CAMMERAY BRIDGE

Above is the badge from Cammeray Primary School, Cammeray, a northern suburb of Sydney. In the top left-hand corner of the badge is an image of the Cammeray Bridge, also known as The Suspension Bridge, Northbridge Suspension Bridge, Cammeray Suspension Bridge, The North Sydney Suspension Bridge and even The Long Gully Bridge. The suburb of Northbridge takes its name from the structure and it is a well known and loved landmark for those familiar with the area, however to many Sydney-siders it is a well kept secret. The bridge is a magnificent structure and the area underneath contains playing fields, boating facilities and bushwalks along the creek and through beautiful fern filled gullies.

A photograph of one of the many walking trails in the area under the bridge.

The original inhabitants in the Northbridge/Cammeray area were the Cammeraygal and Wallumedegal. Governor Phillip in a dispatch of 1790 reported: “... About the north-west part of this harbour there is a tribe which is mentioned as being very powerful, either from their numbers or the abilities of their chief. This district is called Cammerra, the head of the tribe is named Cammerragal, by which name the men of that tribe are distinguished ...". They are recorded as being a very powerful people and by far the most numerous. They were also the most robust and muscular and had the extraordinary privilege of extracting a tooth from the natives of other Bands and Tribes inhabiting the sea-coast.

The first grants of land made in the area by the crown were in 1837, however little was done until the public auction of land in 1855. One of the first settlers was Henry Hocken Bligh who bought land in 1856. He helped petition the government for the incorporation of Willoughby as a Municipality and he later became Mayor of Willoughby in 1869 and 1871. Another early settler was William Tremlow. Tremlow was a Sydney jeweller who built a house at Fig Tree Point. It was not accessible by land and he had to go to work by boat every day.

An early photo of the original suspension bridge.

The North Sydney Investment and Tramway Company was formed to take advantage of the demand for land in the 1880s. It purchased much of the land in the area around Northbridge and planned to build a bridge and tramway to open the area up and make the land more attractive as residential blocks. The bridge was designed by W H Warren and J E F Coyle and took two years and nine months to build at a cost of 42,000 pounds. It was opened for use in January 1892. The suspension span of 500 feet was considered an engineering marvel, being the fourth largest in the world at the time, and became a tourist attraction for Sydney residents who were charged three pennies a time to be taken across the bridge and back. The span was supported by steel cables, which in turn were supported by two sandstone towers and then anchored into bedrock on each side of the gorge. The deck was made of wood and designed to carry two lanes of traffic, two tramways and two pedestrian walkways.

Economic conditions in 1892 were such that the North Sydney Investment and Tramway Company went into liquidation and the tramway was never built. In 1912 the bridge was given to the Government with the conditions that the tramway be extended across the bridge and that no tollway be charged for people using the bridge. The tramway was built across the bridge in 1914 and ended in Sailor's Bay Road.

An early view of the suspension bridge.

However the bridge was used less and less and needed repairs done to it. In 1935 it was transferred to the Department of Main Roads. An inspection found that the bridge was badly corroded, this was partly due to a design fault which had water accumulating around the suspension rods, and many of the cables were badly corroded and needed replacing. The towers were in good condition and it was recognised they held considerable historical significance. The suspension bridge was replaced by an arch. The main span was 344 feet supported by two concrete ribs rising to 167 feet above the stream below. The roadway was supported on the arch by columns holding up 14 reinforced concrete beam slabs. When rebuilding the bridge a walkway was cut through the towers and the roadway widened. The new bridge was opened in September 1939.

A view of the magnificent bridge towers today.

During World War II tram services were started to Vale Street, Cammeray. This continued until 1948. In 1992 floodlighting was installed on the bridge by Sydney electricity.

A view of the bridge from the playing fields below.

The reputation of the bridge was damaged when a 37 year old man committed suicide by jumping from it. The man had narrowly missed landing on a jogger in the park below. Following the tragedy the Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon recommended that safety barriers be installed at the bridge. The coroner had noted that the bridge had been the site of a number of suicide and base-jumping attempts in the past.

A view of the bridge showing the barriers being erected.

The RTA investigated various designs for these barriers amidst much public discussions. A design was decided upon and the barriers are currently under construction. In the meantime security guards are patrolling the bridge 24 hours a day to discourage any further attempts to jump from the bridge.

A view of Middle Harbour.

If after crossing the bridge from the Cammeray side a person takes the first road to the right they wind down to the water at Middle Harbour and playing fields at Tunks Park. These are set in lush bushland. Walking up under the bridge a person soon enters bushland and can follow trails along the creek or wind up through the bush where they can hear birds or find small lookouts. It is the ideal place for picnics or bushwalks. I have found similar places in Melbourne around Templestowe where I have seen kangaroos and even a platypus in the river......but this is a different story.

The area under the bridge contains many well defined bush walks.

The walkway cut through the towers can be seen here. The security guards are standing inside the walkway.

WOOLGOOLGA

Local school children take an excursion to the beach.

Woolgoolga has been called "the missing piece of paradise". Located on the north coast of New South Wales, 25kms from Coff Harbour, Woolgoolga is a popular holiday village with magnificent beaches, whale watching from the headlands, kayaking, bush walking, playing golf, horse riding, bowling, mountain biking and all the while turtles still come ashore to lay their eggs. There are numerous coffee shops, restaurants and fresh seafood outlets. The local council takes pride in providing facilities for the traveller or the holiday maker with free covered barbeques, playgrounds and the best maintained (and sweetest smelling) toilets. The local population is full of characters and are very friendly and welcoming. Woolgoolga is the centre of the bannana growing industry in New South Wales.

Prior to European settlement Woolgoolga was home to the Gumbaingirr people. The name of the town comes from the Aboriginal word "Weelgoolga" used to describe the area and the lilly-pilly trees which grew there. According to the 2006 census 159 of the inhabitants still identify themselves as indigenous.

The first European settlers were timber cutters. Although it was never one of the major centres, a mill was built there in 1883 and a long jetty for loading timber was constructed in 1892. The town was also linked to the Jesse Simpson forrest by a light railway. The jetty and the railway have both disappeared. The town was officially gazetted in 1888 as Woogoolga, but changed to Woolgoolga in 1966. There were some early attempts to grow sugar cane but these proved unsuccessful. There were also early attempts to grow banana but it wasn't until the 1930s that this industry in Woolgoolga took off.

The remains of the Buster sticking through the sand. Sometimes storms and shifting sands will reveal more of the wreck.

In 1893 the 319 ton, 39m long timber ship, the Buster arrived at Woolgoolga to take on a load of timber for shipping to New Zealand. The Buster was at anchor near the Woolgoolga jetty when a storm struck and snapped both her anchor cables. The ship was set adrift and battered by "a wall of water" for nine hours before being pushed up onto the beach stern first. The ship was never removed from the beach and its skeletal remains can still be seen jutting from the sand.

Guru Nanak Gurdwara.

In 1900 a number of Indian migrants were attracted to the area to work on the banana farms. Although most were single males who came to Australia to make money and then return home to their families many found they liked the Australian climate and countryside and they became permanent settlers. Other Indian Sikhs hearing of the community growing in Woolgoolga were attracted to the area. Today the Sikhs represent over a quarter of the population. The 2006 census lists the population of Woolgoolga at 4,356people. 421 (9.7%) speak Punjabi at home, 423 practice Sikhism and 221(5.1%) were born in India. There are two Gurdwas(temples) in Woolgoolga, the Sikh Temple Woolgoolga and the Guru Nanak Gurdwara (the Temple on the Hill). Today nearly 90% of the banana plantations in the area are owned by Sikh families. One of the biggest event in the area is the annual Curry Festival held in April. The event attracts over 10,000 people to the area.

Woolgoolga beach.

WHERE ARE THE MERMAIDS?

Photo from: http://designdazzle.blogspot.com/2009/06/mermaid-party-ideas.html

After teaching for many years, and teaching in Special Education, I guess it is this story more than any other which sums up my philosophy of teaching. It has, and still is one of my favourite.Whenever I present professional development activities to teachers I read this to them and more often than not I get choked up by the end. It is a simple, yet powerful story from a book by Robert Fulghum, called “Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”. If you haven't read any of his books than I recommend them. The story:

Giants, Wizards, and Dwarfs was the game to play. Being left in charge of about 80 children 7 to 10 years old while their parents were off doing parenty things, I mustered my troops in the parish hall and explained the game. It's a large-scale version of Rock, Paper, and Scissors, and involves some intellectual decision-making. But the real purpose of the game is to make a lot of noise and run around chasing people until nobody know which side your are on or who won.

Organizing a roomful of grade-schoolers into two teams, explaining the rudiments of the game, achieving consensus on group identity -- all this was no mean accomplishment, but we did it with a right good will and were ready to go.

The excitement of the chase had reached a critical mass. I yelled out, “You have to decide now which you are: a GIANT, a WIZARD, or a DWARF”.

While the groups huddled in frenzied, whispered consultation, a tug came at my pant leg. A small child stands there, looking up, and asks in a small concerned voice, “Where do the Mermaids stand?”

A long pause. A very long pause. “Where do the Mermaids stand?” I say.

“Yes, you see, I am a Mermaid.”

“There are no such things as Mermaids.”

“Oh yes there is, I am one!”

She did not relate to being a Giant, a Wizard, or a Dwarf. She knew her category – Mermaid – and was not about to leave the game and go over and stand against the wall where the loser would stand. She intended to participate, wherever Mermaids fit into the scheme of things, without giving up dignity or identity. She took it for granted that there was a place for mermaids and that I would know just where.

Well, where DO the Mermaids stand? All the Mermaids – all those who are different, who do not fit the norm, and who do not accept the available boxes and pigeonholes? Answer that question and you can build a school, a nation or a kingdom on it.

What was my answer at the moment? Every once in a while I say the right thing. “The Mermaid stands right here, by the King of the Sea!” So we stood there, hand in hand, while the Wizards and Dwarfs and Giants rolled by in wild disarray. It is not true, by the way, that Mermaids do not exist. I know at least one personally. I have held her hand.

Photo from: www.halloweenpartystore.com/ Lil-Mermaid.php

BRAN NUE DAE

Nearly 20 years ago I travelled from Narrabri to Moree on a bus full of Kamilaroi community members. In Moree we watched a performance of the play "Bran Nue Dae". The musical was performed on a stage which had been built outdoors on one of the ovals at Moree. That night there was a thunder storm, and although the rain held off there was thunder and lightning and the sky was ominously dark. There was a huge crowd there to watch the play, and I was one of the few 'white people' in the audience. Although I have seen many live plays this remains one of my favourite. I used to have the soundtrack on a tape but I played it so much it broke (or one of the kids cut it up?). For years I tried to get a replacement copy but it was never available. However on the 14th January this year the film version of Bran Nue Dae was released in Australia and finally I can get a copy of the soundtrack.

The original musical was written in 1990 by Jimmy Chi and Kuckles. It is set in Western Australia in 1969 and tells the story of William "Willie" Johnson who is studying for the priesthood but runs away from his boarding school in Perth intending to make his way back home to Broome so he can win back his girlfriend Rosie. Along the way he teams up with 'Uncle' Tadpole, a lovable rogue who offers to help him. Together they get a lift with some German tourists/hippies in a kombie van. Along the way they sing and dance while all the while being pursued by Father Benedictus, the head of Willies' boarding school. They run into trouble with the police, meet some unusual characters and find out about life.

The film is directed by Rachel Perkins and has an unusual lineup of stars. Willie is played by Rocky McKenzie, Uncle Tadpole by Ernie Dingo and Father Benedictus by Geoffrey Rush. Missy Higgins and Jessica Mauboy make their film debuts in Bran Nue Dae. Interestingly Ernie Dingo, Stephen 'Baamba' Albert and Ningali Lawford who play parts in the film were also in the original 1989 stage production. Magda Szubanski also makes an appearance in the film.
Though the film has recieved only luke warm comments from crictics it has been loved by audiences and won audience award for best feature at the Melbourne International Film Festival, and the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Internet comments about the film are generally favourable, enjoying the period and the issues raised. Most found the film a good laugh and very light-hearted, with good hum along tunes. Those that didn't like the film mostly complained about its PG rating as the film often deals bluntly with sexual issues.


I have not seen the film yet but deliberately write this beforehand so that I won't make comparisons. After I have seen the film I will add a brief postscript.

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Well I did finally get to see the film. I loved it. It was a good reflection of the Aboriginal culture and sense of humour in the communities I have come to know. It should not be taken too seriously and was a fun musical. I play the sound track constantly and sing along in the car. Recommended.

DOUGHNUTS: THE HOLE STORY

Some typical modern donuts.

I had heard that doughnuts were invented during the First World War as a convenient food for the troops in the trenches. The hole in the middle made it easy to quickly deliver the food to the troops by dropping them over the bayonet on the end of the rifle. However mystery and argument surrounds the origin of the humble doughnut. Archaeologists have recently discovered the petrified remains of cakes with a hole in the centre in early Native American sites in the south-west of the United States. It is not clear though how these cakes were prepared or cooked.

Most historians looking for the origins of the doughnut begin with the Dutch. The Dutch used up pieces of left-over dough by dropping them into hot oil and making little fried cakes known as olykoeks, or oily cakes. To make them more appealing they would shape these pieces of dough into little knots (dough knots) and roll them in sugar. Sometimes they were filled with prunes or raisins. Dutch colonists took the recipe for these oily cakes to America with them.

Research in action. Testing donuts so I can write about them.

Of course some Americans have a different version. In a house in Rockport, Maine there is a plaque which credits Mason Crockett Gregory with inventing the hole in the doughnut in 1847. Mason was a sea captain who probably brought the recipe for donuts home from his travels around the globe. His mother would cook them for him using spices from his cargoes of cinnamon and nutmeg, and putting a nut in the middle (hence the name 'dough nuts'). Some version of the tale have Mason making the hole so that the doughnut could be slipped over a spike on his ship's steering wheel so that both hands were free in a storm. Other versions say he didn't like the nuts his mother put in the middle and so simply pushed them out with his finger. Yet another version claims he was just cheap and saved costs by making the cakes with no centre to save dough. Mason always took credit for inventing the hole in the donut. He eventually met his end by being burnt at the stake as a witch.

Donut King - a popular donut chain in Australia.

In 1872 John Blondell was issued with the first patent for a doughnut cutter. His machine was made of wood. An improved version, made from tin, and with a fluted edge was patented in 1889.

In France in 1917 during World War 1 American troops in the front lines were served twisted doughnuts cooked by two Salvation Army ensigns, Helen Purviance and Margaret Sheldon. The pastry was rolled using a wine bottle and then cut to shape using a knife. The Salvation Army girls soon became fondly associated with the doughnut and in 1938 Donut Day was launched in the US to remember the contribution of the girls bringing comfort to the troops, and as a fund raiser for the Salvation Army. It has been celebrated annually ever since. The Salvation Army continues to serve coffee and doughnuts to police, firemen, rescue workers and disaster victims when needed.

A modern doughnut 'assembly line' machine used by Krispy Kreme.

In 1920 the first doughnut machine was invented by a Russian refugee living in New York. Adolph Levitt's machine caused the doughnut to became more popular as it was more easily made and able to be mass produced. Machine made doughnuts were presented as "the hit food of the Century" at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1934. By this time Levitt was selling over 25 million dollars worth of machines each year to bakeries.

Krispy Kreme- one of the first donut chains.

Doughnut chains, such as Dunkin Donut and Krispy Kreme have made the American version of the doughnut popular around the world, although many countries have their own local versions. In Israel a popular Hanukkah food is the doughnut filled with red jelly and covered in icing. In South Africa there is a version called the vetkoek which is served with mince, honey or jam. In India a doughnut or vada is savoury and made from dal or lentils; while in Indonesia a doughnut is made from flour and mashed potatoes and coated in icing sugar. In Japan they are made with bean paste and in Malaysia with mashed sweet cassava. My favourite is the Spanish churros, a long skinny doughnut which is served hot and dipped in hot chocolate from Juanita's in Brunswick Street, Melbourne.

A dozen 'mini-donuts' from Donut King.

Where does the word 'doughnut' come from? I have mentioned possible origins as the 'dough knot' or 'dough-nut'. An 1803 English cookbook mentions doughnuts in an appendix on American cooking. An 1808 novel talks about a meal of "fire cakes and dough-nuts". In Washington Irving's 1809 History of New York he describes "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called doughnuts, or olykoeks". The first use of the alternative spelling 'donut' was in 1900 by George Peck in Peck's Bad Boy and his Pa. The traditional spelling has been 'doughnut' and this seems to continue outside of America, but the alternative 'donut' seems equally acceptable in a language as accommodating as english. As can be seen from the photos above Krispy Kreme and Donut King have different spellings for the same item.
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Postscript: Recently in Cammeray, Sydney I was talking with a fellow who said he had just had the best doughnuts in the world at The Colonial Bakery Milson's Point, just beside the Harbour Bridge. I talked to him about the blog and the entry on doughnuts. The following week he suddenly turned up with half a dozen doughnuts for me to try and suggested that I should visit the shop. This I did that afternoon (in the interest of research). At The Colonial Bakery Milson's Point I found a quaint little store filled with all sorts of nice cakes and their famous, award-winning pies. If you are looking for somewhere interesting in Sydney this is the place. A ferry ride, a walk along the shore under the bridge and afternoon tea and a doughnut, and make sure you say hello to Nancy Mobbs who runs the bakery. Are they the best in the world?......well I'm continuing to research this question......they were excellent, but in fairness I do have to try all the rest before making a decision.

NEPAL

Last November I took my first trip outside of Australia. With my daughter, Amanda I travelled to Nepal and for seven weeks did volunteer work at the Everest Children's Home and then a monastery. From the moment we stepped off the plane it was confronting. The area around the airport looked like a bomb had demolished everything. Not a house looked complete or livable. People were dressed in dirty clothes and beggars knocked on the cab window. As we spent time there we realised that although there was poverty everywhere in Nepal that area was probably the worst. We saw people living on the street or in houses made from sticks and hessian. They ekked out a living any way that they could. However I also noticed something else: people were always smiling and laughing and happy.

The experience in Nepal was life changing. I am not sure how yet, but I know it was. I had two important thoughts. Firstly, how could countries which purport to be world leaders, and caring, christian nations let fellow human beings live in conditions such as this. The second, how resolute the human spirit is. Many Nepalese people live in poverty but they don't complain. They get on with life and smile and joke and laugh.

Nepal is one of the world's smallest and poorest countries. It is 853km long and 225kms wide at its widest (average 160kms wide). It starts at 91metres above sea-level and rises to 8,882 metres. It contains 9 of the world's highest 14 mountains over 7,925 metres, including Everest and Annapurna. Less than a third of the country is suitable for farming.By 2020 the population is expected to be about 34 million. In the 1960s 1 in 3 babies died and the life expectancy was just 29, today life expectancy is over 56.

It was a medieval feudal country up until the ruling Rana government was ousted in 1951. Before this time it wasn't open to tourists or outside visitors. In fact between 1796 and 1950 there are only 130 official visitors to the country recorded. The first group of tourists were in 1955. The country was really opened up in the 1960s by hippies who came for the free drugs and the easy lifestyle. Many lived in Kathmandu in tents, on what is known as Freak Street.

Prithvi Naraya Shah, a king of the House of Gorkha united the country in the second half of the 1700s. There are still older hill people who still do not realise their country is called Nepal.....they think Nepal is a small valley near Kathmandu. Only about 1/5 of the country gets electricity, and these suffer from regulkar blackouts, as we have found out. There is no centralised medical system or public works. However there is very little crime. There is pollution and smog....this comes from cement works, marble quarries and cheap petroland diesel....and causes a lot over dust over everything each day.

Nepal is also the world's only Hindu Kingdom. Hindu, Buddhism and to a lesser extent Christianity all blend together, but religion is very important and seems to permeate through everyday life.

If I had been asked 12 months ago to make a list of the countries i like to visit overseas Nepal would probably not have featured, now it probably heads the list. I think of it as a truly wonderful country, full of contrasts and wonderful people. If you would like to see more about Nepal, or about our adventures there then go to our blog: sevenweeksinnepal.blogspot.com

"BEAM ME UP SCOTTY!"

If you recognised the title of this post then you knew it was going to be about Star Trek. Well, nearly....its more about "trekkies"....that is Star Trek fanatics. And there are a few about. Now I have a brother, Richard, who is a Star Trek fan. He collects Star Trek memorabilia, reads Star Trek novels, rewatches Star Trek videos and could probably not only tell me the names of all the commanders of the U.S.S. Enterprise but can explain the difference between a "trekkie" and a "trekker". (No that is not me and my brother above......but a couple of dedicated Star Trek fans)

Barbara Adams. If you recognize the name then you are probably already a "trekkie". Barabara, aged 31, lives in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is employed by a bookbindery. In March 1996 she was selected for jury duty. Barbara, an avid Star Trek fan turned up for duty in her black and red Star Trek commanders uniform, complete with communicator badge, tricorder and plastic phaser. She was accepted by both the defense and the prosecutor as a suitable alternative juror and sat through eight court sessions. However she came unstuck and was dismissed from the case by the judge when she spoke to press about wearing her uniform to jury duty; jurors in a case are not allowed to speak to the media. Barbara insists that she was not making a mockery of the court, she always wears her uniform on formal occasions. She says she admires the values taught by the Star Trek ideal and lives her life respecting these values.

Tony Alleyne. A Star Trek fan and interior designer. Englishman, Tony Alleyne was bored with his one bedroom apartment and so when his marriage broke down his therapy was to redecorate it with a futuristic theme. Tony redecorated the apartment with an exact replica of the bridge of the Star Ship Enterprise. The flat has a transporter room, a space age kitchen and bathroom, and a voice activated lighting and sound system. The door bell plays a selection of commands given by Jean-Luc Picard. The redesign took 54 year old Tony over two years to complete and cost him so much money he had to file for bankruptcy. Although many of his friends though it was a joke it was Tony who got the last laugh when the flat sold for over $838,000 US- five times its market value.

Many Star Trek fans have gone to the trouble to dress up. Florida dentist, Denis Bourguignon calls his business the "Starbase Dental". His practice is decorated it in a Star Trek theme and all his staff wear Star Trek uniforms at work. Daryl Frazetti from Boston named his cat Bones and dresses it in Dr McCoy uniforms while they watch episodes of Star Trek. Many Star Trek Fans support tattoos of Star Trek characters and star Trek emblems (such as the picture above) and the odd person has even had plastic surgery to give their ears a vulcan touch. One fan even had his name legally changed to James T. Kirk. And Glen Proechel runs a language school in Minnesota which teaches people to speak fluent Klingon.

Of course a whole industry has grown up around Star Trek memorabilia: balloons, T-shirts, model space ships, uniforms, action figures and replica phasers and communicators. If you have trouble deciding on a present for a "trekkie" then there is always the replica of the captain's chair from the star ship Enterprise. It is made from leather and wood and comes with buttons which produce background space ship noises and phrases like "Position report Spock".

If you found this post humorous or interesting, or if you now want to rush out and have the galaxy tattooed across your back then while you are waiting to be 'beamed up' you can find more about "trekkies" by getting out the DVDs. Yep, Trekkies and Trekkies II.

Above: two more views of Tony's flat.

Barbara Adams impersonators?

...and maybe the ultimate Star Trek fan giving the Vulcan salute?