A Night At The Museum

Recently enjoyed a night out at the local Museum.

Don’t think museum’s are enjoyable? Think again.

Redland Museum was established just over fifty years ago to house historic artefacts, particularly of a farming nature, and stories about the people, places and events that helped shape the Redlands. It is not a large museum and the building can in no way be deemed flash. A report dated 2022 states there are 2 full time paid employees and nearly 200 volunteers who keep the wheels turning.

During those awful days of Lockdown – which we refuse to honour by giving the cause a name – a new amateur theatre group was established which based itself in the  bowels of the Museum. The idea behind the formation of this group was to produce and perform  productions based on the stories provided within this museum. So far ,information garnered from the catalogues and artefacts within museum walls have led to theatrical productions about the Australian Women’s Land Army, local trailblazing women who have led the way to societal change, and a rather creepy Halloween based play featuring a century old Dentist’s chair belonging to a practitioner of the past.

Last month, as part of the National Trust Australian Heritage Festival, Theatre Redlands presented a short radio play titled ” Snowed Up With A Duchess”, adapted from a script donated years ago by a resident and that’s been sitting quietly in a storage box.

The presentation itself was entertaining and provided a few giggles. However, the finale included a presentation by the museum’s librarian who provided:

a) a history of the original play : when it was written and by whom, and the play’s political context at the time it evolved in the UK in 1907.

b) the history of the script and how it landed as part of the museum’s catalogue.

Honestly, I’m not sure what gave me the biggest kick. Was it the performance or the background information?

An inexpensive evening out, an opportunity to frock up, and with a grazing box included.

Who said museums were dull?

Y is for Yowie

Whilst the Americans have Bigfoot or Sasquatch, and the Asiatic countries have the Yeti and Abominable Snowman, Australia has the Yowie.

Though accounts of the Yowie from Europeans only date to the 19th century, stories from Australia’s Indigenous people are believed to go back much further. These tales speak of an enormous beast similar to an ape, earning the creature nicknames like the “hairy man of the wood.”

The Yowie is usually described as a Bipedal, hairy, and ape-like mythical creature standing upright at between 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) and 3.6 m (12 ft). The Yowie’s feet are described as much larger than a human’s, but alleged Yowie tracks are inconsistent in shape and toe number. 

Kilcoy, a small township situated on the D’Aguilar Highway 95 kilometres north west of Brisbane, is known as the Yowie Town with the last reported sighting in the 1970’s.

In 1979 two local Kilcoy boys claimed to witness a three metre tall Yowie and attempted to shoot it. It took off, allegedly leaving behind a sulfurous smell. Plaster casts were supposedly taken of its footprints and the boys became local folklore.

Kilcoy, Qld

Bonus Trivia : The Exchange Hotel in Kilcoy serves THE best wagyu steaks. I mean THE best.

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Australian Trivia

X is for………..

So Cat Balou in India issued a Challenge. 

“Mo, bet you a bottle of Peter Rumble Sparkling Shiraz that you can’t come up with something for the letter X”.

Darling girl of little faith, submit your order to Dan Murphy’s now.

For Australian trivia purposes X is for XANTIPPE, a small rural locality in Western Australia’s wheat belt. It is located 220 kms north east of the city of Perth and according to the 2016 Census has a population of 20.

It is the only locality name in Australia that begins with X.

Never heard of it. 

Established in 1925 it once was a thriving farming community. A school opened in 1930 on Struggle Street to cater to the needs of children, though closed in 1940. ( Anyone else getting Tim Winton vibes?)

The locality’s big feature was the water tank built in 1927, designed to pump water to nearby Dalwallinu, but there were major issues pumping the water uphill. It doesn’t even have its own postcode.

It has been suggested that the name means “looking for water from a deeper well” which ties in with the proliferation of Gnamma holes in the area. 

What is a Gnamma hole? According to the Merriam -Webster Dictionary , “a hollow or hole eroded or indented in solid rock of Australian deserts that sometimes contains water.” Apparently these water holes are featured in the 2002 Australian movie, “Rabbit- Proof Fence”  which I will now source for the weekend’s *entertainment.

Western Australia extends across a massive area, at least one third of Australia. Honestly, I am familiar only with the Margaret River area and have no  enthusiasm to explore Xantippe and its environs. However, if anyone can shed any further light I’de be pleased to hear.

*Entertainment is a poor choice of word for this movie. Based on the book of the same name it is the true story of several young Indigenous girls taken away from their parents who escape the mission to return to their families. The Stolen Generation should not equate to entertainment.

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Australian Trivia

W is for War Memorials/Museums

Yesterday was ANZAC Day in Australia, a day during which the nation commemorates the victims of war and recognises the role of our armed forces. The day commences with a Dawn Service at the local cenotaph to remember the ill-fated campaign where Allied troops landed on the narrow beaches of the Gallipoli peninsula during WW1. This is generally followed by a march past, followed by lunch and other  “festivities.”

Cleveland, Qld

Australian regional memorials have long been at the heart of community commemoration of our servicemen and women.

When driving through most Australian towns, large or small, you can almost always find a war memorial, often at the town centre. They come in the form of granite obelisks, memorial gates, statues and more. They are found in parks, hospitals, post offices, swimming pools and halls. They include honour rolls found in bowling clubs, schools, town halls and other community buildings. Statues of mostly First World War soldiers, known as ‘Digger memorials’, are also a distinctive feature in regional towns.

Surat, Qld

There is a website collating these memorials in Australia. Go here :                       https://placesofpride.awm.gov.au/memorials

I admit to being a total sucker for our country towns. Their buildings, cemeteries, museums and war memorials offer so much more in the way of history than anything printed in the travel brochures or offered at Tourist Information Centres.

During a short road trip last week to see the Dingo Fence, and bonus find the  Rabbit Fence which I will share another time, we visited the Miles Historical Village on the Western Downs. Of particular interest was the War Museum loaded with local information pertinent to Miles in which I learnt that the Americans during WW2 established six artillery storage facilities near Miles, one being a current mine site which on occasion has unearthed refuse artillery. 

Oh, how this kind of useless information fuels my soul……

It must be an age thing but for the first time in twenty years I was unable to crawl out of bed at 4am to greet the dawn. I set the alarm alright, but just couldn’t face it. Instead, I listened to Vera Lynn for the day and read an article about a newly erected monument in rural Blackall, Queensland, of WW1 nurse Sister Greta Norman Towner, “as a reminder of the significant contribution Australian women in service have made to the nation.” Interestingly, this monument stands in the park opposite the statue of her brother Lieutenant Edgar Thomas Towner, VC MC.

And for those Aussie readers with a few free hours on their hands the AWM is calling for volunteers to help preserve war diaries and records within their collection by transcribing. It’s easy and I failed typing in a business course. Go here:https://transcribe.awm.gov.au/

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Australian Trivia

V is for Vegemite

Vegemite, the Australian sandwich spread, has a reputation much like Coriander (also known as Cilantro ) – people either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground.

I hail from a generation of Vegemite fanciers and grew up just like the song lyrics suggested – as a ” happy little vegemite”. My preference is to lay it on thick with oozing butter, and preferably on hot crumpets with a pot of tea. ( In the scheme of things , what’s a cholesterol issue? We all have a use by date. Thus my penchant for cheese and prawns too.) 

On the following scale I’m a serial killer.

Some trivia about Vegemite you may not be aware of:

1. Vegemite is banned from some Australian gaols. This is to prevent inmates extracting the yeast to make booze.
2. In the late 1930’s Vegemite gained momentum as a health product because of its high concentration of B vitamins.
3. It became a staple in soldiers’ ration packs during World War 2. Posters hung up during wartime bore the slogan :“Vegemite: Keeping fighting men fighting fit.” 
4. To drum up publicity around their new product, The Fred Walker Company launched a nationwide competition to name it ahead of its debut. Hundreds of submissions were collected, and Walker’s daughter pulled the winning entry out of a hat. The coiners of the name “Vegemite” were awarded a £50 prize.
5. In 1984, a 66 cent jar of Vegemite became the  first product electronically scanned at a checkout in Australia at a Woolworths. 

Vegemite is more versatile than you realise. I add it to gravy when cooking, as well as stews and casseroles.

When my daughter was home for Easter following her first twelve months on contract in India all she wanted ( after prawns, bubbles and a *movie night) was a Vegemite Scroll.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting 
• 80g butter, chilled, chopped 
• 2 tsp caster sugar 
• 2/3 cup milk 
• 2 tbsp Vegemite 
• 1 cup grated tasty cheese 

• Step 1 
  Preheat oven to 220C/200C fan-forced. Grease a 12-hole (1/3-cup-capacity) muffin pan. 
  
  Step 2 
  Process 2 cups self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting, 80g butter, chilled, chopped and 2 tsp caster sugar in a food processor until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Transfer to a bowl. Make a well. Add 2/3 cup milk. Season with salt and pepper. Stir with a butter knife to form a sticky dough. Turn out onto a well-floured surface. Knead gently. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out to form a 20cm x 40cm rectangle. 
• Step 3 
  Spread dough with 2 tbsp Vegemite, leaving a 1cm border. Sprinkle with 1 cup grated tasty cheese. Roll up dough from 1 long edge to enclose filling. Trim ends. Cut into 12 equal slices. Place, cut-side up, into holes of prepared pan. 
• Step 4 
  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and just firm to the touch. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer to a baking paper-lined wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

*I wont share the name of the movie. Just be reassured that I raised this kid well and she has exquisite taste.

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Australian Trivia

S is for (The) Seekers

The Seekers were an Australian musical group originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group (with a touch of folk) to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Essentially Australia’s first “supergroup” the band’s most popular configuration consisted of Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley with best selling songs including “Georgie Girl”, “I’ll Never Find Another You” and ” The Carnival Is Over.”

In 1967 The Seekers were named joint “Australians of the Year”. In 1995 the group was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. They were individually honoured as Officers of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of June 2014.

Sadly, we lost lead singer Judith Durham in 2022.

Have a listen to this: considered by many as an alternative National Anthem.

https://youtu.be/BVUU68X6F5g?si=zmdZ4TLSWkGzV5xp

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Australian Trivia

R is for Red Dog

Louis de Bernières is an English novelist, best known for his 1994 historical war novel, “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.” I’ve mentioned previously that I would have enjoyed the movie of the same name about Italian soldiers who occupy the Greek Island of Cephalonia during World War 2 except for three things:

1. Nicholas Cage
2. Nicholas Cage
3. Nicholas Cage

The writer holidayed in Australia at one stage where he came upon a statue of a dog during a visit to the Pilbara region of Western Australia. What can I tell you about the Pilbara? It’s remote mining country, wickedly hot and with nothing but red dust for miles.

But I digress. Back to the statue …….

The dog’s name on the statue was “Red Dog” ( 1971 – 1979), a kelpie/cattle dog cross.

He had a series of owners and lengthy periods travelling on his own, essentially becoming a beloved friend and mascot of the greater Pilbara community. “Red Dog” was made a member of the Dampier Salts Sport and Social Club and the Transport Workers Union and was also given a bank account with the Bank of New South Wales which was said to have used him as a mascot, with the slogan. “If Red banks at the Wales, then you can too.“

When “Red Dog” died, presumed poisoned, a local vet had him buried in a secret unmarked grave. There is a plaque, fixed to a boulder, very close to this site, just outside of the town of Cossack WA. The plaque states: 

                                   ” Red Dog

                                     The Pilbara Wanderer

                                      Erected by the many friends

                                      Made during his travels.”

This story so inspired de Bernieres that he wrote the novella, “Red Dog”, published in 2001, which was adapted to a film of the same name in 2011.

As of 17 November 2011, the film made more than A$21 million at the Australian box office since opening in August 2011.  Red Dog is ranked eighth in the list of (Cinema of Australia) highest-grossing Australian films of all time. Eleven days after opening, Red Dog became the highest-grossing Australian film of 2011. Much of this success is because Nicholas Cage was not involved.

*For bonus trivia, the soundtrack to the movie features some truly great Aussie  pop music.  Grab a glass of plonk and prepare to flit across the lounge room floor.

*I remember seeing this movie with Cat Balou. There was laughter, tears, and bopping to the music in our seats. It was my last time being in a cinema where everyone clapped at the end of the movie.

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Australian Trivia

O is for Oodgeroo Noonuccal

     Who? Poet, Educator, Activist, Creative AKA KATH WALKER

Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska was born in November 1920. She was a descendant of the Noonuccal people of Minjerribah. [North Stradbroke Island]. Her totem was Kabool the carpet snake, who could not be eaten by his people.

Kath was strongly influenced by her parents. Mother Lucy was one of the ‘stolen generation’, who was not taught to read or write at the mission, gaining domestic skills instead. Her father, Ted Ruska, was the foreman of a gang of Aboriginal labourers employed by the Queensland Government. Their measley income was supplemented by using the traditional hunter/gatherer skills of the Noonuccal people. 

Lucy was determined her children would read and write. Her father said to her ‘Just ‘cos you’re Aboriginal doesn’t mean you have to be as good as most white children – you have to be better.’

Kath attended Dunwich State School which she left at 13 to become a poorly paid live-in domestic servant. In 1941 she joined the Australian Women’s Army Service. [AWAS]. She was promoted to corporal, worked in switchboard operations and later as a pay clerk.

In 1942 Kath married Bruce Walker – a descendant of the Logan and Albert River Aboriginal people – though a dependence on alcohol led to domestic violence and the complete breakdown of that marriage.

To support herself and young child Kath became a domestic servant for the family of Sir Ralph and Lady Cilento who encouraged Kath to write and taught her to draw and paint.

In 1964 her poetry anthology, “We Are Going”, was the first book to be published by an Aboriginal woman. The title poem ends: 

“The scrubs are gone, the hunting and the laughter.

  The eagle is gone, the emu and the kangaroo are gone from this place. 

   The bora ring is gone The corroboree is gone And we are going.”

“The Dawn is at Hand ” was published in 1966 and the third collection “My People: A Kath Walker Collection,” was published in 1970.

In the 1960’s Oodgeroo fought for Aboriginal rights. In 1963 she met Sir Robert Menzies, the Australian Prime Minister. When he offered her a drink of wine she told him that if he had done that in Queensland he could have been put in gaol. It was not until 1967 that Aboriginal people had the right to vote.

In 1972 Oodgeroo returned to the birthplace of her people – the Noonuccal. She established an education and cultural centre at Moongalba [sitting down place] on Stradbroke Island. By 1987, 26,500 children had experienced sitting down and learning at Moongalba.

In 1988 she adopted a traditional name: Oodgeroo – paperbark tree – and Noonuccal – the name of her people.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal earned many awards:

• 1970 Mary Gilmore Medal

• 1975 Jessie Litchfield Award

• International Acting Award

• Fellowship of Australian Writers’ Award

• Doctor of the University from Griffith University.

In 1970, as Kath Walker, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to the community. In 1987 she returned it as a protest against the forthcoming bicentenary celebrations of Australia. She stated, “Next year, 1988, to me marks 200 years of rape and carnage, all these terrible things that the Aboriginal tribes of Australia have suffered without any recognition even of admitted guilt from the parliaments of England…. From the Aboriginal point of view, what is there to celebrate? … I can no longer with a clear conscience accept the English honour of the MBE and will be returning to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England.“

Oodgeroo Noonuccal died in 1993 at the age of 72.

Note:

This is very much an abridged version of a life and I recommend reading:

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Australian Trivia

M is for Mad Max with Mad Mel Gibson – Or is it for Harry Harbord (Breaker) Morant?

The letter M has been hugely problematic. Melbourne, a capital city in Australia’s south, bores me to tears – sorry, not sorry – and marsupials have been done to death.

So let’s talk about a couple of lads who have captured my imagination since the teenage years : actor and film producer, Mel Gibson, and Breaker ( as in horse breaker) Morant.

Both talented and controversial figures. Gibson won huge praise as Max Rockatansky in the 1979 Australian movie, Mad Max. This was a post apocalyptic world with a collapsed society , a shortage of resources, destruction of the environment, and war. All fun things.

So popular was Mel as Mad Max that Mad Max 2 followed in 1981, and then Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome  in 1985. ( We wont mention any others in the franchise. Without Gibson they were pure malarkey). Of course, Mel found fame and fortune and moved to the other side of the world -which is not surprising the way he wore leather – where he has gone on to produce and star in some monumental movies. Sadly, he is often the topic of disdain which is odd given that country’s penchant for the likes of Donald Trump.

Harry Morant too is often judged poorly, despite his talent for writing bush ballads and skill with horses. The subject of film and numerous books, The Breaker’s execution by British firing squad in Pretoria in 1902 continues to create debate.

I am currently reading Peter Fitzsimon’s  version of events. Three weeks in and I’ve made it to page 21. ( Message to Pete : why is each and every book you write the size of a doorstop? And you know that bandana around your forehead? Loosen it; that may help.)

Anyway, M is way too challenging.

I’m off to Miles in the Western Downs for a few days because of its proximity to the Dingo Fence. Promise more focus for N.

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Australian Trivia

L is for Lamington

Lord Lamington was born in London on 29 July 1860 as Charles Wallace Alexander Napier COCHRANE-BAILLIE holding the aristocratic title of Baron Lamington. He was Governor of Queensland from 9 April 1896 to 19 December 1901.

The story goes that a maid-servant was working at Government House in Brisbane when she accidentally dropped the Governor’s favourite sponge cake into some melted chocolate. Lord Lamington was not a person of wasteful habits and suggested that it be dipped in coconut to cover the chocolate to avoid messy fingers. Lord Lamington devoured this new taste sensation with great delight and the maid-servant’s error was proclaimed a magnificent success by all!

Thus the birth of the Lamington.

In 2009, as part of the  Q150 celebrations, the lamington was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as an iconic “innovation and invention”.

The  title of World’s Largest Lamington belongs to Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and a local bakery, who earned a Guinness World Record for a lamington weighing 2,361kg. 

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup castor sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup self-raising flour 1/2 cup milk.

Beat the eggs well, gradually adding the sugar until dissolved. Add the milk and vanilla essence and then stir in the self raising flour and whip the butter into the mixture. Pour the mixture into a cake tin or lamington baking dish and bake in a moderate oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes and then stand for 24 hours preferably in the refrigerator, before applying the icing.

THE CHOCOLATE ICING

4 cups icing sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons boiling water

3 cups desiccated coconut.

Stir the cocoa and icing sugar vigorously in a large bowl, adding the milk, butter and boiling water, warming the chocolate mixture over a very low heat until it has a smooth creamy texture. Cut the sponge cake into equal squares about 5cm x 5cm and, using a fork or thin skewer, dip each piece into the chocolate mixture ensuring that the mixture is liberally and evenly applied. Dip each piece into the desiccated coconut, allowing the lamingtons to cool on a wire tray for several hours.

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Australian Trivia