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.