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Greg Hardwick

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Norfolk Island: small island in a big ocean

My first glimpse of Norfolk Island was a brief flash of emerald green hills through the low cloud cover. As the aircraft banked to the left, it rocked up and down and within minutes we were heading towards the ground. So much ocean and so little ground. I knew very little of this place and yet I was going to spend the next two years living here amongst a strange and unique culture.

It wasn’t until I was virtually boarding the aircraft that I learnt the descendants of the infamous naval mutiny aboard HMS Bounty, now inhabited the island. This was the first of some unexpected surprises. Read the full article here.

Image: Ruins of the old prison at Kingston, Norfolk Island. Image: G Hardwick.

Aboriginal Australia by film: Ten Canoes

This post is a bit late in coming, however for anyone interested in an Aboriginal story then this film is worth viewing. I’ve watched it several times and each time I learn something else.

With an all Aboriginal cast this movie follows the story of the people of … well…enough ‘whitefella’ talk… why don’t I let them tell you…

‘”Bout time to tell you a story, eh? Then I’ll tell you one of ours…

It is longtime ago. It is our time, before you other mob came from cross the ocean…longtime before then. The rains been good and ten of the men go on the swamp, to hunt the eggs of gumang, the magpie goose. One of the men, the young fella, has a wrong love, so the old man tell him a story…a story of the ancient ones, them wild and crazy ancestors who come after the spirit time, after the flood that covered the whole land…

It’s a good story, this story I’m gonna be tellin’ you ’bout the ancient ones. There’s more wrong love in this story, and plenty spears too, and plenty wives…too many wives if you ask me…a beautiful young one and a bit of a jealous one and the older wise one and even more wives than that.

And there’s plenty happens in this story…there’s a stranger comes and one of them wives goes missin’ and there’s a man with a belly big as a mountain. There’s sorcery and magic too, and a wrong spear in the wrong body, and more spears and bad spirits. And even that’s not everything that’s happening in this story.

Ahh, you gotta see this story of mine cause it’ll make you laugh, even if you’re not a blackfella. Might cry a bit too eh? But then you laugh some more…cause this story is a big true story of my people. True thing.” (extracted from the Ten Canoes website)

Visit the website for more information.

Dingo attack on Fraser Island

Another dingo attack has occurred on Queensland’s Fraser Island. A legacy of past feeding by tourists? And it looks like the dingo, when caught, will be destroyed. Tragic for all parties involved.

How will the dingo survive in the long term when more and more people are encroaching on its habitat? Caged areas have already been erected around most camp sites, which certainly detract from the whole experience.

Carbon Offsets: a way to make the masses feel warm and fuzzy?

Much has been said about offsetting carbon. In a nutshell — if you do something that harms the atmosphere, then do something else to create a balance. Drive your car, but go home and plant a few trees. Better still, if you have the money, and let’s face it many now do, get someone else to plant trees for you. Fly overseas and visit out-of-the-way places, but when you get home, do a bit of carbon offsetting.

On the surface it appears … well, it appears balanced.

Continue reading “Carbon Offsets: a way to make the masses feel warm and fuzzy?” »

Air Travel: an insignificant contribution to climate change?

As cheap airlines increase, more people have been able to access air travel. A good thing for many of us. But at what cost to the climate?

According to the David Suzuki Foundation air travel accounts for 4-9 per cent “of total climate change impact of human activity”. As many have said — this appears to be insignificant. However, air travel’s contribution is disproportionate.

Continue reading “Air Travel: an insignificant contribution to climate change?” »

Climate Change: more CO2 means greater plant growth?

Climate Change has become a hot topic. The Stern Report, Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, and more recently the IPCC Report (Climate Change 2007: Impacts,Adaptation and Vulnerability [read the summary here]), have all helped to establish Global Warming high on most political agendas.

Continue reading “Climate Change: more CO2 means greater plant growth?” »

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