above – you cannot live on soup for the rest of your life. Sure, it’s healthier than juice, but it’s not a way of life. You cannot just hope that you will lose weight because you are eating only soup and hoping that weight loss comes to you in many forms. You have to actually go about losing weight like a real person by eating healthy foods.

Skipping Breakfast

It’s never a good idea to skip breakfast. Of course you feel thin when you wake up; you haven’t eaten in 15 hours. So skipping breakfast is not going to make you thinner or healthier. It’s just going to make you hungrier and it’s going to make you feel bad because your metabolism is going to slow down and work on a pace that doesn’t burn any calories.

Negative Calorie Foods

Some people call this the grapefruit diet, and it consists of eating only things that have negative calories. These are foods that have fewer calories in them than it takes to consume them. While most of these foods are healthy, they cannot complete your diet. You still have to eat and use regular meals if you plan on getting healthy and losing weight for the long term.

No More Carbs

You can’t do it; because carbs are amazing. Sure, it might work for a few days and you’ll feel good and healthy, but when you eat them again you’re going to miss them. And you cannot stay away from carbs forever. Some of them are actually good for you and you need those to survive. So skip the fad and just limit your intake.

Eating Every Two Hours and Skipping Meals

Little meals are good throughout the day, but you cannot skip big meals at all in favor of snacking and grazing every two hours. A handful of nuts or yogurt every two hours does not make for a healthy day. You’re doing yourself a great disservice assuming you can eat like this in a way that’s healthy and beneficial.

Drinking your Calories

All right, so sometimes we all do this. We order a small salad with nothing on the side and then we order three glasses of wine. While it might make for a fun occasional night out, it’s not good for us on so many levels. You can’t skip food to drink – it’s going to kill you. It’s disgusting and unimpressive and not at all good for you.

Food Pairings

Did you know that some people say you should not eat certain foods together? For example, you should not eat carbs with protein because it will make you fat the way that they work together as they digest. Whatever; it’s not the truth. You can’t let people tell you that you can eat as much as you want if you just avoid eating certain things together. It’s not the way eating works.

Not Eating

Sure, not eating is going to make you lose weight. It’s also going to bloat you and make you feel awful. It’s not healthy, and it’s not good for anyone. You’re entire life will change if you stop eating. You’ll become sick, tired, anxious, stressed, grouchy, depressed and you still won’t feel as if you look good. Why? Because you won’t look good and you won’t feel good.

Some real home truths there.

Tim

Daily (Or When The Mood Takes Me) Gripe: Joe Hockey’s Baffled Aussies!

June 15, 2015General Interest, Opinion Piece, Politicalbad politics, Joe Hockey, shonky governmenttimalderman

i was going to write on this myself, but it would appear someone else has written and excellent FB post on Treasurer Joe Hockey’s vaffling comments on how to get inti the Australian housing market last week. She saved me a lot of research.

Good on you Mel Wilson. Straight for the jugular, and armed with the stats he should have had!

Here is her FB post.

Dear Mr Hockey, Victorian mother Mel Wilson has something she would like to say to you…
Earlier this week, Joe Hockey, North Sydney MP and Treasurer of Australia said, “The starting point for a first home buyer is to get a good job that pays good money.” He added, “If housing was unaffordable in Sydney, people wouldn’t be buying.”
Mel Wilson is a 28 year old single mother from Wodonga with two children (aged two and five) and two part-time jobs in human resources. In a Facebook post that has already been shared over 24,000 times, Mel has written an open letter to Mr Hockey, articulating the thoughts of seething Aussies everywhere.
The letter is too brilliant not to share, so here it is in full:
Dear Joe,
I just wanted to touch base with you regarding your comment that young people are able to enter the property market if they just “get a good job that pays good money.”
I just wanted to ask you how one might go about this?

Are you going to be reviewing all the current Awards that are in place to ensure that most jobs pay “good money”?
Are you going to be creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs that, under your Awards, pay over $100,000 per year?
Apologies if I have missed this fantastic news, but as someone working in 2 senior HR roles, I believe I would have known about this so that I could pass the message on to some very tired, over qualified employees who currently fall under various Federal and State awards and are being paid between $18 to $25 per hour.
Are you aware of what the average Australian wage is?
Are you aware of what the average Australian mortgage in Sydney is?
Are you aware of the first-home buyer process?

Just in case these facts and figures aren’t available to you, I thought you might be interested.
The average weekly wage according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 1st January 2015 was $1,128.70, or $58,692.40 before tax. This means a take home amount of about $904.00 per week.
The median house price in Sydney, according to the Domain Group Housing Price Report, as of March 2015, was $914,056.
Not sure if you know how first home buying works at the moment, but you normally need a deposit of about 20%. This is to pay for the Stamp Duty (which is a State Tax you must pay every time you buy a property), and also to assist in the approval process so that you don’t need to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
So in this instance, the first home buyer would need about $182,811.00 saved to purchase a house that is the average price in Sydney.
So to go out and get one of these “good jobs that pay good money” I assume these young people you speak of would need to go to university first.
On average, it takes about 3 -4 years to get a degree, so if a young person goes to University straight out of school, they can expect to finish their course and be ready for the workforce at about 21, with a HECS-HELP debt of over $20,000. To make this a bit easier for you to understand, let’s say there is a young person named Joe Junior who has done just this.
If Joe Junior is extremely lucky, and is up there with the best of the graduates from that course and that year, he will get a job straight out of University paying usually under the average wage.
However, lets just be extremely generous here and say that Joe Junior got a job and was on the national weekly take home wage of $904 per week.
Joe Junior needs to only save every single dollar worked for about 4 years to save his $182,811 deposit for their first home.
Thank you, Mr Hockey, for throwing in that $7,000 first home owner grant too – that meant Joe Junior could get into his first home 8 weeks earlier!
Just a quick side note, this example does not take into consideration the rising house prices, or Joe Junior’s HECS-HELP debt that he obtained from getting his degree to get one of your so-called “good jobs”.
Joe Junior is now 25 (not so junior anymore), has been living at home with his parents this entire time and has not been able to spend a single dollar on any bills, board or holidays or public transportation. He also can’t afford a car or petrol for a car but then again “poor people don’t drive cars”. Oh wait, Joe Junior isn’t a poor person – he has a “good job that pays good money.”
Luckily Joe Junior’s parents have been happy to drive their little Joe Junior to and from work every day and provide free housing, clothing, medical expenses and also provide the food for his breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.
So finally Joe Junior has saved his $182,811 deposit (of which only about half will go towards his mortgage due to the stamp duty cost), and can now purchase his first home, with a mortgage of about $822,650.00.
According to the Commonwealth Bank’s online mortgage estimator, the repayments for a mortgage of this amount are $1,073.00 per week over 30 years.
So hopefully Joe Junior’s average weekly wage of $904.00 has gone up enough to cover the cost of the mortgage.
Joe Junior has been applying for these “good jobs hat pay good money” that you speak of (I assume by “good money” you mean more than the average wage as you have just seen it is not even enough to cover the cost of the average house prices’ mortgage in Sydney), but hasn’t had any luck as yet. He needed to stay in the same job post university to demonstrate to the bank job stability so that he could purchase his first home. So he only has a degree, and experience in the one job, one industry, and there are just not that many jobs out there paying “good money.”
Joe Junior now also can’t wash his clothes, eat food, or get to and from work as he no longer lives with his parents, so getting one of these “good jobs” is even more difficult.
So Joe Senior, are you really aware of all the facts and figures when you says things like buying your first home is “readily affordable” to young people?
Just slightly confused as to what you were thinking when you said these words at the media conference in Sydney.
Looking forward to another one of your politically correct, direct and well thought out responses.
Regards,
Another baffled Australian
http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/a-working-mum-delivers-a-glorious-smackdown-to-joe-hockey-on-house-prices/
Tim Alderman

Repost.

Daily (Or When The Mood Takes Me) Gripe: People Who Don’t Research Before Commenting!

May 28, 2015Article, General Interest, Opinion Piecebarnabi joyce, Charlie Pickering, halal, halal certification, truthers, yobbotimalderman

halalhəˈlɑːl/

adjective

adjective: halal

denoting or relating to meat prepared as prescribed by Muslim law.

“halal butchers”

religiously acceptable according to Muslim law.

“halal banking”

noun

noun: halal

halal meat.
I abhor ignorance! Followed closely by yobboism ( Yobbo is an Australian term for people who are ignirant and verbose about it, loud-mouthed, discriminatory and racist). Social media has pushed these people into the forefront of opinion, and has created pages and groups who foster and promite as common opinion the bias, hate, racism and uneducated rhetoric of these deluded imbeciles! The current debates regarding Halal Certification of food products in Australia has driven these ignoramuses into a frenzy! What is a fery simple – and in a multicultural society very fair – issue has been warped and twisted into misinformation and out and out lies.

With the likes of our local imbeciles such as Corey Bernardi (people actually vote for this South Austealianidiot!), who has called for a very expensive government inquiry into halal certification, and the so-called Halal Truthers who ignorantly inform us that the fees from halal certification go overseas to fund terrorism. Truly! There sre even thise – and I love this – who think halal is an actual dish to eat! Says it all really, doesn’t it!

Thank heaven for the voices of sanity and reason, like Charlie Pickering.On His weekly news commentary show last week he gave these idiots a blast, and put things into perspective. As he stated in “The Weekly”, “Luckily the only people who have a problem with halal certification are fringe people on the internet. Oh, and senators,” Pickering said. These fringe groups and extremists seem to think halal certification will change the intrinsic nature of foods such as meat, and…wait for it…Vegemite. With comments on Halal Facebook pages such as “What a crock of shit! Cease halal certification now!”, ” It is Sharia Law that says these ragheads…I loathe expressions like that…must eat halal food. We don’t have Sharia Law here”, “Screw halal and all who make it”; so they have tried to decry halal food as something to ge scared off…but that couldn’t be further from the truth! As Pickering points out, halal certification is no different to kosher certification, no things like “Made in Australia” label or the Heart Foundation tick for which small fees are also paid.

The genefits of these dertifications is not to demonise food products, or to buy guns for terrorists! It is so the producers if these products dan increase their countries of distribution into places that orevioysly they could not sell in due to not being certified. It is really as simple as that! Why would you restrict your distribution to countries like Australia (or Britain or the US) when you vould get your products into Muslim Asian markets nearby, or even in the Middle East! To quote Pickerings statistic, Australian-made foods exported to Muslim populations brings in 13 BILLION dollars per year, and directly supports about 60,000 jobs.. Please follow this link for the whole Pickering segment on “The Weekly” https://newmatilda.com/2015/05/21/watch-charlie-pickering-takes-cory-bernardi-and-halal-truthers 

It is to our own benefit that these cettifications are put in place. It supports our industries, increases distribution of products, and supports employment in industries. What is the problem there! If you are going to comment on a subject, at least inform yourself about what you are commenting on! What Jack next door, your parents or your best friend thinks is inconsequential! Think and learn for yourself.

So, Vegemite is not going to change flavour or cost, you can still eat pork, and the Halal section in your supermarket meat cabinet is still accessible to you, and a terrorist with a “Spnsored by Halal Certification” label dangling off his gun is not going to suddenly pop up at your front door! Halal certification is going to change nothing in your life, so stop fretting.

And before signing off, I should mention how inevitable it is that as soon as anything that involves the words Muslim or Islam crop up, the “phobes” come pouring out of the woodwork! It is something we should not be proud of! Unfortunately, “yobboism” is alive and well in this country! Fortunately, informed, intelligent commentary outweighs the blabbering ignorancy we seem to find on docial media.

If you can’t be bothered researching, then kerp your fomments to yourself!

Tim Alderman

Political Commentary: The Politics of Execution

March 5, 2015General Interest, Opinion Piece, Politicaldeath oenalty, drug trafficking, execution, rehabilitationtimalderman

execution

ˌɛksɪˈkjuːʃ(ə)n/

noun

the carrying out of a plan, order, or course of action.

“he was fascinated by the entire operation and its execution”

synonyms:

implementation, carrying out, accomplishment, performance, effecting, bringing off, bringing about, achievement, carrying off, carrying through, completion, enactment, enforcement, discharge, prosecution, engineering, attainment, realization, fulfilment;

perpetration

“the execution of the plan”

the carrying out of a sentence of death on a condemned person.

“the execution of juveniles is prohibited by international law”

synonyms:

capital punishment, the death penalty, being put to death, killing;

the gibbet, the gallows, the noose, the rope, the scaffold, the guillotine, the firing squad;

the (electric) chair;

informalthe drop;

informalnecktie party;

historicalnoyade

It is a word that disgusts me. In fact, capital punishment of any description disgusts me.

Our two Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were transferred from Kerobokan prison to Nusakambangan island, in a wave of world punlicity yesterday morning, where they are to be executed by firing squad. There is a huge amount of controversy surrounding these two men, so I will add my two dents worth. But my personal feelings can ge summed ip in a very simple statement – executing people achieves absolutely nothing! (http://www.eaplstudent.com/publications/controversies/does-the-death-penalty-reduce-crime).
And so now, just to prove how absolutely sadistic they are, the conjrctured carrying out of this execution this coming weekend, has been changed yet again with the statement from President Joko Widodo this morning that they might be waiting there on “Execution Island” for yet another week or more! Now try telling me that these two unfortunate men are not being used as a political football! Seems the Indonesian government and “judiciary” want to see just how much begging we will do!

By no stretch of the imagination can it be ssid thst these two men have had a fair go through the Indonesian judicial system. There was a feeling right from the word go,10 years ago, that evetything involving their trial and sentencing was already preordained. The whole appeal process – if it can be called that – is no better. It would appear that the law is filtered to suit the occasion. They never really stood a chance in the face of stubborn, retaliatory sadism.

There is no denying their crimes. And the societal requirement to punish is justified. They have been in prison in Indonesia for 10 yesrs now, and in any country where prison terms are the sentence of the court, they would probably be due for release,mor at least paroled. The true grist of this story is not about sentencing but the imposition of a sentence that in any civilised country – disregarding some backward stares in America – is unacceptable.

If the true conclusion of imprisonment is reform and rehabilitation, then the sentence imposed by the Indonesian court has achieved that aim. It could be said – though there is no way we are going to find out – that upon release these rwo men could toddle off to totally accepted and fulfilled lives as beneficial members of society! This being the outcome of their sentence, the question has to be asked – why are they being executed! It is supposedly to set an example – now on the world stage – of what happens when you break the law on this tiny group of islands caloed Indonesia. We tiny islands with big boot! Well, it doesn’t work that way!

Amnesty International state that there are 5 reasons for abolishing the death penalty:

1. You can’t take it back

The death penalty is irreversible. Absolute judgments may lead to people paying for crimes they did not commit. Texas man Cameron Todd Willingham, for example, was found innocent after his 2004 execution.

2. It doesn’t deter criminals

In fact, evidence startlingly reveals the opposite! Twenty seven years after abolishing the death penalty, Canada saw a 44 per cent drop in murders across the country. And it wasn’t alone.

3. There’s no ‘humane’ way to kill

The 2006 execution of Angel Nieves Diaz, by a so-called ‘humane’ lethal injection, took 34 minutes and required two doses. Other methods of execution used around the world include hanging, shooting and beheading. The nature of these deaths only continues to perpetuate the cycle of violence and does not alleviate the pain already suffered by the victims’ family.

4. It makes a public spectacle of an individual’s death

Executions are often undertaken in an extremely public manner, with public hangings in Iran or live broadcasts of lethal injections in the US.

5. The death penalty is disappearing

Out of 198 countries around the world only 21 continue to use capital punishment. And while countries that carried out executions in 2011 did so at an alarming rate, those employing capital punishment have decreased by more than a third in the last decade. With this clear downward trend, public pressure may help persuade the world’s biggest executors China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the USA to stop.

There are countless arguments for and against the death penalty. In an imperfect world where we can never be sure we have ever got the “worst of the worst” is it ever justified to take a life?

And the answer to that question is……no!

I was watching one of many series I watch on Foxtel, called “The Killing”, which ended by someone – not totally proven guilty – being execured by hanging. Despite knowing it is acted, the whole process was very realistically acted, and quite heart-rending. There are actually people there to witness it happening, and one would think that after withessing such a horrific and barbaric act, one would become a strong advocate against the death penalty.

If Indonesia think they are big-noting themselves on the world stage, well they are…but not in the right way. They could have exonerated these rwo men, saved their parents and loved ones a world of grief. Indonesia could join the civilised world and eliminate this dreadful punishment all togethet! There is more admiration for humanitarianism than barbarism! After 10 years of imprisonment, there would be a lot less controversy by paroling and releasing them, then alliwing them voluntary access to the prison to continue the rehabilitation programs that they themselves have set in place. Not only would this be seen as just and humane, it would be of continuing benefit to other prisoners.

Much has been said about how they are drug traffickers, and deserve this penalty as it will save lives. What a load of bullshit that is. These two deaths, along with a string of others caught for the same crime in IIndonesia, is not going to save one single, solitary life! A drug addict is a drug addict, and what they can’t get from one person they will get from another! End of story! Perhaps Indonesia needs to look in its own backyard first!

The world is holding its greath, and this is just what Indonesia wants! The end of this story is, I think, inevitable. I would love to be proven wrong!

Tim Alderman

PS for anyone interested to read a history of capital punushment (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/execution/readings/history.html), and a further interesting article on why the death oenalty is slowly dying in America after a botched lethal injection (http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/execution-of-clayton-lockett-and-the-flaws-of-lethal-injection-a-992359.html).

Political Commentary: Good Government Starts Today…Not!

February 14, 2015Article, General Interest, Opinion Piece, PoliticalCaptain's Calls, Gillan Trigg, Good government starts today, Labor, LNP, political spill, Tony Abbott, TPPtimalderman

Well, the spill didn’t rid us of the cause of our bad government, though with 40% of his backbench voting in favour of spilling him as PM, Tony Abbott has had a big shock…though I fear not big enough! Not only is he extremely unpopular with the voters – he jeeps insisting he was voted in as PM, when in fact it is his PARTY (LNP) that is voted in, and as leader he becomes PM by default – but a large portion of his own party don’t support him! It’s a fiasco of the highest degree!

To make it worse, his Cabinet (Frontbench) have supported him, though in some cases, I would say, reluctantly! If there had been a vote in favour of the spill, it would have been interesting to see who would have pushed him into his grave – where he is toppling anyway – and taken over as PM”. So, we are stuck with an idealistic, ineffective, and unpopular PM, likewise for Treasurer, likewise for Education minister, likewise for Health minister, likewise for Immigration minister, and likewise for Welfare minister! Makes you wonder, doesn’t it! Philip Ruddock, a long serving Liberal minister going back to the Howard era, and who did nothing to halt the spill motion has suddenly been “retired” as party whip. Has Abbott seen him as a turncoat?

Despite not having the numbers to create the spill, it is touted that Abbott will not be around for a lot longer. His inability to be likeable, his low ranking in the polls, the voter backlash against him and his government, his inability to get the budget through the senate without either watering down policies, or dropping them altogether, the lack if support from his own backbench, and accusations of his lack of accessibility to his ministers, and giving his Chief of Staff, Peta Credlin, too much authority are pretty much sounding his death knell. It is being touted that the damage is so bad that this will be yet another one-term LNP government. Pass the poison chalice, please! “Captains calls”, as Abbott likes to describe any motion he independently puts forward ,without advice from his colleagues, have been nothing short of disastrous! Captains calls on the Medicare rebate (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-20/shelving-medicare-rebate-cut-not-captains-call-abbott/6028376), the absolutely ludicrous granting if a knighthood to Prince Phillip – not to mention the actual reintroduction of this antiquated system of honours – which was both farcical and embarrassing (http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/newspapers-nationwide-condemn-tony-abbotts-captains-call-20150127-12yrzy.html), a “phantom” call on Renewable Energy Targets – considering how much international stick he has received on dumping the Carbon Tax, which nit only worked, but brought in revenue (http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/labor-accuses-abbott-of-phantom-captains-call-on-renewables), and the absolutely absurd news today that he wanted to commit 3,500 Australian troops on the ground in Syria to stop ISOS advance, without the combined aid of NATO and US forces, which would have been disastrous for the Australian troops (http://www.pedestrian.tv/news/arts-and-culture/report-reveals-tony-abbott-suggested-a-solo-austra/ab72fdc7-babf-41f7-84da-ee887b87dec9.htm). Please note: this man is currently “running” our country!

Of course, we can add to this his rude and unjust attack on a report into our abuse of the rights of asylum seekers in detention centres released by the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Gillian Trigg, which caused a flood of controversy (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-21/bradley-triggs-and-human-rights-why-attacking-her-is-wrong/6030256) and so it goes on.

After a week of supposed “good government” (Heaven knows what we have had since his election!), Lyn Bender, a freelance writer, wrote a piece comparing Abbott’s blunders to what Sigmund Freud (she is a psychologist herself) would have to say about them. It is humorous….but also revealing;

“1. The suppository of wisdom

“No one – however smart, however well-educated, however experienced – is the suppository of all wisdom.”
Sigmund says: I am totally fixated at the anal stage.

2. Good government starts today

“All of us are determined to lift our game and the fundamental point I make is that the solution to all of these things is good Government, and good Government starts today.”
Sigmund says: My Government has been total crap until now.

3.“We are not the Labor Party”

“I want to make this very simple point: we are not the Labor Party, we are not the Labor Party and we are not going to repeat the chaos and the instability of the Labor years.”
Sigmund says: We don’t have a clue who we are, but we are not them and anything bad is all their fault.

4.Tony Abbott’s “knightmare”

Tony Abbott awards a knighthood to Prince Phillip on Australia Day.

Sigmund says: Australia is a British colony and I am a proud Englishman; I prefer the last century – or, better still, the one before – and want to go back there.

5. The Minister for Women and the carbon tax

“… as many of us know,women are particularly focused on the household budget and the repeal of the carbon tax means a $550-a-year benefit for the average family.”
Sigmund says: Women’s place is in the home – shopping, cooking and ironing their man’s shirts – while men go out and run the world. And stuff the environment.

6. Prime minister for Aboriginal Affairs

“It is my hope that I could be, not just a prime minister, but a prime minister for Aboriginal Affairs. The first I imagine that we have ever had.”
On the morning of the spill, Abbott ignored the “Freedom Summit” of Indigenous people camped outside Parliament – as did the media – as he strode off to fight the spill. He paid no attention to the Aboriginal grandmothers protesting increasing rates of child removal.

Sigmund says: I said what I said to become prime minister — I’d sell my arse to be PM! The fate of Indigenous people means nothing to me in comparison to remaining in power. Their problems are not my problem.

7. No guilt about children in detention

Responding angrily to a damning Human Rights Commission report on the damage done by Australia to children in detention, Abbott declared:

“I reckon that the Human Rights Commission ought to be sending a note of congratulations to Scott Morrison saying ‘Well done mate because your actions have been very good for the human rights and the human flourishing of thousands of people’.”
When asked if he felt any guilt over the horrifying findings in the AHRC report, including the heartbreaking pictures of young children in locked confinement, Abbott replied: “None whatsoever.”

In fact, said Abbott, it was the Human Rights Commission that should be “ashamed of itself”.

Sigmund says: Thus spake the narcissist, in deep denial, projecting his feelings of guilt and shame.

Repressed denied impulses can break out, in spite of attempts to suppress them. That is why Tony Abbott keeps accidentally showing his true colours despite all his protestations.

The Liberal Party can now barely contain its rebellion, even as it protests its unity. The Party doesn’t need a facelift — it needs a heart transplant, writes columnist Waleed Aly.

Tony Abbott has revealed himself to be self-centred, cruel, mean, petty and concerned only with his own survival.

But he now claims to have changed, overnight. He has declared that the spill motion experience has been a chastening experience and that he has learned and is listening.

But his subsequent actions – such as blaming the Opposition for a jobs “holocaust” and using parliamentary privilege to politicise and prejudice an alleged terror attack investigation – show this up for the lie that, of course, it was always going to be:”

(https://mobile.twitter.com/lynestel)

After the sacking of Philip Ruddock as Chief Party Whip, Bob Ellis from the Independent Australia had the following to say on what nows seems the rapid demise of Abbott as PM

“With Tony Abbott sacking Philip Ruddock as Liberal Party chief whip yesterday, it is certain Tony Abbott has weeks, not months, left in the top job, says Bob Ellis.

In his film of Richard III, Laurence Olivier, felled by arrows, writhes and twitches on the ground while Richmond’s soldiers jeer him. Tony Abbott is now in a similar twitching and writhing.

The numbers on Monday doomed him, but the Ruddock sacking brought forward the day of his execution. It may occur, now, before Chan and Sukumaran’s, in ten or 11 days’ time.

What is going on in the Prime Minister’s head? If the sneered response “brain damage” can be discarded – and maybe it can’t – it has to be to do with his Catholic upbringing and the consequent abiding habits of mind.

Under Catholicism, you ‘wipe the slate clean’ by Confession, and a number of Hail Marys, and all is well. You admit, with words, your sin, and expiate your sin with words and are then, being cleansed, allowed to sin again.

And to Tony Abbott, the words matter, only the words matter, and the deeds that follow can contradict them.

There will be “no more captain’s picks”; yet the meeting was brought forward, Credlin retained and Ruddock removed. He said “good government starts today”, and a shambles ensues. It is revealed that child abuse occurred on Christmas Island, and like the Catholic church, he denies it, says he feels no guilt “whatsoever” and proposes to martyr Gillian Triggs for unveiling the truth: suicidal children, buggered by their guardians and bashed for talking about it.

And now we see Ruddock, past hero of ‘border protection’, auteur of the 2001 win, sacked.

It was almost certainly to do with his expression, and body language, when he revealed on Sunday it was Abbott, not he, who had brought the meeting forward, and it was, though he did not say is, a ‘captain’s call’.

It is likely now that Turnbull has about 47 votes, and five or six more will come across by the middle of next week.

And another spill vote will be put the following Monday, or Tuesday, or Thursday.

And Abbott and Hockey will go to the back bench and an early election occur, if the poll numbers surge, and they will, towards Turnbull, around Anzac Day, on April 30 perhaps; or soon after a well-crafted Budget comes down, and the Coalition’s numbers reach 49.

It is certain now Abbott has weeks, not months. He has tried the patience again of those who doubted him already and lost their regard forever. And now he is done and finished.

And writhing on the battleground.

(https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/tony-abbott-the-termination,7371)

The Sydney Morning Herald summed it up very nicely in this piece from the 15th February 2015

“That being said, Abbott’s ploy makes good political sense: in the face of terrible polling, rising unemployment, slowing growth, parliamentary incompetence and internal discord, the only card Abbott can play is the one marked “I’m keeping you safe from the scary things!”

The message ends with an assurance that part of that safety hinges on the successful passage of the government’s still-unpassed suite of laws forcing internet service providers to retain information on what their users do online – which, as attorney-general George Brandis has made clear, is an unfortunate but necessary step for our national security.

And to be fair, he’s half right: it’s definitely unfortunate. Luckily, it’s also definitely not necessary!”

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/view-from-the-street/view-from-the-street-tony-abbott-declares-no-more-mr-nice-guy-20150215-13fa8y.html?utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=nc&eid=socialn%3Afac-13omn1676-edtrl-other%3Annn-17%2F02%2F2014-edtrs_socialshare-all-nnn-nnn-vars-o

But there us worse to come yet with the potential signing of the TPP – Trans Pacific Partnership, which will, inevitably, prove disastrous for Australian business, manufacturers and consumers as the big countries boss us around. There us currently a big hue & cry over it (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-25/multi-lateral-trade-deal-inches-closer-with-sydney-meeting/5840762).

Details if the trade agreement have been kept secret from the Australian public, and The Greens have raised the issue in the Senate and requested the papers be made available for scrutiny (http://peter-whish-wilson.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/greens-continue-seek-end-secrecy-over-china-free-trade-deal)

So, I have waited two weeks for good government to start. It hasn’t! Nor, in my opinion, will it! We have a dud PM, and a good-as-dead government! Flogging a dead horse will not save it! It’s time for the voters to say enough is enough! Call another election and let true good government rule!

Tim Alderman
(C) 2015

P.S. Cartoons are too numerous to count, but here is an example:

Political Commentary: The Spill

February 7, 2015Article, General Interest, Opinion Piece, Politicalbad politics, Labor, LNP, politicians, Prime Minister Abbott, spill, Tony Abbotttimalderman

I always try to keep politics out of my blog – considering religion and sex are there, a bit pointless really – but considering the current circus in both Stare and Federal politics in Australia, it is impossible to remain indifferent. Also, as a writer, it frustrates me to have articles in my head that are not being committed to hard-copy.

So a run-down on current events. The conservative right-wing LNP(Liberal National Party) have been ousted in both Victoria and Queensland recently, and are pretty well on the nose in other stares, and likely to be voted out at the next elections held. The Federal LNP government is in total disarray at the moment. It is a mess that is slowly being cleaned up, and the lessons learned are many!

Australia tends to be a bit of a laconic country, the people easy-going, not tending towards great political experiments, but rather politicians who will just do what they are supposed to do…run the country without corruption or ridicule, with fairness and equity for all. The era of “the fair go for all” is not over yet! In my own state of Queensland, this hope of fair, equitable government was destroyed by the recently ousted Newman government, headed by Premier Campbell “Can Do” Newman, who swept into power three years ago on a massive swing against the Labor government that effectively left us without an opposition party, opening the doors to excess and self-indulgent government in the LNP almost unparalleled. One of their first actions – granting themselves massive pay increases, while regaling us with tales of what an economic mess the state was in. This was followed up – not in order – by destroying both health and education systems, trying to force doctors onto contracts, the disassembling of sexual health clinics, disability services, cuts to arts funding, withdrawal of funding to support services, the instigation of new laws without consultation, the dismantling of the state corruption watchdog, increasing police powers, proposed legislation to allow mining near our protected Great Barrier Reef, proposed dredging in the reefs to allow ships to cross the reef, and the promised drop in our electricity bills that never happened etc etc.The list goes on and on! However, the sale (jokingly referred to as renting out) of our public assets was the straw that broke the camels back! The Premier himself was an arrogant, bullying man, full of his own self-importance. Three years was enough. We gave them a hammering two weeks ago that it will take them a long time to forget. His party not only lost power, he lost his own seat of Ashgrove. An instance if kharma at work! The second one-term government to be flushed down the toilet!

The political landscape has changed. Once upon a time we gave a governing party – irrespective of what doubts we may have had – two, even three, terms to get it right. Not any more! We are all so aware of the bullshit now, that all politicians are tarred with the same brush, they never keep their promises, and they are not to be trusted! But then, we have the two-party-preferred model here, and it is rapidly proving ineffective!

So the current circus with our Federal LNP government in Canberra comes as no shock to us! Also coming into power – by a VERY small majority – after a backlash against our Rudd/Guillard/Rudd Prime Ministerial fiasco (whereby our OM changed three times in six years due to party infighting and power-mongering, and as the result of some badly to instituted policies early on after their election, due to a rush to fulfill their electoral promises. Kevin Rudd himself, though popular, was a bad choice as PM, as he loved to micro-manage, and took more portfolios upon himself than he could manage. He also liked to spend a lot of time outside the country! Julia Guillard was a hard, pragmatic woman who stood up for herself against misogyny, and an unbreakable glass ceiling) has proven himself the class clown – though on an international stage! Being leader of the opposition for a long time, he has always been hungry for the position, and having been handed it on a silver platter, he is not willing to let it go. An ultra-conservative right-winger, a Roman Catholic, a climate change denier, anti-social justice, misogynist, a follower and idoliser of the philosophies of the (nut case) B.A. Santamaria, inept, stumbling and mumbling his Speedo-clad torso from one – embarrassing disaster to another on the world stage, disliked and alienated by other world leaders (who else could have a G20 Conference for world leaders in his own country, and in his opening address complain about local policy issues that are just that…local!) he has managed to lead his Cabinet (consisting of one woman, while making himself Minister For Women) and backbench almost back to the 1950s, an era he feels very comfortable in.

So far they have managed to disassemble our Carbon Tax policy (despite the fact it worked), our Mining Tax policy (pleasing no one except mining companies), we have no Minister for Science, no Minister for ageing or Disabilities. Funding has been slashed to the CSIRO (our internationally recognised science and research institute), our public broadcasters the ABC & SBS, funding to arts and cultural groups, medical and educational funding etc etc. in their first budget, they tried to dismantle Medicare (our “free” health care system that is actually funded through an income tax levy) by introducing a $7 GP co-payment, increasing costs of PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which gives us subsidised medicines), decreasing pensions (thus leaving many in dire poverty), changing how Centrelink and the dole works, the proposed deregulation of university fees (opening the doors to students loading themselves with $100,000 degrees and huge, unpayable HECS debts), a Paid Parental Leave Scheme tagged as welfare for the wealthy, unsustainable child-care costs, the supposed Stop-the-Boats…Operation Sovereign Borders policies, which has seen us treat asylum seekers like third world “illegal immigrants” and again the list goes on and on. Most of this stupidity has been stopped by a strong opposition and cross-bench. Their pandering to mining and big business has been truly out of control! Of most recent repute are Abbott’s reintroduction of knighthoods (the cause of much hilarity online), and his ludicrous, humiliating granting of an Australian knighthood to Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh! Talk about breaking the camels back! In the face of a neverending string of farces that have reflected badly on all of us, there has finally been a backbench revolt. In recent polls, the Labor party lead (in two-party preferred) 57 to 43. As preferred PM, Bill Shorten (the Labor leader) leads by 44/27. This could not be worst for the LNP government, so a change of PM and Cabinet is strongly on the cards!

Though that it will make any difference in the polls…I doubt it! Even if he wins the spill, his name is still mud, and it is highly unlikely he will go into the next election as PM. And whether they like to admit it or not, they are highly likely to be our next one-term government. I have never seen a worst performing PM, or government, in all my 43 years as a voter! I have never seen Australia more abused or humiliated, our reputation for equality and fairness in tatters, our belief in looking after those less able – low-income, homeless, disabled, elderly, indigenous – badly eroded, our cost-of-living rising while all the time – 18-months into their election – the LNP still like to bleat on about it all being Labor’s fault, that the national deficit is all Labor’s fault despite the LNP having more than doubled it. There us one thing they have taught us for sure – when it comes to fixing budgets, you make the elderly, disabled and low-incomed pay your way out of it, as the upper and of town – banking, big corporations – and mining companies get richer and richer. A car industry…we no longer have one! Whatever they choose to do, it is never going to put money in my pocket!

So bring on the spill, though what we really need is not a change of PM, but a change of government!

Tim Alderman
(C) 2015

Australian Icons:The Ferocious Australian Drop Bear

January 26, 2015Article, General Interest, History, Humour, TravelogueAussie, Australian mythology, deadly Australian animals, drop bears, tourism in the bush, when visiting Australiatimalderman

phascolarctos malum or Thylarctos plummetus, depending on what area they are from.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_bear) “A dropbear or drop bear is a fictitious Australian marsupial.[1] Drop bears are commonly said to be unusually large, vicious, carnivorous marsupials related to koalas (although the koala is not a bear) that inhabit treetops and attack their prey by dropping onto their heads from above.[2][3] They are an example of local lore intended to frighten and confuse outsiders and amuse locals, similar to the jackalope, hoop snake, wild haggis or snipe.

Various methods suggested to deter drop bear attacks include placing forks in the hair, having Vegemite or toothpaste spread behind the ears or in the armpits, urinating on oneself, and only speaking English in an Australian accent.”

I have never really looked into the lore behind our local super marsupial…the drop bear. However, this morning – it being Australia Day here – I jokingly made a reference to them in a Facebook post, saying to be careful, as I had seen them heading into the bush with a slab (carton of beer). Then my writer instinct kicked in, and I wondered just how had this mythology around the drop bear started, and just how ingrained into our iconology had it become.

Us Aussies find the whole tourist scare “campaign” about drop bears hilarious. I have a friend – an Australian – who lives in NYC and has a lot of American friends. He gets great delight out of scaring them to death, relating stories about the dangers of drop bears if touristing here, backed up with comments from us over here. I tend to wonder about the gullibility of people.

The wonderful thing about the drop bear myth is how it has come to be backed up with some pretty credible research from believable organisations and publications. It would seem that everyone wants to be in on the joke. This from the Australian Museum:

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Drop-Bear

If ever there was an institution to give legitimacy to a subject, anything with the word “museum” in it would be right up there. Also, some “serious” research work from the “Australian Geographic”:

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2013/03/drop-bears-target-tourists,-study-says/

The research, done in a NSW drop bear Hot-Spot, has found that talking with an Australian accent helps keep them at bay.

Needless to say, spoof sights for drop bears have cropped up as well, and one has to wonder just how many overseas tourists have clicked on this link and booked a Drop Bear Adventure. Too funny.

http://www.dropbearadventures.com.au/drop-bear/

And this from Buzzfeed:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/cconnelly/10-terrifying-facts-about-the-australian-dropbear-s3x

There are also three apps to play games of Drop Bear.

Drop Bears are a great example not only of the often perverse Australian sense of humour, but is one of our endearing qualities…not taking ourselves too seriously, and liking to laugh at ourselves.

This link has someone even creating a history for them:

https://picsandstuff.wordpress.com/tag/drop-bear/

But perhaps more than anything is the proliferation of photos and graphics that depict drop bears. You can never say Australians don’t have a sense of humour!