‘Australia’ film released on DVD and Blue Ray in the U.S. & Australia, March 2009

March 5th, 2009

On March 3rd ‘Australia’ the movie was released on DVD and Blue Ray in the U.S. Disappointingly, apparently the DVD only includes 2 scenes that were not included in the completed film, although more extras are included on Blue Ray. This sounds like a massive missed opportunity – I know a truckload of top quality […]

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The Atherton Tablelands & tourism authorities penchant for changing place names

February 21st, 2009

I received an email newsletter from a Cairns (far north Queensland) marketing firm, talking about the ‘Cairns Highlands’. They are referring to what has always been known as the Atherton Tablelands, named after John Atherton who founded the town of Mareeba in 1877, and after whom the town of Atherton is named. The Reef & […]

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‘Australia’ Film Travel

February 6th, 2009

Travelling to the locations where ‘Australia’ was filmed ‘Strickland House’ – heritage listed property in Vaucluse, Eastern Sydney, NSW: Built in the 1850s, Strickland House was owned by William Charles Wentworth and originally called ‘Carrara’. The extensive grounds include a two-storey coachhouse and stables. It is registered by the National Trust and publicly owned. Strickland […]

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The forgotten dangers of heatstroke – perhaps more likely now than ever before

January 30th, 2009

Maria Ann Soper’s death in January 1999 at the age of 21 was a tragic reminder of how dangerous it is to overheat and dehydrate in the hot, humid weather of the northern wet season, and how quickly death can occur. If it isn’t raining in January, it is usually the hottest month of the […]

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‘Australia’ (the film)

January 28th, 2009

Baz Luhrmann was quoted as saying he didn’t make films for critics, he made them for audiences. (So if a film was good, word-of-mouth would eventually get people in to see it – regardless of what was published in the press.) More than 3 million Australians, out of a population of just 21.2 million, have […]

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Giddy Goanna – Farm Safety for Adults & Children

January 12th, 2009

Giddy Goanna is a not-for-profit child safety promoting organisation that began with a focus on farm safety. 6 books have been published – three of which feature farm safety: 1. Farm Safety fun with Giddy Goanna (1995). Written by Pamela Brown and illustrated by Rebecca Berrett. 2. Giddy Goanna – Fun on the Farm (1997). […]

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‘Beaten by a Blow’ – A shearer’s Story

January 3rd, 2009

Dennis McIntosh’s riveting autobiography is well written, funny, thought-provoking and very, very poignant. On top of that, it’s an exceedingly important historical record of shearing life from the 1970s to the early 1980s. It’s these rural cultural aspects that I enjoyed reading about most, because they are almost never discussed. This book deserves a swag […]

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Ringers from the Top End – Facebook group

December 31st, 2008

Worked with someone on a cattle station you would like to catch up with again, but you have no idea where they live now? I’m often contacted by people seeking cattle station friends they don’t have contact details for. And there are quite a few people I’d like to catch up with myself – including […]

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‘Australia’ the film – responding to the critics

December 1st, 2008

The internet is now overflowing with articles written by film critics and journalists, full of innacurate information in regard to the film ‘Australia’. These are people who have supposedly viewed the film, yet they have made basic errors with the plot, geography, historical facts, etc. Unfortunately most people won’t pick up on the errors, unless […]

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‘Australia’ the film opened today (26th Nov)

November 26th, 2008

The film ‘Australia’ opened to the general public today. Wow what a film – fabulous scenery, excellent cinemaphotography, a great story (actually, more than one story), sad scenes (especially the row of little boy’s shoes) and best of all a great laugh. Well worth the 2 hours 45 minutes. I can’t believe that people have […]

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