What or Who caused the financial crises of the 1920's?

The following story came to me via a source whose details I cannot divulge. If you've ever wondered about the origins of the financial collapse of the 1920's, here is one theory. Hope you enjoy it.

 "That man is the cause of the present economic depression--at least he is the one who started it in America."

Mr. Laramee, the chief engineer of the American Steel Corporation pointed to one of the shop foremen, an old Bohemian peasant type. I know for a certainty that my chin dropped and for several seconds I looked alternately at Mr. Laramee and the foreman.

Beware the Aliens

Fox shit! How interesting is that? Why am I wandering around Mt Tarrangower and examining the faeces of Vulpes vulpes, the Red Fox? Well, it's all part of understanding the distribution of the Wheel Cactus, Opuntia robusta, a difficult to eradicate, introduced species threatening our bushland and farms.

Mid-winter and there is still fruit on the Wheel Cactus. This impressive foreigner with its obvious round grey-green wheels, its bright yellow flowers and then the dark red fruit, is now firmly established on the mountain and many properties close by. Classified as a noxious weed, the cactus is proving difficult to control and for the most part this is due to a lack of manpower coupled with some landholder inertia.

Autumn Abuzz

I always think that autumn should be a quiet time, a time when nature winds down from its frantic spring and summer activities and readies itself for the solitude of winter. But that doesn't seem to have happened this year. But then it didn't happen last year either.

The insect world is abuzz. European Wasps are about in plague proportions sending outdoor eateries into disarray and a new native Paper Wasp nest appeared suddenly under the neighbour's front porch eave this week, the wasps already busy raising a brood. Incidentally, the sting from this wasp, while painful, last only a short time. Immediate swabbing with vinegar is one suggestion to alleviate pain.

The Not So Common Koel 

During a conversation with a visitor from Canberra recently I mentioned our lone Common Koel. 

For those of you who don't know, the Common Koel is native to the wetter coastal areas of New South Wales. It is particularly common in Sydney where it can be observed close-up in garden and street trees. A male bird arrived in Maldon late last December and its strong distinctive call, starting at around 4.30 am has been noticed by many residents. 

If you are confronted by a shiny blue-black bird around the size of a magpie and with bright ruby-red eyes, you are looking at our avian visitor.

JACK

“Find Jack and he’ll have what you want,” said Andy Gorrie, stooped and peering through the open car window. 

William thanked him for the map and Olive for the tea, then eased the panel van gently forward, reminding himself of the trailer behind. 

As he drove through the gate, he glanced in the mirror to see Olive still standing and waving goodbye and Andy already back staring under the bonnet of one of his cattle trucks.

Andy had commented a month or so earlier, while loading stock from William’s farm in the pre-dawn light, “That wagon propping up the iron shed beside your stockyards is in really good condition and it wouldn’t take a lot to restore it and get it working again.”

“The offside back wheel can’t be rebuilt,” William replied. He too had thought about bringing the wagon back to life. “Sheet of roofing iron must have come off long before I bought the place. Half the felloes are rotted and so are the spokes–and the hub is not usable. The iron tyre is good but not much use without a wheel.”

There was silence but for an occasional far-off cow calling her offspring, now securely penned on Andy’s truck. 

A thin ribbon of light was starting to silhouette the tops of the Mountain ash on the distant ridge high above the farm, and further up the valley kookaburras called joyfully to the new day.

“Go and see Jack Jones.”

“Who and where is Jack Jones?” shouted William.

PIZZA

The motor gave a couple of unhealthy grunts when Rod switched off the ignition of the old Land Cruiser, reminding him he must buy oil soon.

Tonight’s campsite was much like those of the past week, though the landscape here was not so dry or sparse. A wide expanse of good grass beside the narrow ribbon of road, and a nearby creek would provide grazing and water for the horse.

Rod let down the back of the float and backed Betty out onto the soft grass. The fine animal threw up her head and shook her strong neck, then pawed the ground in front of her in anticipation. She was happy to be let out, and keen to move her large and muscular body. 

“Easy girl,” Rod murmured.

Betty snorted and threw up her head again, pleased to be free of the confinement and those long hours in the float.

Rod led her down to a cleared spot beside the creek where drovers watered their stock. The Warmblood mare stood quite still at the edge of the water and moved her head one way then the other, her ears pricked and forward to catch any sounds, while her nostrils flared and twitched as she sampled the fresh new smells. In her whole life, she had never experienced danger when drinking, but her primeval instinct demanded she check thoroughly before drawing in the clear water now cooling her front hooves. 

Leaving the creek, Rod walked and trotted the horse along the roadside for a kilometre before tethering her for the night. He would ride her for half an hour at sun-up before moving on. Betty again stood motionless, listening and smelling the air. Then she walked away from Rod, head down, looking for just that right spot in the sweet grass to begin the night’s grazing.

 

COMPENDIUM CATALOGUE 1974 (PRE THE APPLE COMPUTER)

REVOLUTION OR EVOLUTION?

Gregory Ket prepared and published the Compendium Catalogue in 1974, two years prior to the arrival of the Apple computer. He painstakingly typed the text on his IBM Selectric typewriter. Then he would cut and paste his work on layout sheets along with resized photocopies of excerpts and images from books and catalogues. He never stopped researching.

His dedication to the idea that people could be better informed via the printed word was keenly expressed in his work. 

“We are gods and might well get good at it. So far remotely done power and glory – as via government, big business, formal education, church – has succeeded to point where gross defects obscure actual gains. In response to this dilemma and to these gains a realm of intimate, personal power is developing – power of the individual to conduct his own education, find his own inspiration, shape his own environment, and share his adventure with whoever is interested …” Stewart Brand in The Whole Earth Catalogue

The Counterculture of the early 70’s saw the manifestation of a desire among many young people in the US and Europe, to pursue a simpler and more self-sustaining lifestyle. The first of the four Whole Earth Catalogues were published each year from 1968 to 1972.

THE APPLE COMPUTER

This is a facsimile edition. The Arrival of the Apple Computer in 1976 dramatically changed how printed material was produced so that this catalogue is doubly significant; an example of how we communicated as well as the titles of the books we were all reading . Hope you enjoy it!

The Compendium Catalogue is available as a paperback or ebook from Amazon.

 YOUNG LOVE

“Sheila is coming over tomorrow. We are going to see some friends of hers, then we’re heading on over to a house in Wauchope that she’s thinking of buying.

“Colin is bringing over the stock we bought on Thursday so you will need to be here to help him unload. Keep them in the yard until I get back and they’ve settled down. Make sure they have fresh water but don’t feed them any hay. They won’t need it. 

“Oh, and by the way, Sheila will drop off her daughter Cynthia here so you will have company for the day. There’s plenty of food in the cupboard so the two of you won’t starve. We should be back late afternoon.”

Paul’s uncle Rodney was ironing a shirt. As the ladies of the town were known to remark, “… he might not have a woman in the house but he manages to keep himself looking smart.”

“How come I haven’t met her daughter before?” Paul enquired.

“She lives on a property north of the river with her father and his sister and family. He manages the place. She goes to school in Albury and only comes to stay with her mother in the holidays. I reckon she’s about your age, maybe a bit older. She’s been around livestock all her life so the two of you will have similar interests. Be nice to her. Sheila says she thinks Cynthia gets a bit lonely on the farm.”

 NIGHT SHIFT

I was working as a nursing aide at a large country hospital before I enrolled at university. I mostly worked night shift, and enjoyed the quietness and the lack of hustle and bustle. The work was easy, just checking on patients through the night.

Some patients were in just overnight, for minor surgery, while other more serious cases where often heavily sedated and only required their life support equipment to be monitored.


This particular night was very quiet. Only half the beds were occupied, and only one of the special care rooms contained a serious case.


Christine, the aide I was to replace, met me as usual. It was two o’clock in the morning and she said everything was under control and the patients were all sleeping comfortably. 


Then Christine took me to the special care room, and we stood outside while she gave me the details of the case, and what we were expected to do. She said that Matron had indicated that, at the moment, it was unclear whether the special care patient would last through the night. 

 KNOCKOUT

When Paul found the boxing tent he couldn’t have been more surprised. 

A large sign announced that the celebrity middleweight Fritz Holland, from America, would be the star performer and that a purse of ten pounds was offered to anyone who could last a full three rounds with the great man. 

Paul had seen his boxing hero, Les Darcy, fight and beat this man at the West Melbourne Stadium five years earlier, after losing to him in Sydney the year before. It was a match Paul would never forget. What luck it would be for him to get into the ring with Fritz Holland. 

Paul headed to the butcher’s stockyards on the edge of town where he and Jack and two other young workers from the Ocean Road gang were camped for the weekend. The hot sun was tempered by a south-westerly sea breeze and the silence of the bush was broken only by flocks of noisy lorikeets.

ANIMAL INSTINCT

Kevin mentioned the newcomer to Jake one day. It was a quiet moment around mid-morning and the big concrete and corrugated iron Co-op building was empty but for the two of them.

Sos Semple had been working in the little coastal town for six weeks before anyone knew he was there. This was unusual. Kevin at the Co-op knew about the new man working on the dredge, but not until Sos had been there for a few weeks. 

Kevin mentioned the newcomer to Jake one day. It was a quiet moment around mid-morning and the big concrete and corrugated iron Co-op building was empty but for the two of them.

“Have you met the new fella on the dredge, Jake?” Kevin asked casually as he wrote out the docket. He bent low over the counter the better to see what he was writing.

“No, I didn’t know the job had been filled,” replied Jake.

Both men were quiet for a moment, then Jake said, “I reckon I’d go mad pumping sand over that sea wall and watching it wash back in again on the next big tide.”

“Someone has to do it,” said Kevin, straightening up and looking at Jake. 

SPIN

“Look Jamie, look! Baby lambs everywhere!”

Jamie glanced up from his device long enough to look out of the car window. The landscape was bright green even though the country was in a severe drought. Then he saw the tell-tale black mini water-wheels, signalling that they were passing through an irrigation area. Still pumping scarce water to fatten lambs. Jesus! Will we never get it right? he asked himself.

“Very nice, lovely little lambs, Gran.” 

“And if they’re very lucky, they will become missionaries when they grow up.”

It was a few moments before what Gran had said registered with Jamie. He was quite busy typing a reply to a question on a forum which wanted information about alternative coding for a new smart-phone application. 

“Missionaries? What do you mean, Gran?”

LOVE LOST

Kate noticed Jack and his mate Paul when she went down the street shopping for her mother some weeks before he and she first met.

Jack had driven to the town with the horse and dray from the road-building camp and was loading bags of potatoes in the lane beside Mrs Johansson’s general store. 

When Mrs Fleming’s kelpie bitch–which she had told to stay with her neat little pony and trap parked below the pines on the foreshore–started lunging at the feet and tail of the heavy horse between the shafts of the dray, the big animal only put its ears back and stamped its front foot.

Then the dog aimed higher at the inner loose skin of the front right leg and attached its teeth to an exposed area of the softer hide, then discovered it could not let go. 

At that point, the gelding threw up its back legs, kicking the dray and sending three bags of potatoes to the ground where they split open spreading potatoes over a large area of the lane.

Onlookers were aghast. But the tall young men with the horse and cart acted without panic or fear.

PEPE THE ALPACA

 ON THE ROAD WITH PEPE THE ALPACA SQUARE WALL CLOCK

On the road with Pepe the Alpaca depicts an alpaca from a farm close to where we live. We have it on a number of products. This clock sold to a customer in Germany.

The Vicugña pacos is a domesticated species of South American camelid. The camels that most people are familiar with are the ones with humps; the dromedary of Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Asia, and the Bactrian camel of China and Tibet. Four other camelids (without humps) are indigenous to South America: llamas and alpacas, have been domesticated for thousands of years. The other two varieties, guanacos and vicunas, continue to roam in wild herds today.

It comes in two breed-types: huacaya (pronounced wuh‑KAI‑ya) and suri (SUR‑ee). Huacayas, the more common type, account for about 90% of all alpacas. Huacaya fiber is a bright, crimpy, soft fiber, that is well suited to knitted, crocheted, and woven applications. Suri fiber, on the other hand, is naturally silky, smooth, cool to the touch, with high luster. Suri has a natural drape which makes it perfect for flowing scarves, shawls, and gowns.

HOW ARE THESE DIFFERENT FROM LLAMAS?

People often confuse alpacas with llamas. While closely related, they are distinctly different animals. First, llamas are much larger, about twice the size of an alpaca, with an average weight of about 250 to 450 pounds, compared to an alpaca whose weight averages 120 to 200 pounds. Llamas are primarily used for packing or for guarding herds of sheep.

ARE THEY AN “EXOTIC SPECIES,” OR SIMPLY “LIVESTOCK?”

Alpacas have been raised as domestic livestock for thousands of years. Since the end-product is their fleece, like sheep, they are classified as livestock by both the United States and Canadian federal governments.

DO THEY SPIT?

All members of the camel family use spitting as a means of negative communication. They do get possessive around food, and thus may express annoyance by spitting at other alpacas that they perceive are encroaching on “their” food. Also, they often spit at one another during squabbles within the herd (usually involving two or more males). Alpacas do sometimes spit at people on purpose, but it is more common that humans get caught in the cross-fire between alpacas. It’s best to study their behavior and learn to avoid the most vulnerable situations.

DO THEY MAKE A NOISE?

Alpacas are very quiet, docile animals that generally make a minimal amount of sound. They generally make only a pleasant humming sound as a means of communication or to express concern or stress. Occasionally you will hear a shrill sound, called an “alarm call,” which usually means they are frightened or angry with another alpaca. Male alpacas also “serenade” females during breeding with a guttural, throaty sound called “orgling.”

Find Pepe at our Zazzle.com store:

GOLDEN WHISTLER

How wonderful it is to see some of our less common native birds in the town and in our gardens. Planting flowering Australian shrubs, and if possible, trees like our indigenous Grey Box or Yellow Gum or a flowering Ironbark, provides the food and the incentive for their visits. The exotic Eastern Spinebills who visit our small garden regularly in autumn and winter, only come to feed on the tubular flowers of the Correas in the pots beside the glass doors of the dining area, and in spring, the bottle-brush over near the shed.

We do not have many significant songbirds in our region. Most common would be the Grey Shrike-thrush with its musical song. This bird might visit you as it moves between bush-land and the larger gardens with native trees and with leaf-litter where it forages before flying onto the lower tree branches to sing.

But there is a bird, which once seen and heard, will never be forgotten. It most often visits in autumn and winter. We were lucky enough to have one visit our garden a couple of years ago and which stayed around for almost a week. The Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis is beautiful to look at and to listen to. You will seldom see the bird up close, as it tends to feed high up in the canopy of taller trees. The song is loud and clear and very beautiful, but, as happened to me, I could hear the Whistler clearly as though it was very close, but it took quite a long time to locate it much higher up in the tree than I first thought.

Our birds are always interesting. They are constantly on the move in search of food, be it nectar for the honey-eaters, or insects for the smaller birds, Wrens, Robins, Pardalotes, Thornbills and others. Sometimes you won’t know they are there until you walk out into the garden.

Try keeping a pair of binoculars close to the back door or the kitchen window. On a cold winter’s day in Maldon, it’s well worth it.