Beagle Weekender Vol 152 April 24th 2020

Vol 16 September 15th 2017

28 December 7th,2020 2017 Vol 48 27th 2018 Vol 152 April 24th 111April July 12th 2019

Your FREE online Eurobodalla weekend magazine.

Your Beagle Weekly Index Arts ……………………. 0 Cinema ……………….. 0 Community ……………… 3 to 17 Reading ……………………..18 to 33 Food………………………… 0 Fishing ……………………. 34 Editorial ………………….. 2 What’s On …………….... 0

FIND ALL YOUR DAILY NEWS @ www.beagleweekly.com.au

beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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editorial Welcome to this week’s editorial, The decision has been handed down and it is now all systems go for Eurobodalla Council to move ahead Vol 16their September 15thPark 2017$60m 25m pool and 350 seat theatereBe to be built as a “Gateway” edifice for with Mackay 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019 Batemans Bay. IniGally esGmated to cost around $49 million dollars the final figure for the build sGll remains unknown however many are speculaGng it will be in excess of $60 million and will cost ratepayers and esGmated $2 million per year.

The reason for the speculaGon is that the Council decided some Gme ago to block public access and any documents that might speculate on esGmated turnstyle incomes and overheads.

The General Manager has conGnued to resist any moves to reveal the Financial Business Plan to the public, going to such extremes as to refuse Freedom of InformaGon requests made by the public.

The original “thumnail dipped in tar” esGmate revealed that the proposed project, once up and running, would lose around $700,000 per year, even aIer applying very quesGonable aBendance figures. The theatre alone projected a loss of $300,000 per year, even aIer speculaGon it would hold six sell out performances carrying over six nights each.

The annual depreciaGon alone for such a building will be in the order of $1.2m per year.

While the Council holds $51m from State and federal funding there is a shorJall that has been calculated by a quanGty surveyor. The Councillors know what the esGmate is however that is SECRET. Once they learnt of the shorJall in funds they decided to call it a THE GAP figure and then went into a huddle to determine what they would sell to fill the THE GAP. Around $10 million dollars that will most likely comprise the InformaGon Centre, the Batemans Bay Community Centre, the $1.2 million form the sale of the Moruya Racecourse and the sale of parks and reserves that have been idenGfied as “surplus to need”.

But that is speculaGon because Councillors are not allowed to tell the public what public assets they intend to sell to pay for THE GAP. So now the approved project can go to tender with the tenders knowing that the start price for the quote is $51m and that Council has worked out where they can secure more. Once the tender is awarded we will be none the wiser because that too will be confidenGal, even though it is our money.

Next will come the tenders to manage the facility. Will the pool be managed separately to the theatreBe? Will the gymnasium be leased out? With six gymnasiums in Batemans Bay already will there be a demand for a new space, especially at 1000m2. Council is currently calling expressions of interest. This too is Council’s reason for withholding the Financial Plan that might reveal the esGmated projected incomes.

Allan Brown wrote in today saying “Whether or not the project is financially viable seems to be of no concern to the Council, that is the councillors who are supposed to be financially astute individuals, delivering outcomes for the community that are self sustainable. We'll soon see who the councillors are that who are financially responsible with others money. They weren't elected to just spend peoples money and create future ongoing financial liabiliGes needing rate rises and other heIy service provision increases to prop things up in an ageing populaGon.” Agreed unGl next—Lei Beagle Editor…….. Lei Parker 0405100257 All Enquiries please email beagleweeklynews@gmail.com PO Box 3029 Tuross Head, NSW 2537 Copyright © South Coast Beagle Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. The Beagle Weekly is owned by SOUTH COAST BEAGLE PTY. LTD.

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Southern NSW Local Health District Covid-19 report April 24th, 2020 Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) has confirmed a total of 54 cases of COVID-19 have been Vol 16 September 15th 2017 formally idenGfied 28 April December 7th,within 2017 the District @ 8pm, 22 April, 2020.

Vol 48 27th 2018 Vol 111 July 12th 2019

There are no new reported cases.

There are two acGve cases, 1 in the Goulburn Mulwaree and 1 in Eurobodalla Shire. No confirmed cases have required hospitalisaGon and are self-isolaGng accordingly. Across Southern NSW Local Health District, we have 51 ‘recovered cases’. This means they are no that are no longer under acGve surveillance by the public health unit.

A ‘recovered case’ refers to anyone previously confirmed posiGve with COVID-19 who is no longer under acGve surveillance by the public health unit, in either a hospital or in the community. This includes someone who been diagnosed with COVID-19 and has now completed the required period of selfisolaGon, or someone who has previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 who no longer has the virus. A prior false posiGve test is categorised as a negaGve case, and is not included as a recovered case.

Please note the data reflects 1 more case. The change in case numbers reflect the change of address of a confirmed case who was isola6ng from another region and has relocated a7er being released from isola6on.

Local heros - one and all Eurobodalla’s Local Hero Award shines a light on members of our community, either for their volunteer contribuGons or their outstanding achievements.

In its third year, the award recognises those Eurobodallans who went above and beyond.

In what has turned out to be a very evenJul year, there have been countless people step up every single day – and all could be nominated heroes. While most would say they just do what they do the Eurobodalla Local Awards are an opportunity to recognise individual efforts are acknowledged.

The finalists and winner will be announced in May. Nominees must be Eurobodalla residents. NominaGon forms are available on Council’s website and nominaGons close 4pm Friday 1 May. For more informaGon please contact Anna Waters on 4474 1358 or read the entry guidelines on Council’s website

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Celebrate Narooma Oyster Fes6val At Home On 2 May The Narooma Oyster FesGval might not be going ahead as planned next weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the oysters are plenGful, and the event organisers have some surprises lined up for FesGval Vol 16 September 15th 2017 fans.

28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

To celebrate what would have been the FesGval weekend, fans are encouraged to buy NSW South Coast oysters from their favourite local oyster farmer to enjoy at home while watching a special documentary featuring Paul West.

“The oysters are delicious this year – creamy, plump and there are plenty of them. They certainly didn’t get the memo that the FesGval has been postponed to next year,” said Narooma Oyster FesGval Chair Cath Peachey.

“We want people to enjoy oysters at home this year as if they were at the FesGval experiencing Oyster Ally.

It’s a way we can get behind our oyster farmers and mark what would have been the 2020 FesGval,’ said Ms Peachey.

Above: Greg Carton and Sue McIntyre from Broadwater While enjoying local rock oysters at home, fans can view the Narooma Oyster Oysters on Pambula Lake with Paul West.

FesGval documentary online for free.

The documentary features host Paul West visiGng oyster farmers from NSW South Coast estuaries Clyde River, Wagonga Inlet, Pambula Lake and Merimbula.

“The Far South Coast is one of Australia’s most magnificent landscapes with an abundance of Gdal lakes and estuaries, each of which produces a unique expression of the rock oyster. In collaboraGon with the Narooma Oyster FesGval, we shot a short documentary visiGng four key waterways in a seaplane to pull oysters straight out of the water and taste the difference firsthand,” said celebrity chef and documentary host Paul West.

For suggesGons where to purchase oysters, visit the FesGval website www.naroomaoysterfesGval.com for a list of farmers selling their NSW South Coast oysters to the public. The documentary will be released on Saturday 2 May. The link will be available on the FesGval’s website and official social media pages. The trailer was released online today.

The Narooma Oyster FesGval will be back in 2021 – with the Community Night and Long Table Dinner taking place on Friday, 30 April and the main event happening on Saturday, 1 May 2021. The support for the FesGval is stronger than ever with FesGval partners Australia’s Oyster Coast, Eurobodalla Shire Council, Club Narooma, Whale Coast Realty and Southern Phone Company supporGng the vision of the FesGval board to posiGon the NSW South Coast as a foodie desGnaGon and Narooma as the rock oyster capital.

“Our partners have been amazing – their local leadership this year has kept us in business with a keen eye to the future,” said Ms Peachey. “A massive thank you also to our FesGval visitors, many of whom have transferred their accommodaGon bookings to the 2021 date. It is a terrific show of commitment and recognises all the work our volunteers, stallholders, partners and event team put into the 2020 FesGval.

“I’ll be kicking back at home with Wagonga Inlet rock oysters watching the documentary on 2 May. I hope you do too.” beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Regional newspapers cease prin6ng as communi6es respond to news challenge by GEN E V IE VE J A COBS OF A BOUT RE GION A L Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Hot the heels last week’s announcement that Australian Community Media (ACM) had suspended 28 December 7th,of 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 111on July 12th 2019

prinGng operaGons, stood down staff and closed office doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, independent media outlets including Region Media are responding to the challenge. Smaller non-daily regional papers across the South East will shuBer their print operaGons as a consequence of the downturn, affecGng many smaller communiGes. Subscribers to the likes of the Moruya Examiner, the Braidwood Times, the Cootamundra Herald, the Eden Magnet and others have been told that print ediGons are halted unGl the end of June.

Region Media also understands that while online plaJorms will be maintained, there will be less local content as publicaGons rely on content sourced from across the group. A scan across the online versions of the shuBered papers reveal that their content is largely idenGcal. Many ACM regional papers have been behind paywalls for some Gme. Landlords at more than 30 small offices around the country have also been noGfied in recent days that ACM intends to exit lease arrangements to reduce their rental costs across the business, although it’s not clear which local mastheads this will affect.

Australian Community Media chair Antony Catalano announced last week that as a result of the COVID-19 business challenge, ACM would also cease local prinGng operaGons in Canberra, Murray Bridge, Wodonga and Tamworth, although daily ediGons of the stable’s larger Gtles will conGnue to be printed elsewhere. The Canberra Times and many regional Gtles, sites and prinGng equipment were sold off in April last year when the ACM group was purchased by Catalano and Thorney Investments from the Nine group. The print assets were previously owned by Fairfax.

But the good news is that where the larger conglomerate has cut costs, smaller independent operators have been stepping up. Region Media, the parent company of About Regional, operates from the ACT and employs journalists in Bega, Tathra, Moruya, Braidwood, Young and Queanbeyan, as well as the Canberra newsroom staff and regional contributors from Goulburn, Gundaroo and Murrumbateman with smaller hyper-local newspapers have been appearing for some Gme in places like Harden Murrumburrah, where MaBhew Stadtmiller said “ I was seeing sporGng groups missing out on good coverage or the coverage they needed – especially for grand finals,” he said. “That really sucked from a working and social perspecGve. ”I’m the grandson of two World War II grandpas – this is what we should do – help businesses support events such as this and ensure communiGes get the essenGal informaGon they require.”

It’s a viewpoint echoed by Region Media’s co-owners Tim White and Michael McGoogan, who say their crossregional approach is conGngent on trust, respect, deep local knowledge, independence and a strong commitment to ethical journalism.

“The Region Media business model is not dependent on paywalls or banner adverGsing. It’s about how the brand delivers news and local stories. While no media model is perfect, ours is about working with our local communiGes to tell local stories that maBer to us all,” Tim said.

This ar'cle was first published on About Regional beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Applica6ons Close Soon - Support for Aboriginal cultural fishing and economic development Aboriginal people, businesses and community groups are encouraged to apply for grants or loans to support Vol 16 September 15th 2017 fisheries related aspiraGons, with applicaGons for the Aboriginal Fishing Trust Grants currently open.

28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 27th 111April July 12th 2018 2019 Mika Malkki, Director Fisheries OperaGons, NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSWDPI) said the NSW Government is commiBed to enhancing and protecGng Aboriginal cultural fishing, along with supporGng fisheries related business opportuniGes. “With $500,000 available in 2019/20–Aboriginal people, businesses and community groups are encouraged to get involved,” Mr Malkki said.

“ApplicaGons for grants and loans from the Trust are invited for projects that will enhance, maintain and protect Aboriginal cultural fishing, or promote economic opportuniGes for Aboriginal communiGes associated with the fisheries resource.”

Some of the iniGaGves already funded by the Trust include enhancing cultural fishing grounds; educaGon programs; and cultural fishing workshops.

Mr Malkki said the iniGaGve can make a meaningful difference to Aboriginal communiGes. “We recognise the spiritual, social and customary significance that fishing has within the Aboriginal community and will conGnue to support the Trust to ensure its value for the Aboriginal fishing community,” Mr Malkki said.

“The Trust has been designed to provide funds for both big and small projects through both grants and loans.”

The third funding round from the Aboriginal Fishing Trust Fund opened in March and with the closing date of 19 May 2020 fast approaching it is Gme to focus on geXng applicaGons finalised so that they can be considered as part of this round.

For informaGon on eligibility, funding categories, the assessment process and how to apply, please visit the NSW Department of Primary Industries website.

ApplicaGons close at 5pm on 19 May 2020. For specific quesGons relaGng to Loans from the fund, please contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593.

The Aboriginal Fishing Trust Fund (AFTF) provides grants and loans for the maintenance and protecGon of Aboriginal cultural fishing as well as supporGng economic opportuniGes associated with Aboriginal fisheries resources throughout NSW.

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Telehealth a band-aid fix for health care accessibility Telehealth has changed the way Australia’s health care system operates. The system rolled out by the Federal Government last month protects vulnerable health professionals and vulnerable paGents alike.

Telehealth provided an immediate soluGon to current condiGons. This allows for healthcare around the Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 111 July 12th 2019 country to be more accessible, responsive and flexible in order to meet paGent needs throughout the COVID-19 pandemics and beyond.

Whilst the Telehealth system is brilliants in terms of access to a certain form of immediate care, paGents requiring a form of health care which falls under ‘non-urgent elecGve surgery’ have been leI at a disadvantage. This disadvantage has been recognised, with the Government’s announcement that elecGve surgeries will resume beginning next week.

This move suggests restricGons placed on chronic medical treatment will begin to laxed soon, also. For those seeking skin health treatment, accounGng for every one in four presentaGons to the GP, this is great news.

Canberra-based Dermatologist,Dr Andrew Miller said "Given these staGsGcs, we know there is a strong need for accessing health care for skin related concerns and should be a high priority moving forward. This gives us a chance to overhaul a medical system that is, at present, currently failing regional and rural Australians.

Over the past 25 years Dr Andrew Miller, has seen a rapid increase in paGents in Canberra, Young and the Bateman’s Bay area needing skin health check-ups. Accordingly, GPs report referring every 1 in 4 paGents to see skin specialists due to skin health concerns.

Canberra’s sprinGng populaGon growth of 1.52% per year has made accessibility to adequate skin health care even more of an issue.Dr Miller said "Considering this, one could argue that Australia’s skin health care system is profoundly failing its regional and rural ciGzens, who make up approximately one third (31.5%) of the Australian populaGon." Australasian College of Dermatologists President, Associate Professor David Francis, says, “ACD is dedicated to managing and supporGng Australians’ skin health through educaGon, accessibility, advocacy and innovaGon. A primary focus for the College is to drive significant growth in the number of specialist dermatologists available to Australians. The College is building the specialist pipeline by exploring innovaGve methods for delivering training including in regional areas, strengthening the College’s professional and community networks and reinforcing our commitment to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors.”

With the College’s commitment to increasing accessibility to skin health care in regional and rural areas, local Dermatologists, including Dr Miller, have pledged their support for the Strategic Plan which will greatly improve Australia’s inclusive healthcare system. While the Federal Government’s introducGon of telehealth services is an important step in the right direcGon, there’s a long way to go before all Australians are offered equal access to healthcare, and this is a mission ACD is determined to fulfil. beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Araluen Road reopens Araluen Road will reopen to traffic between Moruya and Braidwood today, April 23rd 2020.

The road had been closed since 15 December when bushfires caused the Kings Highway to close. The Currowan fire later destroyed homes and outbuildings along Araluen Road, along with thousands of trees, Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Gmber bridges and2017 secGons of road pavement.

28 December 7th, Vol 48 27th 111April July 12th 2018 2019 Eurobodalla Council was able to respond quickly to restore access for residents by removing dangerous trees, making temporary repairs to Kennys bridge and McGregors Creek bridge, and building a side track to allow local traffic to safely pass Pigeon Gully bridge on the Queanbeyan-Palerang border.

The road through to Braidwood remained closed, however, due to the damage sustained in the Queanbeyan-Palerang local government area.

Eurobodalla Council’s director of infrastructure Warren Sharpe OAM said devastaGon from bushfire and floods on rural roads like Araluen Road had been enormous. “Fire-affected councils everywhere are replacing lost bridges, fixing damaged road surfaces, slips and erosion, and have removed thousands of fallen and fire affected trees,” he said.

“In Eurobodalla alone, we need to replace 18 bridges, repair more than 490 kilometres of fire affected road, guardrails and signs. It’s a massive undertaking but we’re making solid progress.”

And while the Araluen Road opening is good news, Mr Sharpe encouraged drivers heading to Braidwood to conGnue using the Kings Highway.

“It’s a beBer bet than trekking over a long and narrow unsealed road, and keeps it freed up for the people who live out there,” he said.

“We’re so grateful to the residents for their paGence during an unimaginably tough Gme for them. And our works crews have done an amazing job in difficult circumstances.”

Mr Sharpe said the Council’s rebuild of Pigeon Gully bridge with concrete box culverts was almost complete and the side track remained in place for passing traffic. In the coming weeks, Council crews will grade Araluen Road from Pigeon Gully at the shire boundary back to Moruya, gravel resheet key secGons and clear up remaining flood damage.

Message the Na6onal Bushfire Recovery Agency today!

Their Bushfire Recovery Support Officers are now online to answer your quesGons, hear your concerns, and share info and resources.

You can now contact them via Messenger to talk privately and confidenGally about your individual circumstances. They will help you access the support you need.

For more informaGon visit: hBps://www.bushfirerecovery.gov.au

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From the Archives of the Batemans Bay Bushwalkers Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, Vol 48 2018 Making the27th most of2017 the shutdown, the 111April July 12th 2019 Batemans Bay Bushwalkers have been looking back over their old records and thought it would be fun to share with readers. The Club started in June 1985 and will this year be celebraGng 35 years of walking.

The Club’s second walk in June 1985 was to the summit of Mt Dromedary, then part of Bodalla State Forest. Mt Dromedary was officially handed over to Yuin ownership and management in 2006 and renamed Gulaga, now situated in the Gulaga NaGonal Park. The mountain was originally an acGve volcano, thought to be 3 km high. It has eroded over millions of years to 806 m high.

The 11 km (return) Gulaga walk has something for everyone, for example - the tors are the remains of the hardest granite leI behind aIer the mountain eroded to its current height and the rainforest tucked under the summit of the mountain, where the rare pinkwood tree grows and flowers in late February.

The mountain was also the scene of franGc acGvity from the 1860s to the 1920s when alluvial gold was discovered and mined. Relics such as a stamper baBery and foundaGons of a miner’s residence can be discovered amongst the dense bush.

To the Yuin people, Gulaga is known as the Mother Mountain, and has always been a woman's place. It includes sacred sites where Aboriginal women would retreat for storytelling, ceremony and childbirth. The summit itself is disappoinGng because views are blocked by tall trees. However, there are views from several spots along the walk track.

Although the mountain was not burned in the 2019/2020 bushfires, the Gulaga NaGonal Park is currently closed to visitors while NPWS conducts ground and aerial pest control programs as part of the bush fire recovery. The Batemans Bay Bushwalkers are looking forward to the day when they can walk to the summit of Gulaga again.

For informaGon about the Club and their reports on walks in the region, visit www.baybushwalkers.org.au beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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www.iga.com.au/catalogue

community

'OUT of the ASHES' rises like phoenix for local ar6sts The recent bushfires, and now Covid-19, have Vol 16 September 15th 2017 brought a major impact 28 December 7th, 2017 to the South East. From Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

the ashes of the fires that destroyed so much of our region there has also come warmth, generosity and a collecGve community spirit that comes from so many sharing the same traumas and emoGons. Denise Straty was one of the many recovery personnel called into the region aIer the fires. She saw for herself the impact and she learnt of the lives of those affected. By way of a meeGng with Amanda, of Amanda's at Mogo, Denise learnt of the impact to the many South East arGsts and of their responses by way of art to the bushfires. WanGng to do what she could for those she met she returned to Sydney with an idea. To hold an ‘Out of the Ashes’ exhibiGon next month at The Wellington Gallery – a stunningly chic warehouse space in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Waterloo.

Gallery owners Mark and Ray had generously offered the use of their exquisite venue and kindly waived any commission so that the full proceeds of each art sale would flow through to the parGcipaGng South Coast arGsts.

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, they have had to put the dream of a physical exhibiGon on hold for the moment, but the good news is they’ve created the exhibiGon as a Facebook e-gallery where they invite visitors to read arGsts’ posts describing their individual tales of survival during the unprecedented deadly fire season and view their spectacular artworks.

The first of the arGsts profiled in this Beagle series is Julie Mia Holmes To support my art pracGce I work at our local bookshop, Moruya Books - the best Bookshop on the coast! Many novels I have read and loved have inspired my prints. Reading is a compass; it always points me in the right direcGon. During and aIer the fires working in the bookshop was a very intense and emoGonal experience.

As a retail worker you are usually subjected to most people’s problems – we really are underpaid counsellors! Listening to everybody’s horrific stories throughout this Gme was emoGonally draining and traumaGc. So many regular customers and friends lost their homes and their beloved belongings. My partner and I evacuated our home twice.

We spent one night in the evacuaGon centre in Moruya and the second night in the bookshop. I am so grateful to have such a kind and generous boss. We were very lucky, we were one of the last liBle patches of green leI on the coast. Burnt leaves, insects and many dead birds washed up on the Gde line on our local beach as the fires moved down the coastline towards us.

The Gde serves as a perfect metaphor for the nature of living through the fire, it’s sudden conflagraGon followed by evacuaGon and destrucGon and then calm benign days. The wait for the next round of severe fire condiGons worsening.

Months and months of suspended Gme and trauma, lives on hold. As an arGst whose pracGce is wholly focused on the environment, coming to terms with the loss of our forests, flora and fauna has been devastaGng. The only tonic for this despair? To keep working. - Julie Mia Holmes beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Mackay Park DA approved The Southern Regional Planning Panel has approved Eurobodalla Council’s development Vol 16 September 15th 2017 applicaGon for 2019 the 2017 Batemans Bay Regional 28 December 7th, Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 AquaGc, Arts and Leisure Centre.

Mayor Liz Innes said the construcGon tender would now proceed, possibly as early as next week.

WATCH VIDEO HERE: h>ps://youtu.be/f6wvEZ43zco

“This is such an exciGng decision and something posiGve and hopeful for our community aIer the bushfires and now the pandemic. It gives us certainty in uncertain Gmes and I’m very pleased,” Cr Innes said.

The three-member panel unanimously approved the development applicaGon on Thursday. Lodged by Council in October, bushfires then COVID-19 delayed the outcome. The NSW Government appointed its independent panel to determine the applicaGon because Council is the owner and the value of the development exceeded $30M. The new facility will replace the exisGng 50-metre outdoor pool at Mackay Park with an indoor mulG-pool aquaGc centre and a 350-seat performance space, joined by gallery walk that will also house visitor informaGon. The community had an opportunity to provide feedback on three different concept layouts in early 2019.

Mayor Innes said the way is now clear for the construcGon tender to be released.

“We shortlisted building companies last year to tender for the work as soon as the DA was approved, so we’re ready to go,” she said.

“We hope to see a preferred builder recommended to Council in late June or early July.

“Subject to that process, demoliGon of the 50-metre pool and mini golf should start in August, and by early 2022 we’ll be swimming in our new pools and enjoying performances in the arts centre.”

The Council secured $51M in NSW and Australian government funding for the project in 2017. Plans were developed by NBRS Architecture in collaboraGon with a project steering commiBee and user groups, and taking community feedback into account.

“The project steering commiBee and the user groups deserve huge praise,” the Mayor said.

“It’s been a long journey for all of them. Now a centre that everyone in the community can enjoy year round is a step closer to reality.”

Plans, project informaGon and a virtual tour can be viewed on Council’s website at www.esc.nsw.gov.au/mackaypark

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Mother’s Day Classic IS going virtual The Women in Super Mother’s Day Classic (MDC), Australia’s largest breast cancer fundraiser, is excited to announce a new collaboraGon with Vision Australia Radio (VAR) as their digital community broadcaster to celebrate this iconic event on Mother’s Day. Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

Unprecedented 6mes require innova6ve solu6ons.

Organisers of the event say "In these challenging Gmes, it’s more important than ever to stay connected, keep acGve and bring the community together.

"Due to the COVID-19 restricGons, the Mother’s Day Classic is now running as a virtual interacGve event and offering supporters as well as the broader community the opportunity to parGcipate in a virtual challenge.

Registered parGcipants gain access to an exclusive array of interacGve content to become a part of something big and contribute to making a real difference on this special day.

"The Mother’s Day Classic is very pleased to be working with Vision Australia Radio to deliver a two-hour broadcast on Mother’s Day on 10 May, to unite the community and help raise awareness and funds for lifechanging breast cancer research.

"There are strong synergies between our two community focused organisaGons and this collaboraGon enables us to celebrate a shared commitment to help communiGes stay connected and healthy.

REGISTER HERE For $25 you can register for MDC Virtual 2020 Registra6on which includes: Access to your exclusive virtual page with inspiring community and fundraising content, fun photo compeGGon and fitness videos.

A series of exclusive wellness Gps and tutorials, pilates and yoga classes, sponsor prizes and giveaways and a fun kids acGvity zone – something for everyone!

The opportunity to be part of a virtual online community, ensuring that the Mother’s Day Classic family remains connected in these uncertain Gmes.

The challenge to walk or run 4km – anyGme, anywhere, in your living room, at the local park or even in your backyard – on or before Mother’s Day 2020.

For $45 you can register for MDC Virtual Plus which includes your virtual registra6on PLUS: A race bib; 2020 Mother’s Day Classic Medallion; Postage to your registered address; That special feeling when a package arrives in the mail! (woo hoo!)

We will make every effort to have your Virtual Plus pack delivered by Mother’s Day, however we do recommend you order before 11.59pm Wednesday April 22, 2020. Virtual Plus packs ordered aIer this date will most likely arrive aIer Mother’s Day. All exis6ng registra6ons will be automa6cally transferred to MDC Virtual 2020. If you have a child registra6on, then you will receive the Race Pack – so all kids will receive a bib, medallion, and tribute card.

No ma,er where you are – you can Make Mother’s Day mean more.

Register online now for MDC Virtual 2020 and together we can stop breast cancer. beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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New e-planning digital service for councils While everyone else is in lockdown our local Council Planning staff have much they can do working from home.

Vol 16 September 15th 2017

28 December 7th, 2017 An digital service that enables councils to upload planning documents to the NSW Planning Portal VolePlanning 48 2018 111April July 27th 12th 2019 is now available. This service ensures councils can meet their legal obligaGons without puXng their staff or the community at risk with unnecessary social contact. Recent amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act allows councils to display certain planning documents on the NSW Planning Portal, or any other website approved by the Planning Secretary.

Council staff need to simply login to the NSW Planning Portal to access the service on their digital dashboard then upload the necessary documents, specifying the relevant exhibiGon details, such as defining the exhibiGon period, where required.

The service provides a full list of all document types that can be uploaded, such as Development ApplicaGons and DraI Development Control Plans.

The public can then view these documents on the ExhibiGon and PublicaGon page of the NSW Planning Portal for the duraGon of the exhibiGon period (if specified). If you need further assistance, please visit the Knowledge Management secGon of your digital dashboard on the NSW Planning Portal, or contact the team at eplanning@planning.nsw.gov.au.

Aboriginal Fishing Trust Fund – 2019/20 Funding Applica6on Period Closing Soon Enhancement and protecGon of Aboriginal cultural fishing, along with supporGng fisheries-related business opportuniGes, are the overarching aims of the NSW Government’s Aboriginal Fishing Trust Fund, which is now open for applicaGons.

This is the third year of operaGons of the fund. Some of the iniGaGves already funded by the Trust include: Enhancing cultural fishing grounds; educaGon programs; and cultural fishing workshops.

With $500,000 available this year - Aboriginal people, businesses and community groups are encouraged to apply for grants or loans to support fisheries related aspiraGons .

The Aboriginal Fishing Trust Fund opened in March and will close on 19 May 2020. For informaGon on eligibility, funding categories, the assessment process and how to apply, visit hBps://bit.ly/2yv2VM6.

For specific quesGons relaGng to Loans from the fund, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593. beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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community

Cassia is no garden variety weed There has never been a beBer Gme to get out in the garden; good recent rain, autumn days and now, for many, social distancing at home Vol 16glorious September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 for hours of outside poBering.

Vol 48 2018 provides an27th opportunity 111April July 12th 2019 Gardening is good for the soul and it’s good for the environment too – personal growth and ecological growth. But not all plants blooming at the moment are good news.

Cassia is a shrub with bright yellow flowers that are blooming now, which is commonly found in backyards, nature reserves and roadsides. Also called senna, this sprawling bush looks harmless enough but is actually an invasive weed which can overtake riverbanks and bushland, displacing naGve species.

In autumn, the plant produces long bean-like pods which contain thousands of seeds. Neither the flowers nor seeds have much to offer naGve birds and animals. So if you come across cassia in your garden take acGon!

Keep your eye out for yellow -flowered Cassia while working in your garden or visi'ng your local reserve.

Young plants can be pulled out by hand while mature plants should be cut off at the base and poisoned. The enGre root system must be removed or poisoned to keep Cassia from re-sprouGng. Dispose of the seed pods in your red-lid bin.

The rest of the weed can go into the green-lid bin, as the viable seed is in the seed pod. For more informaGon, visit the Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden online weed-finder at hBps://www.erbg.org.au/educaGon-in-the-botanic-gardens/idenGfy-your-weed or contact Eurobodalla Council’s natural resources officer Courtney Fink-Downes at courtney.fink@esc.nsw.gov.au

beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Community—ANZAC DAY

RSL NSW Calls on Australians to Show Their ANZAC Spirit RSL NSW is encouraging all Australians to honour the service and sacrifice of our brave servicemen and Vol 16 September 2017 but in a different way than we are used to. women past and15th present, 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

“TradiGonal dawn services and marches are just not possible this year” said RSL NSW AcGng State President, Ray James. “But during these difficult and uncertain Gmes, it is vital that we stay true to our values of mateship and camaraderie; that we honour our service personnel and show our ANZAC Spirit.”

Ray James also echoed the comments of RSL Queensland State President, Tony Ferris, saying “the qualiGes evoked by the ANZAC spirit – ingenuity, humour, endurance, courage and mateship – were more important than ever in Gmes of uncertainty”.

In support of these qualiGes, RSL NSW is joining other State Branches of the RSL in encouraging Australians to stand together even though we’re apart, by taking part in a collecGve Dawn Service, standing at the end of your driveway or on your balcony at 6am on ANZAC Day. In addiGon, RSL NSW is encouraging Australians to tune into the naGonally televised service from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, and will facilitate a 10am televised, virtual and streamed closed service.

Echoing the senGment of RSL Victoria CEO, Jamie Twidale CSM, Ray James said, “ANZAC Day will be commemorated and the ANZACs will not be forgoBen”.

Heroes of the Eurobodalla Over 500 men and women, born in or with family connecGons to the Eurobodalla region, enlisted to serve in World War 1.

Many made the ulGmate sacrifice on the baBlefields of Western Europe and the Middle East.

The Moruya & District Historical Society received a grant from the NSW Government – 100 Years of ANZAC program to create a webbased applicaGon highlighGng the records of these veterans. Visitors to the site can scroll through a list of the veterans and see a summary of their service record from the AIF Project on the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) website.

Visitors will also be directed to the full military record for each veteran on the NaGonal Archives of Australia (NAA) website. This site shows scanned copies of the veteran’s iniGal enlistment documents, medical record, service record overseas, casualty record, discharge papers and in some cases personal correspondence.

The NaGonal Archives website provides a very human touch to the contribuGon these brave young men and women made for their country. beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Community—ANZAC DAY

Honour our Fallen 2020 Even under these difficult circumstances and the restricGons they bring, the annual ANZAC Day "Honour our Fallen" memorial has gone ahead, with some modificaGons to its usual format.

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, VolIf48 April 111 July 27th 12th 2018 2019 things were as 2017 they should be, 3 or 4 days before ANZAC day, a small army of students from Moruya

High School would place an Australian NaGonal flag on every known resGng place or memorial plaque of every veteran, ex serviceman or woman, in the Moruya Cemetery. Likewise students from Carroll College would do the same at the Broulee Memorial Gardens.

Unfortunately, and for obvious reasons, this couldn't happen this year, so the area coordinators for "Honour our Fallen", Rob and Sandy PaBerson, placed all the flags themselves. In order to comply with the present rules, they used the excuse of "Exercising" to spend quite a few hours in both cemeteries.

Should anyone be visiGng either the cemetery or the gardens over the next few days they'll noGce more than 200 Australian Flags honouring our veterans.

To have an Australian Flag erected on your veterans grave or memorial on commemoraGve days, go to hBp://honourourfallen.com/ and complete a flag request form or email info@honourourfallen.com

beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Community—ANZAC DAY

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

Beyond Blue has launched a dedicated Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service to help anyone feeling worried or struggling to cope.

Connect with others using the online community forum or speak with a trained counsellor any Gme of day or night. It’s okay to need a liBle help.

Access here: hBps://coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au/ Taking care of your mental health and wellbeing is important, especially during this challenging Gme

beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Le>er to the Editor, The Beagle Editor, I was so pleased to read about Borrowed Ground Farm in your April 3 issue. I am a strong supporter of local, healthy food. I grew some of my own unGl I lost the vegetable garden of my dreams on New Years Eve to the bushfires. We evacuated to Canberra for a month and a half aIer that, and every day I checked Fires Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April Near Me to27th see2018 if Old Mill Road Farm and 3-4 other local grower’s properGes were safe from ruin. I used to 111 July 12th 2019 pride myself on the fact that I only went to the supermarket to buy a few items like buBer and toilet paper.

Everything else that went on my plate came from the Moruya Farmers Market. Being stuck in Canberra reinforced my pride in our local South Coast food system. I hated going in to the Jerrabombera Woolies and having to buy veggies wrapped in plasGc that I knew were not the nutrient and chemical free superstars I used to buy.

I am currently reading a book by Ronnie Cummins Gtled Grassroots Rising: A Call to AcGon on Climate, Farming, Food, and a Green New Deal. It should be required reading for all our poliGcians and high school students. Actually, everybody. Ronnie makes the climate crisis seem so easy to solve. I am only on page 38 of 159, so I don’t know all of what he has to say yet, but I like the fact that he says we can’t compartmentalize change. Everything is connected. I am beginning to see and feel that as the COVID crisis unfolds around us. Alex and Eliza of Borrowed Ground Farm believe in high quality, nutrient dense food. Soil health is important to them. I agree, soil health=human health=earth health. I have been eaGng chemical free for years now and I have not ever had the flu, nor do I get a flu shot. It seems that mostly the weak and unhealthy are the most affected by the corona virus. I truly hope that during this Gme of social isolaGon that folks are geXng into slow food, lovingly cooked healthy food. Food is fun, food is love.

Borrowed Ground Farm has a survey on their website here. Their website is here. They plan on making their produce available to the community in ways other than the Tuesday market, so there will be no missing out on the good stuff. I encourage you to begin voGng for a beBer planet with your food dollars, knowing that your health and that of our community and the world at large will be the beBer for it. You are the grassroots, please support local food.

Lindsay Gates (Formerly from Malua Bay and house hunGng in our wonderful Eurobodalla Community.)

beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Le>er to the editor The Beagle Editor,

Mackay Park DA Approved Vol 16week, September This the 15th state2017 Southern Regional Planning Panel approved the council’s controversial Development 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2019 ApplicaGon for2018 the Mackay Park project – see the DA and Panel determinaGon at hBps://

www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/planning-panel/regional-arts-aquaGc-and-leisure-centre-and-demoliGonexisGng The Planning Panel members did note the community views in their report approving the DA but were constrained in their deliberaGon by the fairly narrow range of criteria they can take into consideraGon these criteria are strictly related to purely planning issues that do not include community views about a development or even if it is in the public interest.

Council now will no doubt proceed to calling tenders from the list they have already made - so it will not be an open tender process - and when these tenders are in, councillors have resolved to then determine if the project is "affordable" but there is no current publicly available business case for any of us hoi polloi to see if this could be the case.

If council can't afford to forgo a 2.6% rate increase this year, or give an equivalent rebate to ratepayers as is happening in the Shoalhaven, one must wonder how councillors could agree to take on addiGonal on-going costs - possibly between $2 and $3 million per year - in subsidising the development's operaGons and maintenance.

These on-going costs are on top of losses to the community when assets like the Batemans Bay Community Centre and the Visitor InformaGon Centre are sold to help pay the project's capital costs.

Councillors, please be responsible. If you're challenged by the system and the numbers, put it to the pub test!.... beBer sGll, seeing the pubs are out of acGon, have a shire-wide survey mailed out detailing the facts and asking a few objecGve quesGons!

Jeff de Jager Coila

beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Le>er to the editor The Beagle Editor,

Going, going gone.

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

With out any announcement our once great Moruya Examiner was no more. The woman at the newsagent said that it wasn’t being printed any more because of cost cuts and more than likely won’t ever come back.

I have watched our paper go from bad to worse. Its now full of Batemans Bay news and the cheeky buggers even changed the front page to call it the Bay Post Moruya Examiner. But that’s the only menGon any Moruya news gets since they moved out of Moruya years ago.

We used to have a paper we were proud of full of town news and ads for our own shops. Now what they serve up as a newspaper isn’t enough to wipe your backside for want of running out of toilet paper.

Moruya is not Batemans Bay. We don’t want their news and their Gossip Girl We want our own newspaper and if they can’t deliver it then they should be ashamed. Good thing we have the new Beagle.

Keep up the good work. I remember you back in the 1980’s when you did arGcles on the 2EAR Ear to Ear paper.

Geoffrey Rule Broulee

beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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history

Gadfly 107By Robert Macklin There’s something quite eerie about the way our recently discarded Prime Ministers all perceive their tenure, their achievements and their downfall in exactly the same light.

Vol 16 September 15th 2017

Malcolm Turnbull’s performance on 7.30 was a classic. It might equally have come from the 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 27th 111April July 12th 2018 2019 lips of Kevin or Tony; only the blessed Julia has risen above the scrum.

Invariably, they cry, their rise to the top had nothing whatever to do with personal aggrandisement; they were actuated solely by a selfless desire to make the world a better place. And despite the shocking behaviour of their enemies, they have scores of remarkable achievements immediately to hand. The wonder is that we’re unaware that we now live in a paradise of their making. But perhaps that’s because they were cut down before the final curtain.

The two I know best, Kevin and Malcolm, are like the opposing faces of a single coin. In 2007 I wrote Kevin Rudd:

The Biography with a second edition a year after his victory in the polls. And as it happened, I interviewed Malcolm for a book on another fascinating figure of recent Australian history in early January this year.

Both men were emotionally shattered by their fall from the peak. Overnight, both aged physically, if not emotionally. Both reflected on their parental losses, Kevin of his father, Malcolm of his Mum, each of whom rejected them as little boys. And each found lasting love in their strong, supportive wives.

Both could easily have risen to the top of the parties that opposed them. Both were highly intelligent and had distinguished themselves in business and diplomacy before entering politics. So they were both first class prime ministerial material. Yet both failed Australia in the most vital policy issue confronting us – action to combat climate change.

So, what went wrong? What is it in our system that makes it impossible for such men to prosper in the rough and tumble of Federal politics, particularly when they are committed to policies that the great majority approves?

The easy answer is that they were both hopeless at man management. Yet even that was balanced by the fact that each had excellent deputies in Julia Gillard and Julie Bishop to keep the troops in good order. Certainly it’s a factor, but by no means the major one.

No, the essential problem is the party structure that in each case gives the real power to a dominant faction actuated by a blind adherence to the atavistic passions of yesteryear - devotion the Roman Catholic version of Christianity, the racism of whitefella supremacy, the nationalistic hubris of Anzac and a willingness to employ ‘whatever it takes’ to win the day.

And lest we think that those days are over and the current leadership is now in safe hands, forget it. Among the Liberals, Peter Dutton is on the march and he’s backed by the same cast that took Turnbull down.

On the other side, Shorten and his cronies are equally restless and if they can’t get their man up this time around, they’ll go for someone like Tony Burke to carry the banner and they’ll own him when he reaches the Lodge.

So, how do we change the system to give the best and the brightest a fair go? Is moderation fated forever to be slain by the extremist?

I wish I knew. robert@robertmacklin.com beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Reading and arts

Congrats to the Bay Theatre Players The CatSeptember Awards Night have gone ahead, irrespecGve Vol 16 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019 ofVol Covid-19 and the results are in

Bay Theatre Players Inc were thrilled this year to have received a total of thirteen nomina6ons for the 2019 CATS awards season.

This year they won: BEST PRODUCTION OF A SCHOOL OR YOUTH PLAY The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Bay Theatre Players Youth Theatre Group, Batemans Bay BEST DIRECTION OF A SCHOOL OR YOUTH PLA Y Belinda Quick The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Bay Theatre Players Youth Theatre Group, Batemans Bay

The Beagle COVID-19 LOCKDOWN WRITING COMPETITION is NOW OPEN The Beagle announces its COVID-19 LOCKDOWN WRITING COMPETITION To coincide with the Mayor’s WriGng CompeGGon (ages 5 to 18) that is currently open for entries THE BEAGLE is announcing the 2020 Beagle WriGng CompeGGon is also OPEN Just like the Mayor's compeGGon entrants can write on any theme, using any style of creaGve wriGng, and the judges will be looking for imaginaGve wriGng with a unique plot.

Entries close at 5pm on Sunday April 26th. Winners announced thereaIer. RULES: 18 + (anyone younger can enter the Mayor's contest - this one is for adults ) Max of 1000 words.

Any subject that is Eurobodalla related.

Can NOT be defamatory, inflammatory or too lavatory Published at the editor's discreGon on The Beagle website and in Beagle FB Judges have final say. No bribery allowed.

Real names are not required for entrants. Nom de plumes accepted.

First Prize $100 voucher from Moruya Books Entries to be emailed to beagleweeklynews@gmail.com Get cracking beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Reading: Beagle Covid-19 Lockdown Compe66on entry Circuit Beach (Bonnie ABeridge), “Stop, Rosie, Stop! Stop the car… I remember where it is now… I think!” An excited voice broke into Rosie’s daydreams. Rosie glanced at the faded Bateman’s Bay map and then the street sign, and then across at her sister Stella’s face, breaking into smiles. Her heart melted as she recognised the teasing, Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 tousled tomboy look of years gone by.

Vol 48 27th 111April July 12th 2018 2019 “Stop here! We are nearly there! I am sure … I think…! “Stella exclaimed again, twisGng and turning in her seat. She took off her smart sunglasses and floppy designer hat to reveal her freckled face and sunbleached bobbed hair and bright blue eyes.

“It feels right, it feels Gme to return, to come and visit the ghosts of our pasts, doesn’t it Rosie, don’t you think?” she pleaded quizzically, eyes wide.

Rosie slowly nodded, her own thoughts in turmoil, as wheels inside wheels in her heart were rolling around and around, and the ghostly grey whispers of their pasts swirled foggily inside. She stopped the car hesitantly, as if at a crossroads, and having second thoughts about moving forward. She ran her fingers through her curly dark brown hair, tugging at wayward greying wisps, her brown eyes rolling.

“Let’s do it then! Let’s go down this road and see if it’s the right street and the right beach!” Declared Stella firmly. “We could pretend it’s just another one of our old adventures.?.” she added whimsically.

Rosie sighed, remembering how she always seemed to give in to her charming, quicksilver sister… and always seemed to come out of the adventures worse off! She started the car again, her dad’s baBered old Volkswagon rumbling into life, wary but ready for whatever new path lay ahead. They travelled forward expectantly as they turned into the gravel road, ignoring a baBered sign saying “no access to beach’’ and glimpsing at flickers of shimmering water through the tall elegant spoBed gums. There was a liBle bay there, but was it their bay, their beach? She loved and had missed these gums. Past a weathered old gate, they bumped to a stop on the sandy driveway.

“There’s a shack or something - but its blue not green. I don’t remember anything here - or those boats ….” whispered Rosie warily, poinGng to some old decaying overturned dinghies scaBered around an overgrown garden.

“I think I’ve been here before .. mmm..but it’s not what we are looking for….” mumbled Stella, with a surprised then secreGve look briefly skimming her face.

“Have you been here before? What or Whose is it? queried Rosie.

“Oh…. I’ll tell you later. Let’s go……! Let’s try the next beach… or the next! It must be here

Don’t buy local newspapers?

DON’T MISS OUT on all the DAY TO DAY local news !!

Your Beagle news website— website— for ALL your up to date news and views— views—FREE and independent.

Visit www.beagleweekly.com.au

beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Reading: Beagle Covid-19 Lockdown Compe66on entry con6nues…. somewhere?! I think it was past Surf beach! Maybe near Lilli Pilli beach? “Stella insisted hurriedly.

They tried a few more streets and dead-ends, geXng a bit more despondent. They argued a bit-with Stella wanGng to keep going, following her intuiGon. Rosie hesitated, wishing she had a beBer local map. Maps always helped ground her. But she bit her tongue for the sake of peace, and to keep the fleeGng feeling of Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th,once 2017long lost, older sister, now recently reunited.

Vol 48 27th 2018 111April July 12thher 2019 bonding with “There it is! I knew it. Circuit Beach Lane. That’s it- turn leI there!” Stella exclaimed, poinGng to yet another rather overgrown gravel track and faded signpost.

Rosie nodded. Heart in her mouth, she abruptly turned into the shady lane and coaxed the car over the bumps, slowly but surely catching the excitement of her sister who was waving and jumping in her seat.

“Almost there! Almost there! -we can almost see the seaside! Almost there! Almost there! Everyone beware!” Stella warbled in her sing- song way, eyes sparkling.

Suddenly the past, like a blanket or a well-worn tapestry of wayward strands, wrapped around Rosie, almost smothering her. She choked back her tears.

There it was- around the hedge of overgrown tea trees -and up a rather steep track. Her father’s seaside coBage -“Stan’s Shack”-rather worse for wear aIer twenty years of neglect, and family heartaches, and split loyalGes. Rosie strained to see more of the coBage hiding behind the tall senGnals, the stunning spoBed gumtrees. She sighed, her eyes kept on being drawn irresisGbly to the shimmering, sparkling water over the top, past the cliffs to Dinosaur Head, and then to the right, the gliBering prize of the blue sea and golden sand of her dearest place -Circuit Beach.

“Ahh! I am home again… too long, too long… “Rosie sighed again, feeling ready to be immersed in the forgiving whitewash of the ocean’s caress – to swim and swim, and sink and float away- free from the shadows of the dark and deep. Such sun-kissed summer holidays they had all had there -before their parent’s divorce, before her great disappointments, before the great “Betrayal”.

Stella had already scrambled out of the car and was dancing around, then dragging Rosie to the rusty garden gate, poinGng at the faded grey green coBage.

“Let’s walk up the garden path like old Gmes, me first then you, like always … and singing Dad’s welcome song! “Stella pleaded, also remembering happier Gmes.

They waltzed and warbled their way up the path, like young children again, towards the faded green door.

“Should we go straight in, or walk around the outside first?”

Asked Rosie hesitantly, always one for walking around a problem, rather than barging straight in.

“I knew you would say that! We have to go straight in the front door and take what comes!” Stella chuckled. They stood for a moment, each reflecGng on what treasures and memories of the past and new mysteries there might be there. They felt they had come home again, back to the glistening, shimmering South Coast again, back to find the hidden pearls of their existence that may sGll be there.

Stella turned the key in the lock slowly, with difficulty, and together they pushed the door open, and gasped, staring… beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Reading—history Moruya Examiner April 24, 1920 OPEN COLUMN. It must be disGnctly understood that we are not responsible for the opinions expressed by our Correspondents.

Vol 16 September 15th 2017

28 December 7th, 2017Examiner.”

To Editor, “Moruya Volthe 48 2018 111April July 27th 12th 2019 Sir. – I noGce, from your report of the proceedings of the first meeGng of the newly formed Football Club at Moruya, that the membership fee to the club was fixed at one pound. I assume that this fee high as I otherwise would consider it to be, is asked for primarily to purchase jerseys in which players represenGng the club in matches to be played. To one who had played fairly big football in Sydney, may I make a suggesGon to the club. It is this:- That instead of the club purchasing jerseys for the club it should purchase them for each individual member of the club who, of course, should pay for them, and whose absolute property they should become. I should then reduce the membership fee, to say, five shillings. Personally I should not like to wear a jersey that everybody else had worn because of health reasons. Should any person, whom my leBer may concern, wish to learn who I am, you are at liberty to inform him. But as I am not a prospecGve player I shall refrain from subscribing my name here. – Yours, etc.

Enthusiast.

CHOICE NEW BLOOD.- Mr. A. F, EmmoB and Messrs. J.R. Milne and T. Heffernan aBended the Oakdale Milking Shorthorn dispersal sale held at Kangaroo Valley on Wednesday and Thursday last. Mr. EmmoB secured three cows and 11 heifers, Mr. Milne two bulls and one cow, all being pedigree Shorthorn stock. The sale aBracted buyers from South Africa, South Australia and Queensland who bought a big proporGon of the stock. No less than 142 car loads of people were present.

FARWELL AFTERNOON TEA.- The ladies of the Methodist Church Aid Society entertained Mrs. Crayton Burns and family at a farewell aIernoon tea on Wednesday last. In the interval between the vocal items a presentaGon of an electroplated buBer dish was made to Mrs Burns by Rev. E. W. Hyde on behalf of the society and the church. Mrs. Burns, who is shortly leaving Moruya will reside at Mangrove, near Gosford, where her two sons are at present seBled.

COILA. – On Friday aIernoon last a presentaGon was made to Mr. and Mrs. U. ColleB by the Church of England congregaGon, prior to their leaving for Pennant Hills. A short service, conducted by the Rev. G. A. Sanders, was held in the church, aIer which aIernoon tea was served in a large bush house erected and adorned by Mrs. Bown and her workers. The funcGon was presided over by the Rector, who spoke in eulogisGc terms of Mr. and Mrs ColleB. He referred to the fiIy years in which Mr. ColleB had lived in the old home at Bergalia, and to 23 years of faithful service as Clergyman’s Warden of St. Peter’s Church. On behalf of the congregaGon he asked their acceptance of a suitably inscribed Bible, with which went the hearty good wishes of all present. Mr. ColleB responded in well chosen words, and the happy funcGon closed with the NaGonal Anthem.

CURRAWAN CREEK. Various rumours are current as to the erecGon of a large plant at Currawan Creek for treaGng burrawangs. Non one seems to know very much about the maBer, and later developments will be awaited with interest. beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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reading

Plagues - part 2 by Trevor Moore The more one looks into the past the more one finds that what seems new, strange or unusual to us today is not new, strange or unusual when viewed through a historical lens. Plagues are a case in point.

I dictator of 2017 the universe for a day then I should find Gme to ban the use of the word VolWere 16 September 15th 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 111 July 12th 2019 “unprecedented”.

When subjected to a forensic examinaGon I submit that there is liBle that is unprecedented; though I concede that this would be an interesGng hypothesis to debate. Plagues are not unprecedented. This is Part 2 of two arGcles on plagues of the past. I am doing these the wrong way round … well, for no reason in parGcular. In the first part I described the Second (the Black Death in the 14th centuries) and Third (the one that hit Australia in the19th century Great Bubonic Plague Pandemics. The First Great Bubonic Plague Pandemic was earlier sGll, and it occurred when JusGnian was Emperor of Rome in the 6th century. But these three pandemics were all connected to the Bubonic Plague.

So, the current COVID19 plague is not the Fourth Great Pandemic, because it’s not the bubonic plague.

Graph: RelaGve impact of some previous pandemics: you can’t see COVID19 because – compared with some historical plagues – the number of deaths is small. That does not mean, however, that it is not a serious thing.

Things don't look so bad from this angle but that's only because we understand pandemics beBer now than they did before If there was a Fourth Great Bubonic Plague Pandemic, it would probably be the 1994 plague in India. This was an outbreak of bubonic plague that affected a number of Indian states with an esGmated 693 cases and 56 deaths. In terms of staGsGcs, this outbreak cannot be considered “great” though it was serious enough. The outbreak happened in Surat in Gujarat and though it did not last long - between August and November 1994 - when news of the plague became known to the public, a quarter of Surat’s populaGon (700,000 people) fled the city. The internaGonal media were, as ever, judgemental.

A 2006 paper that re-examined the Indian outbreak noted that “a London tabloid described an Air India plane at Heathrow as a ‘plague plane’. The Times called the plague in India as the “afflicted diaspora”. The Independent branded it as ‘medieval scourge’ while the Times news magazine designated the happenings as a ‘medieval horror show’.”

A rat possibly carrying an infected Oriental rat flea infected with the yersinia pestis - but probably not (Source: Ranjith Jaya on Unsplash)

But there were plagues before the First Great Bubonic Plague Pandemic. It is difficult to know much about the health and welfare of people who lived long ago but the adopGon of agriculture and the transiGon to seBled socieGes would have exposed humans to diseases that they had not encountered. People began to live in close proximity with one another and with their animals. According to Clive PonGng’s A Green History Of The World “smallpox is very similar to cowpox and measles is related to rinderpest (another caBle beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Plagues - part 2 by Trevor Moore con6nued disease) and canine distemper. Tuberculosis also originated in caBle as did diphtheria. Influenza is common to humans and hogs and the common cold certainly came from the horse. Leprosy came from the water buffalo.” And of course, bubonic plague comes from the bacterium yersinia pes's carried on rat fleas.

Yersinia pes's was discovered in archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age (about 4,000 years ago).

The Spanish ‘flu is not one of the bubonic plague outbreaks. There seems to have been a major outbreak of Vol 16 September 15th 2017 influenza in27th about that affected much of south and central Asia. But the first pandemic of which we 28 December 7th,1200BCE 2017 Vol 48 2018 111April July 12th 2019 have something approaching a reliable record is the Plague of Athens in about 430BCE. We don’t know exactly what this plague was, but it had serious consequences. The plague took the life of Pericles who was, according to Thucydides the "the first ciGzen of Athens”; it also took his wife, and their sons, Paralus and Xanthippus. Beteween 75,000 and 100,000 people died in the Plague of Athens. Thucydides wrote The History of the Peloponnesian War and is reckoned to be one of the “fathers of history” because of the empirical approach he took. He said that people ceased fearing the law since they felt they were already living under a death sentence. They started spending money indiscriminately. Many people felt they would not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of wise investment, while some of the poor unexpectedly became wealthy by inheriGng the property of their relaGves. Thucydides tells us that people refused to behave honourably because most did not expect to live long enough to suffer any consequences. It would be difficult to separate the effects of the Plague of Athens from the overall effects of the Peloponnesian War but it was serious stuff. Athens did not fully recover from the plague for nearly a generaGon. The First Great Bubonic Plague Pandemic occurred during the reign of the Roman (or ByzanGne) emperor JusGnian I in the 6th century CE. Now, the place to go to read about Roman Emperors is Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire. He may not always be accurate but Gibbon (1737 - 1794) writes the most beauGful prose and he is always a pleasure to read. By way of example here is Gibbon’s descripGon of the bubonic plague. He writes that “infecGon was someGmes announced by visions of a distempered fancy, and the vicGm despaired as soon as he had heard the menace and felt the stroke of an invisible Detail of a contemporary portrait spectre. But the greater number, in their beds, mosaic of Justinian (Source: Wikipedia) in the streets, in their usual occupaGon, were surprised by a slight fever; so slight, indeed, that neither the pulse nor the colour of the paGent gave any signs of the approaching danger. The same, the next, or the succeeding day it was declared by the swelling of the glands, parGcularly those of the groin, of the armpits, and under the ear; and when these buboes or tumours were opened, they were found to contain a coal, or black substance, of the size of a lenGl. If they came to a just swelling and suppuraGon, the paGent was saved by this kind and natural discharge of the morbid humour; but if they conGnued hard and dry morGficaGon quickly ensued, and the fiIh day was commonly the term of his life.”

MaBhew Kneales’ lovely book Rome: A History In Seven Sackings traces a Roman Empire all the way to the 20th century: his seventh chapter deals with the Nazis and their nine month occupaGon of Rome aIer the death of Bust of Pericles: Marble, Roman Mussolini and before its liberaGon by the Allies. If we take what Gibbon meant copy after a Greek original from c.

430 BC (Source: Wikipedia) by the Roman Empire, then by the 6th century what passed for the Roman Empire was preBy much all done. In a last-ditch aBempt to save the ship JusGnian embarked on a “restoraGon of the Empire” program. We can see that his efforts did not succeed for today there is no Roman Empire although his reign was not without its successes. He completely revised Roman Law and some of his reforms were modestly humanitarian. For example, he passed laws to protect prosGtutes from exploitaGon and women from being forced into prosGtuGon. Rapists were treated severely. Women charged beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Plagues - part 2 by Trevor Moore con6nued with major crimes were to be guarded by other women to prevent sexual abuse. He had some military success recovering large chunks of land. As a ChrisGan, he regarded it as his divine duty to restore the Empire to its ancient boundaries, whatever they were. He may have been the last Roman Emperor to speak LaGn. In 540, as an aBempt to eradicate paganism, he ordered that the temple to Isis at Philae in Egypt should be destroyed.

Now15th Plutarch Vol 16 September 2017 (46CE - aIer 119CE) said that one of the things that Isis had taught mankind was 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 111 July 12th 2019 how to cure diseases. When, the following year, Egypt fell vicGm to an outbreak of bubonic plague many adherents of the old gods may have taken this as a sign of the folly of imperial policy. Some sources suggest that the First Great Bubonic Plague Pandemic came from India but according to the historian Procopius (c500CE - aIer c565CE) the outbreak began in Egypt and moved along mariGme trade routes, striking ConstanGnople in 542CE. There it killed residents by the tens of thousands, the dead falling so quickly that authoriGes had trouble disposing of them. Judging by descripGons of the symptoms and mode of transmission of the disease, it is likely that all forms of plague were present. Over the next half-century, the pandemic spread westward to port ciGes of the Mediterranean and eastward into Persia. ChrisGan writers such as John of Ephesus ascribed the plague to the wrath of God against a sinful world, but in fact it was spread by domesGc rats, which travelled in seagoing vessels and proliferated in the crowded, unhygienic ciGes of the era.

The impacts of the JusGnian Plague were enormous. EsGmates of how many deaths vary between 30 and 50 million with some as high as 100 million. Current esGmates (see the Atlas of World Popula'on, Colin McEvedy and Richard M. Jones, 1978) the world populaGon of the Gme are about 200 million. This may mean that up to half of the populaGon of Europe died. This led to serious depopulaGon of rural areas and a shortage of labour - just as with the Black Death in the 14th century. JusGnian issued an edict in which he complained that workers were demanding wages twice or three Gmes the normal. This, of course, misunderstands the meaning of normal. He tried in his decree to restrict wages to the pre-plague levels. That almost certainly didn’t work and it didn’t work almost a thousand years later when the Statute of Labourers (1351) called for a return to the wages and terms of employment of 1346 also failed to work as intended.

Another major effect of the JusGnian Plague was that tax revenue dropped. This, of course, will sound familiar. The current government is very keen to keep stressing that GST will not be raised to help pay for the borrowings that it is making to pay for the various economic protecGon measures it has introduced like JobSeeker and JobKeeper. At some stage these will have to be paid for either by higher taxes or decreased public services … or possibly by a sensible economic policy that encourages economic growth rather than a blond focus on debt as a bad thing. But I digress … but only slightly for JusGnian could not carry out his “restoraGon of Empire” program without taxes and without a populaGon to pay taxes, he was in trouble. One result was that the currency became worth less - again there’s a parallel here with 2020. Here’s a picture of the value of the Australian dollar against the US dollar for the last three months. JusGnian saw a devaluaGon of about 15 - 20% of his currency. This economic fallout lasted for many years; almost 100 years later JusGnian’s successor Heraclius required payments to the government to be in gold while payments made by the government were in silver.

I’ve picked just a couple of plagues from history to show that there isn’t anything parGcularly unusual about the coronavirus pandemic. That doesn’t make it any easier to deal with, but it does mean that we could just possibly learn things from history. We knew about social distancing when the Spanish Flu hit. Mediaeval people knew that the bubonic plague could be spread by person to person contact. JusGnian knew about the economic consequences of the plague. He also knew about the personal consequences: he caught it and recovered like Boris Johnson fiIeen hundred years later but unlike Pericles a thousand years before. Great people are not immune.

Note: when old people like me were at school we referred to dates as being BC (before Christ) and AD (anno domini). These days we are (apparently) sensiGve to the fact that there are religions other than ChrisGanity and there are philosophical canons other than the Western (Graeco-Roman) canon. I therefore refer to BCE (before common era) and CE (common era). I have found, however, that according to the internaGonal standard for calendar dates, ISO 8601, both systems are acceptable.

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Reading: Beagle Covid-19 Lockdown Compe66on entry Title: Holding PaBerns by Author: K Metcalf This morning on the horizon, the mountains falter then recover. Careful as a memory - a stagger across the sky. Double-inked. A fingerprint. Washed with light and Gght in South Coast shadow: where you’re hung in stories no-one ever forgets. A cow calls from a roo-chewed paddock, then plane engines rush sky. Loud and low they circle, perhaps, Vol 16 September 15th 2017 scanning for sharks, lost fisherman or - more likely - they’re waiGng for space to 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 111 July 12th 2019 land.

I’m holding.

For just a moment. Hold unGl there’s no breath leI. I could hold on, hold off, hold them hard and close. Hold your bluff. Holding aces. Hold. It’s a roundabout word that pauses, then circles. Round and around it goes.

There are boundaries to hold or forts or tongues, hold it together, or hold them apart. I’m holding sGll. And sGll aIer all this Gme: my favourite things to hold are hands.

I’ve fast hands, they’re sleight and biBen, and to my surprise they can sGll juggle oranges. My daughter sits on the back steps, her mouth drops open and she claps her hands, ‘Again! Do it again!’ My hands smell like citrus, my hands are full of smoke. I hold them out – solid and dark against the bleached sky.

In my backyard there’s a fence, a line of laXce that sags and divides my house from hers. In the mornings the laXce makes squares of light and shade, like a chessboard across her lawn. In the aIernoons, the sun shiIs and the chessboard swings to mine.

When I juggle, someGmes and to my surprise, I can see my neighbour. Her shape is hidden in the chessboard shadow, then in a laXce gap she is sudden and clear. She looks small and so alone. She stops someGmes to wave at my daughter and other Gmes to narrow her eyes at me. At the leBerbox she stops - to open bills and council noGces. Her hands shake and she takes a quick look to the sky. SomeGmes she looks frightened. I look back to my backyard, where I someGmes sit or smoke or juggle. Though my backyard isn’t really mine. It belongs to her.

She is my landlord – I am her tenant.

The word tenant comes from the Middle English tenir that translates directly as hold. I’m her tenant. I hold – on one hand, anyway. On the other hand, I’m holding, I’m her tenet. Pick up the e drop the n, my hands smell like citrus and smoke. Tenet and tenant are close words, near divisible by a line of laXce. Tenet means doctrine, a principle or dogma that’s held by a group of people.

I hold and am held by a tenet: whose worth is weighed and marked like fruit and measured all the Gme. ‘Appalling!’ It sliced through the laXce like unripe apples, biBer as orange pith. ‘Those people! They think the world owes them something! It’s the li,le girl I feel for. Fancy not being able to provide! Well that’s bloody well done it.’ She moved behind the laXce, across the chessboard squares of shadow and light.

There was a game being played I should’ve understood. She opened the back gate, phone in one hand and an envelope in the other, marched to the back door giving three-hard-knocks, dropped the envelope and marched on back. ‘It’s done!’ she said into the phone, ‘Teach her to make a chump out of me.’ With beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Reading: Beagle Covid-19 Lockdown Compe66on entry … con6nues the sun siXng behind her, her shadow was cast the length of the backyard.

I sat on the back stairs holding an evicGon noGce Vol 16 September 15th 2017 handwriBen on 7th, floral staGonary, holding my breath. Her 28 December Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 20192017 wriGng shook and looped across the page, like the cards my Nanna used to write, signing off: With Love, Be Good. The South Coast wind kicked and unwound. I looked at the line drawn between her and I – a line more imposing and less precise than the chessboard shadow of a laXce fence.

Where I saw her age; she saw my poverty.

More clearly: we both saw an absence of worth.

That night while she slept, I counted my daughter’s fingers and held the weight of her hand in mine. Her hand was warm, a river stone brief with midday sun. In the half-light of the stained glass and the moon, her hand opened and closed. It was quiet and small against mine.

This morning on the horizon, the sun is hung high and clear, an open violin string. I hang the washing because it needs to be done.

Next to the clothesline, under the old gumtree, there’s a semicircular barbeque area with a bricked-up windblocked fireplace. I was told back when the only fences here were to keep caBle, once-upon-a-Gme, when my landlord wasn’t a landlord, she didn’t pay the brickie for his work. One day, he turned up with a sledgehammer in his big hands and started swinging, leaving a pile of jagged bricks and concrete dust hung in the air. It’s been rebuilt - you can burn leaves and orange-peels in it now - but no one’s told me that part of the story.

Magpies gossip and call in the branches, as black and as white as a memory.

From behind the damp sheets, pegged Gght and thin I can hear my landlord on her phone. I grip the clothesline and wait. My fists are white withholding. Her voice isn’t the voice she uses when she talks to, or about me. It’s wide and sustained, full of something I would name as love. Alright, darling she says, Nanna loves you. Signing off With Love, Be Good.

I open one hand, release it’s hold. Tenants are transient, mobile things much like the chessboard shadow of a laXce fence. And tenets are only doctrines held unGl, suddenly, they’re not. I open my other hand to the South Coast sky, with a space bleached bare and just as infinite. I hold my hands outstretched against the clothesline because there’s nothing to be done, but let go.

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Reading

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

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Reading—history FAMILY HISTORY CORNER No 3 by Roy Lupton Today I thought that I would tell you more about creaGng a family tree.

Pencil and Paper. Up unGl the mid-1990s family trees were usually hand drawn using pen and paper.

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 These documents were oIen rough and difficult to correct or modify.

28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

Family History Websites. AIer the explosion of Internet applicaGons in the mid-1990s Family History websites were developed to enable those of us who are interested to both research our family tree and to display it in a way that makes sense to others.

Ancestry.com was started by members of the LDS Church (Church of the LaBer Day Saints) in the late 1990s. It went through several different formats before arriving at the enormous company that it is today.

Ancestry.com.au is the local website for Australians. This company owns FindAGrave and RootsWeb. It is free to become a member of Ancestry.com.au and to develop your tree on this website but in order to access their substanGal database you would need to subscribe (pay). SubscripGon opGons can be found at: hBps://www.ancestry.com.au/cs/offers/subscribe#offerPageCompare . At the Gme of publicaGon the annual costs range from $200 - $340.

The following is one form of my family tree in Ancestry.com

During the COVID 19 restricGons Ancestry.com.au records can be accessed for free via the Eurobodalla Library. Use your library card to login to the library website: hBps://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/councilservices/community-services/library-and-informaGon-services and you should see the Ancestry.com opGon. It would appear that all records are available but it does not appear that these records can be linked directly to a parGcular family tree.

Family Search. The LDS Church started developing a physical collecGon of genealogical data way back in the early 1900s and with the advent of the Internet in the mid-1990s they began to offer free access to their database and what is now known as “FamilySearch” became very popular. While it is a very popular and totally free source for family history data it can also be used to develop a family tree.

The following is part of my family tree as it appears on FamilySearch.

ConGnues……. beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Reading—history Findmypast. This website was started in England in about 2006. It was iniGally focused on UK data but has since been extended to include many English speaking countries across the world. Once again access to resources costs money and the present annual cost seems to range from $132 to $300. These opGons can be found at Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 VolhBps://www.findmypast.com.au/subscribe 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019 The following is my family tree as it appears on Findmypast :

MyHeritage was developed by an Israeli company in 2003 and has grown in size over the years. MyHeritage owns Geni.com. This website will oIen give parGal family trees of ancestors on Internet. These can be found by simply entering the ancestor’s full name into your search engine. The results can be very useful but should be supported by documentaGon (birth cerGficates etc). The MyHeritage website apparently contains more European data than some of the other products.

Other Op6ons. There are other family history websites and a number of stand-alone programs that can be downloaded onto your computer. By using one of the websites above you can add informaGon discovered to the family tree that is being created. It becomes a never-ending and obsessive process.

START. I have extensive experience with Ancestry.com. If you are a beginner then why not become a member of Ancestry. It is not essenGal to pay for a subscripGon in order to start building your tree. Begin your family tree with yourself, your parents and your grand-parents. Then conGnue to add details, searching for new facts in hBps://www.familysearch.org/search/ (or in ancestry.com if you are a paid-up member or have a Eurobodalla Library membership). Enjoy!

It is hoped to publish Family History ar&cles for the dura&on of the Coronavirus lock-down period.

I welcome ques&ons rela&ng to Family History Research and will do my best to answer them.

I also welcome the opportunity to help readers develop their Family Tree.

My email address is lupton@westnet.com.au Happy Researching!

Roy Lupton.

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Your Up to Date fishing report from the team at Tackle World Moruya Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Moruya River 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 111 July 12th 2018 2019 The river is starting to settle into its cooler season fishing. Under the bridge after

dark, just as the tide starts to run out good estuary perch are holding over the weed beds on the southern side of the river. Z-Man TRD Bugz on Ned Headz jigs worked well for me landing 3 good EP’s to 35cm before Mr Australian Fur Seal decided he was going to lurk under me and end my session. Any 2”-3” soft plastic on a 1/6oz - 1/4oz will work to tempt these scrappers. With some high tides coming well after dark this weekend, some late night bridge sessions could be on the card this weekend. Reasonable numbers of flathead are still being caught in the river, with the lower, cleaner sections of the river producing the best results. Try around Preddy’s wharf for best results.

Good numbers of tailor are also being caught from the local wharfs this week, keeping the kids amused and providing a lesson for life.

NEVER put your finger in a tailors mouth whilst trying to remove a hook, the buggers have razor sharp teeth!!! This was learnt the hard way by one of the local jetty rats this week, a lesson that will not be forgotten any time soon. Good numbers of yellow eyed mullet have been reported in the back waters around the airport also. These make great baits for the beach or river, now might be a good time to stock the bait freezer, they also eat ok I’ve been told. Being a sea run mullet, they don’t have the muddy taste the river mullet do.

Tuross River This system is also starting to settle into its cooler season with the fishing starting to slow up. Unless of course you happen to be an Australian Fur Seal with a taste for fresh water conga eel. One of our customers was out chasing bass above Bumbo creek when he saw a commotion upstream of where he was kayak fishing. To his surprise he found a rather large seal dispatching a rather large eel before swallowing it whole. Danny Robinson was kind enough to email me the video, which can be found on both our Facebook and Instagram pages. The things you see!

Most fish being caught, are towards the front of the system where the waters are still cleaner and clearer. Flathead and bream are making up the majority of the catches, with a few anglers starting to target the Mulloway again. To date, no reports have come to hand.

Graham and Jack did well around the Turlinjah racks with a few bream on Jackson 70mm Athletes and Z-Man motoroil TRD Bugz.

As the season cools off you can expect the EP’s to start schooling up around areas such as 4 ways, so keep your eyes peeled for them.

Rock and Beach Sharks, mullet, tailor and salmon are the words on everyone’s lips at the moment. With the annual yellow eye mullet run in full swing, everything that eats a mullet is following the schools around. Tailor to 70-80cm have been reported on the beaches of late, with big salmon also in the mix.

Those that like to target the Mulloway on the beaches that also follow the mullet are having a hard time getting through the abundant numbers of shark that also like a feed of fresh mullet. This weekend is a prime time to fish the beaches for Mulloway, with the high tides after dark. Fresh mullet, beach worms or a salmon or tailor fillet will all tempt these ghosts of the surf. I guess I know what I’m going to attempt this weekend. Drummer continue to provide tasty white fillets, for those who like to fish the rocks. The breakwall has seen a few small kings and really good salmon this last week. There would be no reason not to see the same good tailor on the breakwall as well.

Offshore As predicted, the flooding rains we had a few months back post fires, have kicked the inshore fishing into overdrive. Blue spot flathead have been described as in plague proportions at the moment, with one angler getting flathead that would normally be in 20 -30m of water swimming in his burly trail on the surface in the same 20-30m of waters. The snapper have really kicked into drive as well with baits as well as 4”-5” soft plastics working well. This time of year, in my opinion, really makes for great fishing. The winds for the most part are settled, the days are still warm with cool crisp starts, and the fishing can be excellent.

We continue to be running the raffle for the Daiwa prize pack to the value of $449. The pack includes a TD Hyper rod, an Exceler 2500 reel and a hard top tackle bag. For every $50 spent in store, you will receive a ticket in the draw. As a bonus, for every Daiwa product purchased, regardless of dollar total, you will also receive a ticket. The competition runs till the end of April when we will draw the winner.

We will be open all weekend and remember “every day’s a good day for fishing ... “ Team Tackle World Moruya beagle weekly : Vol 152 April 24th 2020

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Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 27th 50 May 111April July11th 12th2018 2019

Your FREE online Eurobodalla weekend magazine.

Accounting

Air Conditioning

Bathrooms

Building Design

Builders

Carpenters

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The Beagle business and trades Directory a to z Carpet Cleaners

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

Computers/ IT

Concretors

Electrical

Excavation

Framers

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The Beagle business and trades Directory a to z Garden Landscaping

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

Home Maintenance

Locksmith

Massage

Mowing and Gardening

Painters

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The Beagle business and trades Directory a to z Pest Control

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

Plumbers

Roofing

Solar Electrical

Tiling

TV Antenna

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The Beagle business and trades Directory a to z Trees

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 111April July 27th 12th 2018 2019

Vets

Waste Management

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