Angus & Robertson Bookstores – in voluntary administration

February 22nd, 2011

A lot of surprise has been expressed about the demise of A & R bookstores and by association, Australian Borders bookshops (also owned by REDgroup retail).  Voluntary administration is the slippery slope to bankruptcy. I’m actually surprised they didn’t go broke a few years ago – to me that’s the astonishing part.   And I was mourning […]

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BBC television programmes featuring Australian cattle stations

February 17th, 2011

The BBC is in the midst of screening a TV series on the world’s grasslands, called ‘Grasslands – Roots of Power’.  Included is a clip featuring Australian chopper mustering, called ‘Australian Helicopter Cowboys’.  It features Territorian Ben Tapp and another chopper pilot, Rankin Garland, mustering a couple of thousand head last year on the Tapp’s Maryfield station.  Beautifully filmed […]

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Cyclone Yasi

February 7th, 2011

The power came back on around midday today (Monday), after being off since 8.30pm on Wednesday night – but many other people are still waiting. Electricity crews have a massive job, with so many trees down over lines and power poles snapped off.  At the end of our street the top half of a power […]

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NT’s Victoria River District cattle stations for sale

January 22nd, 2011

In 1956 Pat Underwood bought Inverway Station in the Victoria River District of the Northern Territory.  Riveren and Bunda Stations were split off the original Inverway station – with John and Terry Underwood settling on Riveren in the 1960’s and Reg and Janelle Underwood on Bunda.  Then in 2007 John and Terry Underwood bought Inverway and […]

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Keeping up with the Joneses of Coolibah station, 2011

January 22nd, 2011

A photo of young Milton Jones holding his pet crocodile features in current Channel 10 promos for up and coming 2011 television shows, and apparently ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ will be back on TV in October 2011. In the meantime, anyone who has enjoyed watching ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ will also enjoy the best-selling coffee […]

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Queensland Floods – charities helping rural residents

January 12th, 2011

The worst thing about the flooding in Brisbane is that it takes the spotlight off flooding in rural communities – just as occurred in 1974 when Queensland’s Gulf Country went under water. The fact is, average income and asset ownership is much lower in the bush than in cities and suburban areas.  Cities have much […]

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Uniting Church McKay Patrol (Cloncurry) and the RFDS

January 5th, 2011

The McKay Patrol is a remote-area aerial padre service run by the Uniting Church of Australia, based in Cloncurry (northwest Queensland).  It is named after the Reverend Fred McKay.  In 1927 Fred was appointed by Reverend John Flynn to oversee the formation and operation of the aerial medical service that later become the Royal Flying Doctor […]

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Keeping up with the Joneses TV show, Channel Ten

January 5th, 2011

Stumbled upon an interesting Whirlpool forum discussion regarding ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’.  It beautifully illustrates the increasingly wide chasm between born and bred politically-correct inner suburbanites and Australians who have some connection with the bush.   As well as those who have an understanding of operating a business and those who don’t. ‘They both have incredibly […]

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Great Southern management – Vault Financial Group

December 12th, 2010

The Great Southern Managed Investment Scheme went leg up in May 2009 initially with debts of  700 million plus, but eventually it transpired that more than $1 billion was owed to investors.  Almost exactly 18 months later, 3 people from the top of Great Southern management have launched into a new venture, Vault Advisory Services, trading as Vault Financial […]

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Equitana Sydney 10 – 13 November 2011

December 11th, 2010

Equitana Australia has been held nearly every year since it began in Victoria in 1999.  It was held in Melbourne in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2010; and in Brisbane in 2002.  (2007 Equitana Melbourne was cancelled due to the Equine Influenza outbreak.) It has just been announced that Equitana will be held in Sydney for the […]

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